Kansas Professional Engineer eNews

I believe professional engineering is easily the greatest profession. We’re all about using our understanding of the physical sciences to create a better environment for our society in the interest of safety, welfare and prosperity. The PEs in our state and country have been creating a safe and prosperous environment since licensure was first enacted in the United States in 1907 (Wyoming) and 1931 in Kansas. Think of the good roads, buildings, drinking water, sewers, bridges, energy, dams, levees, airports, rail lines, communication, space travel, food supply, computers, etc., that our American society is blessed with. Then think of other countries that don’t have an engineering licensure law to ensure sound infrastructure and how services in those countries compare to ours. Sure there are other contributing factors, but engineering licensure is a significant one.

Is it an accident or by good luck that Americans have been blessed with a safe and prosperous environment to live and raise a family? Or is it because our PE forefathers laid the ground work for an engineering licensure law that would help ensure sound infrastructure in the United States? I’m thinking the latter.

More importantly, is our society complacent that sound infrastructure happens by itself? It is well documented that our infrastructure in America is aging and in need of significant rehabilitation dollars. Much of our infrastructure (water and sewer especially) is original equipment, and has well exceeded its anticipated life and is beginning to fail.

In these tight economic times it is difficult for our public policy makers to dedicate the appropriate funding levels take a proactive approach to infrastructure rehabilitation. It is becoming standard practice to take a reactive approach to fixing public infrastructure after it fails, as it is more palatable to the general public. This re-active approach is much more costly and disruptive than proactive planned rehabilitation.

Professional Engineers have always and will continue to play a huge role in helping our society “do the right thing” as far as providing strong support to our policymakers to take a proactive and planned approach to our infrastructure. Please take every opportunity you can to visit with your local, state and federal policymakers and let them know that you are a resource and that you encourage sound public policy on America’s Infrastructure, so that future generations can enjoy a safe and prosperous way of life, just as we have.

Both KSPE and NSPE have a Political Action Committee (PAC) fund. Making financial contributions to these PAC funds are a great way to support sound public policy with our legislatures. Information is provided on the KSPE and NSPE websites.

On a lighter note, KSPE now has a Facebook Page. As of today there are 22 members. For all you Facebook users, please become a member of the KSPE page. We’re “feeling our way” with it and learning how to use it to improve communications with members. Please feel free to post comments to your State Leadership and we will post occasional comments regarding current events.

Please forward your nominations for our Chapter and State Awards program to your Chapter Awards Chair or President, or our State Chair Larry Stoss lstoss@bwrcorp.com. The categories are: KSPE Award, Engineer of the Year, Outstanding Engineer Intern, Outstanding Young Engineer, Government Engineer, Outstanding Citizen, Outstanding Engineering Achievement, Outstanding Teacher, Professional Development Award. Award documentation and applications can be downloaded from the KSPE website: http://www.kansasengineer.org/Awards/Awards.htm.

Our Awards Program is very important as it provides public recognition to those who have distinguished themselves in our profession or in our society for the betterment of our profession. It also provides public recognition of the importance of engineering to our local communities and our state.

Please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers as relief efforts continue from their devastating earthquake. These types of natural disasters definitely keep us humble as Engineers while trying to create safe infrastructure.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and have a safe, healthy and prosperous 2010.

It’s the silly season again. The legislature is back in town and no one will be safe until they are gone. What’s at risk: nothing but your profession, business, family and wallet. Politicians are all alike – right? Just looking out for themselves, their friends and the special interests that support them. Newspaper editorials rip them apart, talk show hosts make fun of everything they do and don’t do, and the talk from local folks in the coffee shop is all negative.

Well, enough of that. With apologies to Shakespeare, I’m here to praise our state legislators, not bury them.

The opening weeks of the 2010 legislative session have been filled with unusual amounts of tension. The state is mired in recession and our state general fund (SGF) is in near free fall. Before we’re out of this mess, the SGF will have declined for four consecutive years when it has never before fallen two years in a row. Core functions of state government have seen their resources dramatically reduced. Public education, higher education, the transportation plan – all have lost hundreds of millions of dollars as the Legislature and Governor Parkinson work to balance up the budget and try to maintain essential services.

