Manufacturers Representatives and Distributors
Professional Equipment and
Supply Firms
Plant Manager
Water Treatment Plant Operator
Engineer - Traffic/Transportation
Environmental Review Branch Chief
Maintenance Engineer
Software Engineer
Mechanical & Piping Designer
Senior Highway Engineer
News Bits and Pieces -
March 15, 2010
ACPA’s (The American Concrete Pavement Association) Concrete Pavement Seminar Series returns in 2010 with an all new line-up for this popular course formerly known as “Concrete Pavements 101.”
Now offered in modular format, this series of one-day seminars presents the theory and practice of designing, constructing, and rehabilitating concrete pavements. The new format allows the choice of one, two, or three days of training.
For more detailed information on this or other education & training events, or to register online, please visit www.acpa.org.
March 15, 2010
According to information available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, Norfolk District public affairs specialists captured three first-place awards and a second-place award in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 2009 Herbert A. Kassner Journalism Competition.
For the second consecutive year, district specialists earned first-place recognition for their efforts using social media tools to advance employee and public communication efforts.
The district also earned a first-place unit award for “Outstanding Command Blog” and captured an individual award in the television news report category. The second-place award recognized the district’s Web-based Weekly Update.
During the annual contest, judges scored 212 entries in 30 categories, including print journalism, photography and broadcast products, for technical quality and value to Corps and U.S. Army communications.
March 12, 2010
According to information available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, the Portsmouth Community Foundation is seeking eligible family members of employees of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, for a $1,000 scholarship for full-time status at a Virginia ACE-accredited institution of higher learning.
The Dwight and Dorothy Humphrey Memorial Scholarship is one of several scholarships administered by the Portsmouth Community Foundation, a nonprofit community corporation created by and for the people of Hampton Roads.
Dwight Humphrey was the founder of the Fort Norfolk Credit Union and a former Norfolk District employee. Upon their passing the philanthropic Humphreys, who had no children, donated their entire estate to charities.
Corps family members seeking the Dwight and Dorothy Humphrey Memorial Scholarship must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. To apply for a scholarship, visit the Portsmouth Community Foundation, online at www.thepcf.org.
March 11, 2010
150 Middle and High school students from around the area participated in the Annual Popsicle Bridge Contest at the Science Museum, hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the Richmond Joint Engineers Council (RJEC).
This year marked the15th consecutive year that the ASCE Richmond Branch has hosted the event and had the largest turnout yet. The contest took place during the Career’s in Engineering Field Day, partially sponsored by local firm Austin Brockenbrough & Associates.
As part of the bridge contest, students competed for a variety of awards including the Most Aesthetically Pleasing Bridge and the Most Innovative Bridge. Additionally, one team of students was able to beat the score of a bridge designed by ASCE members for which they received special recognition. Of course, the bridges were also tested to determine the maximum load that each could take before failure. The winners were determined based on an efficiency rating which factored in the weight of the bridge in addition to its maximum load capacity. Many of the bridges achieved loads around 400 lbs which is quite impressive considering that the bridges could only be constructed of standard sized Popsicle sticks and Elmer’s Multi-Purpose Glue.
Twenty-five ASCE members and industry personnel volunteered at the event. In addition to judging and testing the projects, these volunteers also helped educate the students at the event about what it is to work as a Civil Engineer. A special thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with the event, including Brockenbrough’s own Mike Howell, who led the event, is a Structural Engineer with Brockenbrough, and also the Education Outreach Chair for the Richmond Chapter of ASCE.
March 11, 2010
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., of Richmond, Va., is a finalist in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 44th annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition for the Proctors Creek Reuse Water Pump Station in Chesterfield County, Va.
To meet new emissions regulations at its Chesterfield County power station, Dominion Virginia Power installed an air scrubber. Obtaining the large volume of water needed for the scrubbers, however, was costly. At the same time, the County was facing new limits on effluent from its nearby wastewater treatment plant. To solve both problems, Malcolm Pirnie helped develop a system that reuses as much as 9.5 million gallons of the wastewater plant’s treated flow each day as process water for the scrubbers. The solution reduces the volume of nitrogen and phosphorous released into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and lowers Dominion’s sulfur dioxide emissions.
The project is among 163 engineering projects from throughout the nation that are being recognized by ACEC as preeminent engineering achievements for 2009.
March 11, 2010
Changes have been proposed for the new standard for the design of high-performance green buildings, published in January.
ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the first code-intended commercial green building standard in the United States. The standard provides a long-needed green building foundation for those who strive to design, build and operate green buildings.
Under The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) continuous maintenance procedure, which allows requests for change to any part of the standard to be made at any time, changes have already been proposed.
Open for public comment are addenda a and b. Addendum a makes the daylighting definitions and criteria consistent with changes recently proposed to Standard 90.1, which sets requirements for energy efficient buildings. Addendum b reduces the space limitation for daylighting requirements. Rather than requiring daylighting in space larger than 1,000 square feet, the proposal would require it in spaces larger than 250 square feet.
For more information on the proposed addenda, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.
March 10, 2010
Masonry Structural Design, a new book for engineers from the International Code Council (ICC) and McGraw-Hill Professional, discusses basic structural behavior and the design of low-rise, bearing wall buildings.
The 592 page, hardcover publication is based on the 2009 International Building Code and 2008 Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC) Code and Specifications. It includes real-world examples of masonry buildings, and talks about strength design and allowable stress design as well as innovative products, including autoclaved aerated concrete masonry.
Authored by masonry design expert Richard E. Klingner, Ph.D., a University of Texas professor of structural engineering and associate chair of architectural engineering, the publication also provides guidance on:
The book is available from the ICC Bookstore, www.iccsafe.org/MasonryStructuralDesign.
March 10, 2010
Two long-practicing engineering and environmental firms, mainly serving the Southeast, have joined forces through the acquisition of Atlanta-based QORE Property Sciences by S&ME, Inc., headquartered in Raleigh, NC.
The acquisition, effective March 1st, results from S&ME’s purchase of the assets of QORE, Inc.
About 260 former QORE employees joined S&ME, increasing the company’s employment to 1,000. This staff will work from 28 offices in North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
QORE began in 1969 as Atlanta Testing and Engineering. The name QORE was adopted in 1998.
March 09, 2010
According to information available from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, individuals and companies may participate in the statewide tornado drill Tuesday, March 16th.
Tornado drills are not just for schoolchildren. In fact, 16 tornadoes struck Virginia last year and not one of them hit during school hours. All Virginians should practice tornado safety by conducting drills at home, at work and at school. To reinforce this citizen call to action, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has declared March 16th, “Tornado Preparedness Day.”
No part of Virginia is immune from tornadoes. They can hit at any time of the year and at any time of the day. There are two things that every family, business and organization should do to get ready:
To learn more about conducting a tornado drill, and to register your participation in the March 16th statewide drill, visit www.vaemergency.com.
March 09, 2010
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is now accepting applications for its annual Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship program, which will be held from September 12th-18th, 2010.
Established in 2000, the program is designed to introduce science journalists to the interdisciplinary and wide-ranging fields of oceanography and ocean engineering.
All applications and supporting materials must arrive by mail no later than May 15th, 2010. Please note that you still need to mail hard copies of writing samples after you complete the online application form.
For more information visit www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8887
The Virginia Engineer © IIr Associates 2005