June/July 2012 - ASCE-NH

The New Hampshire
Civil Engineer
New Hampshire Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers
P.O. Box 4953, Manchester, NH 03108
VOL. 33 No. 06
June/July 2012
television). Yessiree, an easy inspection, this one. Not all are
so quick or so easy.
President’s Message
This month’s photograph shows me standing in a hole in the
ground (nothing unusual there
for
your
geotechnical
colleagues). I remove my ear
muffs
for
construction
monitoring, so you can see that I
am not outside with my crew
and drill rig. This photograph
was taken during one of our
simple pleasures: an inspection
of subgrade conditions below a
building
footprint.
For
construction, we geotechs drill
test borings to get an idea of the
subsurface soil, rock, and
groundwater conditions below the building footprint. That
way, we can report back to our civil and structural friends on
the strengths of the soil formations and accurately “predict”
the soil strengths below the proposed foundation. That’s
how we help you decide on a shallow or deep foundation.
But we know that the only way to be sure that our
assumptions are correct is to look at the subgrade soils at the
bottom-of-footing elevations. These inspections are a form
of “cheap insurance” by which we can demonstrate that our
designs are correct (or, occasionally, not). All of our
recommendations are based on widely spaced borings
(you’ve all read that sentence in the limitations sections of
our design reports). We perform these inspections as a check
on the results of our boring programs and on our design
assumptions. My father would say that is so that we can be
wrong and still get paid (just like our meteorologist friends on
Annual Banquet
Some of you noticed a couple of changes to our Annual May
Banquet schedule. At the last minute, we postponed our
th
th
Annual Banquet from May 30 to June 25 . The story goes
something like this: after patiently waiting several weeks for
th
Senator Ayotte to politely decline our invitation for May 30 ,
President-Elect Scott pursued Senator Shaheen, also to no
avail with another two weeks of lost time. Hugh was able to
line up a non-politician guest speaker. But with just one week
th
to go before May 30 , Representative Frank Guinta of
st
Manchester, New Hampshire’s 1 Congressional District
Congressman, accepted his offer to be our guest speaker at a
later date. We decided that having a headliner at the level of
a Congressman justified a rescheduling. There you have it.
We pushed back our Annual Gala to accommodate Rep.
Guinta’s schedule. Remember this episode when you enter
the voting booth next time! Come out and hear what
th
Congressman Guinta has to say on June 25 .
Last minute decisions frequently cause collateral damage.
The postponement will delay me from handing over the
Presidency to Hugh for a month while I continue to serve as
your President (no charge!). I’ll hand the reins of power over
th
to Hugh on June 25 . Or will I . . . ?
Officer Inductions
The Annual Banquet will also feature induction of next year’s
Board of Directors. Please help us greet these Board
th
members on June 25 . I will take a quick minute now to
welcome them to the Board:
Continued page 2
2011~2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Secretary
Sr. New England Council Delegate
Ken Milender, PG, PE
Miller Eng. & Testing, Inc.
(603) 668-6016
Paul Armano, PE
Parsons Brinckerhoff
(603) 647-2012
Brian Vincent, PE
Nobis Engineering, Inc.
(603) 724-6221
President-Elect
Treasurer
Jr. New England Council Delegate
Hugh Scott, PE
ADS/Hancor
(603) 828-9253
Tim Audet, EIT
Hoyle, Tanner &
Associates, Inc.
(603) 669-5555
Jason Ayotte, PE
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
(603) 644-0888
Vice President
Clerk
Past President
Steve Wolf, PE
Contech CPI
(603) 526-7496
Drew Brassard
Fay, Spofford & Thorndike
(603) 669-2000
Britt Eckstrom Audet, PE
CMA Engineers, Inc.
(603) 627-0708
What’s Inside
Scholarships – pg 4
Annual Banquet - pg 5
Geo-Institute Meeting – pg 7
NH Construction Careers-pg 8
NHJES Conference – pg 9
Cranium Challenge – pg 10
Classified Ads – pg 11
Professional Directory – pg 11
New Hampshire Section ASCE
Newsletter Editor
Newsletter Editor
Fran Weaver
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc.