In this environment, 165 citizen legislators returned to Topeka to sort through the mess and create a workable plan that the majority can support and return home with some confidence they have done the best they can for our state. It won’t be easy. Listening to the early rhetoric from all sides, no one seems interested in compromising their values and giving up on their principled stand. Moderates argue we can’t cut spending any further without damaging essential public services. Conservatives argue that raising taxes during a recession coupled with high unemployment is the worst thing we could do. Best I can tell they are both right.

So where is the path out of this mess? No one knows for sure. It seems likely there will not be enough votes to pass a budget that cuts the required $400 million to match up next year’s spending with next year’s projected revenues. Similarly, it seems unlikely there will enough votes to pass the Governor’s $385 million tax increase (his one cent sales tax increase has already been killed in House Tax Committee). Out of this gridlock must come a plan that balances the need for essential services with the interests of Kansas taxpayers.

The one trait almost all legislators have in common is the desire to do the right thing by their constituents. But it is impossible to make all constituents happy, especially in a year where there’s not enough dollars to fund core programs. So some folks are going to be unhappy, some of them very unhappy, and they will let their legislators know. And in the fall they will have a chance to vote for or against many of them (all state representatives are up for election this year).

So, I’m here to praise our state legislators. They have a difficult job; the toughest job they’ve had in years. We need to support them in their decision making and applaud their good efforts.

What is the best way to do that? Let your opinions be heard! Your legislators can’t weigh your opinion if they don’t know it. Call, write and email your legislators. Describe your priorities and explain how the issues that are most important to you would impact you, your profession, family and business. If you sit quiet and don’t speak up you have no grounds for complaining about the outcomes later. You have to give your legislators the opportunity to understand your point-of-view and respond to it. When they make decisions that are in alignment with your views, thank them and recognize their good work. And if they consistently turn a deaf ear to your concerns, you have to ask is there someone who could do a better job. But that’s another column for another day.

The first of two Licensure Recognition Ceremonies in 2010 was held on January 22, 2010 at the Memorial Hall Auditorium in Topeka with great attendance. In addition to professional engineers and land surveyors, geologists were included for the first time at this event. The Ceremony was a joint effort by the Kansas State Board of Technical Professions, Kansas Society of Land Surveyors, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists and Kansas Society of Professional Engineers.

There were 83 Professional Engineers, three Professional Geologists, and five Land Surveyors who passed their exams in October and were invited, of which 25 engineers, two geologists and three land surveyors were present to accept their certificates at the event.

The keynote speaker for the afternoon was Tom C. Roberts, P.E., Assistant Dean, Recruitment & Leadership Development, College of Engineering, Kansas State University. Mr. Roberts spoke about the importance of licensure and the role of the citizen engineer. Also participating in the ceremony were Douglas Danaher, P.E., President, Kansas Society of Professional Engineers; Todd Burroughs, L.S., President, Kansas Society of Land Surveyors; Joshua Sales, L.G., Chair, Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists; George Barbee, Chair, Kansas State Board of Technical Professions; and Tom Mulinazzi, P.E., L.S., Ph.D., KSBTP Board member.

The Kansas Society of Professional Engineers is pleased with the continued success of the Licensure Recognition Ceremony honoring those who take the next step in their professional careers. Please mark your calendar and attend the next Licensure Recognition Ceremony which is scheduled for July 23, 2010 at the Capitol Building.

KSPE Past President and Keynote Speaker for the ceremony, Tom Roberts, P.E., engages the audience in "Licensure & The Role of the Citizen Engineer".	George Barbee, Kansas State Board of Technical Professions (KSBTP) Chair, congratulates the newly licensed professionals and thanks those family members who supported them along the way.
Jean Boline, KSBTP Executive Director, and George Barbee, KSBTP Chair, engage a full crowd and prepare to pass out licensure certificates at the Memorial Hall Auditorium in Topeka.	The newly licensed professionals, including engineers, land surveyors, and geologists read the Professional Creed as directed by KSBTP Board Member, Dr. Tom Mulinazzi, P.E., L.S.
Congratulations to the newly Licensed Professional Engineers!	A big thank you is owed to KSPE and KSBTP leadership for making the Licensure Ceremony possible! (Left to right: Doug Danaher, KSPE President; Tom Roberts, KSPE Past President; Ron Gaches, KSPE Executive Director; Jean Boline, KSBTP Executive Director; George Barbee, KSBTP Chair; and Dr. Tom Mulinazzi, KSBTP Board Member)

The KSPE Conference Planning Committee has been meeting for several months and is working on finalizing the agenda for the upcoming Annual Conference being held June 16-18 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka.

