Join Renew My Profile Sitemap Contact FAQ/Help Log Out Join Renew MyProfile SiteMap Contact Help Logout Home
ASCE

ASCE Profile

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 144,000 members of the civil engineering profession worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society.

Leadership and Organization
For 2009-2010, the Society's Board of Direction is lead by President Blaine D. Leonard, P.E., D.GE, F.ASCE, Past President D. Wayne Klotz, P.E., D.WRE, F.ASCE, and President-elect Kathy J. Caldwell, P.E., M.ASCE. Executive Director Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE, CAE, leads the Society's 236 staff members. ASCE's membership is organized into nearly 400 local affiliates, which include 87 Sections, 158 Branches and 130 Younger Member Groups.

Engineering Programs
Each year, more than 6,200 civil engineering professionals contribute volunteer technical expertise that benefits the Society and the profession through participation on ASCE technical committees.

ASCE is an ANSI-accredited standards development organization that produces consensus standards under the direction of its Codes and Standards Committee. The Society established Civil Engineering Certification Inc. (CEC) to support specialty certification academies for various civil engineering specialties.

The Society has eight Institutes created to serve professionals working within specialized fields of civil engineering, including the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI); the Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute (COPRI); the Construction Institute (CI); the Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI); the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI); the Geo-Institute (G-I); the Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI); and the Structural Engineering Institute (SEI). ASCE's Technical Activities Committee (TAC) has 10 Divisions and Councils, including Aerospace Engineering, Cold Regions Engineering, Computing in Civil Engineering, Energy, Forensics Engineering, Geomatics, Lifeline Earthquake Engineering, Disaster Risk Management and Pipelines and Sustainability.

The Society's Committee on Critical Infrastructure (CCI) focuses on areas related to critical infrastructure resilience and established the Building Security Council Inc. to provide a multi-discipline security rating system for buildings and a certification program for building security professionals.

Professional Activities
ASCE is dedicated to helping its members navigate the issues currently affecting the profession, including licensure, ethics, employment, business practices, global principles for professional conduct, career development, community service, leadership and management.

ASCE's Career Connections Web site benefits both civil engineering employers and job seekers and the Society offers a variety of mentoring opportunities through the online eCareerMentor program and local Section and Branch mentoring programs. The annual Engineering Income and Salary Survey tracks trends in civil engineering compensation, providing salary breakdowns by region, discipline and job level.

In an effort to transfer knowledge to the profession and the public, ASCE publishes the Journal of Management in Engineering, the Leadership and Management in Engineering Journal, and the manuals of practice, How to Work Effectively with Consulting Engineers (No. 45) and the Guide to Hiring and Retaining Great Civil Engineers (No. 103).

The Society is also a link of the Order of the Engineer and conducts a Peer Review for Public Agencies program, a Leader Education and Development (LEAD) program and annual community service events. ASCE has formed a strategic partnership with Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB), a nonprofit humanitarian organization that works to improve the quality of life for communities in the developing world through the voluntary involvement of engineers and engineering students.

In addition, ASCE strongly supports the proactive inclusion of talented civil engineers from diverse backgrounds and values their unique contributions, skill sets and broad professional experiences. The Society spearheads strategic partnerships with diversity-focused engineering organizations, develops resources for engineers and employers to foster inclusivity in the civil engineering workplace, and works to maintain active representation of civil engineering in national science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) diversity initiatives.

Educational Activities
ASCE developed the Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, which aims to elevate the educational prerequisites needed before an engineer can sit for the licensure exam and practice professionally. As a member of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET), ASCE is responsible for the development of specific program criteria used in the civil engineering and civil engineering technology accreditation processes.

ASCE also supports the formal education of civil engineers through initiatives such as the nationally acclaimed ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshops which helps to develop college faculty into effective teachers and the Practitioner and Faculty Advisor Training Workshop works to improve the leadership skills of advisors to ASCE's 278 student organizations. Student activities such as the ASCE/AISC Student Steel Bridge Competition and the ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition also offer students hands-on design and construction planning experience and the excitement of competing and networking with peers from other colleges and universities.

