ASCE has announced the results of its 2009 elections at the national and regional levels. The incoming president-elect is Blaine D. Leonard, P.E., F.ASCE., a research program manager for Utah's Transportation Department. He will assume office during the Society's 138th Annual Civil Engineering Conference, to be held from November 6-9 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Visit the ASCE website for a complete list of the elected board members and their biographical summaries.

The New York City Council is still considering an amendment to a long-standing requirement in the City Charter. The proposed legislation would eliminate the current requirement that the commissioner of the Department of Buildings (DOB) be a licensed professional engineer or a registered architect. On May 19, 2008, the Met Section sent a letter to the New York City Council listing several points in opposition to that bill, which is designated as Intro. 775. Recently, an amended version of the draft bill has been submitted to the City Council. The amended bill, Intro. 775A, requires that either the commissioner or the first deputy commissioner to be a licensed engineer or architect.

The ASCE Met Section presented its annual awards at Tavern on the Green in New York City on June 13th, 2008. The recipients of this year's awards included: Sam Schwartz, Metropolitan Section Civil Engineer of the Year; Mohammed Ettouney, Homer Gage Balcom Award; Cesare (Chase) DeRose, Thomas C. Kavanagh Service Award; Peter Zipf, Herbert Howard Government Civil Engineer of the Year; and Joseph Gadbois, Young Government Civil Engineer of the Year. The Reconstruction of the FDR Drive from 54th St. to 63rd St. was selected as the Construction Achievement Project of the Year and the Harmon Shop Replacement Program - Wheel Truing Facility was selected as the Design-Build Project of the Year.

On June 12, 2008, the Younger Member Forum organized a construction site tour of the new Terminal 5 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. The construction of the $800 million airside and landside improvements for Terminal 5 is the largest infrastructure investment undertaken by JetBlue Airways since the New York City-based airline began flying in February 2000 and has been featured on the Extreme Engineering television series on the Discovery Channel. The unique design of Terminal 5 will utilize the front portion of the historic Eero Saarinen terminal as an entry point.

In May 2008, New York City commemorated the 125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge with a spectacular five-day birthday celebration featuring fireworks, light shows, musical and dance performances, a Brooklyn Bridge film series, walking tours, a series of lectures and readings at the Brooklyn Historical Society and Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court, a bicycle “Tour de Brooklyn”, the opening of a new pedestrian connection between the Brooklyn Bridge and DUMBO, and a telectroscope connection to London, England.

Curious George is taking on civil engineering with the help of ASCE! A new math- and science-based educational resource targeting kindergarten and first grade students has been developed with Universal Studios and educational publisher Scholastic. Civil engineers can visit classrooms to help teachers reinforce standard lessons on shapes, man-made versus natural objects, and many other concepts. With the beloved Curious George character as a connection, this project celebrates the inquisitive nature of engineers of all ages!