The theme for this year’s Conference is “Engineering a Sustainable Future” and the agenda for Thursday and Friday is shaping up to be a must-attend event. The Conference will kick off Wednesday, June 16^th at the Shawnee Country Club with the golf tournament and Icebreaker Reception. Mike Hardy, NSPE President Elect will be joining us and giving a NSPE update on Thursday morning, as well as a one-hour engineering ethics program. Thursday afternoon will offer options for attendees with a dual track schedule. Friday morning will be geared toward public affairs and several high profile speakers are invited.

Hotel reservations are now available at the Capitol Plaza Hotel by calling 800.579.7937. The KSPE special rate is $94.

Additional details and registration will be available soon. Mark your calendars now and plan to join us in Topeka, June 16-18!

The Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers and the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers are partnering once again to provide review courses for the PE civil, PE mechanical and Fundamentals of Engineering exams that will take place in April 2010. Courses are taught by licensed PEs with background and expertise in the various subject areas. More details are available on the MnSPE website, including registration forms, announcements for each course, dates, deadlines, materials information and more. The following link will take you directly to Minnesota's website: http://www.mnspe.org/professional_dev/pe_review.shtml.

Webinar class sizes are limited as they are highly interactive classes. Be sure to register early to reserve your spot. You must register by February 17 (PE Civil course), February 9 (PE Mechanical course) and February 9 (FE course) to ensure a spot in the class and also to ensure that you receive the proper study materials.

· Mostly Tues. and Thurs. evenings between Feb. 23 and April 6 for the live course and between Feb. 23 and April 8 for the Webinar course. Classes meet from 6-9 p.m.

· The cost is $600 + books (NSPE member) and $850 + books (non-member). Individual sessions are also available.

· The live course site will be the office of American Engineering Testing, 550 Cleveland Ave. North in St. Paul.

· Mostly Mon. and Wed. evenings between Feb. 17 and April 7 for the live course and between Feb. 15 and April 9 for the Webinar course. Classes meet from 6-9 p.m.

· The cost is $600 + books (NSPE member) and $850 + books (non-member). Individual sessions are also available.

· The live course site will be MSPE office, 20 E. Thompson Ave. #206 in West St. Paul.　

· Mostly Tues. and Thurs. evenings between Feb. 16 and April 6 for the live course and between Feb. 15 and April 8 for the Webinar course. Classes will meet from 6-9 p.m.

· The live course site in the Twin Cities is TBD. Check MSPE’s Web site for a location update.

All classes will utilize books published by Professional Publications, Inc. (PPI), provider of the popular Lindeburg books. When you order your review materials through MSPE, you save 15% on selected PPI products. A link to discount online ordering can be found under the details for each course at http://www.mnspe.org/professional_dev/pe_review.shtml.

MANHATTAN -- Two upcoming Kansas State University conferences -- the Kansas Masonry Conference and the Scholer-Peterson Concrete Conference -- will offer timely information as the nation seeks to build and repair bridges, roads, water systems and airports through the most economical and sustainable means. Both conferences will be on the K-State campus in early February.

The fourth annual Kansas Masonry Conference, "The Sustainable Choice for Thousands of Years," will be Wednesday, Feb. 3. It will focus on the improvement of the production, design and uses of quality masonry products. Speaker presentations include "Sustainable Masonry: A Contractor's Perspective" and "A Review of LEED V3.0 and Green Attributes of Masonry."

The 33rd annual Scholer-Peterson Concrete Conference, "Build Green -- Save Green," will address the production, use and placement of quality concrete and concrete products. This year's conference, Thursday, Feb. 4, features topics like "LEED: Going Green with Concrete" and "Can Decorative Concrete Be Green."

Jim Goddard, K-State professor of architectural engineering and construction science who coordinates both conferences, said that people in fields like architecture, code enforcement and public works, education, engineering, contracting and real estate can apply the information from either conference to their profession. Students can also attend the conferences.

"The conferences' focus on going green with concrete and masonry this year not only helps the national need to develop and maintain cost-effective infrastructure, but it also aligns with the university's continued efforts toward sustainability," Goddard said.

