For twenty-three years, BSCES has hosted an annual model bridge competition. This event is organized by the Public Awareness & Outreach Committee and took place on February 4th. As president, I served as a judge for the competition. This competition serves the important role of introducing middle and high school students to the world of engineering. During the months leading up to the competition, BSCES assigns mentor role models to the participating schools to assist the students to gain a better understanding of engineering principles and future career opportunities. I was very impressed by the bridges that were built this year. Over fifty model bridges were load tested and the bridge that held the most weight (over 90 pounds) was built by a group of students from Lynn Vocational and Technical High School. I would like to thank Public Awareness & Outreach Committee members and all the mentors that worked with the students to ensure that this program was a great learning experience.
I am excited to report that BSCES continues to set the bar high within ASCE! BSCES’ Younger Member Group recently received the 2017 Eastern Region Younger Member Council Award for Outstanding Younger Member Group Project for their 2015 Holiday Meal Drive. This award was given in recognition of the contributions that the Younger Member Group made to impact the local community. The award was presented at the 2017 Regions 1, 2, 4, and 5 Multi-Region Leadership Conference on Saturday, January 21st, where Younger Member Group Chair Alyson Stuer, Alfred Benesch & Company, attended and received the award. For the 2015 Holiday Meal Drive, the Younger Member Group successfully raised over $2,000 for the Greater Boston Food Bank. I would like to thank Jessica Yarmarkovich, Nitsch Engineering, for completing the nomination for this project.
I would like to thank all of our Society and Program Sponsors, whose financial support helps enable BSCES and its committees, institute chapters and technical groups to host the numerous networking and professional development events that are planned for this year.
The theme of this month’s newsletter is Water Infrastructure and I urge you learn more about the Environmental & Water Resources Institute Boston Chapter, which is chaired by Ronald Burns of Arcadia Technology, Inc. This issue of BSCESNews contains an article written by Ron (See page 10). I am very appreciative of CDM Smith Inc., which is a BSCES Society Sponsor. Please be sure to read CDM Smith’s page 1 article titled “Co-Digestion with Food Waste Organics – The Next Step Towards Net-Zero Operation at GLSD,” which was written by Cheri Cousens and Richard Wear from the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District and Benjamin Mosher and Michael Walsh from CDM Smith.