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The Cuesta Grade is the defining line between the perceived conservative bastion of right wing politics, wide open ranchlands, and sweltering summer temperatures and the allegedly more liberal Starbucks-or-die, save-the-whales, Birkenstock crowd (not that there is anything wrong with that) of San Luis Obispo and South County. However, North County is changing, and quickly.
I've noticed while talking to some people about driving the Grade every day that they look at me as if encountering some sort of abnormality. "Really?" they say. "You do the reverse-commute? Are you nuts? I hate driving over the Grade." With the exception of an annual pilgrimage to a concert at the Mid-State Fair or the occasional wine tasting, many Southerners avoid North County like the plague. The Grade might as well be San Luis Obispo County's "Great Wall of China." As we all know, the Grade is now well on its way to being transformed into nothing more than a speed bump, thanks to our civil engineering friends at Caltrans.
I am amazed at the cultural and entertainment transformation of the Paso Robles downtown area and the popularity of the North County in general as a great place to live and to enjoy many recreational activities.
This in a long-winded way gets me to my point this month…. I have for some time been contemplating a North County ASCE luncheon in addition to our regular meeting activity. We have been getting great turnouts for our monthly meetings and we want that to continue, but we often see only one or two attendees from the North County. I certainly understand the time commitment it takes our North County associates to attend. We're all swamped with work and it is difficult for an employee to take a three hour lunch break to drive to and from S.L.O. or Pismo Beach, no matter how understanding the boss is.
Therefore, we are going to try a North County luncheon beginning in May, initially to be held every other month, probably at the Paso Robles Inn. This will provide more opportunity for North County engineers to enjoy speakers, networking, and benefit from their ASCE membership. We'll provide more information on this plan in coming weeks. I encourage all my fellow North County engineers to take advantage of this new program. Our first meeting will include presentations on North County public works capital improvement programs for next year. If you have any suggestions, please email me at www.russt@rtcengineering.com .
In the meantime, I hope all is well with our members. Please remember to try and bring a new engineer or someone interested in ASCE to our lunch meetings, and introduce them to the group. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting. Take care.
by Russ Thompson
Brian Duncan is the subject of this month's column. Brian has been a member of our local ASCE chapter for just over a year.
Brian was born in Pomona into a family of three boys. His father was an electrical engineer for General Dynamics where he worked on rocket guidance systems. His mother worked in hospital administration. When Brian was fourteen, his father transferred to Brockton, Ma. After two years, he and his family returned to Claremont, California.
After graduating from Claremont High School, Brian enlisted in the Air Force. He served for four years as a medical materiel specialist, mostly in Germany, where he enjoyed the local culture. Brian's goal was to become an orthopedic surgeon, so after his discharge he enrolled in the chemistry program at San Diego Mesa Junior College. While at Mesa, he worked as a draftsman/designer for Rick Engineering. He enjoyed this work and found he preferred it to chemistry. He then decided to pursue a career in civil engineering.
While in San Diego, Brian met his wife Cherylee. They were soon married and moved together to Colorado. Brian worked as a surveyor for a small civil/survey firm near Glenwood Springs, and then hired on with the City of Glenwood Springs as an engineering technician. It was there that he and Cherylee started a family.
In the mid 80's, Brian returned to San Diego to complete his civil engineering education at San Diego State University. During college, Brian worked for several engineering firms in the San Diego area. The severe economic downturn in the early 90's prompted Brian to move to Springfield, Mo., where there were more work opportunities and better real estate values.
After moving to Missouri, Brian started his own civil firm, Civil Design Consultants, Inc. He specialized in the design of residential development projects. By the late nineties the economy had recovered and Brian saw an opportunity to return to California. In 1997, he passed the California Professional Civil Engineer's Exam. By 1998, he was working in the Caltrans design division and relocated his family to Atascadero. He later moved from the design division to the traffic safety division, and then accepted his current job as Associate Civil Engineer with the City of Pismo Beach. Brian currently works on development review and capital improvement projects for the City.
Brian has been married to Cherylee for 23 years. Their children, Tyler and Cally, are now young adults. Tyler attends Cuesta College and Cally is a high school senior. While Brian claims he spends most of his spare time remodeling his home in Atascadero, he also enjoys tennis, kayaking, camping and fishing.
by Greg Ray
In the history of ASCE, no topic has been more controversial than the proposed "Master's as the First Professional Degree." This month the San Luis Obispo Branch holds a special meeting on ASCE's efforts to define the Body of Knowledge for Civil Engineers (ASCE Policy Statement 465), and how this policy will prepare the civil engineers of the future.
Our speaker will be Jeffrey S. Russell, P.E., a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin (UW), Madison. He has served on the faculty at the UW since 1989 and is chair of the Construction Engineering and Management Program.
Dr. Russell participated in the 1995 Education Conference in Denver, Colorado, and served on the Education Implementation Task Committee from 1996 to 1998 which authored ASCE Policy Statement 465. He currently serves as editor-in-chief of the ASCE Leadership and Management in Engineering publication.
Dr. Russell will discuss Policy Statement 465 and how it will prepare the civil engineers of the future to deal with the challenges they will face. During the ASCE Zone IV Leadership Conference, Dr. Russell gave a presentation on this topic. He is very dynamic and very passionate about this topic. Although I was on the fence before hearing his presentation, I now agree with Policy Statement 465.
Please join us Tuesday, April 29, for this unique opportunity to hear from one of the authors of this important document which will influence civil engineering for decades to come. Cal Poly students are strongly encouraged to attend and hear how Policy Statement 465 will affect them.
by Jeff van den Eikhof
For the ninth straight year, Cal Poly's Society of Civil Engineers took overall first place in the Pacific South West Regional Conference, held at Arizona State University in Tempe. Our student members competed against 17 other universities from California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. Cal Poly won first place in Concrete Canoe, Impromptu Design, Concrete Frisbee and the K'nex tower, and third in the Quiz Bowl.
Next year, the PSW Regional Conference will take place here at Cal Poly. Participation of the Central Coast ASCE community will be needed to make this event successful. So stay tuned.
by Ryan Ferguson
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