ASCE's Pre- College Outreach programs provide engaging, hands on introductions to civil engineering for age groups ranging from preschool to high school, and its dedicated volunteers work to educate young people about civil engineers and their impact on the world. ASCE's Outreach activities include: Curious George, Design Squad, Building Big, the West Point Bridge Design Contest, ZOOM into Engineering and ASCEville (www.ASCEville.org). Learn more about ASCE's Pre-College materials and resources at www.asce.org/kids, and about its Outreach Has Its Rewards page at www.asce.org/outreach/index.html.

Publications
ASCE is the world's largest publisher of civil engineering information ? producing more than 55,000 pages of technical content each year. The ASCE Publications Division produces professional journals (available both in print and online editions), conference proceedings, standards, manuals of practice, committee reports and monographs under the ASCE Press imprint. The 200,000-entry civil engineering database is available at www.pubs.asce.org, along with many other resources, including a complete publications catalog and the ASCE Online Research Library (www.ascelibrary.org), which provides access to more than 600,000 pages of journal articles and proceedings. ASCE also publishes the award-winning Civil Engineering magazine as well as ASCE News and Geo-Strata.

Conferences and Continuing Education
Each year, more than 55,000 engineers earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and/or Professional Development Hours (PDHs) by participating in ASCE's continuing education programs. ASCE hosts more than 15 annual and specialty conferences, more than 275 continuing education seminars, 250 live Web seminars and hundreds of distance learning programs, including on-demand, online courses and courses on CD and DVD. The Society's 139th Annual Civil Engineering Conference will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, October 29-31, 2009. For more information and a complete listing of ASCE conferences, visit www.asce.org/conferences.

Government Relations
ASCE is a strong advocate for civil engineering and infrastructure-related issues. The Society's federal priority issues are clean water, drinking water and wastewater, math and science education, natural hazards mitigation and infrastructure security, qualifications based selection (QBS) for engineering services, sustainable development and sustainable energy use, and transportation infrastructure. The state priority issues are licensing, math and science education, QBS engineering services, sustainability and transportation and infrastructure. The Society's Government Relations office is located at 101 Constitution Ave., NW, Suite 375 East, Washington, DC 20001, and can be reached at 202-789-7850 or by email at govwash@asce.org.

Public Relations
ASCE maintains an award-winning program devoted to enhancing public awareness and understanding of civil engineering and its impact on society. Stories featuring ASCE and its members have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Business Week, the Los Angeles Times, Engineering News-Record, and on National Public Radio, the Today Show and the CBS Evening News, among many others.

Through its Report Card for America's Infrastructure, ASCE has become widely recognized for its efforts to engage the public as informed advocates for the renewal and development of America's public works. ASCE maintains active partnerships with WGBH, the primary producer of science-related programming for PBS, the History Channel, the National Building Museum, and a host of other educational organizations whose programs encompass engineering. ASCE was a founding member of the National Engineers Week coalition, and will serve as the lead society for Engineers Week 2010.

Honors and Awards
ASCE recognizes members through awards for their commitment and accomplishments in public service, leadership and management. ASCE instituted the OPAL Awards program in 2000 to recognize the lifetime, individual achievements of civil engineers, as well as to showcase the exemplary civil engineering projects honored through the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) awards. Information on ASCE's more than 80 national awards, including the prestigious Distinguished Membership, can be found at www.asce.org/pressroom/honors.

International Activities
ASCE is committed to sharing and growing the civil engineering body of knowledge worldwide. The Society serves approximately 14,000 international members, has Agreements of Cooperation with 72 engineering organizations in 59 countries, and supports 12 International Sections and 19 International Groups. ASCE also represents the interests of the U.S. civil engineering community as a member, through a coalition, of such groups as the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and the Pan American Federation of Engineering Associations.

Finances
ASCE is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt educational organization with assets of more than $69 million and net assets of more than $42 million. The Society earns its revenue from member dues, publication sales, continuing education courses, conferences, royalties, contributions and investments. The fiscal 2010 consolidated budget for ASCE and its affiliates totals $54 million.

ASCE Foundation
To support the civil engineering profession, the ASCE Foundation has raised more than $23 million since it's founding in 1994. The Foundation's programs include an annual appeal, sponsorships, major gifts, capital campaigns and planned giving, and as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To learn more about the ASCE Foundation, visit www.asce.org/foundation.

Updated September 2009



   
---
Copyright © 1996 - 2009 | Comments | Privacy | Questions | Terms and Conditions | Webmaster