CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS FALL 2012 - Chi Epsilon · CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS FALL 2012 ... Triana...

CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTSFALL 2012

Chapter articles are published only on-line at this web site www.chi-epsilon.org . Odd numbered chapters, 1,3,5, etc., provide their articles by December 15th of each year to appear in the spring. Even numbered chapters, 2,4,6, etc., provide their articles by May 15th of each year, and they appear on-line in the fall. Please enjoy reading the articles from your chapter and others to find out what is happening locally in Chi Epsilon.

* Page numbers refer to Chi Epsilon Website

CHAPTER PAGE

University of Alabama 2University of Alaska 2Arizona State University 3Bucknell University 3University of California-Davis 4University of California-Irvine 5University of California-Los Angeles 6Carnegie Mellon University 7University of Cincinnati 7City College of New York 8Clarkson University 8University of Colorado 9Drexel University 9University of Evansville 9Florida Institute of Technology 10George Mason University 10Georgia Tech University 11University of Houston 11University of Iowa 12University of Kentucky 12Lamar University 13University of Louisiana at Lafayette 13Louisville University 14Manhattan College 15Marquette University 15University of Maryland 16University of Massachusetts at Amherst 16University of Miami 17

CHAPTER PAGE

Michigan State University 18University of Mississippi 18University of Missouri-Columbia 19University of Missouri-Kansas City 19Montana State University 20New Mexico State University 20New Jersey Institute of Technology 22Northeastern University 22University of Notre Dame 24Pennsylvania State University 24Rice University 25San Diego State University 26University of South Carolina 27University of Southern California 27Southern Methodist University 28Tennessee Technological University 28University of Texas-El Paso 28University of Toledo 29Trine University 30University of New York at Buffalo 30University of Utah 31University of Vermont 32Villanova University 33Virginia Polytechnic University 33Wayne State University 33West Virginia University 34University of Wisconsin 34Worcester Polytechnic University 35

CHAPTER ARTICLES FALL 2012

University of Alabama The Alabama chapter of Chi Epsilon in 2011 had many accomplishments. The 2011 officers were Joey McElvy, president; Morgan Calvano, vice-president; Liz Holmes, secretary; Alex Dukeman, associate editor; Erin O’Connor, treasurer; and Dr. W E. Back, faculty advisor. The chapter sold FE review manuals to provide assistance to engineers taking the exam and to make money for the chapter. The chapter also put together the Department of Civil Engineering spring banquet. The banquet consisted of a catered dinner, guest speakers from various companies, awarded outstanding achievements to undergraduates, and awarded a distinguished honor to those who contributed help due to the tornado outbreak of 2011. Many of the Chi Epsilon members competed in the ASCE steel bridge and concrete canoe teams and did well in the regional conference in Tallahassee, Florida. This chapter’s members and officers were very active in the school and extracurricular activities. In the spring of 2012, a new member initiation was held, initiating 28 new members, and we installed new officers. Unfortu-nately, no officers were able to return, but we are working to have another great year for the University of Ala-bama chapter of Chi Epsilon. The new officers are Owen Killeen, president; Hollis Gibbs, vice-president; Kristi Bardosi, secretary; Michael Wendlandt, treasurer; and Emma Whitaker, associate editor.

University of Alaska Initiations of new members and officer elections brought the 2011 academic year to a close. Initiation took place on the 5th floor of the Duckering engineering building on November 18, 2011. Officer installation took place immediately after initiation which resulted in the following: Andy Chamberlain, president; Marcus Farquhar, vice-president; Veronica Swaim, treasurer; and Joel Teune, marshal & associate editor. Over the spring semester, the most prominent activities undertaken by Chi Epsilon UAF chapter were Engineering Week and planning for the fall semester. Engineering Week, or E-week, is a youth oriented program designed to entice younger generations to learn more about engineering. Kids of all ages participate in various ac-tivities throughout the week that show how engineering can be just as exciting as being “an astronaut or fireman.” Chi Epsilon was put in charge of organizing and operating several activities on a particular day of E-week. The most prominent and traditional Chi Epsilon-hosted activity was the gum-drop bridge building activity. Children came to build bridges out of tooth picks and gum-drops to then have them tested to obtain a score. The high scor-ers got their name up on the board for all to see; but, of course, both high and low scorers got the satisfaction of eating their yummy creation. This activity put a positive twist on engineering for kids. In addition to E-week, Chi Epsilon has been discussing progressive ideas to make the UAF chapter more active as an honor society. For the upcoming 2012 fall semester, Chi Epsilon has plans to convert the Civil Engineering lounge in the Duckering Engineering Building into a civil-specific study lounge with an extensive resource and reference library. Accompanying the renovated lounge will be FE exam review sessions tailored to the needs of Chi Epsilon members. These review sessions are open to all, but cover only the topics requested by society members. These sessions will include guest lecturers and professors. Initiation for new members is scheduled to be held in the weeks prior to Thanksgiving. Officer elections will be held the last few weeks of the fall semester.

CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS 2 FALL 2012

Arizona State University For the outgoing officers: Breezy Sharma, president; Isha Mehta, vice-president; Triana Gonzalez-Neves, secretary; Michael Gehringer, associate editor and engineering student council representative; John Heck, treasurer; and Eric Ponce, marshal, it has been a year marked with ascendency and gratifica-tion. Officers, students, and faculty members came together on a number of dif-ferent activities to strengthen the engineering community and demonstrate the four characteristics Chi Epsilon recognizes as important traits of the successful engineer.

To bolster ASU’s reputation of producing competent engineers Chi Epsilon hosted fifteen different, topic specific, FE review sessions conducted by engineering faculty members. To better inform ASU’s engineering school about the FE exam along with the review sessions extensive promoting was done. All FE exam promotion was culminated into a formal information session organized and presented by all Chi Epsilon officers. In order to spark student interest in different sub-disciplines within civil engineering Chi Epsilon coor-dinated with industry professionals and academics to give presentations/seminars on their scope of work. These newly established relationships with industry professionals transpired through Chi Epsilon sponsored events with the Young Members Forum and other engineering organizations. To help the incoming officers, who were Nicholas Partridge, president; Mathew Watson, vice-president; Travis Dunn, treasurer; Melissa Archer, secretary; Elizabeth Barnes, marshal; Ryan Sariego, engineering student council representative; and Mathew Bartos, associate editor and media relations, the chapter set new precedence, and new officer endeavors were introduced. Due to an overwhelming consensus opinion regarding inadequate AutoCAD preparation upon graduation, Chi Epsilon has agreed to take action. To address this issue, Chi Epsilon will host AutoCAD Sessions that will be structured to emulate the FE review sessions. It has been a great year for Chi Epsilon. The outgoing officers are excited to challenge the incoming of-ficers to seek prevalence in every activity in which they participate. Chi Epsilon would like to thank our faculty advisor, Dr. Chris Lawrence, for helping us along the way.

Bucknell UniversityCommunity Service Event: On April 23, 2012 the Bucknell chapter of Chi Epsilon helped a group of local boy scouts earn their engi-neering badges by hosting a hands-on workshop for them. Matthew Szymanski gave a presentation to one group of scouts about the mechanics of catapults and trebuchets, and explained their historical use. After learning the basics, the scouts were eager to construct their own catapult. With help from the chapter members, the scouts built a catapult out of a milk carton, rubber bands, pencils, a plastic spoon, and tape. The scouts were excited to put their catapults in action. Using marshmallows as their projectiles, they competed for the longest shot and for accuracy. Meanwhile, Brian Shoener delivered a presentation on different types of bridges found around the world. Each scout then constructed their own truss bridge with the help of a chapter member using popsicle sticks and hot glue. The bridges were then tested for stability using a concentrated point load by using scoops of sand in a bucket. (see photo at right) The scouts enjoyed predicting when each bridge was going to break, although one scout liked their bridge so much they did not want to have it broken during testing. At the end of the night, each scout was presented with an award to signify their successful completion of the task. The scouts very much enjoyed learning more about the field of engineering, while the chapter


members were inspired by their enthusiasm for learning.Initiation Event and Chapter Honor Member Elevation:

On March 22, 2012, the Bucknell University chapter of Chi Epsilon initi-ated 12 new members, elevated Bob Brungraber to Chapter Honor Member, and initiated Assistant Professor Doug Gabauer as Faculty Member. Current mem-bers and faculty were also in attendance and joined the new initiates for a dinner hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. (see photo at left) The elevation of Bob Brungraber to Chapter Honor Member came after 25 years of service to Bucknell University. The existence of Bucknell University’s

structures lab, which houses a 600,000-lb Baldwin universal testing machine and other testing equipment used by faculty and students for both laboratory and research work, is due to the hard work and perseverance of Bob Brungraber. Among other efforts, he traded consulting work for donations, applied for and received different machines through donations and grants, and oversaw the design and construction of the lab. Professor Gabauer was selected by the Bucknell University chapter of Chi Epsilon to be initiated as a Faculty Member after having demonstrated excellence in teaching and research for the past four years at Bucknell University. Professor Gabauer earned B.S. and M.S. degrees at Rowan University. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Tech. Professor Gabauer became an Assistant Professor at Bucknell in the fall of 2008 and has taught several introductory engineering courses and upper-level transportation courses. His research focuses on improving the design of guardrails, bridge rails and other roadside safety structures us-ing event data recorders. Professor Gabauer is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Association for Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM), American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). He serves as a panel member for the National Coop-erative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Project 22-28: Criteria for Restoration of Longitudinal Barriers, Phase II and a research needs coordinator for the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committee on Roadside Safety Design, AFB20, when classes are not in session during the summer months.Outgoing Officers: Greg Stevenson, president; Alissa Oelsner, vice-president; Carolyn Breden, secretary; Anne Sequeira, associate editor/board master; Bill Holm, marshal; and Oudam Meas, web master. New Officers: Brian Shoener, president; Emily Gladstone, vice-president; Yue Hua, secretary; Max Pucciarello, trea-surer; Matthew Szymanski, marshal; Tom Lisofsky, associate editor; and May Thu Nwe Nwe, web master.

University of California-Davis The University of California, Davis Chi Epsilon chapter started off the 2011-2012 academic school year by initiating a large pledge class of thirteen. These thirteen new members are: Winnie Lee, Aileen Luo, Anna McKenna, Michael Tsai, Ashley Tam, Kelsey Kress, Matt Beavan, Luka Ukrainczyk, Justin Tan, Joe Novielli, Andrew Bur-ton, Sarah Austin, and Daniel Pare. In October, the seismic design competition team began working on the design concept for the annual Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Seismic Design Competition. (see photo at right) In March of 2012, the president of the UC Davis chapter attended the 42nd National Conclave in Los Angeles. There, he spoke with many current members and alumni in the Chi Epsilon community and fostered relationships with other Pacific District Chi Epsilon members.


The Davis chapter of Chi Epsilon has focused this year on promoting each of the four pillars: scholar-ship, practicality, sociability, and character. In regards to scholarship, the UC Davis chapter has hosted biweekly meetings with UC Davis civil engineering professors to speak on their current research. These lectures have helped inspire and direct members in their studies and future career paths. The UC Davis chapter has heard from

professors Sashi Kunnath, Fabian Bombardelli, Alissa Kendall, Rob Chai, and Jason DeJong. To develop our members’ skills in practicality, the UC Davis chapter designed and built a five foot tall structure out of balsa wood to compete in the EERI Seismic Design Competition. (see photo at left) For sociability and character, the UC Davis Chi Epsilon chapter has had social events coordinated with the UC Davis chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and pro-vided numerous opportunities for pledges and current members to volunteer in the city of Davis.

In March 2012, the seismic design competition team was set to travel to Memphis for the annual competition when travel difficulties made it impossible to transport the structure. Although the team was unable to compete, they have decided to still test the structure. (see photo at right) The team will be perform-ing its own test on the structure in late May using a shake table provided by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. This spring quarter, the chapter has six new pledges which include: Alex Huth, Brian Lee, Randall Gee, Huy Ngo, Noel Crisolo, and Alvin Lam. The current officers are: Nicho-las Chandler, president; Cyrus Khorshidchehr, vice-president; Ashley Tam, treasurer; Anna McKenna, sec-retary; Kelly Dudek, associate editor; and Dave Dhillon, marshal. The UC Davis chapter of Chi Epsilon is continuing to grow and is looking forward to further developing our presence in the UC Davis community. We are anxious to see what CSULA has in store for the 2012 Pacific District Conference.

University of California-Irvine The University of California, Irvine student chapter utilized the 2011-2012 academic year to further the civil and environmental engineering professions through each hosted event and instill Chi Epsilon’s values into some of the best and brightest civil and environmental engineers that the University of California at Irvine has to offer. To start the year off right, the chapter members set up a booth for UCI’s Anteater Involvement Fair during week 0 of the fall quarter. Members set up in the region featuring engineering organizations, talking to freshman civil and environmental engineers, and encouraging them to keep their grades up in order to receive an invitation from Chi Epsilon. To help those students who would be taking the FE exam in October, the chapter hosted review sessions where students could ask professors of major subject areas within the civil and environmental exams about things to keep in mind and specifically study for. One way in which members promoted professional development was through several tours of plants and engineering offices around the Orange County area. One that was particularly beneficial was the Orange County Sanitation District tour in the fall quarter during which were seen the various stages of the plant’s development since its creation. Members were able to see the various components of a waste water treatment plant up close and even received early announcement of an internship opportunity. Members also attended a professional develop-ment workshop at HDR held by ASCE OC Youth Member Forum. The workshop provided tips on how to find an engineering job during our tough economy. From young sophomores to graduating seniors, all received detailed insight into the right approaches for looking into a job.


