First off, let me say what and honor and privilege it is to serve as the ASCE Baton Rouge Branch President. Over the past several years while serving as a board member and officer I have had the pleasure of getting to know an outstanding group of men and women dedicated to serving our members and improving our profession. I would like to give a special thanks to Adam Smith for his strong leadership over the past year.

For those who don’t know me, I grew up in western PA and earned my B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State. After graduation, I spent almost 7 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and then attended the University of Texas at Austin where I obtained a M.S. in Environmental Health Engineering and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering. After two years as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, my family and I moved to Baton Rouge. I’ve been a faculty member in the LSU Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering for 13 years teaching mostly water resources and some environmental engineering classes.  I’ve been married to my wife, Kay, for over 22 years and have three sons - Andrew, Tyler and Meyer.

Russell J. "Joey" Coco, Jr., P.E. MBA
2011 Edmond Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement

Earlier this year, Joey Coco, was nominated by the Louisiana Section of ASCE for and was recepient of the Edmond Friedman Young Engineer Award for Professional Achievement.   This prestigious award is presented by the Society to recognize achievements of ASCE members who are 35 years and younger who have demonstrated service to the profession, achievements in their careers and contributions to public service.  The award citation reads "For professional achievement in service to the advancement of the profession, evidence of technical competence, high character and integrity, and contributions to public service outside his career."  As part of his selection, the committee cited Joey's work ethic and service to the community.

Joey is an integral part of ASCE as the Secretary/Treasurer of the Baton Rouge Chapter, the Deputy Director of the Louisiana Report Card, and as a Director for the Louisiana Section.

Joey was presented the award at the October 20-22 ASCE National Conference in Memphis, TN.

The Baton Branch provided 3 PDH credits prior to the September 15th luncheon at Drusilla 's Seafood.  The training session and luncheon were provided free of charge to the branch as a way to help pay back the generosity and commitment from the branch membership.  During the luncheon the 2011-2012 Baton Rouge Branch Board was sworn in by Charles Eustis.  The picture to the right shows a majority of the board.  From left to right: Jennifer Richmond, Danielle Welborn, Steve Gunter, Clint Willson, back row: Rudy Simoneaux, Sam Amoroso, Kirk Lowery and Adam Smith. 

The topics and speakers during the training session were:

• Sam Amoroso, Engensus - Seismic Loading Basics for Buildings
• Joe Harmon, LAPELS (Ethics) - LAPELS Regulations for Signing and Sealing
• Brad Ponder, CSRS - Green Light Program Update
• Frank Smith, Pipe Tech, Inc. - Computer Modeling of Pressure Transients
• Robert Werner, Ardaman & Associates - Geotechnical Design and Monitoring for Staged Construction