150 Dow Street
Manchester, NH 03101
603-669-5555, x-111
Please Send Correspondence To:
The New Hampshire Civil Engineer
NH ASCE
PO Box 4953
Manchester, NH 03108
Email: fweaver@hoyletanner.com
Website: www.ascenh.org
NHASCE Advertising Rates
Sponsorship Ad:
1.3” x 2.3” Artwork in the
Professional Directory
&
Company website link on
NHASCE Website:
$165.00/year
Classified Ad:
$15/column-inch
3.5” column, 10-pt font
Advertisements should be placed with the
newsletter editor prior to the deadline.
Details on website.
All newsletter submissions must be
received by the 10th of the month prior to
publication.
Next deadline
(For August/September 2012 issue):
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Newsletter Publisher
Town & Country Reprographics, Inc.
Concord, New Hampshire
Drew Vardakis (of CMA)
will be our new Junior New England Council Delegate
Jay Hodkinson will be returning to the Board,
next year as Vice President (welcome home, Jay!).
Nathan Cote (of S.W. Cole) will be joining us as Secretary.
Marisa DiBiaso (of Maguire Group)
will be our next Clerk (best job on the Board!).
Scholarships
As so often in the past decade or so, Fred Douglas (of HNTB) did yeoman’s service
to your Board in handling the annual scholarship applications and decisions. We
th
will be awarding four scholarships at the Annual Banquet (June 25 ).
Congratulations to the scholarship winners; there is a congratulatory
announcement with their names elsewhere in this issue. I will borrow from my
terribly inadequate Swedish vocabulary and say “Tusen tack” (a “thousand
thanks”) to Fred for his duty this year.
Granite State Environmental & Water Resources Institute Chapter
I just signed the Memorandum of Understanding that allows for establishing the
Granite State Environmental & Water Resources Institute Chapter. Many thanks
to Paul Pepler (of GZA), who formed this new chapter of ASCE National’s EWRI to
better serve our New Hampshire environmental and water resources engineers.
Anyone watching the Board during the past few years knows that our activities
have a heavy construction slant, due to the civil and structural subdisciplines
being well-represented in membership and on the Board. We have, I think, as a
Section, underserved our environmental, water, and wastewater members.
There’s a very subtle hint in there somewhere. Establishing this Chapter will
allow the Section to better serve these folks. Paul already has an event in mind
(you might get this newsletter after-the-fact), and he already has an armload of
other ideas. New Hampshire ASCE members who check off the EWRI box on
their membership are automatically members of the Granite State EWRI. With
the formal paperwork out of the way, Paul will “hit the ground running”! Nicely
done, Paul!
Addition to the Audet Family
We recently had an addition to our ASCENH family: Past President Britt Audet (of
CMA) and Treasurer Tim Audet (of Hoyle Tanner) announced the arrival of child
#3 (a girl) on June 4. All are doing well, as the happy parents now struggle with
baby-naming.
Thank You to Many!
That Thank You to Fred Douglas is only the first of many you’ll read in this issue. I
just realized (not really, I’ve been counting the days!) that this will be my last
column. My thank-you notes, below, are to:
President-Elect Hugh Scott (of ADS Drainage) for his masterful work at
“thinking outside the box” in his selection of speakers and topics, thereby making
me look so very good at each monthly meeting. And for keeping his cool during
times of duress (like this past May, Hugh??).
Past President Britt Audet (of CMA) for continuous assistance to your
current President, assembling your 2012/2013 Board of Directors, and for a myriad of more mundane tasks.
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June / July 2012
For got te n calendars, and my other innumerable
needs. I have appreciated her attention to detail
and sense of humor.
Vice President Steve Wolf (of Contech) for
discharging his vice presidential duties without
complaint and doing a nice job at arranging the golf
tourney.
Webmaster Extraordinaire Suzy Sheppard (of Hoyle
Tanner) has discharged her Webmaster duties
without fail (except for those times when I failed to
forward items to her in a timely fashion!).
Treasurer Tim Audet (of Hoyle Tanner) for his
continuing full-time job of saving money, keeping
your Section operating in the black, and complying
with all those requests from National!
Fred Douglas (of HNTB) continued his never-ending
string of scholarship decisions. I could not have
performed Fred’s duties.
Paul Armano (of PB) for all his help at keeping the
Section’s paperwork flowing and his general record
keeping. Paul is moving his base of operations from
New Hampshire to the Greater Baltimore area. Best
of luck in your new digs. We expect occasional
updates from your new life in the Maryland Section
of ASCE!