Officers, members, and initiates were encouraged to grow in Character by participating in Shadetree nursery’s monthly tree-planting events. The chapter-grew as an organization, as friends, and as members of a society that values nature. (see photo at left) During Engineering Week, initiates participated in the Engineering Student Council’s Popsicle Stick Bridge competition. They worked in small groups, work-ing together to design the best bridge possible (being able to withstand increasing amounts of applied force).

Each week throughout the year members and initiates (as well as officers) were provided opportunities to develop professionally at meetings. Alumni and faculty made presentations on everything from how to write a resume and CV letter specifically for an Engineering company, to public speaking development, to a senior panel during which our seniors provided words of wisdom to our younger members as they progress through their years at UCI. Officers did the best to support and engage initiates throughout the win-ter quarter, with fun events such as a beach cleanup followed by a bonfire/BBQ, dinner together (see photo at right), and a Boomers trip. They were shown that being an engineer does not have to mean all work and no play, but that being a part of Chi Epsilon means being able to balance outside activities with academics as well as growing in Sociability.

University of California-Los Angeles As the Chi Epsilon chapter at UCLA looks towards spring quarter, it aims to continue the momentum it has built up over the first two quarters of the school year. The 2011-2012 officer board, recently initiated a class of 17 student members and 1 faculty member. Prof. Shaily Mahendra, the recently inducted faculty member, will be assuming the role of faculty advisor for the future and replaces Prof. Scott Brandenberg, who has taken the position of Vice Chair of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at UCLA. The officer board looks forward to working with Prof. Mahendra in the near future and expects Prof. Brandenberg to remain involved when he is able. The required curriculum for UCLA student initiates was revamped this year in an effort to impose a more rigorous and professional set of standards for prospective members. The purpose of this was to instill a greater sense of involvement and dedication among initiates that would carry over into their time as regular student members. The curriculum consisted of attendance at a variety of required and optional events related to the four pillars, as well as the completion of several other tasks including resume submissions, professor interviews, and community service hours. The Chi Epsilon chapter at UCLA also played a role in the organization of the National Conclave, which was held in Los Angeles at the LAX Hilton. The UCLA chapter was designated the responsibility of coordinat-ing several of the meals and providing volunteers to assist in the facilitation of programming. Many initiates and student members were able to attend the conclave as volunteers, and the UCLA official delegates were Kendra Rusinek and Ryan Vanderlip. Kendra also led the effort to coordinate the meals and worked with Bryan Car-pentier on many of the logistics. It has been a year of growth for the chapter as a small group of dedicated officers and active members worked to initiate a relatively large pledge class. The 2011-12 officers were: Bryan Carpentier, president; Kendra Rusinek, vice-president; Greggory Schwartz, treasurer; Karina Chavarria, secretary; Jose Gradilla; marshal; and Ryan Vanderlip, associate editor. Incoming officers for the 2012-13 season are: Ryan Vanderlip,


president; Dennis Cha, vice-president; Davis Thomas, treasurer; Kyle Nelson, secretary; Brian Walz, marshal; Wesley Mercado, associate editor; Kendra Rusinek, conference liason; and Bryan Carpentier, senior advi-sor.

Carnegie Mellon University In the spring of 2012, the Carnegie Mellon University chapter of Chi Epsi-lon initiated seventeen new members, including one faculty member. The new initiates were: Faculty – Dr. James Thompson; CEE graduates – Heather Buck and Xiao Ma; graduate students – Mahbuboor Choudury and Tess Doeffinger; undergraduate students – Nicola Carey, Valerie Chang, John Duhring, Elissa Goldner, Siyun Luo, Alexander McHugh, Jolita Mo, Steven Nguyen, Jessica Rinn, Madeleine Stearns, Sarah Zakrajsek, and Amy Zhang. (see photo at left)

The chapter’s activities this past spring included our first ever “Love a Donor” event. Our chapter orga-nized an event to thank donors to the Civil and Environmental Engineering department here at CMU and received an excellent turnout. Refreshments were enjoyed, and we were able to send out more than 100 thank-you notes to donors and alumni. We plan to organize more events to promote our department-wide community in the near future. The chapter’s plans for fall of 2012 include a faculty versus students kickball game amongst other events planned to introduce civil engineering students from the various years to each other.

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati’s chapter of Chi Epsilon had another stellar year in 2011-12. Officers elected in the spring of 2011 were Megan Hathaway, president; Philip Hausfeld, vice-president; Kristy Newlon, treasurer; Alisha Hammond, secretary; Emily Polko, associate editor; and Phil Niekamp, mar-shal. These officers proudly initiated 15 new members during the fall and winter quarters (see photos). Both Dr. Steven Buchberger and Dr. Gian Rassati con-tinued to serve as our faculty advisors.

In the spring of 2012, both Megan Hathaway and Alisha Hammond rep-resented the school’s chapter at the Chi Epsilon conclave in Los Angeles. There they participated in the voting and updating the by-laws of the Chi Epsilon orga-nization. The University of Cincinnati chapter encourages academic success along with social involvement. The chapter arranged two initiation dinners to welcome new members into the chapter. Along with those dinners, the chapter scheduled several social events at local restaurants around the university’s campus to foster

a sense of unity within the chapter. Another exciting event for the chapter was participation in the University of Cincinnati’s E-Week. E-Week, short for Engineering Week, is a week where groups from all engineering back-grounds compete for the honor of being called the best engineers on campus by competing in such events as the blood donation drive, tug-of-war, and Family Feud. Nonetheless, the social success of the chapter came at a financial cost. Because of that cost, the chapter


arranged review sessions for the FE Exam to raise money. These review sessions required the help of several faculty members across the college. As the year ended, a new group of officers was elected for the 2012-13 school year. The University of Cincinnati chapter patiently awaits the exciting and successful opportunities that 2012-13 and our conversion to semesters will bring!

City College of New York The 2011-2012 academic year was a great success for the City College chapter. On May 9th, fourteen new initiates were inducted as members of the so-ciety: Omar Abdelhamed, Jonathan Weiss, Pakman Wong, Cynthia Wang, Martin Saldarriaga, Fengyi Mo, Ventislav Kovachev, Kang Ho Kong, Ron-ald Ademaj, Liam Byrne, Jason Dominguez, John Mouzakitis, Tenzin Getso, and Roberto Lumelino. (see photo at right) Our outgoing officers will continue to be active members in our chapter, and include Jose Moscat, vice-president; Amira Nazar, treasurer, and Andreas Apostolopoulos, secretary. We bid a fond farewell to our graduating officers: Diniece Peters, president, and Ksenia Shikhmacheva, marshal. The incoming officers for the 2012-2013 academic year are Yanil Rosario, president; Martin Saldarriaga, vice-president; Ronald Ademaj, treasurer; Tenzin Getzo, secretary; Benjamin Conable, marshal; and Jessica Wang, associate editor. Special mention was made by our faculty advisor, Professor Neville Parker, and by CEAG chairman Jack Seidman, of the excellent leadership over the past year of chapter president Jessica Wang. Jack Seidman was commemorated for his service as Chairman, and we acknowledged the new chairman, Vincent Tirolo. The influence of Chi Epsilon has grown significantly at City College the past year due to progressive-minded leadership. The civil engineering student body heavily utilized the services offered by the department. Chapter officers continued to improve and maintain the peer mentoring program, chapter website, and chapter newsletter. The newsletter provides information on the accomplishments of students, the Chi Epsilon club, and other club and departmental achievements, provides up to date scholarship information, and serves as a nexus between students, faculty, and alumni. The website and newsletter are major ways Chi Epsilon is playing a more active role in reaching out to alumni of the school who have continued to provide guidance and support to students. Chi Epsilon, along with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter, orga-nized seven workshops and seminars for students this past year, hosted by the Civil Engineering Alumni Group (CEAG). The alumni group has also planned a field trip to a construction site in Brooklyn. Chi Epsilon also took a leadership role in organizing the City College cohort attending the annual Moles Student Day. Workshops focused on civil engineering career paths, finding a job, interview skills, tunnel design and construction, failure of bridges, and seminars illustrating career opportunities in civil engineering. Chapter members look forward to improving the Peer Mentoring outreach program and expanding the Chi Epsilon name on campus.

Clarkson University During the previous year, the Chi Epsilon chapter at Clarkson University has been involved in numerous activities. Under the guidance of outgoing president Alexander Hango, our chapter participated in various ser-vice activities. During the winter, the chapter raised money for the Salvation Army by ringing bells at the local Wal-Mart. During the spring numerous members participated in a 5k dog walk fundraiser to assist the Potsdam Humane Society. The chapter’s traditional fundraiser of selling FE review books was also very successful, as


around 75 books were sold, raising approximately $1500. The chapter also had a very successful initiation, and is proud to welcome nineteen new members, (see photo at left) and treated them to a dinner at The Lobster House. Of those new members, newly elected officers are: Christopher Krushinski, president; Scott Berend, vice-president; Margueritte Ngami, secretary; Jacob Earl, mar-shal; Eric Moody, treasurer; and Mark Bayer, associate editor. They replaced outgoing officers: Alexander Hango, president; Hilary Mosher, vice-president; Alyssa Dausman, secretary; Saryn Campbell, marshal; Kyle Imhoff, treasurer;

and Edward Eskew, associate editor.

University of Colorado-Boulder The University of Colorado chapter of Chi Epsilon began spring 2012 by initiating new members and electing all new officers. New officers for the 2012 year are as follows: Nathaniel Lyon, president; Joseph C. Goode III, vice-president; Kelsey J. Petersen, secretary; Stephen F. Jaeger, treasurer; William K. Vague, as-sociate editor; and Annalee G. Collins, marshal. The new officers and members are encouraging new member-ship within the University. The incoming initiates kept the chapter population constant. The officers coordinated the FE exam reviews for the College of Engineering. In the fall, the chapter plans to organize more events and participate in campus affairs outside of the engineering school.

Drexel University During the 2011-2012 academic year, eight new members were initiated into the Drexel University chap-ter of Chi Epsilon in February 2012. The new officer positions held for the 2012-2013 academic year are as follows: Jaclyn M. Raciti, president; Marissa N. Zaporta, vice-president; Tom Ben-David, treasurer; Glenn Santulli, secretary; Andrew King, associate editor; and Jared M. Hurwich, marshal. Prior to the February 2012 induction and new officer installation, the following members held leadership roles during the 2011-2012 academic year: Thomas E. McGrew, president; Steven A. Squibb, vice-president; Jaclyn M. Raciti, treasurer; Jared M. Hurwich, secretary; Marissa N. Zaporta, associate editor; and Jonathan F. Hubler, marshal. Over the last year, the Drexel University chapter of Chi Epsilon explored partnering with AEI or ASCE to start a student-run review session for the fall FE exam. The chapter plans to start up a tutoring pro-gram through Chi Epsilon in the fall and continue increasing campus involvement. Some of the chapter members were able to attend conclave this year and the chapter looks forward to hosting an Order of the Engineer ceremony for Drexel University in the spring of 2012.

University of Evansville During each academic year, the University of Evansville is proud to uphold the great tradition of initiating new members to its local chapter of the prestigious National Civil Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon. On December 6, 2011, four juniors: Max Kitten, Chris Lasley, Dylan Kleemann, and Katelyn Spainhour, and two seniors: Michael Montcalm and Ryan Sisk, were quietly led into a dark room in the UE’s library for their


initiation. New members were asked to uphold their responsibilities, and all agreed respectfully. By the end of the ceremony, the new members expressed their gratitude toward their old mentors and peers for the opportunity to be a part of Chi Epsilon. (see photo at left) On April 9, 2012, the chapter met to elect new officers. The old officers, Gulzat Atymtayeva, president; Jacob Nardulli, vice-president; Trevor Weaver, treasurer; Ricardo Paredes Aronsohn, secretary; and Susan Smith, associate editor and marshal, passed their positions on to the new junior members: Dylan

Kleemann, president; Katelyn Spainhour, vice-president, associate editor, and marshal; Max Kitten, treasurer; and Chris Lasley, secretary. During the academic year of 2011-2012, members of the Chi Epsilon University of Evansville chapter were active in both national and local activities. Our chapter members took leadership roles in our local chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Dylan Kleemann was elected ASCE president while Katelyn Spain-hour was elected ASCE vice-president in December 2011. Ricardo Paredes Aronsohn was ASCE secretary and also co-chair of our annual balsawood bridge building educational community outreach at the local children’s museum. Ricardo Paredes Aronsohn also helped to write the 2011 ASCE Report that resulted in a Certificate of Commendation for our school. In March of 2012, Dylan Kleemann, Ryan Sisk, and Trevor Weaver attended the National Conclave in Los Angeles, bringing back valuable information to the chapter back home.

