American Society of Civil Engineers

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American Society of Civil Engineers
Motto	A better world by design.
Formation	November 5, 1852
Type	Engineering society
Headquarters	Reston, Virginia
Membership	141,000
Official languages	English
President	David G. Mongan
Website	asce.org

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward building a better quality of life. Its world headquarters is in Reston, Virginia.

Contents 1 Vision and mission 2 History and heritage 2.1 Monuments of the Millennium 3 Peer reviews 3.1 Controversy in New Orleans levee investigation 4 ASCE Designations 4.1 World Wonders 5 Publications 6 Awards 6.1 Wesley W. Horner Award 7 Competitions 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Vision and mission

ASCE envisions a world led, in part, by engineers who can assist in building a better quailty of life for everyone.

ASCE's mission is to provide essential value to its members and their careers; to its partners and to the public.^[1] ASCE seeks to provide value by:

• Developing leadership skills in its members and supporting civil engineer leaders;
• Facilitating advancment of the technology utilized by the profession;
• Encouraging and providing tools for lifelong learning within the profession;
• Advocating infrastructure and environmental stewardship; and
• Promoting professionalism and the civil engineering profession.^[2]

[edit] History and heritage

ASCE was founded in 1852 when twelve members of the organization met at the Croton Aqueduct on November 5 and decided to incorporate what was then known as the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects.^[3]

As part of understanding the history of civil engineering and promoting the civil engineering profession, a survey of the historic accomplishments of civil engineers is continually conducted by ASCE members. Such reviews of civil engineering accomplishments have produced various lists of the notable categories and projects of the profession.

[edit] Monuments of the Millennium

The society canvassed its members in 1999 to identify the ten civil engineering achievements that had the greatest positive impact on life in the 20th century. They chose to recognize broad categories of achievements rather than individual projects:^[4]

• Airport design and development, as exemplified by the Kansai International Airport
• Dams, as exemplified by Hoover Dam
• The Interstate highway system
• Long-span bridges, as exemplified by the Golden Gate Bridge
• Rail transportation, as exemplified by the Eurotunnel rail system
• Sanitary landfills and solid waste disposal
• Skyscrapers, as exemplified by the Empire State Building
• Wastewater treatment, as exemplified by the Chicago wastewater system
• Water supply and distribution, as exemplified by the California State Water Project, the subject of California Water Wars
• Water transportation

[edit] Peer reviews

ASCE provides peer reviews of public agencies and projects, at their request. Peer reviews are "a means to improve the management and quality of [public agency] services and thus better protect the public health and safety with which they are entrusted."^[5][6] On December 7, 2007, ASCE announced the appointment of retired U.S. Rep Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., to lead an independent task force of outside experts to review how the professional organization participates in engineering studies of national significance. ^[7] ASCE President David Mongan said the review is aimed at addressing criticisms of the organization's role in assisting the Army Corps of Engineers-sponsored investigation of Katrina failures. The results are expected in July 2008.

[edit] Controversy in New Orleans levee investigation

In October 2005, after the failures of the federally controlled levees in Greater New Orleans, Lt Gen Carl Strock P.E.,M.ASCE, commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers requested that ASCE create an expert review panel (ERP) to peer review the Corps-sponsored Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET), the body commissioned by the Corps to assess the performance of the hurricane protection system in metro New Orleans. Lawrence Roth P.E.,F.ASCE, Deputy Executive Director of the ASCE led the ERP development, served as the panel's Chief of Staff and facilitated the panel's interaction with IPET.^[8] The role of the ERP - composed of 14 specialists who possess a range of technical expertise - was to provide an independent technical review of the IPET's activities and findings. Roth stated at a National Research Council meeting in New Orleans, that "an independent review panel" such as the ERP "ensure[s] that the outcome is a robust, credible and defensible performance evaluation."^[9] All members of the ERP panel received Outstanding Civilian Service Medals from Lt. Gen Strock on February 12, 2007.^[8] The ERP's findings were released three months later on June 1, 2007 in a report entitled The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: What Went Wrong and Why.^[10][11]

Shortly after the release of the ERP's findings, ASCE administration was criticized by The Times-Picayune for an apparent attempt to minimize and understate the role of the Army Corps in the flooding. The Times-Picayune editorial called attention to a press release issued by ASCE which accompanied the ERP report that contained information not present in the report and information that conflicted with the report.^[12]

On November 5, 2007, New Orleans-based grassroots group Levees.Org released an online Public Service Announcement criticizing the ASCE's close relationship with the United States Army Corps of Engineers ^[13]. On November 12, 2007 the ASCE asked Levees.Org to take the video off of the internet, threatening the organization with legal action^[14]. On November 13, the Times-Picayune reposted the controversial video on their website, NOLA.com^[15].

On November 14, 2007, following the controversial video affair, the ASCE confirmed the launch of an internal ethics probe of its staff and members based on complaints^[16] by University of California-Berkeley professor Dr. Raymond B. Seed, who served on a separate independent panel investigating levee failures. ^[17] President David Mongan, in a letter to the Times Picayune assured the citizens of metro New Orleans that ASCE takes "this matter very seriously and that appropriate actions are being taken."^[18]

On December 14, 2007, Levees.Org reposted the controversial video to the internet citing Louisiana's Anti-SLAPP statute which allows courts to weed out lawsuits designed to chill public participation on matters of public significance.^[19].

In March 2008, Levees.Org announced that records obtained in a request under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that as early October 2005, the US Army Corps of Engineers directed the ASCE and later paid the group more than $1.1 million for their peer review and for giving presentations which the non-profit claimed contained at least 10 falsehoods, 4 significant omissions and numerous misrepresentations. Members of the ASCE are forbidden from making false or exaggerated statements and also from making statements for an interested party unless this is disclosed. ^[20]

[edit] ASCE Designations

ASCE designates national and international Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks.

[edit] World Wonders

Similarly, in an effort to recognize a contemporary equivalent to the heralded ancient Seven Wonders of the World, the ASCE has designated the following Seven Wonders of the Modern World:^[21]

• The Empire State Building (New York, NY, USA)
• The Itaipu Dam (Brazil and Paraguay)
• The CN Tower (Toronto, Canada)
• The Panama Canal (Panama)
• The Channel Tunnel (France and United Kingdom)
• The Delta Works, North Sea protection works (The Netherlands)
• The Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, USA)

[edit] Publications

ASCE sponsors a large number of civil engineering related professional publications in the United States. Journals published by ASCE include:

• Journal of Engineering Mechanics
• Journal of Environmental Engineering
• Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
• Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management

[edit] Awards

ASCE sponsors numerous awards for outstanding work in various areas of civil engineering, some of which are based on papers submitted to its many journals.

[edit] Wesley W. Horner Award

Initially created in 1968 by ASCE's Sanitary Engineering Division, the award is named after former ASCE President Wesley W. Horner. The award is given to a recently peer reviewed published paper in the fields of hydrology, urban drainage, or sewerage. Special consideration is given to private practice engineering work that is recognized as a valuable contribution to the field of environmental engineering.^[22]

[edit] Competitions

ASCE also sponsors competitions for student chapters. Each regional conference determines the events. Two major national competitions include:

• Concrete Canoe Official Site
• Steel Bridge (steel bridge competition)(Co-sponsored with American Institute of Steel Construction) Official Site

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• ASCE (Official Website)
• Levees.Org Grassroots organization critical of the ASCE's investigation into the New Orleans area levee failures.
• Video about ASCE selected Seven Wonders of the Modern World. A virtual satellite tour made with Google Earth (02:38)