The Younger Member Forum held its Seventh Annual Executive Forum on February 21, 2008. The year’s discussion focused on “The State of Our Bridges,” a topic that has gained national attention following the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis last August. Over 100 young engineers attended the event and had a unique opportunity to meet prominent engineers involved with designing, constructing and maintaining bridges in the New York metropolitan area.

The Met Section and Polytechnic University hosted the New York City Regional Future City Competition on January 19, 2008. Help from volunteers from ASCE Metropolitan Section and Polytechnic University made this another successful year for the competition. Thirty one teams consisting of middle school students throughout the metropolitan region arrived at the Polytechnic University with excitement of presenting the product created by their five long months of effort.

John M. Dionisio, P.E., M.ASCE has been selected by ASCE as the 2008 recipient of the OPAL Lifetime Achievement Award for management. This prestigious award recognizes and honors a civil engineer who has demonstrated exceptional management skills in his/her professional career. Dionisio is the President and CEO of DMJM+Harris in New York City. He will be honored at the OPAL Awards Gala on April 30th in Arlington, VA.

First established in 1999, the Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) awards honor outstanding civil engineering leaders that have made lifetime achievements in design, construction, government, education, and management. Visit the ASCE website for more information about the OPAL awards.

A week after holding a lecture about the foundation construction of the Prudential Center, the Younger Member Forum paid a visit to "The Rock" on January 16, 2007, to attend a NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and their Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Islanders. Located just a few blocks from Newark Penn Station, the Prudential Center is the first major sporting venue built in the New York metroplitan area in the last twenty five years. The arena has a seating capacity of 17,625 for hockey games and 18,500 for basketball games.

On January 8, 2008, Chris Woods, P.E. of Langan Engineering & Environmental Services gave a presentation to the Younger Member Forum about the geotechnical engineering aspects of the design and construction of the Prudential Center.  The Prudential Center, also known as “The Rock”,  is a 17,625-seat arena in Newark, NJ that is the new home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. The arena first opened to the public on October 25, 2007 with a Bon Jovi concert; the Devils’ first home game was played two nights later.

By:
Carol J. Patterson, Esq., Partner, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP
Tara B. Mulrooney, Esq., Senior Associate, Zetlin & De Chiara LLP

Eye On Albany

While the press often focuses on gridlock in Albany, engineers should be aware that a number of the bills introduced in the New York State Legislature this year could have a significant impact on the practice of engineering. This article summarizes the most noteworthy.