If your Section or Branch has been looking for a new outreach opportunity, consider helping kids learn more about civil engineering.  Worried you don’t know what to do or say?  ASCE has got your back with the new and improved ASCEville. 

ASCE is helping kids open the floodgate to a deeper exploration of civil engineering through the addition of content specifically focused on many of the project areas in which civil engineers work.  Through exploration of easily identifiable structures in their daily lives like dams, bridges, roads and transportation, water systems, sustainability and disaster response, kids will come away with a broader understanding of how civil engineers help find technological solutions to overcome many of the world’s most interesting challenges.

In ASCEville.org’s section about Dams, for example, kids learn that dams make modern life possible. They also learn about different types of dam structures, what materials are used to make dams and how engineers overcome forces of nature to build dams, protect people and harness the power of water. They also examine the impact of dams on ecosystems. 

ASCE members often ask how they can use ASCEville in their educational outreach.  Although projecting a Website on a screen is fairly lack luster as a classroom activity, companion stickers, postcards and posters are great classroom leave behinds for kids, parents and teachers, reminding them about the fun they can have exploring the site.  Kids will love the fun games and activities, parents will appreciate the family orientation of the site and teachers will find valuable connections between civil engineering and the lessons they teach about sustainability and the value engineering has had on the development of civilizations over the course of history. ASCeville resources are available by emailing outreach@asce.org

In addition, exhibits featuring ASCEville are sure to attract attention, especially when visitors are free to spend a few moments or several minutes talking about the site.   ASCEville’s home page features a scavenger hunt challenging kids to find 20 ways civil engineers are working to make our communities better places to live and work.  The site can be featured on a laptop at a computer kiosk or displayed as a laminated dry erase poster offering a low tech/high-touch opportunity to learn ways individuals and communities are choosing to maintain a healthy water supply, save energy and conserve scarce resources. 

If you haven’t been using ASCEville in your outreach program, stop by for another visit. You’ll be excited to see just how much fun it is learning about civil engineering!

What do you think is the most interesting section of the new content?  How could you use it to engage kids?

Leslie Payne

Senior Manager, Pre-College Outreach

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

What a great time of year for educational outreach! As the photos and numbers come rolling in, it’s clear from the level of ASCE engagement that Engineers Week was front and center for many of us for many months. And the best news is that our extended celebration of engineering has helped kids, families, teachers and communities become more aware of the role of civil engineering and its place among careers as an exciting and worthwhile profession. A vocation that makes a difference!

Engineers Week, as a public awareness campaign, is especially enjoyable, because the work of building public awareness is uniquely accomplished through authentic interaction between engineers and children, young people, educators, and other adults who guide and influence students of every age.

Though effective in their own right, billboards, ads, flyers, social media, and even well-delivered speeches are no match for the ability of engineers, through hands-on activities, to make civil engineering tangible for kids with curious minds. The reason for this is simple: Confucius said, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” Students who have the opportunity to “do” engineering have the opportunity to make stronger connections between what they learn and how it applies to the world in which they live!

Congratulations to everyone who participated in and helped make Engineers Week so successful again this year. Be sure to look at the celebration in review on our website. And keep posting stories and photos of your successful outreach events.

Don’t have time to make a separate post? Tell us a great outreach story below.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

March is a busy time for lawmakers, from Congress down through state legislatures and local governments. That makes it the ideal month to stage a public event that leverages the latest legislative action on infrastructure investment.

If coming to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers during ASCE’s annual Legislative Fly-In isn’t an option this year, there are plenty of other ways to tap into what’s going on legislatively and use it as a platform for a public outreach event.

Since civil engineers provide valuable technical expertise that many lawmakers lack access to, many Sections and Branches set aside a specific day to visit their state capital in large numbers and meet their representatives. Check your local group to find out when your next government relations opportunity arises and consider ways to share what you learn with your community.

One idea would be to hold a legislative breakfast/lunch event and focus on a particular issue that is always in the news. If you have a state Report Card, you’ll have plenty of issues to choose from.

Take, for instance, the Southern Idaho Section, which last week released its 2012 Report Card for Idaho’s Infrastructure. Released at the Idaho State Capitol Building, the Report Card gave the state an overall grade of C-. It found that the vast majority of Idaho’s infrastructure lacks proper maintenance funding and is poorly equipped to deal with increasing demands as the state continues to grow.

