NC Future Cities is seeking professionals in the world of engineering, architecture, and related fields to be virtual mentors and judges.

Future Cities is a national competition for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 in which they are challenged to think like an engineer and come up with ideas that solve a problem impacting the sustainability of the Earth. This is an opportunity for you to share your passion for your career with students who are just beginning to learn what it means to be an engineer.

Visit the Future City Competition website to learn more.

Register online to be a volunteer for the Future City Competition.

We are presently seeking:

Mentors

Mentors work alongside the team educator and act as a coach/role model. They provide guidance, connections between academic concepts and real-life, and technical assistance to the middle school team members. Mentors work with the team regularly throughout the competition season, but do not need to be present at every team meeting.

As a mentor, you will be matched with a specific team that has requested a mentor. Your time commitment would begin asap and continue until the Final Competition at the end of January. Mentoring can be done virtually or in person, so you don't need to be near the school to participate.

Judges

Judges score team deliverables, provide feedback, and help determine the overall winners. Their interactions with our young participants, whether written, virtual, or live, leave a lasting impact. We provide scoring rubrics and training to guide judging decisions.

You may sign up to judge any, or all, of the following deliverables. You will be sent the items to judge, along with a rubric, so this can be done at a time that fits with your schedule. The Live Q/A sessions will require you to participate in a virtual meeting with the student teams.

· Essays – Submitted on Nov 24. and judging between December 4 and December 22

· City Model (slideshows) – Submitted on December 22 and judging between December 24 and January 7

· Video Presentation – Submitted on January 8 and judging to be completed by January 12-13th

· Live Q and A – This will be on January 15th from 9 am to 11 am and will be done virtually

· Specialty Judging – We will have several categories for these awards; these will be judged in early January

The next step if you are interested is to sign up as a judge or a mentor on the website. We will then provide you with additional details and some brief training for judges.

Thank you so much for your interest in this very worthwhile program! Please contact Mary Beth Liles, Outreach Coordinator, with any questions.

The Eastern Branch’s President is happy to present the October 2021 Newsletter.

Have a look!

Greetings ASCE Members!

We have an Eastern Branch officer election for the NCSU Practitioner Advisor for the 2021-2022 term. This position will act as a liaison between ASCE and NCSU. The newly elected officer will coordinate and work with the university to help the students and help guide them on a successful career path towards civil engineering. They will participate in student activities with the university as well. Please select between Ying Tan or Minerva Bonilla. Please e-mail your vote to Chas Webb at Charles.webb@raleighnc.gov. Please include your ASCE member number when submitting your vote. Votes must be submitted by COB on October 12th.

Thank you!

Ying Tan is a Senior Bridge Engineer with the complex bridge group at HDR’s Raleigh office. She got her Ph.D. in Structural Engineering and Mechanics from NCSU in 2001. While pursuing her doctoral degree at NCSU, she served as an instructor teaching CE214 (Statics) for two semesters with 150 undergraduate students. 

Ying has 23 years industrial experience in bridge design and construction, serving transportation projects in NC market and national market, which includes Los Angeles International Airport Automated People Mover Project, I-395 Signature bridge in Miami, and the Ontario Line (16km Subway Project through downtown Toronto).

Her passion for structure design coupled with her enthusiasm for sharing her experience makes her want to have this opportunity to serve NCSU students.

Minerva Bonilla earned her B.S. in Civil engineering from Texas Tech University and completed her M.S. in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Construction Engineering from North Carolina State University (NCSU). She is currently working on her Ph.D. studies focus on Construction and Transportation Engineering at NCSU. Minerva's research areas include constructability, alternative intersections and interchanges, project optimization, and funding for transportation infrastructure.  Upon graduation, her goal is to pursue a career in academia.

Are you interested in giving back to your community? Are you interested in advancing your professional career? If you answered yes to either question, then consider running for an ASCE Eastern Branch Officer position. Being an officer is a great way to give back to the engineering community, while also expanding your network and professional career. We have the following positions open/up for election.

• President-Elect

• Secretary

• NC State Advisor

• Duke Advisor

• Government and Public Liaison

• Branch Representative to the NC Section

• E-week Coordinator

We prepared a document describing the open positions and the relevant duties. If you are interested in running for a position, please contact Chas Webb at Charles.webb@raleighnc.gov by September 17, 2021. Officers will be installed during our virtual luncheon on October 21, 2021. Please plan to attend the meeting if you are elected.

