November 2020 President's Report

Thank you for your support…

Massachusetts’s civil engineering community has voted with their checkbooks.  Despite the cloud of COVID-related business impacts, BSCES received a huge vote of confidence in the form of four society sponsors and 30 program sponsors.  Thank you to all of our sponsoring organizations and numerous individual donors.  Among these, there are two standouts.  AECOM has served continuously as a society sponsor for five years and EarthSoft has done so for four.  BSCES and its member volunteers couldn’t do what we do without our sponsors and they serve as inspiration to do more to validate their show of support.

This year we are rolling out the STEM Outreach Sponsorship Program to support the Future City and Model Bridge competitions.  These competitions are organized and run by the tireless members of our Public Awareness & Outreach Committee.  They serve hundreds of middle and high school students and inform participants of the challenges and excitement of careers in civil engineering.  These programs are of particular importance in the COVID-era as teachers, students, and parents search for engaging educational and fun activities to fill their days.  Email me at president@bsces.org or visit https://engineeryourfuture.org/ if you wish to learn more about STEM sponsorship to support our outreach activities.

And the Award Winner is…

By the time you read this, we will have already honored 2020 winners of the BSCES Section Awards.  The careers and generosity of recipients of these awards are testaments to the character of civil engineers and the contributions that they make to society.  Among these award recipients, I’d like to highlight two venerated members of the civil engineering community: Tony Ricci, the recipient of the BSCES Engineer of the Year Award and Dr. Lewis Edgers, who was awarded BSCES Honorary Member status.

Tony Ricci, most recently of MassDOT, is well known as the chief bridge engineer for the Central Artery Project and for his tenure as chief engineer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.    I’ll share with you a small portion of the text from his nomination form that illustrates the sense of respect in which he is held.  “Tony Ricci is a role model for all civil engineers, dedicating himself to the design of our transportation infrastructure, being a proactive part of our community, and helping assure a future generation of enthusiastic and skilled civil engineers. … While Tony is very humble and mild mannered in nature, I feel I speak for all that have worked with him that because of his sense of vision and his high level of technical expertise, all that work with him push themselves to do their best as a result of his inspirational nature.”

Dr. Lew Edgers, Emeritus Professor, the Department of Civil Engineering at Tufts University, was awarded BSCES Honorary Member status for his distinguished career as an educator, researcher, and geotechnical engineer, while also serving in leadership roles as chair of the Tufts Civil Engineering Department, Associate Dean of the Tufts School of Engineering, President of BSCES, Trustee of The Engineering Center Education Trust, and Governor of the Foundation for Professional Practice of ASCE.  Paul Pedini, of Skanska, paid tribute to Dr. Edgers, testifying to the impact that Dr. Edgers had on him personally and professionally.  Individuals like Dr. Edgers are few and far between and impossible to replace.

The Transportation Challenge and T&DI Committee

Last month’s newsletter focused on transportation and the activities of the ASCE Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI) Boston Chapter.  (A day late and a dollar short as my father would say, but I do want to make some observations about the vital role of engineers in transportation and to encourage your active participation on the T&DI Executive Committee.)

Transportation engineering used to be largely a matter of figuring out how to get cars back and forth from home to work.  Not so today.  In addition to the efficient movement of goods and people, transportation design for contemporary urban centers such as Boston must also consider the sometimes competing goals of equity, multi-modal transport, climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, economic development, passenger and pedestrian safety, bicycle access, and adaptability to the promised revolution in self-driving vehicles.  Add to that the challenge of doing more with less in the face of public reluctance to make investments in transportation. 

Same old – same old is not going to cut it.  Getting to the transportation networks of the future, will require the application of both creativity and technical expertise and the adoption of new, innovative practices.  Nothing less than the continued vitality of Boston metropolitan area hangs in the balance.

The T&DI Boston Chapter has a number of exciting events planned in the coming year.  Like other BSCES volunteer groups, they are always in need of fresh input and would welcome your participation.  Reach out to Tyler de Ruiter (TDI@BSCES.org), our T&DI chapter chair to find out how you can help.