September 2021 President's Report

Welcome to the first issue of BSCESNews for the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section/ASCE’s 2022 Fiscal Year! While all of us continue to flex and adjust to the myriad of new challenges before us, I am looking forward to this next year as one we will look back on with pride. This newsletter itself helps to chronicle the topical and noteworthy endeavors of our local professionals and offers a unique opportunity to reflect on our changing times.

As is customary, I’d like to begin with a brief outline of priorities for our Society. First and foremost, we seek to be of service to our members. We will continue to provide, through our institute chapters, committees, and technical groups, various practical training, programs, events, and initiatives to support and benefit our members and the civil engineering profession across the Commonwealth and beyond. In addition to hosting these programs, we are investigating partnerships and platforms to improve, engage, and optimize our Society’s administration and outreach. This year’s efforts include updating our financial policies to ensure the good fiscal health of our organization. They also include connecting with accreditation providers to facilitate enhanced continuing education credit tracking. With so many of our members holding multi-state licenses and similar requirements on the horizon for our own state, we believe it is prudent to stay ahead of the curve. With our thoughts on the future, we are seeking to foster the growth and influence of our newly-formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, and Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI) Boston Chapter. Both groups have vibrant and engaging champions as their chairs, (a prerequisite for such positions at BSCES) and I encourage you to get involved.

The underlying theme of this month’s newsletter is Sustainability … at times a buzzword that may mean different things to different people. I prefer the definition from the Brundtland Commission Report (1987): “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Certainly, a salient topic in the wake of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). We know through human activities that we have negatively affected our natural environment, and that we need to employ immediate and resolute actions to protect the Earth so it can continue to sustain us. With the City of Boston’s commitment to carbon-neutrality by 2050, and most current civil engineering projects designed to far exceed a 29-year service life, we (perhaps more than most professionals) need to make informed decisions now on how to achieve these overarching goals. BSCES leaders pledge to identify resources and communicate innovations to furnish our members with the tools they need to adapt and succeed.

I am hopeful that you, our members, will find this newsletter helpful and informative, and will not hesitate to reach out me at president@bsces.org or to the chair of our Newsletter Editorial Board Mike Sullivan at newsletter.board@bsces.org with any compliments, critiques, or ideas to contribute. We’re off to a great start, let’s keep the momentum going.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to point out that our success during this fiscal year will be produced through the dedication and hard work of our member volunteers. This success is also made possible through the charitable donations of our industry partners. I want to thank our 2021-2022 sponsors for their generosity and support! You will find listings of our Society and Program Sponsors in this newsletter.