A discounted preregistration fee is available for participants attending both the Scholer-Peterson Concrete Conference and the Kansas Masonry Conference. Each conference offers the option of earning six professional development hours.

"A lot of professionals working in masonry and concrete are required to earn 30 professional development hours or learning units every two years to renew their Kansas licensure, and attending both of these daylong conferences at K-State will help meet their licensure needs," Goddard said. "We always try to keep registration costs to a minimum so these conferences are more accessible to those who need to keep current in the field."

More information also is available by contacting the K-State Division of Continuing Education conference registration office at 785-532-5569 or 1-800-432-8222.

The 55^th Annual Structural Engineering Conference will be held at The University of Kansas Memorial Union Thursday, March 4, 2010. This year’s conference features the Higgins Award Winning Lecture on Unified Design of Steel I-Section Flexural Members. There will be presentations on relevant topics on regional and national bridge and building structures with a special presentation on New Orleans after Katrina. See http://www.ContinuingEd.ku.edu/programs/structual for a complete conference agenda.

As mentioned in my President's Message, please consider supporting the NSPE Political Action Committee (PAC) fund. Below please find more information on how donating to the PAC supports our profession and allows our voice to be heard.

In this economy, we all want to make our contributions count. If every NSPE member gave $10 to NSPE-PAC, we would have $450,000 to help elect congressional candidates who support our issues.

The PAC lets us combine our resources to help elect members of Congress who understand our profession and listen to our concerns on critical legislative issues. A robust PAC allows us to be heard, loudly and clearly, by federal legislators whose decisions affect our livelihood and the public's health, safety, and welfare. We are working hard to ensure a thriving future for the engineering profession - but we can't do it without you.

Please contribute to NSPE-PAC today by filling out the contribution form located in the NSPE-PAC brochure and mailing it to:

National Society of Professional Engineers
Political Action Committee
P.O. Box 34847
Alexandria, VA 22334

Checks should be made payable to NSPE-PAC. Please note that NSPE-PAC may only accept personal contributions. If you choose to make a corporate contribution, your donation will be attributed to the Legislative Education Fund, which funds the administrative activities of the PAC.

For more information on NSPE-PAC, including how candidates are chosen to receive contributions, please visit the NSPE-PAC Web site or contact NSPE's Government Relations department at 703-684-2844.

· Sent a letter to President Obama in reference to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, warning him that the short time frame in which ARRA required shovel-ready projects to be completed was unrealistic given the time needed to comply with federal requirements such as the National Environmental Policy Act. NSPE recommended that the president clarify the applicability of NEPA and other federal requirements to ARRA-funded projects or consider extending the time frame for ARRA projects so that they could comply with federal requirements.

· Recommended candidates to perform peer reviews of ARRA-funded project proposals at the request of Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

· Filed comments with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration recommending that NTIA and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service require that broadband work funded by ARRA grants or loans be performed by licensed professional engineers.

· Supported the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which the president signed into law in April 2009. The Act includes key provisions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education that encourage retired engineers to volunteer in communities, classrooms, and after-school programs. The Act will also integrate hands-on, service-learning programs into STEM curricula at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels, drawing on practicing or retired STEM professionals to work in these programs.

· Supported the Standards to Provide Educations Achievement for All Kids (SPEAK) Act (H.R. 2790), which would create standards in math and science in grades K-12 and incentivize states to voluntarily adopt them.

· Supported the STEM Education Coordination Act (H.R. 1709 and S. 1210), which would ensure that existing STEM education resources were employed efficiently and effectively through greater coordination at the federal level.

· Participated in organizations, including the 2030 Coalition, the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, the Coalition for National Science Funding, the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services, the Engineering Energy Policy Alliance, the FEMA National Incident Management System Public Works Working Group, the High Performance Building Council Energy Efficiency Roundtable, the Research and Development Credit Coalition, and the Infrastructure Security Partnership.

In 2010, we will continue to advance the engineering profession by focusing on licensure, procurement of engineering services and the use of qualifications-based selection, STEM education, comprehensive energy policy, Good Samaritan protection for professional engineers volunteering in an emergency, and infrastructure improvement.

Thank you for supporting NSPE-PAC. You are helping to lay the groundwork for a strong future.

KSPE would like to welcome the following new members who have joined since our last issue.