Florida Institute of Technology The 2011-2012 academic year proved to be a successful one for the Flor-ida Institute of Technology Chi Epsilon chapter with the initiation of eleven new members on February 17th. (see photo at right) The new members are as follows: Zachary John Newman, Jenna Gardner, Alexandra Marie Boggs, Thomas Kit-tenger Fowler, Arturo Roberto Madera, Alvaro Jorge Urcuyo, Neil Anthony Sharp, Deborah Jean Subocz, Fauzi Jarushi, Omar Ali, and Ryan McChesney. To welcome the new members, a social gathering was held immediately after the in-duction ceremony at a local restaurant. The new elected officers are: Zachary John Newman, president; Jenna Gardner, vice-president; Alexandra Marie Boggs, marshal; Thomas Kittenger Fowler, treasurer; Arturo Roberto Madera, secretary; and Alvaro Jorge Urcuyo, assistant editor. In addition to the initiation of our new members, our chapter organized several FE review sessions through-out the month of March and April to help fellow students prepare for the arduous FE exam on April 14th. More-over, several Chi Epsilon members also had active roles within the ASCE chapter serving in areas of leadership and assisting the concrete canoe and steel bridge teams prepare for the 2012 Southeast Student Conference held in Tallahassee, Florida. The Florida Tech chapter congratulates the outgoing members for their hard work and participation to make these activities a success and wishes them all the best in their future endeavors as they continue to serve the engineering profession and their local communities.

George Mason University The George Mason University chapter of Chi Epsilon has completed another exciting year, which included the induction of sixteen new members: Vincenzo Basile, Carlos Flores-Garay, Karim Hafez, Ryan Hunt,


Christian Jamison, Si-On Jung, Burak Kaynak, Samuel Lalego, See Lee, Sean Lindenmuth, Justin Nguyen, Louise Pretzman, Karandeep Saini, Dan-iel Scolese, Sanish Shrestha, and Maribel Wong. (see photo at left) The initia-tion ceremony was held on December 11, 2011. The ceremony consisted of giv-ing the symbolic transit pins to new members, followed by a banquet reception, and bestowing of Chi Epsilon certificates. The inductees have demonstrated out-standing scholastic achievement, academic integrity, and leadership. This group of new initiates brings a wealth of diversity and international experience to the

George Mason University chapter of Chi Epsilon. The new officers for 2012-2013 academic year are: Sean Lindenmuth, president; Carlos Flores-Garay, vice-president; Louise Pretzman, secretary; Karandeep Saini, associate editor; Vincenzo Basile, treasurer; and Sanish Shrestha, marshal.

Georgia Tech University The Georgia Tech chapter of Chi Epsilon has made excellent progress over the past year. Biweekly chapter meetings with guest speakers have helped increase the awareness and involvement of members with the chapter’s activities. A graduate information session involving a panel of graduate students was held to inform undergraduates about the opportunities for continued study or research in graduate school. Each semester, the officers also organized review sessions conducted by faculty for the civil engineering sections of the FE exam. On September 22, with a representative from Atkins North America, members visited the new Maynard H. Jackson, Jr. International Terminal, a re-cently completed project at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic. (see photo at right) Members were able to tour the parking deck, areas for traveler pick-up and drop-off, and the then unfinished terminal. This was an excellent opportunity to learn about the challenges that can arise during the construction of a large-scale project incorpo-rating numerous engineering and construction teams. Officers for the past year were Austin Rowan, president; Paul Son, vice-president; Jerome Sin, secre-tary; Andrew Sills, treasurer; Bradley Dolphyn, associate editor; and Julius Doan, marshal. Three of the in-cumbent officers, Julius Doan, Jerome Sin, and Paul Son, were elected and installed to new positions (treasurer, secretary, and president respectively) for the coming year, fostering a smooth transition for the new leadership team. The new officers are Michael Wong, vice-president; Chris Forehand, associate editor; and Samuel Har-ris, marshal.

University of Houston The University of Houston initiated eleven new members on December 3, 2011. The new initiates were: Ashley K. Camacho, Mamoun Adyel, Francesco T. Bain, Linda L. Quon, Sergio Gonzalez, Samira Sultana, John C. Sanchez, Matthew D. Kelley, Yesiya L. Tjoe, Clemente Turrubiates Jr., and Alfred T. Fails. Be-sides initiation, there was also an installation of new officers: Jaime Lopez, president; Ansley Alexander, vice-president; Matthew D. Kelley, treasurer; John C. Sanchez, secretary; Sergio Gonzalez, associate editor; and Francesco T. Bain, marshal. As new officers were installed, the chapter also said goodbye to previous officers who graduated: Juan Gonzalez and Alejandro Valadez. (see photo at top of next page)


This past academic year, the chapter participated in school events such as the Mexican-American Engineers Association (MAES) Science Extravaganza and the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Alumni Reunion. In the Science Extravaganza, members helped by providing a workshop for groups of middle and high schools students. In these workshops members spoke to them about the civil engineering profession, experiences in school, and the importance of math and physics in our daily lives. Utilizing wooden sticks and glue, mem-bers helped the student groups build small bridges which were later tested for

resistance using bags of sugar as the loading. The CEE reunion took place in October 2011. In this event, the chapter aided by helping organize the event and many members volunteered during the occasion. Our president, Jaime Lopez, and secretary, John Sanchez, went to the Chi Epsilon National Conclave in Los Angeles, California. They brought back new information about Chi Epsilon and new ideas on how to im-prove our chapter and help us grow as an honor society.

University of Iowa The Chi Epsilon chapter from the University of Iowa has had great success in the 2011-2012 school year. The chapter attended a waste sort through the Office of Sustainability, where our members learned about proper ways to recycle and common mistakes people make when garbage is thrown away. Our chapter also held and at-tended many fund raising opportunities including our semi-annual bake sale at the Old Capital Mall, the clean-up of Carver Arena, and many others. The chapter held review sessions for the FE exam for several weeks before the exam. Also, last year’s president, Alex Potter, and vice-president, Ryan Wright, attended the conclave this year in Los Angeles The newly elected officers for the 2012-2013 school year were: Tyler Beduhn, president; Ryan Posluszny, vice-president; Zach Hanson, secretary; Tyler Olson, treasurer; Emery Waterhouse, marshal; and Heidi Ran-schau, associate editor. Professor Rich Valentine will continue to be the faculty advisor. The fall 2011 initiates include: Ian Corbin, John Perkins, Emery Waterhouse, Leonard Larson, Mi-chael Steiff, Ryan Posluszny, Tyler Beduhn, Heidi Ranschau, Qingnan Jiang, and Tyler Olson. There was one spring 2012 initiate, and that was Haowen Xu. It is very exciting to have this new group of not only great engineers but incredible leaders be part of the University of Iowa Chi Epsilon chapter, and all members are looking forward to another successful school year in 2012-2013.

University of Kentucky The Kentucky chapter saw the 2011-2012 academic year as one of change and rededication. Fall initiation welcomed three initiates into the chapter: Mike McHenry, Ann-Marie Harik, and Jonathan Scheibly. These initiates also took offices as president, secretary, and associate editor, respectively. Spring was a more active season for the chapter, with seven students initiated: Kim Bayert, Rachel Adams, Katie Ward, Meridith Renz, Josh Warren, Austin Hart, and Allen Combs. The main theme of the spring meeting reflected the new spirit of activity in the chapter. The president impressed upon the initiates the importance of remaining active in the society, and opened the discussion to them on ways to increase its visibility on campus. New activities also were discussed for Chi Epsilon sponsorship for the Universities’ E-Day for local grade- and high school students. After many years of faithful service, the chapter’s venerable popsicle bridge testing machine has finally fallen into


disrepair. Several alternate contests were put forth, and will be decided upon during the fall 2012 meeting. Fi-nally, the chapter is looking forward to organizing a Habitat for Humanity project with other engineering student organizations in the fall. Dr. Scot Yost continues to serve as faculty advisor as the chapter awaits Dr. Jimmy Fox’s return from sabbatical.

Lamar University 2012 has been exciting times for the Lamar University chapter of Chi Ep-silon. The chapter initiated 5 new members in the fall 2011 initiation (see photo at right) and 8 in the spring 2012 initiation. (see photo at left) The chapter hon-ored Lamar’s longtime Faculty Advisor Dr. Mien Jao during the spring banquet and is looking forward to many years of success with Dr. Qin Qian, newly in-ducted Faculty Advisor. New officers for the 2012/2013 school year are Garret Duhon, president; Andrew Montes, vice-president; Matthew Billiot, treasurer; Andrea Llamas Perez, secretary-editor; and Kharylake Martin, marshal.

The chapter received a special visit from District Councillor Dr. Robert L. Henry, P.E. and outgoing president Dan Colby Howell attended the National Conclave in Los Angeles, California, and was awarded the Southwest District scholarship. The Lamar Chi Epsilon chapter has a history of being involved in the Lamar chapter of the ASCE and the new cabinet will continue that relation-ship. The outgoing administration would like to thank faculty members Dr. Jao, Dr. Yuan, and Dr. Qian for their support and guidance during our time as Chi Epsilon officers.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Chi Epsilon chapter has been involved in many projects during the past school year. In the fall 2011 semester, several of the members, along with the ASCE chapter, volunteered for the Habitat for Humanity house construction on Gillman Road in Lafayette. Also, in the fall 2011 and spring 2012 semesters, Chi Epsilon members presented to high school students visiting the university for Preview Day, a slide show about the Civil Engineering Department as well as the hydraulic jump device and the Civil Engineer-ing laboratories. The fall 2011 Chi Epsilon initiation ceremony occurred on Friday, November 11, 2011, at the Auditorium of Madison Hall on the UL campus, with seven members initiated - four undergraduate students: Clint Simo-neaux, Nicholas Helminger, Jacob Benton, and Todd Maxey, and three graduate students: Scott LeBlanc, Harrison Hymel, and Kazi Sadid. Faculty attending the ceremony included Chapter Advisor Dr. Ehab Me-selhe, Civil Engineering Department Head, Dr. Kenneth McManis, as well as adjunct professors, Mr. E. Ray DesOrmeaux and Mr. Allison “Sonny” Launey, and instructor Jasmine R. Galjour. A reception followed the initiation in the civil engineering student lounge. The fall 2011 officers were: Madeline M. Bodin, president; William D. Fontenot, vice-president; Neil E. Schneider, secretary; and Michael G. Cook, marshal. The spring 2012 Chi Epsilon initiation ceremony occurred on Friday, April 27, 2012, with four initiated members: Karl Castille, Andrew Molitor, Hashim Rizvi, and Rubin Xu. Members in attendance included chapter advisor for 2012, Dr. Mohammad Khattak and 2011 Chi Epsilon president Madeline Bodin who were there to welcome the new initiates. The spring 2012 officers, elected on February 9, 2012, are: Clint Simo-


neaux, president; Neil E. Schneider, vice-president; Nicholas Helminger, trea-surer; Sarah N. Richard, secretary; Charles W. LeBoeuf, associate editor; and Jacob Benton, marshal. (see photo at right) Chi Epsilon and ASCE chapters joined together in organizing the 2012 banquet, which was held on Friday, April 27, 2012, immediately following the spring 2012 initiation at the Petroleum Club in Lafayette. Over seventy students, faculty, and staff from the Civil Engineering Department, as well as profession-als from the area, attended the event. Mr. E. Ray DesOrmeaux was the Master of Ceremonies, incoming ASCE president for 2012-2013 Callie Coulon led the invocation, and Chi Epsilon member Charles W. LeBoeuf commenced the Pledge of Allegiance. The guest speaker, Dr. Kam Movassaghi, president of C.E. Fenstemaker of Lafayette, Louisiana, and former Civil Engineering Department Head, gave an informative presentation on the current state and grade report of Louisiana’s infrastructure for 2012. Also, Dr. Ehab Meshele gave a farewell speech as he departs the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to work on a Hydro-logical project on the Mississippi River. After the speech from Dr. Movassaghi, Civil Engineering Department Head Dr. Kenneth McManis gave a speech on the state of civil engineering and honored Madeline Bodin as the Outstanding Civil Engineering Senior. Chi Epsilon chapter president, Clint Simoneaux, gave a speech on the state of Chi Epsilon, and outgoing 2011-2012 ASCE chapter president, Jacob Benton, gave a speech on the state of the ASCE chapter. The program then continued as Dr. Xiaoduan Sun awarded the departmental scholarships and ASCE and Chi Epsilon presi-dents Jacob Benton and Clint Simoneaux announced the student awards. Also, the department secretary and lab technician were rightly recognized for their endless dedication in their hidden jobs. Incoming ASCE chapter vice-president for 2012-2013, Rachel Fradella, closed the evening with a benediction and thanksgiving.

University of Louisville The University of Louisville Chi Epsilon chapter was hard at work this year making improvements and boosting its image on campus. The chapter attended the bi-annual conclave, offered free tutoring to other stu-dents, and participated in joint social functions with the ASCE chapter. Matt Holthaus, a member of our chapter, attended the conclave in Los Angeles this year. Mr. Holthaus was part of the Cumberland District which participated in the bi-annual conclave competition and won. The Cumberland District group also took first overall in the exhibit competition. Many students took advantage of the free tutoring offered by the Chi Epsilon members. Most of the stu-dents saw improvements in their grades, which was very rewarding for all members of Chi Epsilon associated with the tutoring service.