Our Government Affairs Chairman, Darren Benoit
(of M-J), has done an exemplary job at promoting
our Section in the world of governments, national
and state. Last year’s Legislative Breakfast and
Infrastructure Report Card, this year’s “Water
Matters” breakfast program and liaison with a group
of allied society partners, his infrastructure blog
(nhinfrastructure.blogspot.com), his continuing
work with opening government doors for us, and
other roles and accomplishments too numerous to
count. All this important, non-billable work, where
does he find the time (and what does he eat for
breakfast that gives him the energy?)?
Clerk Drew Brassard (of Fay Spofford), next year’s
President-Elect, by the way, for his invaluable work
in the monthly Board meeting minutes and agendas
and helping the President keep track of everything.
Senior New England Council Delegate Brian Vincent
(of Nobis) for ably representing us at the New
England Council and Region 1 Assemblies, faithfully
reporting back to the Board, serving as our liaison to
the Joint Engineering Societies, and his expertise as
a not-so-immediate Past President.
Mike Mozer (of VHB) continued to soldier on with
his OCEA duties, and should have the 2011 OCEA
winner announcement soon.
Junior New England Council Delegate Jason Ayotte
(of VHB) for ably representing the New Hampshire
Section at the New England Council and Region 1
Assemblies and his expertise at assisting the Board
as
a
not-so-immediate
Past
President.
Congratulations to Mr. Ayotte for his appointment
as Regional Governor by the ASCE Region 1 Board of
Governors. He will be officially installed (that
sounds painful!) in September 2012, for a 3-year
term. Always nice to have a New Hampshireman
rise to a national position.
Sayings From the High Ones
I’ll finish up my term-of-office with one more quotation from
my favorite engineer-president Herbert Hoover:
“The great liability of the engineer compared to men
of other professions is that his works are out in the
open where all can see them. His acts, step by step,
are in hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes
in the grave like the doctors. He cannot argue them
into thin air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He
cannot, like the architects, cover his failures with
trees and vines. He cannot, like the politicians,
screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents
and hope the people will forget. The engineer simply
cannot deny he did it. If his works do not work, he is
damned . . .”
In addition to a good, active Board of Directors, we also
could not function without our devoted cadre of Non-Board
Essentials (I’ll call them our “NBEs”):
The Younger Members Committee this year was the
result of a team effort by Logan Johnson (of Golder),
Paul Armano (of PB), and Jose Lovell (of
Kleinfelder/SEA). Keep up the good work, take the
summer to recharge your batteries, and plan for the
fall! Congratulations go out to Logan and her
husband, who also added a daughter to our ASCENH
family this year!
He was pretty proud of his choice of engineering for a
profession. Probably more so than his term as President,
during which, if memory serves, he had a little economic
trouble (his term ran from 1929 to 1932)! Why has there
been only one engineer elected president? We are all welleducated and well spoken, with a good command of the
English language, and many of you are proficient at the art of
public speaking. And still we let the attorneys run the nation.
Curious, don’t you think?
Fran Weaver (of Hoyle Tanner) is finishing her first
year as our Newsletter Editor. Fran has suffered
immensely with my missed deadlines,
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
And in Closing . . .
And on that note, let’s close out ASCENH’s 2011/2012 year. Thank you to all the members of ASCENH for allowing me to serve as
your President. Many thanks to my superiors at Miller Engineering & Testing for their patience in allowing me the time I needed to
serve as President. Thanks, too, to Casey, Sam, and the dogs for their continued understanding of my late hours and early
departures. I only missed a couple of family functions this year.
Ken Milender, P.G., P.E. is a geotechnical engineer and hydrogeologist with Miller Engineering & Testing, Inc. in Manchester. He
dutifully commutes from his comfortable country home in Warner to Manchester, or wherever, each day.
Interested in placing a Classified Ad?
Classified Ad Rates:
$15/column inch
3.5” column, 10 pt font
For more information or to place your ad, e-mail the newsletter editor at
fweaver@hoyletanner.com
SCHOLARSHIP CONGRATULATIONS
ASCENH is awarding $1,000 scholarships to four New Hampshire students who will pursue
secondary education in engineering:
Mr. Kyle Lavoie of Littleton
Ms. Dana Hazekamp of Stratham
Mr. Shamus Wheeler of Milan
Mr. William West of Loudon
ASCENH extends our best wishes to the winners for their future successful engineering
careers. Please come out to meet and congratulate these next generation engineers at the
Annual Banquet June 25th!
