Cecil's Corner

Cecil Lue-Hing, D.Sc., P.E., F. ASCE – EWRI 2002-2003 President

Now that the holiday season is virtually behind us, I hope that you all had happy and peaceful reunions with your friends and loved ones. At EWRI, our holiday season started with a Governing Board (GB) meeting in Chicago on December 14, 2002 where we attended to the regular business of the Institute, and closed out with meetings on January 10 and 11, 2003 in San Diego, CA where we met with ASCE leadership, and the leadership of all the Institutes. These meetings in San Diego were very productive, and I will say more about them in my next column, so bear with me.

In my November 2002 column, I expressed the interest and desire of the GB and myself in improving communication with you, and I will endeavor to pursue this goal as best I can. First, what did we talk about at the December 14, 2002 GB meeting which was not very routine, but which could be of interest to a great many of you? Since, with your permission I currently possess the power of the pen, I will exercise this prerogative and select for you the topic of Civil Engineering Specialty Certification (CESC), a program that is now being pursued by ASCE. So what is this CESC you ask? This topic certainly is not a routine item of discussion, hence the selection. The vision states: Board Certified Civil Engineers will be recognized for education, experience, and ethics in their professional specialty. The mission states: The mission of CESC is to provide a mechanism for the specialty certification of the various disciplines within the CE profession. When the program hits the road, CESC will offer specialty certification in the various specialty disciplines of CE such as: Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Coastal Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architectural Engineering. As I indicated earlier, Board Certification will be conferred on eligible candidates through education, experience, ethics and examination. Also, since the Institutes will bear the responsibility of guardianship for the integrity of the program for their respective specialty disciplines, you, the membership at large will be called upon to perform such duties as creating and administering written and oral examinations, serving on committees such as Admissions, Recertification, and Certification Revocation Committees; so stay tuned, we will need to tap into your brainpower shortly.

On the issue of participation, the GB will soon lose two members on September 30, 2003, yours truly who will move on into the category of past [President], and Philip H. Burgi, P.E., M.ASCE who currently serves as chair of the Technical Activities ExCom. I therefore urge you to consider promoting candidates (including yourself) for these positions, and send these names to the EWRI Office. If you are in doubt, contact me at CLHAI@AOL.COM, and I will steer you in the right direction. In addition, many standing and task committees will be at the EWRI Congress in Philadelphia on June 23-26, 2003, and will be on the prowl for new members. This is certainly an opportunity for you to meet your peers at work; so stop by and say, "I am here to serve, and that Cecil sent you."

Please remember that communication works best when it is a two-way affair, so let us hear from you. Hey!, what do you think about the idea of a Squawk Box, where you can do some squawking? It sure beats not talking! See you next time around the CORNER.