This year we also tried to do more activities as a group outside of school. Chi Epsilon joined up with the University of Louisville ASCE chapter to partici-pate in laser tag, bowling night, and a graduation party. The chapter also increased its membership by nine members this year. (see photo at left) This is thanks to our president Carrie Hay preaching the presti-gious significance of this organization to the incoming potential members. Overall it was a good year for the University of Louisville Chi Epsilon chapter. The new officers of the chapter are highly competent individuals that are

jointly interested in seeing Chi Epsilon continue to grow and be recognized as the most prestigious honor a civil engineer can achieve.


Manhattan College On November 11, 2011, the Manhattan College chapter held its new member initiation for the 2011-2012 academic year. The outgoing officers are as follows: Jose Tejeda, president; Marisa Chee, vice-president; Jeffery Benitez, treasurer; Gillian Carzzarella, secretary; Joseph Saunders, associate editor; and Raymond Aleman, marshal. The new chapter officers are: Anthony Coppola, president; Stephen Cole-Hatchard, vice-president; Gianpiero Carovillano, treasurer; Alberto Merganto, associate editor; and Steven Lotti, marshal. This year the members wanted to make sure to give back to others. It has been instilled in members from our department that it’s important to not only become good engineers but to become great human beings. The members decided to collect donations from the students and faculty of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Manhattan College. The chapter was able to raise a little over one-thousand dollars. The chapter chose to donate the money to Hour Children located in Long Island City, New York. The organization assists incarcerated women in making the transition back to society. Members actually had the opportunity to go out there and meet them in person. The women enrolled in the program have great success stories. The program gives them the opportunity to develop themselves professionally and personally before heading out on their own. Also, it allows their children to stay with them in housing provided by the organization, and the children are able to attend school nearby. It was really great to see such an empowering, family program. The chapter also participated in weekend community service events with the Association to Benefit Chil-dren. Students from the chapter traveled to Harlem, New York on a few weekends throughout the school year to spend time and befriend some of the thousands of NYC’s underprivileged and impoverished children. The chap-ter hopes that by donating it will help make others people’s lives better if even only a little bit, and ultimately, it will inspire others and our student members to do good and give back. The chapter has successfully executed the pillars of scholarship this year through tutoring. Every member of the chapter was required to tutor for two hours every week. This service was available to every civil engineer-ing student at Manhattan College. Each tutor was required to teach in any subject in which the student needed help. It not only allows members to give back to the students here, but it also allows for intellectual exchange to become better engineers. The chapter also took a trip to the top of the George Washington Bridge for a tour. The officers and other members of the chapter who attended the trip were given an extensive history of the bridge as well as the many engineering specifications of the bridge. Members were also provided with a tour of the bridge’s towers. The membership feels that it is important to actually go out into the world and see the impact engineers have on soci-ety. Also, it allows one to get a feel for the applications of our field and experience what it is like to work in this industry. Next year, the members look forward to the chapter continuing to stay involved in activities both on and off campus, and to never forget the pillars of Chi Epsilon as they remind individuals to be both great engineers and human beings.

Marquette University The 2010-2011 academic year was a great year for the Marquette University chapter of Chi Epsilon. The newly elected officers included Aaron Schneider, president; Mitchell Hansen, vice-president; Sara Marciniak, secretary; Sara Zongolowicz, treasurer; Patrick Barnhouse, associate editor; and Michael Pirlott, marshal. During the fall semester, seven new students were initiated. These included Kevin Berg, Phillip Ceratto, Taylor Kegley, Michael Kren, Timothy Lewis, Javier Porras, and Andrew Tracy. After the fall initiation, dinner and socializing were enjoyed at a local restaurant. In the spring semester, a second initiation included five new students: Ryan Mahoney, Kerry McBride,


Liam Sawyer, Yutian Sun, and Rebecca Sutton. After this initiation, a night out to meet the new initiates was enjoyed with tailgate festivities and a Milwau-kee Brewers baseball game. (see photo at right) Throughout the spring semester, the members of Chi Epsilon also got together to have some fun and practice their bowling skills at the campus bowling alley. The spring semester ended with teaming up with the Marquette University chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers to attend a university-wide service event - Hunger Clean-Up. (see pho-

to at left) At Hunger Clean-Up, students spent the morning picking up trash along a Milwaukee road. We were also represented at the 2012 National Conclave in Los Angeles, California by two of our officers, Sara Marciniak and Sara Zongolowicz. At the conclave, we were awarded the Susan C. Brown Outstanding Performance Award for the second year in a row. Many of the active members of the chapter also volunteered their time and energy to help the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University with the College of Engineering Open House.

University of Maryland Members from the Chi Epsilon chapter at the University of Maryland took part in two exciting design challenges this year. These were the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge competitions. The canoe team took third place, continuing a tradition of excellence from past university teams. The bridge team also managed to take third place, marking the university’s return to the competition with pride. (see photo at right) Smaller events included student-faculty bowling and second place in the Alumni Cup competition. Fall 2011 saw the initiation of an impressive 30 members, as well as the elevation to Chapter Honor Mem-ber of Dr. Donald Vannoy. This marked the first elevation by the chapter in many years. Spring 2012 saw an additional eight members initiated, and the elevation of Dr. Richard McCuen. Our chapter was lead by president Maria Martello in fall 2011, Brett Jacobs in spring 2012, and Katie O’Brien in fall 2012. Assisting each was vice-presidents Shana Weisberg in fall 2011 and Kevin Fries since spring 2012. Finances were managed by treasurer Seth Greenberg during the 2011 academic year and currently by Ben Senio. Marshal duties were upheld by Gibran Abifadel until Amanda Boehmlein took them up in fall 2012. Fall 2011 secretary was Dan Nolan, and since then the position has been occupied by Laken Ensor. The web master and associate editor position was held since fall 2011 by Jeremy Bowers, until it was taken up by Chris Binkley.

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst chapter grew this year with initiation of 17 new members this past December. In the spring, the chapter organized FE Review sessions to help fellow CEE students prep for the gruesome exam. Organization of the sessions included coordinating times and locations for professors to give a review on the various topics tested in the FE. Along with the review sessions Chi Epsilon was also responsible for course evaluations held at the end of the semester. Members delivered and distributed the evaluations to


classrooms. These evaluations are used to provide feedback to the engineering staff and professors on the class so that the department can continue to grow and excel. As the officers this year were all graduating seniors, elections were held to find members to take on the leadership roles. The chapter would like to commend our outgoing 2011-2012 officers for their efforts over the past year: Nico Rossi, president; Jahan Kahlili, vice-president; Marc Frenandez, secretary; David Brehaut, treasurer; William Duane, marshal; and Shelby Basel, associate editor. We extend our congratulations to our new officers for the 2012-2013 academic year: Andrew Gradeski, president; Tyler Swift, vice-president; Zhiren Zhu, secretary; Christina Dube, treasurer; Derek Roach, marshal; and Gabriel Carmona, associate editor.

University of Miami The 2011-2012 academic year saw the University of Miami chapter continue towards its goal of becom-ing the most recognized and prestigious honor society at the University. This year the chapter once again served the College of Engineering community in new and valuable ways. Every student society is only as good as the members that constitute its chapter so it is with great excitement that we initiated a new group of members. For the first time at University of Miami, Chi Epsilon included graduates students in our class of initi-ates. We were honored to initiate into the society: Janelle Chaviano, Yifan Zhang, Damon Campbell, Mat-teo Di Benedetti, Laura Balboni, Eric Antmann, Steven Verbovsky, Diana Arboleda, Tianjiao Guo, Victor Chavez, Sabina Rakhimbekova, Matt Kowalski, and Yading Dai. We eagerly anticipate facilitating these exceptional students’ growth in the Civil Engineering profession and are excited about the contributions they will surely make to our chapter. As another school year winds down the members sadly bid adieu to graduating seniors. To the graduates: John Plackemeier, Allison Korth, Kevin Schwartz, Steven Schuering, Michaela Walker, Brad Piechoski, Christopher Gotschall, Wael Al Thuwaini, and Patricia Barreiro, the chapter would like to wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors and thank them greatly for the way they have helped shape the chapter and make it what it is today. The chapter would also like to recognize the officers who served faithfully this year: John Plackemeier, president; Allison Korth, vice-president; Kevin Schwartz, treasurer; Zahra Karim, secretary; Henry Kreh, associate editor; and Ryan Goolabsingh, marshal. The installed officers for 2012-2013 will be: Zahra Karim, president; Wyatt Krapf, vice-president; Kim McDonald, treasurer; Caitlin Lundell, secretary; Melissa Barona, associate editor; and Henry Kreh, marshal. This year the chapter continued two established partnerships with the College of Engineering. The mem-bers once again reached out to freshmen to provide tutoring services as well as come alongside to provide a model of a successful engineering student. Also the department again privileged the society by choosing to hire Chi Epsilon members as homework-graders for select freshman classes. This is a mutually beneficial partnership that is hoped to continue for semesters to come. A new way in which members served the engineering community was by beautifying the college. Years ago the CAE department had installed an elaborate sculpture that portrayed the complexities of engineering by intertwining multiple structural elements. This statue was set on a platform surrounded by a railing that was in need of a makeover. Chi Epsilon oversaw the cleaning and repainting of this railing as well as a much needed cleaning of the platform. The chapter continues to look to serve the college and university as a whole in new and innovative ways.


Michigan State University The Chi Epsilon chapter at Michigan State University (MSU) was pleased to initiate 17 new members on November 20, 2011, and 5 new members on April 15, 2012. All initiates posses the esteemed qualities neces-

sary for Chi Epsilon membership. The fall semester initiates are: Alex Blehm, Scott Crichton, Zachary Danks, Michael D’Orazio, Chloe Grabowski, Chad Homuth, Yishi Huang, Michael Krcmarik, Paul Larios, Renee Lynde, Ryan McQuigg, Nicholas Nelson, Luke Prudhomme, Ross Simons, Gregory Siv-iy, Emily Sokol, and Karen Wood. The spring semester initiates are: Jacob Armour, Ryan Graham, Samuel Jablonowski, Jack Potterack, and Ziwei Zhong. (see photo at left) The current members extend congratulations to the new initiates.

The MSU chapter of Chi Epsilon held its bi-annual book sale as a fundraiser. The chapter members would like to thank the MSU faculty and staff who donated the books that were sold. In the fall semester, Chi Epsilon members also volunteered to help Dr. John Shinsky revise AutoCAD renderings of The City of Children of Mata-moros AC, Mexico. Chi Epsilon officers also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing Giving Tree, and provided maintenance of the civil and environmental engineering trophy case. This year, the MSU chapter sent Erik Easterly, along with the District Counselor from MSU, Dr. Thomas Wolff, to the Chi Epsilon National Conclave in Los Angeles, California. During the fall semester initiation, Karen Wood was elected to Student Engineering Council Represen-tative as a new initiate. The chapter recognized Alex Russeau as its only outgoing officer and wished him suc-cess. During the spring semester initiation, the chapter elected four new officers: Erik Easterly, president; Joe Gorman, vice-president; Danielle Walley, secretary; and Jack Potterack, associate editor. Ashley Roberts will remain treasurer, and James Rice will remain the marshal. The chapter bids farewell to outgoing officers Chris-topher Dean and Jun Deng and wishes them success for the future. This year, the annual Conrad Award was proudly awarded to Ross Simons due to his outstanding scho-lastic achievement. Also, Michael Krcmarik was selected to receive the NTH Consultants scholarship due to his demonstration of adherence to the principles of Chi Epsilon. Congratulations are extended to each of them as well as Christopher Dean, the outgoing president of the MSU Chi Epsilon chapter, who received the Chi Epsilon National Scholarship. The chapter would like to thank our faculty advisor, Dr. Gilbert Y. Baladi, for another year of service and guidance.

University of Mississippi During the 2011-2012 school year, the University of Mississippi’s Chi Epsilon chapter welcomed 13 new undergraduate members who participated in the chapter’s initiation ceremony on April 27, 2012. (see photo at right) Those members are Mr. James B. Haas, Mr. Dustin W. Culver, Mr. Corey A. Hamil, Mr. John C. Williams, Mr. James C. Peden, Mr. William R. Shaw, Ms. Dan-ielle C. Usner, Mr. Gary L. Bell, Mr. Steven B. Worley, Ms. Rachel E. Tutor, Mr. Blake O. Armstrong, Mr. Nathan L. White, and Mr. Charles S. Jenkins. The members and initiates have been very active with ASCE for the Deep South Conference Competition. The new initiates helped on both the concrete canoe and the steel bridge for the compe-tition. Other service activities were Habitat for Humanity and traffic counting for campus transportation improve-ments. Dr. Cristiane Surbeck continued to serve as the chapter’s faculty advisor. The newly elected officers


for the 2012-2013 academic year are as follows: Kasey Mauney, president; Dustin Culver, vice-president; Ra-chel Tutor, secretary; Danielle Usner, treasurer; Blake Armstrong, associate editor; and Gary Bell, marshal. In March 2012, Michael Gresham, president; Blake Kirby, associate editor, and Kasey Mauney travelled to Los Angeles for the 42nd National Chi Epsilon Conclave hosted by the Pacific District. Michael Gresham served under the Audit committee and Blake Kirby and Kasey Mauney served under the Budget committee.