We’re excited that the 2021 Fall Conference is back in person. As is tradition with the Fall Conference, the annual awards will be conducted as well. We are seeking nominations for four categories:

1. Project of the Year

2. Engineer of the Year

3. Young Engineer of the Year

4. Student Chapter Member of the Year

Each nomination comes with a different set of criteria, however they all share the same goal of advancing civil engineering within the state of North Carolina. Nominations are due by August 20th.

This nomination form contains a summary of the awards and a separate sheet for each award.

Please submit nominations or questions to Chas Webb at Charles.webb@raleighnc.gov.

The Eastern Branch’s President is happy to present the July 2021 Newsletter.

Have a look!

The 2021 Mentor Program is back! We are pleased to announce that the Eastern Branch Mentor Program will be returning. If you are interested in helping a civil engineering student or recent graduate from Duke or NCSU, please contact Chas Webb at Charles.webb@raleighnc.gov by July 25th. 

There are plenty of benefits to being a mentor. You can learn from your mentee, you are entered into drawing for a gift card, but most of all you get a wonderful feeling knowing that you are giving and helping a student. 

The time commitment isn’t significant. Just a few hours for a few months. But those few hours will go a long way! The program will last during the Fall semester and Chas will be able to guide you and give you pointers should you need them.

The Eastern Branch’s President is happy to present the April 2021 Newsletter.

Have a look!

The inaugural Civil Engineer and Young Civil Engineer of the Year awards were presented to Joseph Angell and Charlie Townsend at the March, 2021 Virtual Meeting. The awards recognize those who showed excellence in civil engineering in the Eastern Branch. 

Joseph Angell, PE, F. SAME, was presented with the Civil Engineer of the Year Award. Joseph is a member of Wiley I Wilson. He earned his Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the University of Rhode Island and earned his Master’s of Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. Over the past year Joseph has been involved in a number of organizations including the ASCE Eastern Branch mentor program where he mentored two students. Over the past year Joseph has been involved in a number of military projects. Joseph has a long history of excellence in civil engineering.

The Eastern Branch was very pleased to present Joseph with the Civil Engineer of the Year Award.

Charlie Townsend earned the Young Civil Engineer of the Year Award. 

 “What made this moment even more special was my parents were able to attend” 

Charlie Townsend, PE, is a project manager for BGE, Inc. Charlie earned a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from North Carolina State and will earn his MBA from North Carolina State this May. Charlie has managed some key projects over the last year. Projects include Smokey Hollow in Raleigh and Highline in downtown Apex. The Eastern Branch was pleased to present Charlie with the Young Civil Engineer of the Year Award.

The awards were presented virtually. The awards were then delivered to Charlie and Joseph in a socially distant setting. Both recipients expressed their sincere gratitude to the Eastern Branch for selecting them as the winners. Charlie added in a LinkedIn post “What made this moment even more special is that my parents who are both civil engineers were able to attend.”

Eastern Branch President, Chas Webb, who created and presented the awards said, “I was glad to recognize two highly qualified engineers. Both engineers have shown a commitment to excellence in civil engineering as well as serving their community. I commend both of them for their work.”

The awards were done in conjunction with Engineer’s Week 2021. 

The ASCE Eastern Branch is accepting nominations for the 2021 Civil Engineer of the Year and 2021 Young Civil Engineer of the Year. These are newly created awards. They are being created with the intent of recognizing the top civil engineers in the Eastern Branch. The awards will be presented to a civil engineer and young civil engineer who has made outstanding professional contributions to his/her profession, public welfare, and the community at large. The award winners will be announced during the February meeting on Thursday, February 25, 2021, to celebrate Engineers Week.

Some important notes:

• You can nominate yourself.

• An ASCE membership is not required.

• You must live in the ASCE Eastern Branch jurisdiction.

• To be considered for the Young Engineer award the nominee must be 35 or younger as of 12/31/2020.

• Forms are due by Tuesday, February 9, 2021, at 5:00pm ET. Forms received after February 9th at 5:00 will not be accepted.

Forms:

• 2021 Civil Engineer of the Year Criteria

• 2021 Civil Engineer of the Year Nomination Form

• 2021 Young Civil Engineer of the Year Criteria

• 2021 Young Civil Engineer of the Year Nomination Form

The 2021 Nominating Committee will make the decisions and notify the award winners prior to the February 25th meeting. The award will be delivered to the winners following the meeting. To submit nomination forms, please complete the applicable forms and send it to the ASCE Eastern Branch President, Chas Webb, at Charles.webb@raleighnc.gov.

If you have any questions please contact Chas via e-mail. Thank you and good luck!