With ASCE President-elect Greg E. DiLoreto, P.E., PLS, F.ASCE, and ASCE Region 8 Governor Pat White, P.E., M.ASCE, in attendance, the successful release event attracted coverage from local TV stations and newspapers. A large crowd turned out, including state legislators and Boise State University students.

If you feel like you don’t have a good grasp on the legislative issues important to civil engineering, don’t despair. Over the past year, ASCE has been working to enhance our state and local advocacy efforts. An upcoming free eLearning webinar will focus on one of our new tools – ASCE’s new state bill tracking system, which allows our members to access information about legislative and regulatory proposals in their states. Once you log in, you will be able to see legislative proposals pending that affect the engineering profession and learn how to take action on these issues. The webinar will be held Wednesday, April 18 at 2 p.m. ET.

Feeling knowledgeable about your local issues will give you the confidence to participate in a public outreach event, helping to spread the word at the state and local level about the need for infrastructure investment.

Have you used legislative topics as the basis of an outreach event? Do you think it draws a wider audience than some other outreach events? Why or why not?

Audrey Caldwell
Senior Manager, Communications

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Photo from the UAF Sun Star

Every year, ASCE takes advantage of the stage that is National Engineers Week to mount an aggressive push to raise the public profile of civil engineers. What’s truly impressive are the lengths that many local Sections, Branches and student chapters go to recognize their current or future profession.

A case in point is the chapter at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where civil engineering students were determined to restore a tradition of building an “ice arch” during Engineers Week, which this year ended last Friday.  “It’s kind of to show off how cool engineers are,” said civil engineering student Andy Chamberlain in the UAF Sun Star student newspaper.

As “cool” as it is, however, the tradition melted in 2011 without construction of an ice arch, which “got a lot of us in the civil department bummed out,” said student Stephen Lee.  So this year, the student chapter worked to bring it back by opening up the competition to all students, and offering a cash prize of up to $700.

The student chapter designed this year’s arch using blocks, rather than the designs of past years that poured water into a metal frame and then froze the structure. Those designs were not technically ice arches since the metal was still part of the structure. This year, the engineering students used a woodframe to hold the blocks until the entire arch was complete.

The project, while fun and interesting, also requires the students to rely on their math and engineering skills – a true test of a civil engineer to determine the gaps between each individual ice blocks.  “Our problem is that we don’t know exactly how much gap is too much gap,” student Sam Carlson told the Sun Star.

For an engineering project in frigid Alaska, the University of Alaska Fairbanks students had a good time.  The best part was, they reached out to the entire student population.  Said Carlson, “It’s a good time to get involved, you don’t have to be an engineering major to help out.”  And in the end, they won their own contest!

Have you, your Section, your Branch or your student chapter raised the profile of civil engineering by reaching out and including non-engineers in your activities?  How else have you engaged public interest in civil engineering? Let us know your success stories!

Jim Jennings
Senior Manager, External  Communications

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: 2012 Engineers Week, ASCE, ASCE Student Chapters, Civil Engineering Students, University of Alaska Fairbanks

President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address presented ideas and a vision that is supportive of the agenda and message of National Engineers Week. 
 
The President highlighted the importance of an American workforce that is globally competitive and prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, giving credence to the role of education, training and fairness – he issued both a call for a more skilled workforce and a salute to the American values that initially created a strong economy. The President called for “an economy built to last” and he went on to describe the role government must play if Americans are going to succeed and prosper.

But even as big as his message is in support of investment in science technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and workforce development,  others must play a role as well if we, as a nation, are truly going to ensure a diverse and well educated workforce that is properly trained for 21st century careers.  

ASCE outreach volunteers and others who support Engineers Week are not waiting around for budgets to swell and governments to act before they do their part to ensure a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce.  You have been, and will continue to dive right in by visiting students in classrooms, afterschool events, scouts, festivals, museums and more to encourage their understanding of, and interest in, engineering and technology careers and  to help them see the value of pre-college literacy in math and science.

And you are doing it in a very real way, as ambassadors of our society, going into schools so that kids not only learn science and math, but see, feel and touch engineering and make the connections between concepts in the classroom and the people in the field that are using these concepts to make a positive and lasting difference in the world. 

You are helping them see themselves as future engineers.

As the political winds blow, and the budget cycles pass, there is strong hope that STEM education issues will remain as this nation’s highest educational priority.  In the meantime ASCE stands strong in its commitment to reach students one child at a time, one classroom at a time, or one school at a time.

