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About ten years ago, I went to work for a small private engineering firm in Oregon. My employer was a man of very high moral standing, and I considered him to be ethical in every way. He was the kind of engineer I hoped to be as my career developed. I have had similar experiences just about everywhere I have worked. I have found that for the most part, when it comes to ethical behavior, civil engineering is a notch higher than most other professions. Perhaps this comes from the most basic of engineering tenants, to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public. Perhaps it comes from our desire to improve life for others.
As I was preparing for this article, I reviewed the ASCE Code of Ethics. I thought that it would be timely to review them here. The Code of Ethics is broken down into two parts, Fundamental Principles and Fundamental Canons.
The Fundamental Principles state:
Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by: 1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment;
1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment;
2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients;
3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and
4. supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines.
The Fundamental Canons state:
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
5. Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.
6. Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession.
7. Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.
As a Civil Engineer, I have tried to abide by these principles and canons, and I believe they have not only made me a better engineer, but a better person. I hope that as each of you have reread the Code of Ethics, you have had a renewed desire to ascribe to them.
by Jeff van den Eikhof, P.E.
This month we have newcomer to the professional world and to ASCE. Her name is Cheryl Dizon. Cheryl grew up in the Bay area -Martinez to be exact- where she spent time with family and friends going to movies and concerts. She moved to the Central Coast in 1997 to go to Cal Poly as an Industrial Engineering major. After one year she interned with her father at his company in the Bay area. Her father is a Mechanical Engineer and has been a big influence in her choice of professional careers. Her position at this internship was more of an administrative assistance position, answering phones and filing, but it exposed her to the profession and allowed her to realize that Industrial Engineering was not for her. Industrial Engineering did not provide the technical design she was looking for. When she came back to Cal Poly in the fall, she decided to switch to Civil Engineering. Through her years at Cal Poly, she was involved in the Society of Civil Engineers, the Filipino Cultural Club and played intramural sports. She also took a quarter off to go to Europe for 2 ½ weeks. In the summer of 1999, Cheryl interned with Montgomery Watson in their Geotechnical office. Her duties included performing inspections and testing and writing reports for field technicians who were out on construction sites. In 2002 through 2003, Cheryl then interned with the County of San Luis Obispo in the Utilities Division under Christine Ferrara, performing mainly stream flow data collection. Prior to graduation, Cheryl decided she wanted to stay in the area. After researching local companies and getting recommendations from co-workers, she decided to send in her resume to John L. Wallace & Associates (JLWA). JLWA hired her in June 2003 upon graduation from Cal Poly. Her first and basically her only project since she started one year ago was the Woodlands Project on the Nipomo Mesa, working under Pete Miller. Cheryl has been doing redlines, drainage calculations and drainage reports for the major development project. Since Phase 1A is wrapping up, Cheryl is now moving on to a drainage master plan for the community of North Fork (in the mountains above Fresno).
In her free time, Cheryl loves to listen to music, go to concerts and share her Filipino culture through dance. She also loves playing sports like basketball, volleyball, softball, tennis, swimming and even a little kickboxing. She loves sports so much, in fourth grade she pretended to be a boy just so she could compete in her school’s relay. She also loves to do landscaping projects for friends since she doesn’t have a home of her own yet. She says she thinks she could become a professional house sitter since she moves around a lot and is asked by all of her friends to take care of their house. Her companion is her Pit Bull/Sharpe mix named Sandy. Her dog goes everywhere with her, except to work. Cheryl has indicated that, once she has gained more years of experience, she would love to provide assistance to other countries through helping to build facilities.
By Kari Wagner
Have you completed an exceptional civil engineering project within San Luis Obispo or northern Santa Barbara County? Then consider nominating it for the 2004 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award. Any San Luis Obispo or northern Santa Barbara county project that has completed construction in the last 3 years is eligible. A panel of non-biased judges will select the winner, and the awards presentation will take place at our December branch meeting.
Entries are due August 20, 2004. More information and the nomination form may be found on the branch web site (asceslo.org). This is a great opportunity to show the public outstanding examples of engineering work - please don't miss out!
The close presence of large trees is a well-known danger along rural roadways. But what about when large trees are used to beautify urban downtown areas or to achieve traffic calming along major urban streets? It turns out that, until recently, little was known about the safety consequences of planting large street trees along busy urban arterials.
At our July meeting, Professor Ed Sullivan of the Cal Poly Civil Engineering Department will describe a study recently completed for Caltrans that examined the safety of large median trees on conventional state highways, which also serve as urban arterials (such as Broad and Santa Rosa Streets in San Luis Obispo). A statewide analysis compared collision experience for such highways, with and without median trees, while controlling for numerous other factors. The Caltrans Traffic Operations Program commissioned Cal Poly to perform the study to in order to develop a better foundation on which to base agency policy for responding to local community requests for planting additional median trees.
You will not want to miss Dr. Sullivan’s presentation discussing the study and the resulting conclusions. Please join us for our luncheon on Thursday, July 15 at Rosa’s Restaurant in Pismo Beach.
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