University of Missouri-Columbia In the fall semester of 2011, the University of Missouri-Columbia chapter initiated 6 new members into Chi Epsilon: Scott Myers, Tyler Horn, Eric Trupiano, William Omatsone, Eric Lindsey, and Austin Ratzki. The fall semester initiation was held on Thursday, December 1st, in Lafferre Hall. The officers for the semester were Alicia Thater, president; William Shoemaker, vice-president; Emily Boehm, marshal; Audrey Freiberg-er, associate editor; Elizabeth Mayfield, secretary; and Joe Gilliam, treasurer. The faculty advisor is Carlos Sun. In the spring semester of 2012, the chapter initiated 18 new members: Stephen Amburn, Matthew Barnes, Igor Caus, Chris Chastain, Emily Cole, Michael DeMand, Zachary Fallert, Kevin Gribble, Bryan Kemper, David Koenig, Ryan Lidholm, Kyle Miller, Allison Morris, Paul Reimnitz, Kristen Reynolds, Spencer Robinson, Jake Shaw, and Zachary Treece. The spring semester initiation was held on Monday, April 16, in Lafferre Hall on the University of Missouri campus. The officers for the semester were Emily Boehm, president; Will Shoemaker, vice-president; Elizabeth Mayfield, marshal; Audrey Freiberger, associate editor; Jessica Bales, secretary; and Austin Ratzki, treasurer. The new officers for the next semester were elected at the initiation to be Elizabeth Mayfield, president; Eric Trupiano, vice-president; Jessica Bales, marshal; William Omatsone, secretary; Allison Morris, associate editor; and Austin Ratzki, treasurer. At the dinner following initiation, David Koenig won the best transit award. In both of the semesters, the semi-annual trash collection was held along Providence Road on Sunday, October 16, and Sunday, April 15. The trash collection is a part of Missouri’s Adopt-a-Highway program.

University of Missouri-Kansas City The fall 2011 induction ceremony of 5 juniors and 2 seniors took place on December 1st. Initiates from the junior class were: Vance Chambers, Taylor Christmas, Justin Daugherty, Meagan Malloy, and Colin Pennington. Kingsley Kantanka and Dan Sparks were inducted from the senior class. In spring 2012, the UMKC chapter participated in a community service day for Habitat for Humanity. Spring induction was held on April 27th with the additions of Josh Arnold, Nicholas Borchert, Ryan Holmes, and Jason Regina from the junior class and Daniel Mann from the senior class. With seniors graduating and moving on in life, the UMKC chapter saw the exit of officers: Nathan Grahl, president; David Petree, vice-president; Kyle Dunning, secretary; Isaac Somogie, treasurer; Ryan Harbaugh, marshal; and Nathaniel Wood, associate editor. The induction ceremony concluded with the installation of the following new officers: Taylor Christmas, president; Justin Daugherty, vice-president; Jason Regina, secretary; Nicholas Borchert, trea-surer; Meagan Malloy, marshal; and Josh Arnold, associate editor. The chapter is looking forward to new adventures in the coming year and to those who are fortunate enough to be new initiates in this year’s Chi Epsilon class.


Montana State University The Montana State University chapter of Chi Epsilon (MSU chapter) has enjoyed serving fellow students

and community over the past year. While members always strive for strong stu-dent involvement, it was decided to reach out to two respected faculty members this spring. Members are excited to announce that Dr. Jerry Stephens was inducted to our chapter as a Chapter Honor Member and Dr. Mike Berry was inducted as a Faculty Member. Both professors play a large role in the Civil Engineering Department, and it is exciting to have them join the group. Along with these gentlemen were inducted eleven new members this year. (see photo at left-spring initiates)

The chapter is well known for providing fellow engineering students with free weekly tutoring in engi-neering mechanics courses and running review sessions for the FE exam. To compliment this, the chapter sells review manuals for the FE as one major fundraiser each semester. The chapter also encourages members to volunteer for various events for the community. This year, members helped with MATH COUNTS and the Lego League Robotics tournament, both great events designed for younger kids in the community to get excited about science and math. Members helped with the Engineer-A-Thon, a program that encourages engineering among middle school students. The chapter also hosted numerous gatherings for members to get to know each other and accomplish chapter goals. All activities were coordinated with a strong officer team led by the motivated president Michael McKenzie. The rest of the team consisted of Ian Fleming, vice-president; Cooper Krause, secretary; Tim White, treasurer; Jon Lovgren, associate editor; and Kyle Palagi, marshal. The upcoming 2012-2013 year will have a fresh start with a change in leadership. Tim Kienitz will take over as president with the following crew: Aubrey Yerger (Laine), vice-pres-ident; Tyler Hessler, marshal; Brady Lassila, associate editor; Kevin Marsh, treasurer; and Cooper Krause will remain secretary. (see photo at right)

New Mexico State UniversityChapter Officers

The officers for fall 2011 were: Pietre Hamblin-Hatchell, president; Ra-chelle Mason, vice-president; Tamara Cortez, treasurer; Kimberly Lyons, secretary; Amber Trujillo, associate editor; and Theresa Aragon, marshal. The officers for spring 2012 were: Isaac Harder, president; Devon Gijsbers, vice-president; Lucas Guaderama, treasurer; Amber Trujillo, secretary; Callie French, associate editor; and Theresa Aragon, marshal. (see photo at left)Community Service and Fundraising Last fall, members and initiates participated in the annual highway cleanup

picking up the garbage that has accumulated throughout the year on the adopt-a-highway section. Following the highway cleanup, members attended the smoker, which allows initiates to get to know all Chi Epsilon members as well as get their blue books signed and have a chance to make their pole for the following week. The initiate project for this semester consisted of all initiates brainstorming on a rough draft remodel for the civil engineering courtyard. Ideas were gathered and two options were planned out and presented at the end of the year banquet by all initiates.


Fundraising for the fall semester was a survey on behalf of the City of Las Cruces utilities department. Members were spread throughout Las Cruces locations prepared with surveys for anyone who had service with the City of Las Cruces. The survey was a huge success. In the spring, the on-campus community service consisted of volunteering for the Southern New Mexico MathCounts Competition for middle school students from the area, who competed individually and in teams to test their math skills. Chi Epsilon members volunteered to help grade and proctor the tests. Also, Chi Epsilon members served lunches to Las Cruces citizens taking the FE and PE tests in the spring. In addition to these ser-vices, members of Chi Epsilon donated their time at the local Earth Day festivities. During the festivities mem-bers set up the site, donated time for children’s activities, and informed guests about recycling and community involvement. For fundraising in the spring, Chi Epsilon sought out donations for a Poker Bike Ride which would have involved southern New Mexico. However, due to extenuating circumstances the event was postponed. The event was met with great support, and all the members and community are extremely excited about the prospect of the event. Chapter Honor Members The chapter initiated Miss Jeanette A. Walther, P.E., P.T.O.E., M. ASCE who is a graduate of the Uni-versity of Illinois with a bachelor’s in civil engineering (1984) and a Master of Science (1985). Working as a consultant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory for 21 years, Ms. Walther has now been an employee for Bohannan Huston Inc. in Albuquerque, N.M. as a design engineer and project manager in the field of Traffic and Transportation for the past 16 years. She is currently the president of the New Mexico Section of ASCE, where she has served as the president of the Albuquerque Branch, and director, vice-president and president-elect for the New Mexico section. She has also served on the steering committee for the 2005 New Mexico Infrastructure Report Card. In spring 2012, the chapter elevated Dr. Adrian Hanson to Chapter Honor Member. Dr. Hanson gradu-ated with a B.S.C.E in 1976 with a B.S. in Mathematics from Mankato State University. He also graduated with a B.E. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1979. Dr. Hanson received his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1981 and his Ph.D. in Sanitary Engi-neer ing from Iowa State University in 1989. Dr. Hanson joined New Mexico State University as a professor of environmental engineering in 1989 after the completion of his sanitary engineering studies. Dr. Hanson has been involved in chemical/ physical treatment, environmental and hazardous waste, introductory water and wastewater engineering, capstone designs, and, most recently, served as interim department head for the Department of Civil Engineering. Dr. Hanson is a published engineer and practicing engineer who enjoys his life as an engineer and, also, his life as a devoted husband and father who has added greatly to the profession of civil engineering and the engineering studies of countless students at NMSU.Banquets and Awards The annual fall banquet was a huge success. Held at Lorenzo’s restaurant in Old Mesilla, New Mexico. Like all end of the year banquets, it was in hon-or of new initiates and graduating seniors. (see photo at right) The NMSU-Chi Epsilon Chapter Endowed Scholarship went to vice-president Rachelle Mason. Kimberly Lyons was awarded the Conrad G. Keyes scholarship by Mr. Conrad Keyes himself, who established the scholarship in 1993. The spring banquet was also well attended and was held at the clubhouse of New Mexico State Univer-sity’s championship golf course in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The NMSU-Chi Epsilon Chapter Endowed Scholar-ships were presented to Amber Trujillo (outgoing secretary) and Callie French (outgoing associate editor). The 2010-2011 Faculty of the Year Award for the Civil Engineering Department was presented to the Dr. Bradley Weldon who is also the incoming chapter Faculty Advisor. Outgoing Faculty Advisor, Dr. Paola Bandini, was awarded the National Arthur N.L. Chiu Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award at the 2012 Conclave.


New Jersey Institute of Technology In the spring 2012, the NJIT Chi Epsilon chapter held their spring initiation for new members. (see photo at left) The members initiated included: Brian Bansrupan, Elizabeth DeCarlo, Anthony DeZenzo, Muhammad Elgammal, Tyler Golz, Thomas Hercel, Muhammad Qasim Khan, Nidhi Manchery, Zachary Marinelli, William Pennock III, Jennifer Ramos, Daniel Sehnal, Timothy Straut, Christopher Vander Fliet, Jessica Weber, Thomas Wood, Immanuel Sunga, Amer Hamad, and Jarad Armena. Officers for the 2012-2013 academic year were also elected. The officers

elected include: Thomas Wood, president; Elizabeth DeCarlo, vice-president; Muhammad Qasimm Khan, secretary; Brian Bansrupan, associate editor; Christopher Vander Fliet, treasurer; and Immanuel Sunga, mar-shal.

Northeastern University The Northeastern University chapter of Chi Epsilon has continued its strong presence during the 2011-2012 academic year, with a significant increase in membership and active involvement of its members both inside and outside of the classroom. This year also marks the first year with Dr. Luca Caracoglia as Faculty Advisor, who has served as a dedicated mentor and leader. This past year, Chi Epsilon offered a diverse tutoring service to fellow undergraduate peers in civil engi-neering at Northeastern. Throughout the fall and spring semesters, members of the chapter served as pro-bono tutors and covered topics including Statics and Strength of Materials, Structural Analysis 1, Fluid Mechanics, Soil Mechanics, and Concrete Design, and also conducted general open office periods intended to reinforce specific concepts that are at the core of the civil engineering curriculum. This service greatly benefited many students in the program and was well received by both the students who frequented it and the department faculty. Chi Epsilon also organized its semi-annual FE review sessions. In order to prepare for the October and April exams, chapter members arranged for civil engineering faculty to instruct evening review sessions in civil subjects including Soil Mechanics, Materials, Surveying, Transportation and Highway Design, Hydrology, Fluid Mechanics, Environmental Engineering, Steel Design, Probability and Engineering Economy, Differential Equa-tions, and Construction Management. Students found the review sessions extremely helpful and accommodating, so this tradition will be sure to continue into the future. This year, our Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Northeastern, Dr. Jerome Hajjar, continued to provide his Graduate School Information Sessions for undergraduates. Once per semester, a discussion is held that offers a perspective on the graduate school application process, degree programs, grant applications, and career connectivity. A new addition to the sessions was a graduate student panel representing all fields of civil engineering, where questions could be answered in a discussion-type setting. Students who attended the sessions were extremely impressed, having indicated that the combination of student and faculty perspectives was informative and insightful. For the third year in a row, the Northeastern University Chi Epsilon chap-ter was very excited to give back to the local community to help fight hunger through the Boston CANstruction competition, held on October 15, 2011. This year’s 2,568 can structure, titled “Costa Rican Red-Eyed Tree Frog,” which won Honorable Mention, consisted of a green frog on all four legs, appearing as if it was about to leap off of a lily pad or slurp up a bug with its tongue. (see photo at right) The design, which was constructed and displayed at the Design Center in


Boston’s Waterfront District, helped raise awareness of food shortages around Boston food banks and was eventu-ally donated to charity. The challenge teaches students valuable engineering concepts like structural capability, constructability, material estimates, and cost analysis, while also benefiting others through the food donation. The chapter also received a generous donation from Northeastern’s Richard Scranton Fund, which honors the long-time Northeastern University civil engineering professor. This award will be used to fund and encourage this year’s, as well as future years’, CANstruction projects. In March 2012, two younger members, Andrew Childs and Sarah Keenan, attended the Chi Epsilon National Conclave in Los Angeles, California. Northeastern University also represented the University of Rhode Island at the conference. Our two members attended workshops on chapter administration, initiation, fundraising, and Chi Epsilon policy on a national and regional level and brought the information back, which will greatly aid in running the Northeastern chapter.

