ASCE - Baton Rouge Branch

LATEST NEWS President’s Message By: Jeff Duplantis, MS, P.E., Branch President The Baton Rouge Branch wrapped up 2009 with several great activities and the Board is geared up for another fantastic year in 2010. The Baton Rouge Branch Christmas Party was another huge success. Thanks to Adam Smith for getting this coordinated and to the other members of the Board for their assistance in assuring this event ran smoothly. The party was very well attended even though we were pounded by a massive south Louisiana blizzard. For those of you from up north it may not have seemed that severe. Guess it’s all in one’s perspective. All kidding aside, the food was great and the company was even better. Thanks to all our sponsors; we couldn’t put on this event each year without your support! Once again the Baton Rouge Branch SPAG program will be receiving funds from ASCE National. Clint Willson, this year’s SPAG Chairman, prepared several applications for the 2010 campaign, and we were successfully awarded funding to support the Scotlandville Middle Pre-Engineering Program Engineering Design Challenge. This year the school will participate in the First Lego League (FLL) Smart Move Challenge. The FLL competition is comprised of two parts requiring students to conduct research to complete a project, as well as use science, technology, engineering, and math to master the complex missions of the robot game. In the project component of the challenge students must identify a real world problem related to transportation, create an innovative solution, and share their solution with t... Read More... Christmas Party By: Joey Coco, P.E., MBA, Branch Director The Baton Rouge Branch celebrated its annual Christmas Party in December, 2009. Despite the harsh, but fitting, snowy weather conditions for South Louisiana, the party brought together a large number of ASCE members and spouses for a great time. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season and wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year! Food Drive Results! By: Adam Smith, P.E., President-Elect The food drive was a big success this year. We collected 200 pounds of food at our Thanksgiving Luncheon. Thanks to all that contributed to the success of the food drive!	UPCOMING EVENTS Luncheons: January 21, 2010 - EBR Fair Share Program + ETHICS PDH! Time and Location: 11:30, DRUSILLA'S Speakers: Joel Boe' - EBR Metro Council (Fair Share) Major General Harry J. Philips, Jr. (Ret.) - ETHICS $20 Members, $25 Non-Members Sponsor: Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure RSVP: secretary.ascebr@gmail.com February 2010 - MathCounts Banquet - No Meeting March 18, 2010 - Fiber Optic Levee Monitoring Time and Location: 11:30, DRUSILLA'S $20 Members, $25 Non-Members Sponsor: CDM, ETEC RSVP: secretary.ascebr@gmail.com Younger Members: By Danielle Welborn - Younger Member Chair We have a Younger Member social on the second Thursday of every month (except for the months when we don’t have an ASCE luncheon). The place varies from month to month and I am always open to suggestions. We have gone bowling, played laser tag, gone to dinner, and gone to bars. If you have ideas for future socials, let me know! I want to know what YOU want to do! Please email me at brasce.ym@gmail.com with any suggestions! After all, the social is for you!
	LSU/SOUTHERN PORTAL Scholarships Available! The Baton Rouge Branch awards a $500 scholarship to a junior or senior in civil or environmental engineering from both LSU and Southern University each year. Interested students are asked to complete a scholarship application which inquires about the students participation in ASCE related activities as well as other extracurricular programs, and requires the applicant to prepare a 200 word essay on why they chose to become a civil or environmental engineer. Applications were passed out at the end of last year to the student chapters by the Branch’s Practioner Advisors. Deadline for submittal of the scholarship applications is January 29, 2010. Any student that is interested can either contact their faculty advisor (LSU- Dr. Ayman Okeil and Southern-Dr. Hak-Chul Shin) or their ASCE Practioner Advisor (LSU- Sam Amoroso, P.E.,Ph.D. at sam.amoroso@engensus.com or SU-Alison Ford P.E. at AFord@brgov.com ) for an application.
AROUND THE BRANCH Branch Membership Update and Stats By: Jason Manning, P.E. - Membership Director At some point in the past, we all went through the application process to join ASCE. Since then have you given much consideration to your membership grade or membership designation? This report provides you information regarding the options available to you and summarizes the membership statistics of the Baton Rouge Branch of ASCE. ASCE has a myriad of membership grades and designations that its members may be eligible for. Determination of membership grade and/or designation is based on various factors such as education, professional experience, length of service, and achievement. Members may qualify as Student, Affiliate, Associate, or Member grades. In addition, members may attain the designations of Fellow Member or Life Member through an application process. The specific criteria for the membership grades presented above can be found on the ASCE website. Fellow Member status is the 2nd highest designation behind Honorary Membership. Fellow Membership must be attained by professional accompli... Read More... Luncheon Voucher Program By: Joey Coco, P.E.,MBA, Branch Director Many of the area firms and entities have recently received luncheon vouchers to pass around to staff. The voucher is a great incentive to invite non-ASCE members to attend branch luncheons. Potential members can learn about ASCE and the many benefits of being a member of the Baton Rouge Branch. If you or someone you know would be interested in becoming a member of ASCE and the Baton Rouge Branch, please submit this voucher at the door at our next branch luncheon. Louisiana ASCE Section Wins Prestigous Award By: Jeffrey Duplantis, MS, P.E., - Branch President The Louisiana Section has been awarded the 2009 National Outstanding Newsletter Award for Large Sections and Branches. This is the third newsletter award they have received in the last four years, winning also in 2006 and 2008. Jim Porter was our editor for the two previous awards; however, for the 2009 award, we need to thank Chris Knotts as our Publications Chairman and Nedra Davis as editor for all of their hard work in making this award possible. Branch Humor High School Physics Test, Problem Statement and Solution For questions or comments regarding our website or newsletter, please contact Joey Coco, P.E at 225-246-8206.