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June / July 2012
NH-ASCE ANNUAL BANQUET ANNOUNCEMENT
Annual Scholarship Awards Banquet
Monday, June 25, 2012
AGENDA:
5:30-6:30pm:
6:30-7:15pm:
7:15-7:45pm:
7:45-8:30pm
Registration, Cash Bar & Hors D’oeuvres
Dinner
Scholarship Awards
Guest Speaker
SPEAKER:
Representative Frank Guinta
Representative Frank Guinta holds a Bachelors Degree from
Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He earned
his Masters degree in Intellectual Property at Franklin Pierce
Law Center (now the University Of New Hampshire School Of
Law) in Concord, New Hampshire.
Congressman Guinta serves on three House Committees:
Budget,
Oversight
and
Government
Reform,
and Transportation and Infrastructure. Job creation is his top
priority; his ongoing “Getting Granite Staters Back to Work”
jobs initiative has hosted multiple job fairs, roundtable
meetings with job creators and other special events aimed at
encouraging small businesses to grow and expand their
payrolls. On Capitol Hill, he is actively involved in promoting
legislation that will foster a positive, pro-jobs economic
environment, keep taxes low and stop the federal
government’s intrusion into our lives.
As the father of two young children, education is an especially important issue for Congressman
Guinta. He has visited dozens of New Hampshire schools and universities. In Washington, he
has worked hard for legislation that prepares children for the future and recognizes education
is critical to the economic well-being of our country and the future prosperity of our children.
To accomplish this goal, he believes we need to reduce the federal government’s role in the
classroom and encourage parental involvement to help children succeed.
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
Representative Guinta has received many awards for his legislative work in the short time he
has served in Washington. He received the Associated Builders and Contractors Free Enterprise
Legislator of the Year Award for his work for free enterprise and open competition, the 60 Plus
Association Award and the 2011 Standing Up for America’s Seniors Award for fighting to protect
and preserve Social Security and Medicare, the Champion of Healthcare Innovation Award from
the Healthcare Leadership Council and the 100% Pro Worker Award from the Competitive
Enterprise Institute for protecting workers’ freedoms.
Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, he served two terms as a
city alderman, two terms as a state representative, and two terms as mayor of Manchester,
New Hampshire’s largest city. He worked hard to give Manchester residents their first tax cut
in a decade, cut borrowing by 50% and instituted the city’s first spending cap.
Congressman Guinta and his wife, Morgan, live in Manchester with their daughter Colby, age
eight, and son Jack, age six.
LOCATION:
The Bedford Village Inn
Two Olde Bedford Way
Bedford, NH 03110
DINNER:
Chef’s Selection Table & Passed Hors D’oeuvres
Sweet Baby Shrimp & Penne Pasta
Basil Pesto, Tomatoes, Spinach & Garlic
Roast Round of Beef
Focaccia & Salad
Chef’s Selection Starch & Vegetable
Small Viennesse Station (cookies, brownies, bars, & mousse)
offee Service
COST:
NH-ASCE Member/Non-Member: $45.00
RSVP:
By Wednesday, June 20, 2012.
Registered folks that do not attend the event will be invoiced.
PDH:
One PDH is available for attendance at this meeting.
REGISTRATION:
Please send check payable to “NH-ASCE” with list of attendees to:
Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, Inc.
Attn: Fran Weaver
150 Dow Street
Manchester, NH 03101
fweaver@hoyletanner.com
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June / July 2012
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
ENGINEERING TODAY FOR A BETTER
TOMORROW
Engineering is more than just math! It’s about having
innovative
ideas,
collaborating
with
professionals,
communication with the public, and seeing your thoughts
come to life through construction! Many high school students
don’t know a lot about engineering. Come share your
excitement for engineering with high school students at New
Hampshire Construction Career Days (NHCCD).
NHCCD is a fantastic event that exposes New Hampshire high school students to possible career
paths in both the construction and transportation industries through hands-on exhibits and
educational resources. Labor unions, construction and engineering companies, trade and
professional organizations, and state agencies collaborate to provide students with an
introduction to various aspects of construction.
This two day event (4th year running) will be held in September at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds.