The annual initiation ceremony was held on March 24, 2012, with great success in front of many parents, faculty, and current XE members and alumni. (see photo at left) The day included the initiation of 27 new members, an increase from last year, and a barbecue, which served to celebrate the successes of the new initiates and current members and foster further member participation. The initiation was lauded by parents and faculty for its professionalism and meaning-fulness. The newly initiated members are Charlotte Alger, Brian Beck, Rosibel

Blandin, Haig Bogossian, Stephanie Burger, Caitlin Candee, Domenic Capulli, Elizabeth Cherchia, Moises Cohen, Patrick Finnell, Samual Gartner Feuerberg, Daniel Gray, Saif Jassam, Jennifer Judge, Michael Littman, Jessica Lizza, Matthew McLachlan, Stephen Meuse, Atticus Mulholland, Rafic Mushantaf, Jessy-ca Olkowski, Kevin Rathbun, Spencer Roth, Frank Xia, Qingqing You, Camille Youngberg, and Kwun Lok Yu. In May, the chapter also saw the graduation of five of its former officers: Keith Hall, Alexis Holmdal, Alexander Fagnand, Kristen Blackbird, and Al-exandra Reiff. (see photo at right) The chapter thanks them and all the other graduating members of Chi Epsilon, as they now become alumni, for their com-mitment to the chapter and wishes them all the best of luck in future endeavors.Many current officers have risen to higher positions in the coming year, and a significant number of younger members have also joined with officer roles, which will allow for a streamlined transition of leadership. The new officers installed for the 2012-2013 academic year are as follows: Andrew Childs, president; Kathleen Keen, vice-president; Sarah Keenan, secretary; Rochelle Willis, treasurer; Frank Xia, associate editor; Steve Earl, marshal; Michael Littman, program coordinator; Conor Murphy and Stepha-nie Burger, CANstruction coordinators; Insiyah Lightwala, fundraising committee chair; and Jessica Lizza, webmaster. To meet the growing success and desire for involvement in CANstruction, the number of coordinators was increased to two. Looking ahead, the Northeastern chapter intends to continue its solid involvement and growth. New activities intend to expand the group on all horizons and include: exploring the possibility of hosting upcoming CANstruction competitions on campus, holding training sessions in CAD and other engineering software, hosting general review sessions for the FE in addition to the civil-specific offerings, using the information and techniques garnered from the sessions at the National Conclave to improve leadership and administration, fostering greater group cohesion through social gatherings and community service events, and exploring more avenues to reach out and support the community and encourage engineering as a profession. Members eagerly await many more successful years to come.


University of Notre Dame The Notre Dame Chi Epsilon chapter was very busy during the 2012-2013 school year. This year the chapter sent two representatives, President – Eric Herbert and Advisor – Dr. Tracy Kijewski-Correa, to the 42nd National Conclave held at LAX. The group was awarded the Susan C. Brown Outstanding Chapter Performance Award this year as a result of Notre Dame Chi Epsilon chapter’s dedication to excellence in following administra-tive procedures. Serving the pillar of Sociability, this year the Chi Epsilon chapter collaborated with Notre Dame’s ASCE student chapter to host a Student-Faculty Putt-Putt miniature golf outing. This event allowed students to meet and get-together with other students and faculty in a relaxed atmosphere. Chi Epsilon also hosted a study break during the fall semester final exam study period for engineering students to take some relaxing time away from

studying and eat some nourishing snacks. The Notre Dame Chi Epsilon chapter is also providing graduating seniors with an opportunity to purchase senior class steins as a kind memento. Furthermore, Chi Epsilon at Notre Dame, dedicated to service, supported the fundraising efforts of another student group on campus, ND SEED, which works to build bridges in developing countries. This year the ND SEED group is constructing a bridge in Nicaragua that will connect a com-munity of 500 families, which is isolated from essential food, medicine, and other needs, each October during flooding from heavy rains. (see photo at left)

The Notre Dame Chi Epsilon members earned some great honors and awards during this past year. Jona-thon Pfrommer earned the Indiana Fabricators Association Scholarship. Eric Herbert was a finalist in the SOM Foundation Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship and earned the Moles Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding students working in the heavy construction industry. Furthermore, many of our members success-fully competed in the ASCE Great Lakes Regional Conference, which was held at Bradley University. Students competed in every competition at the conference including Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe. New member, Andrew Bartolini, won first place in the Technical Paper Competition with his paper on post-quake recovery in Haiti. The chapter’s year concluded with the April 29th induction of 14 new student members and 3 new faculty members and the installation of new chapter officers. (see photo at right) We were honored to have District Councillor Dr. Thomas Wolff and his wife join us for this festive occasion.

Pennsylvania State University During the 2011-2012 academic year, the Penn State chapter of Chi Epsilon initiated 25 new members. The fall initiation was held on December 1, 2011, at the Atherton Hotel in State College, inducting 21 new mem-bers. Those initiated included: Christopher Bell, Nicholas Buban, James Dell, Joshua Durbin, Cristina Garzozi, Thomas Geeza, Ryan Jones, Mark Keller, Kristy Lipp, Daniel Martin, Danine McCarthy, Steven Nath, Michael Pettit, Trevor Rabare, Adam Rom, Thomas Ross, Josh Scanlon, Eric Simmons, Ryane Sul-livan, Lindsay Vogel, and Seth Watson. The initiation ceremony was followed by dinner and a speech by Dr. Stephanie Velegol, a professor specializing in Environmental Engineering. Dr. Velegol spoke about her research on the Moringa tree and how the seeds from the tree can be used to clean water. The spring semester initiation was held on April 17, 2012, at the Atherton Hotel in State College, inducting 4 new members. Those initiated included: Will Aldom, Derek Dick, Ethan Skrzypek, and Jordon Weber.


The initiation ceremony was followed by dinner and a speech by Dr. Michael Gooseff, a professor specializing in hydroecology. Dr. Gooseff spoke about the various directions one can go with a degree in civil and environ-mental Engineering and how he used his degree to pursue research in Alaska and Antartica. The chapter is pleased to congratulate this year’s president, Matthew Garver, who was honored with the Metropolitan District Chi Epsilon Scholarship. Chi Epsilon members continued to host high school visitors touring the department with their families throughout the school year. This past year there were approximately seventy student and family combinations that benefitted from the visits. Chi Epsilon members presented activities within the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department to the Industrial and Professional Advisory Commit-tee on March 21, 2012. Chi Epsilon also arranged the review sessions for the FE exam, successfully scheduling faculty support for review problem sessions prior to both the fall and spring FE exams. In addition, the chapter facilitated making review manuals for the FE exam available at a discount to students leading up to both exams. New officers for the upcoming academic year were also inducted: Jeffrey Gooch, president; Benjamin Kutz, vice-president; Danine McCarthy, secretary; James Dell, treasurer; Trevor Rabare, marshal; and Thom-as Ross, associate editor. The entire Penn State chapter would like to wish the outgoing officers all the best as they pursue their futures beyond graduation and thank them for a wonderful year.

Rice University The 2011-2012 Rice University chapter of Chi Epsilon was led by officers: Dan Sloat, president; Peter Fobel, vice-president; Luke Zhou, treasurer; Becca Jaffe, secretary; Cecilia Petterson, associate editor; and John Nosek, marshal. The officers met for the first time in September to plan out activities for the year. In this meeting an idea for a Civil and Environmental Engineering course map was discussed and a running log/pamphlet of student experiences as well. Recruiting, initiation, and a general meeting schedule were also set up. In January, the team met to discuss scholastically eligible candidates for the 2012-2013 year and to evalu-ate the booklet of experiences. Additionally, Dan Sloat, Peter Fobel, and Luke Zhou met with our Chi Epsilon District Councillor Robert Henry for dinner in Houston to discuss moving the initiation ceremony to the fall in the future. The spring conclave was also discussed and plans to attend were arranged. Throughout the year, Chi Epsilon officers met with professors and other senior civil and environmental engineering majors to gather input on information to include in the planned coarse map. Similarly, a survey was created and distributed to all Chi Epsilon members at Rice University to gather information about personal academic and professional experiences in the fields of civil and environmental engineering. The survey results were compiled into a booklet in December and distributed over the CEE listserv. Hard copies were also left in the department office for advising purposes. The 42nd National Conclave was attended by Dan Sloat as the Rice delegate and communications com-mittee member. Luke Zhou also attended as part of the budget committee and as a proxy delegate for Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas which wasn’t able to send a representative. In April of 2012, six new members of the rising senior class were initiated and officer elections were held. The current faculty advisor, Dr. Satish Nagarajaiah, expressed at this time his desire to step down from his position. He nominated candidate Dr. Leonardo Duenas Osorio, a Rice University civil and environmental engineering professor who teaches courses in the area of urban infrastructure and risk analysis, in his place. Dr. Duenas Osorio has agreed to the nomination and will be initiated along with the next round of student candi-dates and officially take over faculty advisor duties for the 2012-2013 school year.


San Diego State University Over the past year chapter members have worked hard to make Chi Epsilon an organization students as-pire to join and become a part of. Through social events, community service, fundraisers and weekly study hours, members have pursued a lifestyle fitting the four pillars.Fall 2011: - National Conclave Planning: By far the most important task worked on during this time period was preparing for the 42nd National Conclave which was held by the Pacific District in Los Angeles this past March. Preliminary planning began in the early summer months and continued throughout the semester, this work was eventually passed along to the spring 2012 officers who put it into action.

- Joint Social Events: In the beginning of the semester, the AESC (Associ-ated Engineering Student Council) put together an all encompassing engineering student tailgate before an Aztec Football game. Chi Epsilon proudly was a part of it and it was a great bonding experience with other organizations. (see photo at left) Following the Engineering Tailgate, the chapter held a joint Dave and Bust-ers night with fellow engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi. - Chapter Honor Member: Another accomplishment during fall 2011 was getting our Chapter Honor Member approval for Jeremy Clemmons. His pas-

sion for Chi Epsilon and the profession of engineering is something all of our members appreciate and take to heart. - Fundraising: In the fall, we brought back one of our favorite forms of fundraising, our GO GEEK San Diego State Engineering shirts. They are a great product because they can be marketed to all engineering majors. (see photo at right)Spring 2012: - National Conclave: Members helped to prepare and run the Friday Night Event at this past National Conclave. The chapter was partnered with fellow Pacific District member San Jose State University, and it was a fun-filled event for everyone. Many fall 2011 and spring 2012 initiates from the chapter, came to support and volunteer at all the conclave events. Initiates from fall 2011 also had the option to be initiated at conclave, which was a great experience for them all and they were also able to see the chapter’s Chapter Honor Member Jeremy Clemmons elevated as well. - Renewing Past Traditions: In the spring, the members renewed the past slosh ball competition with the ASCE chapter. It was a great social event, and it brought these two organizations even closer. Throughout the entirety of the year the chapter tried to support ASCE as much as possible, as it is stated in the PAROPs. The chapter was able to establish the Geotechnical Project as a Chi Epsilon specific event at the past ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference, which was held at Cal Poly Pomona. - Fundraising: Spring 2012 was an important fundraising semester for the chapter. A new system was in-stalled which hopefully will persist through the years. This system is for current initiates; they are to form groups and each create and throw their own fundraiser. The schapter is still waiting for all the fundraising earnings to come in, but as of right now the chapter has gained over $260. - End of the Year Banquet: The end of the year banquet was a great success. All newly initiated members attended as well as many of the current members. It was even more special with former alumni chapter president, Michael Hindle, in attendance as well as newly elevated Chapter Honor Member Jeremy Clemmons. Jeremy gave a fantastic speech which was also filled with many helpful tips for graduating seniors.


University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina chapter of Chi Epsilon participated in several events during the fall 2011 term. Multiple fundraisers occurred to raise money to benefit the club and members. Chapter 92 participated in National Engineering week, buy supplying food and drinks to students and families. (see photo at left) A fundraiser was conducted selling sandwiches to students during exam week. The social event of this term was a tailgate during one of the home baseball games. Monthly meetings occurred, and initiates were properly added to the organization. The officers for the 2012-2013 year are as follows: Tyler McElroy, president; Spencer Senerman, vice-president; Grace Beaty, treasur-er; Hillary Reichard, secretary; Robert Boykin, associate editor; and Cameron Coffey, marshal. The faculty advisor remains Dr. Juan Caicedo. Twelve mem-bers were initiated and added to the organization.