Engineers Week is February 19 – 25. If you haven’t planned something already, it’s not too late.   Be bold.  Get out there and make it your STEM mission to light a student’s fire for engineering and encourage the next generation of problem solvers and innovators for our profession.

What outreach activities have you been involved in that generated enthusiasm with students?  What would you repeat or do differently?

Leslie Payne
Senior Manager, Pre-College Outreach

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: 2012 Engineers Week, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, EWeek, Outreach Activities, Pre-College Outreach, STEM, STEM education

As previous blog posts have mentioned, when it comes to social media and building connections with your audience  – content is king.  Neglecting to regularly post content that grabs the reader’s attention  may prompt  them to seek that information from another source.  It’s  also important to balance the amount of promotional items (such as your next section or branch meeting or regional conference) with news that is relevant to the profession (new technology).  This is the best way to create a dialogue with your members. 

So what do you do when you find yourself with more promotions than news?  Industry blogs are a great source to pull dynamic and engaging content.   They offer new perspectives about topics facing the larger engineering industry and feature  in-depth interviews, photo galleries, short videos, and engineering humor.  If you do find a piece of content that you want to share with other members, remember  to follow proper social media etiquette and  include the link to the original blog post so you give credit where credit is due. 

Below is a list of credible blogs that we often use as content sources for the main ASCE Facebook page and Twitter feed.  While these have more of a national focus be sure to do a search for blogs that take a closer look at what is happening at your state or local level.
 
• The Atlantic Cities 
• Transportation Nation
• National Journal – Transportation Blog
• Transport Guru
• The Transport Politic
• Streets Blog
• ASCE Blogs 

What other sources have you tapped when you need to provide additional content?   How did your audience respond?

Lauren Swartz
Communications Assistant

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: American Society of Civil Engineers, blogging tips, content development, Facebook Content, Social Media, social media content, Twitter Content

Image Courtesy of Reuters

During this week’s broadcast of the State of the Union address, the President spoke before a Joint session of Congress and talked about infrastructure. Although ASCE’s 2009 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure was not referenced (as it was in last year’s address), you can use his speech as a conversation starter to begin a dialogue in your own community. 

The President stated that, “Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges, a power grid that wastes too much energy, an incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small-business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.”

There are many ways that you as a civil engineer can promote the profession by speaking out on infrastructure and make a difference at the local level:

• Produce a local infrastructure Report Card
• Organize a lobby day at your state capitol and visit your legislators
• Provide a “training day” on government affairs issues and techniques for your members
• Host a local breakfast with state legislators
• Run a public relations campaign about infrastructure issues in your community

The President reflected back during times of the Great Depression, when America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. “After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways,” recalled the President. “Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.”

In the next few weeks, the President will sign an executive order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But, of course, Congress needs to fund these projects. The President noted we should, “Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.”

So, begin the conversation today! Better yet, turn that conversation into reality. How does your Section or Branch plan to promote civil engineering in 2012? Share your plans in the comment space below! It might just encourage others to do the same.

Tracy Withrow
Manager, State Public Relations

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: American Society of Civil Egineers, ASCE, infrastructure, Infrastructure Advocacy, President Obama, State of the Union 2012

As the Louisiana Section was gearing up to release its first state Report Card this month, members realized that spreading the word of their findings would require an effective public relations campaign. Realizing they lacked the expertise to execute such a campaign, Section members hired a PR consultant, Baton Rouge-based Mark Lambert.  The Section also reached out to ASCE’s Communications and Government Relations departments to request training based on ASCE’s PR University seminar.

A half-day PR workshop allowed members to work one on one with ASCE staff who traveled to Baton Rouge. As tailored specifically for the Report Card’s release, the workshop identified proper spokespersons and covered potential issues they might have to address. One critical component was the development of strategies to promote the Report Card to elected officials after the planned press conference, in order to keep the momentum going.

With what they’d learned during the PR workshop in mind, the Section wisely decided to reschedule the release upon learning that Louisiana’s governor would unveil an education plan on the same date. With that conflict avoided, the consultant and Nedra Davis, the Section’s communications representative, reached out to reporters one day prior to the rescheduled event to make sure the press conference was on their radar. The day of the event, a news release was distributed statewide. ASCE’s Communications staff distributed it to national trade publications, as well as some Washington, D.C.-based reporters who covered ASCE’s national  Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and our Failure to Act economic studies.

