The Federal Forum is a key component of the upcoming ASCE Annual Conference and first-ever Congress on Infrastructure Security for the Built Environment.
The forum was developed 7 years ago to provide free-flowing discussion among construction-industry CEO's before a live audience of civil engineers, who can ask questions of the panelists. With its Washington focus, this year's forum will gather Federal government leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, General Services Administration, U.S. Department of State, and Smithsonian Institution. Collectively, they represent the largest owners/operators and managers of facilities planning, design, construction, and operation in the nation.
The panel, which will convene on Tuesday, November 5 at 10:30 a.m., will cover a range of topics including:
- careers in government service;
- trends in federal procurement of design and construction services;
- privatization along with its impact on the government sector and opportunities for the private sector; and
- protection of our nation's critical infrastructure from terrorism and natural hazards.
Among scheduled panelists is Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers, Chief of the 35,000-member
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Flowers is expected to describe the critical role that the Corps played in the immediate aftermath of the events of September 11, 2001. Since then the Corps has turned its efforts toward reducing the impact of future calamities.
Under Flowers' direction, the Corps is researching ways to protect American forces more effectively at home and abroad. That research, which is being conducted at the Engineer Research and Development Center’s Structures Laboratory in Vicksburg, Miss., and the Corps’ Protective Design Center in Omaha, Neb., can also be applied to other vulnerable federal, state, and local facilities.
In the wake of 9/11, the Corps established a $267 million critical infrastructure security program that examined more than 300 locks, dams, and water supply systems in the nation. Chosen for analysis were critical structures that produce 25 percent of America’s hydroelectric power and support the movement of more than 2 billion tons of commerce.
Construction is now underway to create permanent infrastructure security improvements at selected sites. Other security upgrades being implemented include increased surveillance, restricted access, electronic measures, barriers, and increased cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, according to Flowers.
An article by Flowers outlining the Corps’ role in improving our nation’s security appears in a special ASCE insert in the October 18 issue of the Washington Business Journal.
Joining Flowers on the Federal Forum panel will be: William W. Brubaker, P.E., Director of Facilities Engineering & Operations, the Smithsonian Institution; R. Adm. Michael R. Johnson, P.E., F.ASCE, Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Chief of Civil Engineers, US Navy; F. Joseph Moravec, Commissioner of Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration; and Charles E. Williams, Director and COO, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, US Department of State.