University of Southern California The Chi Epsilon chapter of the University of Southern California had a very busy 2011-2012 school year. In the fall, six new members were initiated into the chapter after completing initiation requirements such as hav-ing personal interviews with current active members of the chapter and participating in a scavenger hunt around the USC campus: Catherine Chen, Kristen Sharer, Kaelah Gildea, Steve Yang, Rongcan Su, and Karl Tingwald. These new initiates as well as the continuing members of the chapter celebrated with a dinner at the Mexican restaurant El Cholo. In the spring, USC Chi Epsilon welcomed eleven new initiates: Janelle Patterson, Syed Hasan, Thomas Palmieri, Matt Bowser, Rafi Halajian, Elise Takebayashi, Jason Weng, Drew Heller, Katherine Christian, Lindsey Davis, and Chris Hong. This was one of the largest initiate groups for USC in a long time (see photo at right), so the chapter is looking forward to growing even more in the future. The chapter held a special dinner at Odaesan, a Korean barbeque restaurant, in order to celebrate the accomplishments of these new initiates. The current officers of USC Chi Epsilon were elected in November 2011, and will serve throughout 2012. They are: Alex Nothnagel, president; Jana Tokuhama, vice-president; Jhumann Ung, treasurer; Amanda Ngo, secretary; Justin Zhang, marshal; and Wirikit Wichianchan, associate editor and webmaster. Between March 8 and 10, 2012, the USC chapter of Chi Epsilon proudly worked with the other chapters in the Pacific District and the Pacific District Alumni Association to host Chi Epsilon’s 42nd Conclave at the LAX Hilton. The USC chapter was responsible for the table decoration and packaging of food and beverages, as well as organizing all of the Conclave attendees for the group photo taken outside The Proud Bird Restaurant. Before the FE exam in April, the USC chapters of Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi worked together to arrange free review sessions for students taking the exam. These review sessions were led by professors from both inside and outside the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at USC, with all the professors reviewing material closely related to their specialized fields.


Southern Methodist University The SMU chapter successfully conducted their fifth initiation ceremony on April 20, 2012. The initiation ceremony was held on the SMU campus, in the Jerry R. Junkins Engineering building. Chi Epsilon alumni, the SMU chapter’s faculty advisor, Bijan Mohraz, members of the SMU Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, and the new member’s families attended the induction ceremony. For the coming year, the SMU chapter plans to raise awareness of the chapter and to encourage other civil engineering majors to strive to become a member of the chapter by taking part in school-sponsored events, especially volunteer opportunities. The SMU chapter also plans to hold several events to build intra-chapter relations. Outgoing officers: Amy Heldenbrand, president; Karen Rico, vice-president; Patricia Coogan, trea-surer/secretary; Karen Rico, marshal; and Courtney Webb, associate editor. Incoming officers: Alex Ussery, president; Maddie Liebum, vice-president; Hannah Heighten, treasurer; Keara Dunshee, secretary; Emily Ekatherini Vavourakis, marshal; and Matthew Deaver, associate editor.

Tennessee Technological University The Chi Epsilon chapter of Tennessee Tech has been doing some exciting things this year. In the fall of 2011, the chapter inducted 12 new members. (see photo at left) At the initiation ceremony, dinner was served and the new officers were elected. New officers were elected as follows: Paul Barbeau, president; Joseph Clement, vice-president; Samantha Jeffries, treasurer; Laura Larkins, secretary; Shane Paulson, associate editor; and John Ponzio, marshal. Tennessee Tech had two service events in spring 2012. The first was a day

working for our local habitat for humanity thrift store. Members worked building racks to store windows that the store sells. The second service event was a campus trash pickup done with the Tau Beta Pi chapter. These events were both new to the chapter and they will most likely be held every year in the future. The chapter will have several members graduating this semester and will elect new officers in the fall of 2012. The chapter will also have its next initiation in the fall.

University of Texas-El PasoService to the Community Adopt a Highway-Chi Epsilon enrolled in the “Adopt a Highway” program where members conduct a yearly clean up as a commemoration of Earth day in addition to the scheduled participation throughout the year. Canned Food Drive-Members performed a canned food drive for shelters in our sister city, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.Participation in the Department of Civil Engineering Civil Engineering Alumni Luncheon-Members participated in the Civil Engineering Alumni Luncheon that the University hosts each year in December. Texas Society of Professional Engineers, Engineer of the Year Banquet-Officers were invited to attend the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, En-gineer of the Year Banquet as UTEP representatives. (see photo at right) Hard Hats Donation to Graduating Seniors-Graduating Seniors received


at their graduation banquet construction hard hats to be worn at the commencement to congratulate their success-ful degree completion and to celebrate them as new engineers.Fundraising Activities Hamburger / Hotdog Cookout-By having cookouts around UTEP campus, this chapter was able to gather funds for future activities. Mug Sales-Mugs with the UTEP Engineering seal engraved were sold to Engineering faculty and students to raise money for the chapter.

Chi Epsilon Event 42nd National Conclave-Officers participated in the National Conclave 2012 that took place in Los Angeles, as primary delegate and proxy for Florida International University. (see photo at left)Officers/Members Participation Meetings-All year long, the chapter hosted officer´s and general meetings to plan for all activities and initiations. Chi Epsilon will continue its involvement in the community and continue to increase its prestige on campus.

On December 15, 2011, for the fall semester, officers accompanied by faculty member Dr. Salvador Hernandez initiated the following student mem-bers: Eduardo Adame, Carmen Gomez, Luis A. Hernandez, Sucky Marti-nez, Elvira Moreno, Estefany Ramos, Nancy M. Rodarte, and Olga Rodri-guez.(see photo at right) Current officers are: Iskra Rodriguez, president; Alicia Romo, vice-president; Iraki Ibarra, secretary; Eduardo Adame, treasurer; Gerardo Gar-cia, associate editor; and Danniel Rodriguez, marshal.

University of Toledo42nd National Conclave in L.A. The University of Toledo chapter of Chi Epsilon did have the opportunity to send a member to the 42nd National Conclave in Los Angeles. While at the conference they were fortunate to network with students from all across the country and bring back new ideas to improve the chapter. The attendee from UT also participated in the election committee which selected the new Chi Epsilon National President, Randall D Akiona.Chapter Activities The chapter has maintained involvement with departmental activities and continued to encourage a rela-tionship with the student chapter of ASCE. This summer the college of engineering at UT completed renovations of all the student lounges. However, the improvements of the civil engineering student lounge began two years prior when ASCE and Chi Epsilon combined to take a survey of student interest and usage of the lounge. From that start, both organizations worked with the department to identify the most effective ways to improve the qual-ity and usefulness of the lounge. Discussions were also held with members of both organizations concerning logistics of the second set of renovations performed by the college. Everyone involved is very pleased with the current status of the lounges and the opportunity for student involvement in that process. In addition, members are also increasingly connected to the student chapter of ASCE and have participated jointly in several social and volunteer events. The largest event where both chapters annually combine forces is Clean Your Streams. This event was held on Saturday, September 17th, 2011. The students all met at a kickoff site on the main UT campus with several hundred other students from many organizations. From there the group broke up into teams of 4 or 5 and headed out to our section of the Ottawa River to clean the banks. Afterwards everyone gathers together at a picnic site for food, t-shirts and awards.


Fundraising This chapter of Chi Epsilon has continued to run the “University of Toledo College of Engineering” graph paper sales as its main fundraiser. The UT graph paper pad is a big hit with the engineering crowd and is a great, cheap way to make a few extra bucks!New Members Unfortunately there were no new members initiated in the 2011-2012 academic year. The members are looking forward to increasing membership and retention throughout the upcoming semesters.

Trine University The Trine University chapter enjoyed continued success for the fall 2011 and spring 2012 academic year. In the fall, the Trine University chapter welcomed one of the largest groups of initiates that it has ever had. This outstanding group includes: Andrew Herber, Benjamin Lengerich, Brandon McElhiney, Cody Watkins, Jeffrey Coleman, David Murray, Derek Jaeger, Matthew Elmore, Jared Stanek, Harrison King, Timothy Lang, Ryan Pieper, Rachel Wisman, Samantha Willmann, and Timothy Thielka. The officers for that fall were as follows: Melissa Terry, president; Adam Sitka, vice-president; David Murray, secretary; Michael Ka-lberg, treasurer; Harrison King, associate editor; and Kelly Canter, marshal. This past spring, there were four new members welcomed into the Trine University Chi Epsilon chapter. These members included undergraduates: Jacob Williams, Nathan Miller, and Mark Strohm; and Faculty Member, Dr. Jeremy Rentz. The chapter was also blessed with the presence of Dr. Thomas Wolff, National Council Vice-President, and Great Lakes District Councillor. The newly elected officers to serve in the fall of 2012, are as follows: Harrison King, president; Rachel Wisman, vice-president; Samantha Willmann, secretary; Kelly Canter, treasurer; Nathan Miller, as-sociate editor; and Matthew Elmore, marshal. Following this ceremony, the Trine University chapter held a banquet for the newly initiated members, and our guest. Several members of the Trine Chi Epsilon chapter were very successful the past semester at the past ASCE Great Lakes conference. Earning first place in the geotechnical competition were Chi Epsilon members Rachel Wisman, Kelly Canter, and Jared Stanek. Taking first place in the environmental competition were members Harrison King, Rachel Wisman, Cody Watkins, and Matthew Elmore. Our chapter also sent a team to Dal-las to compete in a concrete bowling ball competition through the American Concrete Institute. Those members included Jared Stanek, Benjamin Lengerich, and Cody Watkins. The Trine University chapter also sent it’s first ever representative to the 42nd National Conclave this semester in Los Angeles, California.

University at Buffalo The University at Buffalo chapter of Chi Epsilon initiated six new members in the fall of 2011: Maria J. Barrera, Yusa H. Battal, Tricia L. Cairns, Vanes-sa Lee, Hieu Luong, and Thai M. Truong. (see photo at left) New officers were also elected at this time: Yusa Hakan, president; Hieu Luong, vice-president; Thai Truong, treasurer; Vanessa Lee, secretary; Tricia Cairns, marshal; and Maria Barrera, associate editor; with Professor Satish Mohan, Faculty Advi-sor. With new members and officers, this was a challenging but productive year

for the University at Buffalo chapter of Chi Epsilon. The year started off with a dinner held in honor of new mem-bers and their families. The chapter participated in a Habitat for Humanity building day, as well as UB Pride


and Service day, a day filled with activities so that students from the University at Buffalo have the chance to give back to the community. A couple of social gatherings were also held so that members had a chance to get to know each other and learn about all their different cultures.

University of Utah For the past academic year, with the support and guidance of Dr. Janice Chambers, the faculty advisor, the University of Utah chapter of Chi Epsilon strived to demonstrate the four pillars of Chi Epsilon—Scholarship, Character, Practicality, and Sociability—to contribute to the community of civil engineering students at the uni-versity. To demonstrate the honor society’s pillars, the University of Utah chapter volunteered, planned socials, initiated new members, and elevated a member as our Chapter Honor Member. Scholarship All active members are required to maintain or exceed the scholastic standing as stipulated by the Constitution. Officers of the past academic year, Shawn Malan, president; Dylan Brown, vice-president; Thomas Sabin, secretary; Blayde McIntire, treasurer; Michael Eixenberger, associate editor; and Kalen Wil-son, marshal, have continued their academic excellence throughout the year and directed the existing and new members to follow suit. Academic achievements and maintaining the required scholastic standard distinguishes the seventeen newly initiated members this year. The new initi-ates are: Steven Burian, Chris Cooper, Jason Dao, Stephen Daras, Gregory Dunn, Joshua Freer, Brian Hart, Ryan Hazelwood, Jeff Huber, Shi Lin, Jay-son Love, Richard Lyons, Stephen Manko, Ron Myers, Adam Olsen, An-drew Van Hook, and Fan Zhou. (see photo at right) The new officers were nominated and elected from the chapter’s members that showed perseverance in scholastic excellence and are as follows: Michael Eixenberger, president-elect; Jason Dao, vice-president-elect; Chris Cooper, secretary-elect; Andrew Van Hook, treasurer-elect; Fan Zhou, associate editor-elect; and Kalen Wilson, marshal-elect (Second-Term).

Character A productive professional career that is built on unfailing trust and maintaining the highest ideals of civil engineering profession is a require-ment our chapter. The chapter encourages its members to be active participants in professional groups with a record for following a worthy code of ethics. Dr. David Eckhoff, the University of Utah chapter’s newly elevated Chapter Honor Member, has shown great character with his involvement with the University of Utah and advancing the civil engineering profession. (see photo at left) Dr. David Eckhoff has forty years of experience in civil engineering. His focus has been on government projects, consulting engineering practice, teaching and research. Dr. Eckhoff has focused on environmental issues, including work-ing on research associated with water quality and wastewater reclamation. In 1971, Dr. Eckhoff joined the faculty of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Utah where he served as the head of the Environmental Engineer-

ing Division until 1973 when he was appointed Chairman of the Department. Dr. Eckhoff was appointed by the Governor in 1980 to serve on the Utah Drinking Water Board, setting policies and standards for public water supply systems throughout the State. In addition, he served on multiple AWWA national committees dedicated to water conservation planning, education, research, and implementation. Dr. David Eckhoff is an example of an ideal Chi Epsilon member, demonstrating all four pillars of the Chi Epsilon Honor Society, but most especially the pillar of character.