The press conference was a success.  Three TV stations and other media covered their announcement.  The Louisiana Section’s actions reflect the type and quality of services ASCE can offer to Sections and Branches — whether it is a state Report Card or the designation of a historical civil engineering landmark.

Jim Jennings
Senior Manager, External Communications

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, ASCE Report Card, Louisiana ASCE Section, Louisiana Report Card, Media Relations, PR University, Press Conference, Press Conference Tips

I’ve heard several news stories recently that Detroit’s automakers are on track to be the next big comeback kings.  After years of layoffs and even financial restructuring, they are leaner organizations bent on reinventing themselves and recapturing the hearts (and wallets) of consumers. After listening to an interview with Jim Farley, Ford Motor Company’s Group Vice President, Global Marketing, Sales and Service, I think those comeback predictions might just come true.

One of the golden nuggets from this interview is Jim Farley’s observation that the world of social media has changed all our lives. We are living in a new paradigm with new opportunities to really interact with our audience and involve them in our business. No longer do we have to wait for the marketing department to convene a focus group to tell us what the customer wants or doesn’t.  The conversation is already happening out on the internet. The companies that will survive now and in the future are those that are willing to listen and engage in the conversation.  In this new world, like the power of compounding, the eyeballs on one simple message posted can multiply quickly. As interviewer Brian Solis put it, “the audience is an audience of audiences.”

After several years of listening and building our social media audiences, we’ve learned a few lessons.  People want valuable information and prefer a quick response.  They would rather hear the correct answer from the source first. They like to know that their voice matters and that someone is listening. They enjoy engaging through social media because they can do so at their convenience and from the comfort of their own tablets, cell phones, laptops and desktops. They want to share their knowledge with others. We’ve also learned that engagement by our international audience is growing quickly and they are hungry for our industry knowledge and experience.

If you are willing to consider one more New Year’s resolution, I encourage you to step up your involvement in social media in 2012.  If you are still new to it all, start with one platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, etc.) and find an organization or issue that interests you, and listen daily.  Investing just five minutes a day at lunch or before/after work will allow you to start seeing what topics are being discussed and which messages resonate best with the audience.  After a month or two, branch out to another platform and begin listening there as well. Not only will you learn a lot but, when you feel comfortable, you may even feel compelled to join the conversation.

Businesses are seeking employees who are not only proficient with technology, but also understand its role within society and are willing to engage.  If we are to help the engineering profession become leaders in this global society, we must all understand how to optimize the opportunity presented by this new paradigm, and communicate the message that engineers are knowledgeable leaders working hard to make the world a better place. Every voice helps.

Which social media has had the biggest impact on your personal or professional life so far? Which social media do you think will be the king in 2012 or 2013?

Audrey Caldwell

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Tags: Brian Solis, Engagement, Facebook, Ford Motor Company, Jim Farley, LinkedIn, paradigm, Social Media, Twitter

If you’re like me, you might remember what it felt like when you suddenly realized the practicality of owning a PC; or when you realized that carrying a cell phone was actually a pretty good idea; or more recently, that you aren’t as sentimental as you thought you’d be giving up paper magazines, newspapers and books for the ease and convenience of an iPad.

The moment in time when an idea goes from something culture thinks it might embrace one day, to something that is an imperative for today, is widely acknowledged as the tipping point.  It’s the point at which a good idea becomes a fact of modern life.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education reform needs that kind of tipping point.  Our global competitiveness rests on a technologically literate population and more workers in STEM fields.  There are a lot of people working to make meaningful change, and the reform wave is building. Real change will take place when attitudes and budgets at the State and local level “tip” and the wave will wash over the nation.  Positive signs of state and local commitment to change are emerging.

Last week the National Governors Association released Building a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education Agenda, a report focused on strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Issues discussed in the 44 page report include: Goals of the STEM Agenda; Why the STEM Agenda is Important; Weak Links in the System; Implementing a State STEM Agenda and Moving Forward.

As state education systems and local districts adopt STEM reform strategies, opportunities for ASCE members to advocate for the ‘e’ in STEM will become available.  Are you ready?  Make 2012 the year that you become more in tune with STEM education reform as part of your outreach effort.  Let’s make this year our society’s year to embrace the imperative of the day and help make STEM reform a fact of modern life.

What efforts have you seen in your community or by your Section or Branch to push for STEM reform? Who do you think is the key influencer needed to push the efforts over the top?  What could engineers do to reach that influencer?

Leslie Payne
Senior Manager, Pre-College Outreach

Be Sociable, Share!

•