Last year 39 schools participated with over 900 high school students attending. These students
had a wonderful opportunity to take part in hands-on activities with over 50 exhibitors including
welding, carpentry, heavy equipment, tree climbing, surveying, plumbing, truck driving
simulators, post-secondary education opportunities, and many more.
Students can operate the controls of an excavator, zero in on targets with a total
station, or practice welding alongside a professional to get a feel for a future
construction related career. One student stated, “You were able to actually use the
equipment and talk to the people about what they do and their job atmosphere.”
NHCCD also encourages students to explore colleges and career training
programs. Professionals from a wide array of construction-related work are
available to speak with students and answer questions about their experiences
in the construction industry and why they are so passionate about their
career. “I liked how everybody there was very friendly and helpful. It was
because of them that it was a very fun, hands-on experience,” stated another
student.
A teacher from one of the participating schools commented, “This is the favorite
field trip for most of my students. They are actively engaged, and it is relevant to
their future. One of our female students was hired as a result of participation in
New Hampshire Construction Career Days.” By reaching out to as many high school
students as possible, attendees are able to increase their career awareness in the
transportation and construction industry.
NHCCD is looking for engineering companies to participate in this exciting event, since construction and engineering go hand-inhand. As an ASCE member, female Civil Engineer, and one of the NHCCD Coordinators, I ask that you join me in expanding the
engineering exhibits or volunteer to run a mini-engineering challenge for students. There are many great ideas from the
Massachusetts Construction Career Days event that have been widely successful at sparking interest with students. It is critically
important as mentors that we encourage high school students to think about careers in engineering.
This event is only possible because of the generous sponsors and volunteers. Because of you, the youth of today will be building
the New Hampshire of tomorrow. If you would like more information, please visit our website at http://nhccd.weebly.com. I would
be happy to speak with any of you about participation in this event. Thank you all for considering this opportunity to mentor
students for a day!
Meghan Theriault, P.E., Town Engineer, Goffstown Department of Public Works, (603) 497-3617 ext. 280
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June / July 2012
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
Cranium Challenge
June/July 2012
None of our colleagues were able to solve the April cranium challenge. Honorable
mention goes to Jon Coulp-Yu of UNH for his close answer. The solution to the
word equation was:
M of L > M of D = "The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of
death" - Oscar Wilde
The July puzzle is a slight twist on the sudoku puzzles. The numbers 1-9 may show
up only once in each row, column, and box:
Send your solutions to Rebekah Gaudreau, Parsons Brinckerhoff, 650 Elm Street,
Manchester, NH 03101 or by email to rebekah.briggs@gmail.com. Correct responses
received by July 31, 2012 will be recognized in a future issue of “The New Hampshire Civil
Engineer”.
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May 2012
JUNE / JULY CLASSIFIEDS
Project Engineer
Ransom Consulting, Inc. is looking for a geotechnical engineer with 0-3 years of experience, interested in being part of a diverse
team of engineers and scientists who solve geotechnical and environmental challenges throughout the northeast.
Based in our Portsmouth, NH office, will oversee geotechnical and environmental field exploration programs; perform geotechnical
evaluation, analyses, and report writing; conduct groundwater and soil sample collection and analyses, and prepare reports; provide
construction observation of earthwork and remedial activities; and routinely maintain and operate remedial systems.
BS/MS degree in civil engineering with a focus in geotechnical engineering, strong verbal communication skills, and effective writing
and organizational skills are required. OSHA 40-hour certification in Hazardous Waste Operations a plus.
If interested, please submit cover letter and resume via email to Dave Brogan at david.brogan@ransomenv.com. For more
information visit our website, www.ransomenv.com
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
`
12
May 2012
YOUR AD HERE!
See Page 2 for Details
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New Hampshire Section ASCE
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Planning Calendar
June 21, 2012
June 25, 2012
Granite State Geo-Institute co-hosting Dr. Robert Holtz’s evening
presentation “Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil: From The
Experimental To The Familiar”. Burlington, Mass. With Boston
Society of Civil Engineers Geo-Institute.
ASCENH Annual Banquet. Bedford Village Inn. Guest speaker
will be Congressman Frank Guinta of Manchester. Scholarships
will be awarded and next year’s officers will be inducted.
View the unified engineering calendar at www.nhecal.org.
Contact Ken Milender, P.G., P.E., at Miller Engineering & Testing, Inc. 603-668-6016 or
kmilender@millerengandtesting.com for details on upcoming meetings.
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