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  • 1.  Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 06-11-2019 05:32 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 06-11-2019 05:32 PM
      |   view attached
    "Russell Builds a Bridge" discusses how civil engineers are involved with heavy, infrastructure construction, particularly through bridge construction.

    High school and college students rarely know what civil engineers do in the field. I created the following document to help explain how civil engineers are responsible for improving the quality of life. I took several hundred detailed pictures of my final project, put them together with brief descriptions about how we, as civil engineers, material inspectors, or surveyors were involved, and assembled them into     "Russell Builds a Bridge."

    I'm sharing my document as a resource, but I'm also curious how others are involved with outreach? Do you have any resources you are able to share?  


    ------------------------------
    Russsell King
    Retired
    Lakewood, Illinois
    ------------------------------

    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    Narrative after Foreword 2-12-2016.pdf   9.41 MB 1 version


  • 2.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 06-12-2019 06:54 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 06-12-2019 06:54 PM
    Russell,

    Wow! This is a great resource. Your passion for educating future civil engineers is clearly evident and very much appreciated!

    In response to your question about resources (and for those that may read this post), did you know that ASCE has a committee dedicated entirely to pre-college outreach? Generally, we try to emphasize a broad message in the pre-college realm: how civil engineering is creative, designs the world of tomorrow, and helps people live in healthy, safe communities. Just like you said above, civil engineers are responsible for improving the quality of life! As such, we have a variety of materials available to assist your outreach efforts. We even have a supply store with free and low-cost materials you can use during your outreach events!

    On our webpage (link at the bottom of this post), we have resources for the following:

    • Engineers = Links to activities and Dream Big media assets, information on Civil Engineering Clubs (along with more activities and modules), Career Fair in a Box, connections to DiscoverE, and video tutorials and webinar training to help build your skills and confidence for talking to the pre-college crowd.
    • Teachers = What Do Civil Engineers Do video (a great, 6-minute YouTube video on civil engineering), link to the Dream Big Educator's Guide (full of more crowd-tested and kid-approved activities), It's Cool to be a Civil Engineer materials (by PBS), and a link to email outreach@... to connect with a civil engineer in your area.
    • Parents = Link to StreetPlan.net (free web-tool to create Complete Streets) and a link to ABET's website to identify ABET-accredited programs.
    • Kids and Teens = Links to EngineerGirl, the Career Cornerstone Center, and ASCE's New Faces of Civil Engineering (collegiate and professional).

    Please note: Some links/information may be in need of an update, so please let us know if you are looking for something specific and aren't able to find/access it.

    The Committee on Pre-College Outreach is building a network of Outreach Champions. Outreach Champions are ASCE members and non-members with a vested interest in cultivating a diverse population of future civil engineers and knowledgeable citizens. Outreach Champions are invited to participate in the first 15-20 minutes of our monthly committee call where we share a outreach-related best practice. Recordings of these monthly segments are archived in the training section of the pre-college webpage.

    To sign up as an Outreach Champion or if you have any outreach-related questions, please email us at outreach@....

    Thank you for initiating this discussion! We hope you will be our newest Outreach Champion, and we look forward to working with you and supporting you as we spread the news about how awesome it is to be a civil engineer!

    Sincerely,
    Maggie Weems, P.E.
    Chair, Committee on Pre-College Outreach

    ASCE Pre-College Outreach Webpage

    ------------------------------
    Maggie Weems P.E.,M.ASCE
    Vestavia Hills AL
    (205)733-7623
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 06-16-2019 08:44 AM
    Rusell, thank you for sharing this great resource! It is important to let our students know that, in my case, as a professor, we have experience in the field. I collected some pictures and notes but it is a great idea to collect all that information in a book.
    Regards,

    ------------------------------
    Andres Guzman Ing.,M.ASCE
    Associate Professor
    UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE
    Barranquilla
    573004284680
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 06-20-2019 03:10 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 06-20-2019 03:09 PM
    ​Hello Russell,

    First off, your book has great photos and excellent details of the painstaking work required to build a bridge. Thank you for taking the time to create it and for sharing this resource!

    Regarding your question, here are two of the ways that I am involved in outreach:

    1. STEM Outreach Events: I love to participate in STEM outreach events hosted by organizations and institutions. For example, in Washington, D.C. there is an annual event called "Industry Day" at the Cardozo Education Campus. This high school has a transportation studies academy within its curriculum. There is an entire day of panels and workshops for students to learn about the transportation industry, directly from private and government industry partners. It is organized by NABWIC (National Association of Black Women In Construction). The USA Science and Engineering Festival is another great event where organizations, such as ASCE, come together with interactive displays for students to learn about engineering. These events tend to reach a younger audience, helping to guide them toward the civil engineering profession.
    2. ASCE National Capital Section Education Committee: I serve as a co-chair for the ASCE National Capital Section Education Committee and work with student chapters at five universities. We connect professional members with student members through resume workshops and networking events. For example, we organized a "Coffee and Connections" event at a local café. Here, students were able to ask questions to professionals without the pressures of a formal, career fair environment. We also link students with professional members when they are seeking assistance with technical projects or competitions. There is a Pre-College arm to our committee as well, where the co-chair calls on engineers from our chapter to visit elementary and high schools for various events. The committee is also working to provide "Dream Big" kits to local schools (i.e. featuring the movie recently promoted by ASCE).
    Best,

    ------------------------------
    Jameelah Ingram P.E., M.ASCE
    Washington, DC
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 06-20-2019 04:51 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 06-20-2019 04:50 PM
    Thanks for the information, Jameelah.  STEM has a major presence here, in NW Chicago schools plus they've started another program called Project Lead The Way (PLTW).  Both are at the High School level, plus I think they are making some inroads into Middle School.
    I like your "Coffee and Connections".  That really seems like HS students could hook on to.  Kind of free and easy way to get a little information, especially if the PE is stocked with physical data such as the pictures and outlines I've put together.  You know, kind of re-enforce his/her experience with photographs which I always thought were more important than just listening to the person speak. 
    And yes, it was painstaking to put it together, but a lot of fun.  I especially enjoyed scheduling the overnight photo sessions and watching the contractor close a major interstate highway in 15 minute increments to place those heavy beams.  They actually had a special watcher, time clock in hand, who could override the foreman as it got close to the time when the highway needed to be re-opened.  The night time photos were pretty cool.
    Russell King, PE (Retired)


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    Posted 07-02-2019 01:36 PM
    Edited by Tirza Austin 07-02-2019 01:36 PM
    Russell,
    Your initiative to create this shows your passion towards outreach and the importance of portraying the reality of our profession.  Exposing  younger generations to civil engineering, as they are making post-high school life choices, is great timing!

    You sound like the type of individual that might like to be more involved in ASCE's outreach efforts, and if so, as Maggie Weems stated in her thread, there is an ASCE Committee on Pre-College Outreach that is involved on the national level for pre-K through 12 items.  I've been on the committee for a number of years and it is very worthwhile and fulfilling to know that we are making an impact.  You should consider applying for committee membership the next time the call comes out for volunteers.

    ------------------------------
    Jennifer Nakayama P.E.,M.ASCE
    Waikiki Business Improvement District Association
    Honolulu HI

    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Russell Builds a Bridge -- How Civil Engineers are Involved in Bridge Construction

    This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous
    Posted 07-11-2019 08:33 AM
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