In a previous President’s Perspective a few months back, I made reference to a summit that was convened last summer by the “ASCE Civil Engineering of 2025 Steering Committee,” with an anticipated follow-up report. Summit participants included a broad spectrum of leaders and representatives from ASCE and associated international professional engineering societies, academia, government, consulting engineers and contractors. Using the current state of the profession as a benchmark, the summit sought to articulate a vision for the profession for the next 20 years. Here is an excerpt from the report’s executive summary:

“Summit participants see a very different world for civil engineers in 2025. An ever-increasing global population that continues to shift to urban areas will require widespread adoption of sustainability. Demands for energy, drinking water, clean air, safe waste disposal, and transportation will drive environmental protection and infrastructure development. Society will face increased threats from natural events, accidents, and perhaps other causes such as terrorism. Dealing with the preceding problems and opportunities will require intra-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and multidisciplinary collaboration on projects and in research and development. More advances in areas such as information technology, intelligent infrastructure, and digital simulation will be needed. Informed by this state of the civil engineering profession and the challenges and opportunities facing it, the aspirational global vision developed as a result of the Summit is:

Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and enhance the global quality of life, civil engineers serve competently, collaboratively, and ethically as master: • planners, designers, constructors, and operators of society’s economic and social engine—the built environment; • stewards of the natural environment and its resources; • innovators and integrators of ideas and technology across the public, private, and academic sectors; • managers of risk and uncertainty caused by natural events, accidents, and other threats; and • leaders in discussions and decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure policy.”

Will the scenarios and vision identified for 2025 match the future reality, or will the projections prove to be naively amusing in the vein of Hollywood screenwriters from the 1950’s? Whatever the outcome, I feel that the summit was a worthy endeavor and that such discussion is good for the profession. The complete report is available for download in Adobe Acrobat format at: http://email.asce.org/communications/documents/TheVisionforCivilEngineeringin2025_ASCE.pdf

His numerous publications with ASCE have focused on support systems for cable trays, conduits, and ducts for nuclear power plants, fluid-structure interaction during seismic excitation, and seismic design of large storage tanks.

He served as newsletter editor for Central Savannah River Valley Branch (175 members), South Carolina Section (1550 members), and Columbia Section (250 members). He received ASCE Awards for Best Small Branch (Central Savannah River Valley Branch) and a Newsletter Award (Central Savannah River Valley Branch). But his “pride”, the publication he most enjoyed producing was the History of the Columbia Section, Bridging the Years 1950-2000.

He served as President-Elect for the ASCE Lehigh Valley Section, President of the Central Savannah River Valley Branch, and President of the Columbia Section.

In an attempt to properly regulate (and track) SSO events, the State Water Resources Control Board promulgated the Statewide General Waste Discharge Requirements for Sanitary Sewer Systems Water Quality Order No. 2006-0003-DWQ (General WDR) on May 2, 2007.