Practicality Members of Chi Epsilon, offer encouragement to their peers in civil engineering and promote the civil engineering profession by supporting other civil engineering student groups and doing service projects. All of the officers are members of the ASCE student chapter at University of Utah with Kalen Wilson and Shawn Malan being former officers of ASCE student chapter. In addition, the University of Utah chapter implemented a tutoring program this year to assist peers with their academic studies. Sociability The last pillar of Chi Epsilon requires the members to maintain a high social sense that will allow the remainder of society to better understand the civil engineering profession. This year the members of Chi Epsilon participated in the University of Utah College of Engineering day. Members gave presentations and created demonstrations to illustrate what civil engineers do. This event allowed Chi Epsilon members to interact with each other, while showing high school students what civil engineering entails. Scholarship, Character, Practicality, and Sociability. The pillars of Chi Epsilon influenced the goals and activities of University of Utah chapter for the past academic year. The Chi Epsilon officers initiated seven-teen new members and elevated Dr. David Eckhoff as the Chapter Honor Member. The newly elected officers and members will continue the effort to illustrate the four pillars of Chi Epsilon to contribute to civil engineering and society at large.

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), Chi Epsilon chapter 72, is presenting this article to Chi Epsilon Head-quarters detailing chapter activity and community involvement over the 2011-2012 academic year. Over the course of the year members volunteered for events around the University including mentoring new engineering students and tours on admitted student days.August 29th – October 30th Chi Epsilon officers scheduled and hosted review sessions for UVM undergraduates intending on taking the fall FE examination.February 4th – April 20th Chi Epsilon officers scheduled and hosted review sessions for UVM undergraduates intending on taking the spring FE examination.March 9th - 11th Chi Epsilon officer Matt Grob and member Kate Buhl attended the 42nd National Conclave in Los An-geles. Kate Buhl served as a proxy for Michigan Technological Institute. We also began networking with other Northeastern District members to hold a district conclave on off years with national conclaves.March 28th Chi Epsilon officers held initiation for incoming members and elections for the proceeding cabinet. A pizza social was held after the ceremony for inducted members. The 2011-2012 Chi Epsilon cabinet met on April 24th, to outline and discuss our goals for the summer and discuss the future course of the UVM chapter. Our goals include hosting fundraisers in addition to the FE review sessions to raise money for additional chapter events. The chapter is lobbying for a FE review class to be offered at UVM in order to prepare students for the exam, but will continue to organize the review sessions until such a course is created. The chapter will continue to volunteer for UVM school of engineering events in order to extend outreach of Chi Epsilon.


Villanova University The Villanova chapter of Chi Epsilon recently inducted new junior members at the start of the spring semester. The incoming class consisted of sixteen students. These newly inducted civil engineers are looking forward to taking on the responsibilities of the chapter. The chapter has a fresh administrative group with Kath-erine Sager as president. The other new officers include: Daniel Koroski, vice-president; Christopher Long, marshal; Julien Legoff, treasurer; Alexandra Popp, secretary; and Patrick McAlpine, associate editor. The out-going officers respectively are Krista Sullivan, Phil Reilly, Yazid El Hilali, Spencer Stevens, Pat McLaughlin, and Colleen O’Neil. The new administrative board, with the help of Edward Glynn, is beginning a revamping and redesign of the chapter’s website. New members are also excited to begin tutoring undergraduates at Vil-lanova. In addition to the regular tutoring the chapter provides, chapter members will also be participating in St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service. This day of service will involve multiple projects throughout Philadelphia that will serve to better the community.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute The Virginia Tech chapter of Chi Epsilon had a very successful and eventful year. Twenty-two students were inducted in the fall and eighteen students again in the spring. The chapter was pleased to elevate Ms. Betsy E. Dulin and Dr. Ray E. Martin as Chapter Honor Members at its fall and spring initiation ceremonies respec-tively. Current members and new initiates participated in the bi-annual Adopt-A-Spot highway clean-up and volunteered in weekly tutoring sessions for undergraduate students in need of further academic guidance. The chapter participated in an outreach program with a local elementary school to expose the students to the disci-pline of civil engineering; the outreach program was the idea of chapter member Mike Klapmeyer. The chapter teamed with the ASCE student group at Tech, and successfully connected members with future employers through networking socials in the fall and spring. The chapter also participated in the school’s Civil Engineering Research Day, where students from the department could create posters to show the research on which they have been working. The 2011-2012 officers were: Stephen Litsas, president; Nick Fugaro, vice-president; Francis Pesce, secretary; Erin Littleton, treasurer; Stephanie Welch, marshal; Bobby Heitz, tutoring coordinator; and Lauren McAnallen, associate editor. The incoming officers selected are: Stephanie Welch, president; Lauren McAnal-len, vice-president; Kelly Pettersen, secretary; Jessi Thangjitham, treasurer; Damon Kinmond, marshal; Tay-lor LaForge, tutoring coordinator; and Damon Kinmond, associate editor. Keeping with tradition, past officers were commended for their service over dinner and shared their experiences with the incoming officers. The new executive board hopes to further the community outreach of the chapter and build stronger campus awareness of the society.

Wayne State University The Wayne State University chapter of Chi Epsilon had a wonderful year this past year. During the spring semester, the chapter was proud to initiate (see photo at right) seven undergraduate students: Hassan Dakroub, Amelia Davis, Boubacar Diallo, Miroslav Dimovski, Rachel Malburg, Joseph Osantowski, and Devin Partrich; six graduate students: Hulya Cakan, Amna Chaudhry, Ahmad Fawaz, Emrah Kazan, Clarisse Mikami, and Cem Poyraz; as well as


one faculty member, Dr. Christopher Eamon. The officers installed for the 2012-2013 academic year were Nicole K. Ball, president; Rachel Malburg, vice-president; Boubacar Diallo, secretary; Joseph Osantowski, treasurer; Emira Rista, associate editor; and Miroslav Dimovski, marshal. After the initiation ceremony the chapter members, their families, and the faculty of the Civil Engineering Department attended our annual ban-quet to celebrate the event. All of the new members look forward to continuing to exemplify the principles that

define this exceptional honor society: Practicality, Sociability, Character, and Scholarship. The chapter also had several members who participated in the 2012 Con-crete Canoe and Steel Bridge Competitions (see photo at left) with the Wayne State University chapter of American Society of Civil Engineering as well at the Drive Safely to Wayne campaign organized by the Transportation Research Group of Wayne State University. These endeavors have greatly benefited mem-bers and it is hoped to continue this participation in the future.

West Virginia University The 2011-2012 school year was a successful one for West Virginia University’s chapter of Chi Epsilon. The officers that served for the year were Daniel Estep, president; Colton Anderson, vice-president; Carter Hulcher, secretary; Matthew Idleman, treasurer; and Melissa Mack, marshal. Dr. Roger Chen continues to serve as the faculty advisor. During the school year, Chi Epsilon members helped to promote the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at several events including engineerFEST, an open house designed to show freshmen ways to get involved on campus. President Daniel Estep traveled to Los Angeles, California to attend the 42nd biannual Chi Epsilon National Conclave. Daniel competed for the Cumberland District as they were awarded “District of the Conclave”. At the Conclave, WVU faculty Dr. Udaya Halabe was awarded the 2012 National James M. Robbins Excellence in Teaching Award. In April of 2012, five new members were inducted into the chapter of Chi Epsilon. In addition, new officers accepted their positions for the upcoming 2012-2013 school year. (see photo at right) Officers are David Marzano, pres-ident; Kyle Turner, vice-president; Matthew Behrmann, treasurer; Rebecca Posa, secretary/associate editor; and Ye Tao, marshal. The chapter looks forward to expanding activities and service in the upcoming year.

University of Wisconsin-Madison During the 2011-2012 school year, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Chi Epsilon chapter saw their group transform as many new members were welcomed. The group came together to participate in volunteer events as well as began some new practices geared at informing the entire civil engineering department, faculty, and students, about the practices and focus of Chi Epsilon. Fall 2011 In the fall, Chi Epsilon focused its energy on Trick-or-Treat for Canned Goods. The event is hosted by the UW-Madison chapter and fosters a friendly competition with the other engineering organizations to see who can collect the most non-perishables. The event was successfully run and the collected food was donated to the local branch of Second Harvest Food Pantry. This year, a total of 2,900 pounds of food was collected and donated.


Beginning fall 2011, Chi Epsilon became involved with the Science Olympiad Outreach program. Mem-bers of the chapter regularly travelled to Verona High School to help the students with their project and help them to prepare for their Regional and State competition. This partnership with the Verona high school students con-tinued through the spring semester ending with their State competition in March. In fall 2012, Chi Epsilon plans to resume this volunteer activity.

On December 1, 2011, the Chi Epsilon initiation banquet welcomed Erik Ivers, Katherine Ott, Graham Ryan, Terry Armstrong, Peter Bergquist, Jackie Strait, Sam Lathers, Marcus Gunderson, Adam Cichanski, Nick Ze-man, Sam Helgeson, Ahraaz Qureishi, Dan Semrad, Michael Busch, Aman-da Groh, and also Professor Steven Loheide as members of Chi Epsilon. (see photo on left) The officers elected to lead during the spring 2012 semester were: Bridget Geissler, president; Christian Sternke, vice-president; Katherine Ott, treasurer; Paul Economos, secretary; Michael Schneider, marshal; and Nick

Zeman, associate editor. This year, the UW-Madison chapter developed a new position titled the Science Olym-piad Coordinator. This officer position really helps the chapter get deeply involved with the local Science Olym-piad program. Abby Wedig was elected to be our Science Olympiad Coordinator. Spring 2012 In the spring, Chi Epsilon volunteered for MathCounts!. For this local state-wide math contest for el-ementary and middle school students, the members of Chi Epsilon helped administer and grade the tests along with bring positive encouragement for the development of math skills. This semester both the regional and state competition were hosted in Madison, and Chi Epsilon had members volunteer for both of the MathCounts! com-petitions. The UW-Madison College of Engineering hosted a new event in celebration of the students who had re-cently declared civil engineering as their major. Chi Epsilon attended the event and shared what this organization does, encouraging others to uphold the values of Chi Epsilon and to possibly become members one day. Chi Epsilon members also attended a different event put on by UW-Madison. UW-Madison had a theme of the Wisconsin Idea, which emphasized the importance of solving problems and helping others through out-reach activities. The chapter participated in this event by sharing stories about outreach the chapter has done, particularly participation in the Science Olympiad. Tyler Hoehn represented the UW-Madison chapter at the 42nd National Conclave. Chi Epsilon’s spring initiation ceremony will be held on May 6, 2012. The following UW-Madison un-dergraduates will become members: Lauren Campbell, Sophie Zhang, Haley Gunst, Patrick Gifft, Mitchell Pribek, and Douglas Chalmers. The newly elected officers that will take effect beginning the fall 2012 semester are: Christian Sternke, president; Abby Wedig, vice-president; Bridget Geissler, secretary; Paul Economos, treasurer; Eddie Jung, marshal; and Douglas Chalmers, associate editor. The UW-Madison chapter is proud to have Professor Steven Loheide as faculty advisor. He became our new faculty advisor effective spring 2012 replacing Professor Jeffrey Russell. The chapter approved Profes-sor Loheide, who will act as a constant in the chapter to help make the frequent turnovers between old and new members run smoothly as well as provide advice from a professional perspective.


Worcester Polytechnic University The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) chapter of Chi Epsilon has had a busy and rewarding year. During the spring of 2012, the chapter initiated the following new members: Derek H. Andersen, Elena Ther-ese Santiago Fajardo, Long Q. Huynh, Andrew P. Mackenzie, Congy Qian, Ryan K. Worsman, Shawna L. Brierly, Lindsey Rose Machamer, and Ryan M. Shooshan, seven who have since graduated and three who are currently in the senior class of WPI, respectively. We will be identifying, selecting, and initiating new members for the fall of 2012 in mid-November. The current officers of WPI’s chapter of Chi Epsilon are Jenine Knibb, president; Lindsey Machamer, vice-president; Mariah Seaboldt, secretary; Shawna Brierly, treasurer; and Cindy Lin, marshal. This year, Chi Epsilon is trying to become more active and well known on campus than in more recent years. During the past year, members continued to promote civil engineering to both current and prospective stu-dents. Over the past year, the chapter was able to co-sponsor a Networking Dinner in March with the university’s American Society of Civil Engineers chapter and the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department’s Student Advisory Committee. Shoukry Elnahal, from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Accelerated Bridge Program, was the guest speaker while successful civil engineering alumni were all invited back to help students pursue career opportunities at their respective firms and agencies. This year, the chapter plans on making the Networking Dinner an annual tradition, while holding programs that aim to enlighten current upperclassmen on their career opportunities in civil engineering following their graduation. Members also plan to collaborate more with WPI chapter of ASCE as they already hold many programs that aim to achieve many of the same goals of Chi Epsilon.


Date post:	17-Dec-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	dangdang
View:	216 times
Download:	0 times

CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS FALL 2012 - Chi Epsilon · CHAPTER ANNUAL REPORTS FALL 2012 ... Triana...

Documents