15714 ASCE May07:Civil EngineerThe Louisiana Section is located in ASCE Region 5 that consists of...

Volume 15 • Number 3 May 2007

THE LOUISIANACIVIL ENGINEER

ACADIANA BRANCH • BATON ROUGE BRANCHNEW ORLEANS BRANCH • SHREVEPORT BRANCH

Journal of The Louisiana SectionOn line at http://www.lasce.org

FEATURES: Engineering issues and historic buildingsCan a structural engineer truly determine

whether wind or storm surge caused thedamage to property during Hurricane Katrina?

FUTURE:Louisiana Civil Engineering

Conference and Show in KennerSeptember 13-14, 2007

Annual Meetingin New Orleans

September 14, 2007

NEWS:West levee board appointmentsLeadership training in

government relations

15714_ASCE_May07:Civil Engineer 5/9/07 9:45 AM

2 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2007

PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS

GOTECH,INC. 8388 BLUEBONNET BLVD.BATON ROUGE, LA 70810

RHAOUL A. GUILLAUME, P.E.

PRESIDENT

[email protected] • OFFICE: (225) 766-5358CELL: (225) 413-9515 • FAX: (225) 769-4923

WWW.GOTECH-INC.COM

3861 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy.Suite 200Lafayette, LA 70503www.huvalassoc.com

(337) 234-3798Fax (337) 234-2475

[email protected]


THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY 2007 3

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEERCONTENTSPresident’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Engineering issues and historic buildings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Can a structural engineer truly determine

whether wind or storm surge caused thedamage to property during Hurricane Katrina? . . . . . . . . . 8

Branch News and Leadership Forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Highlights of Annual Spring Meeting and Conference . . . . . .13Student Chapter News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Section News and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Leadership training in governmental relations . . . . . . . . . . . . 21West levee board appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Professional Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2, 30-31 Services and Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

LOUISIANA SECTION • AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

Louisiana Engineering Center • 9643 Brookline Avenue • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 • (225) 923-1662SECTION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PresidentTimothy M. Ruppert, PE

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersPresident-Elect

E.R. DesOrmeaux, PEE.R. DesOrmeaux, Inc.

Vice PresidentAli M. Mustapha, PE

City of ShreveportSecretary-Treasurer

Christopher P. Knotts, PELouisiana DNR

Past PresidentKim M. Garlington, PE

Louisiana DOTDDirectors-at-Large

Andre M. Rodrigue, PEABMB Engineers, Inc.

Kurt M. Nixon, PECoyel Engineering Company, Inc.

Christopher G. Humphreys, PEProfessional Services Industries, Inc.

Dax A. Douet, PEC.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.

Branch DirectorsM. Jamal Khattak, PE

University of Louisiana at LafayetteBrant B. Richard, PE

Stanley Consultants, Inc.Christopher L. Sanchez, PE

Stuart Consulting GroupElba U. Hamilton, EI

Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClellandAssigned Branch Directors

Daniel L. Bolinger, PEDMJM HARRIS|AECOM

Yvette P. Weatherton, PESouthern University

BRANCH OFFICERSAcadiana Branch

PresidentM. Jamal Khattak, PE

University of Louisiana at LafayettePresident-Elect

Joseph P. Kolwe, Jr., PECivil and Structural Engineers, Inc.

Vice PresidentClint S. McDowell, PE

SITE Engineering, Inc.Treasurer

Joshua P. Stutes, PESellers and Associates, Inc.

SecretaryDavid J. Girouard, EI

C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.Past President

Dax A. Douet, PEC.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE:E.R. DesOrmeaux, PE, Chair (337) 237-0404Branch Presidents, MembersJames C. Porter, PE, Editor (225) 242-4556Yvette Weatherton, PE, Student Chapter News (225) 771-5870

PUBLISHER:Franklin Press, Inc., Baton Rouge, LAThe Louisiana Civil Engineer quarterly journal is an official publication ofthe Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers with anaverage circulation of approximately 1800. The Section neither guaranteesthe accuracy of the information provided nor necessarily concurs with opin-ions expressed. It does not claim the copyrights for the contents in this pub-lication. Please submit letters and articles to James C. Porter, PE, for con-sideration to be published by e-mail to [email protected], facsimile to(225) 379-1797 or mail to the Publications Committee c/o James C. Porter,PE • 2608 Terrace Avenue • Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6868.

Baton Rouge BranchPresident

Brant B. Richard, PEStanley Consultants, Inc.

President-ElectRobert W. Jacobsen, PE

URS CorporationVice President

William H. Wall, PENTB Associates, Inc.

Secretary-TreasurerJeffrey L. Duplantis, PE

SJB GroupDirector

Clinton S. Willson, PELouisiana State University

DirectorAdam M. Smith, EI

Owen and WhiteAssociate Director

Rudolph A. Simoneaux, III, EILouisiana DNR

New Orleans BranchPresident

Christopher L. Sanchez, PEStuart Consulting Group

President-ElectRonald L. Schumann, Jr., PE

DMJM HARRIS|AECOMVice President

Nathan J. Junius, PELinfield, Hunter and Junius, Inc.

TreasurerBenjamin M. (Ben) Cody, PE

Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.Secretary

Johann L. Palacios, PEZehner and Associates

DirectorMargaret S. (Meg) Adams, PE

MSA Technical ServicesDirector

Reid L. Dennis, PESewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

Past PresidentWilliam H. Sewell, Jr., PE

Sewell EngineeringShreveport Branch

PresidentElba U. Hamilton, EI

Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClellandPresident-Elect

Rusty L. Cooper, EIAlliance, Inc.

SecretaryJ. Cody Goodwin, EI

Alliance, Inc.Treasurer

Jarred C. Corbell, EIAillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland

Younger MemberSairam V. Eddanapudi, EI

Professional Services Industries, Inc.Past President

Ashley T. Sears, EIAillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland

BRANCH TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRSBaton Rouge

StructuresDanny J. Deville, PE

McKee & Deville Consulting Engineers, Inc.Geotechnical

Gavin P. Gautreau, PELouisiana Transportation Research Center

EnvironmentalStephen D. Fields, PE

Water ResourcesMorris Sade, PE

Miraj EnvirotekManagement

Michael N. Dooley, PESigma Consulting Group, Inc.

PipelineRoy A. Wagenspack, PE

Owen and White, Inc.Transportation

P. Brian Wolshon, PELSU Baton Rouge

New OrleansStructures

John J. Housey, Jr., PEOrleans Materials and Equipment Company, Inc.

GeotechnicalWilliam W. Gwyn, PE

Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.Environmental and Water Resources

Reid L. Dennis, PENew Orleans Sewerage and Water Board

STUDENT CHAPTERS IN THE SECTIONPresidents/Faculty Advisors

LSU Matthew R. BlackwellAyman M. Okeil, PE

La. Tech Nathan LinhardtLuke Lee

McNeese David MintonJanardanan (Jay) O. Uppot, PE

Southern Brandon DeJeanYvette P. Weatherton, PE

Tulane Kristin MoanAnthony J. Lamanna, PE

ULL Jared A. VeazeyEmad H.. Habib

UNO Rebecca SchererGianna M. Cothern, PE

The Louisiana Section is located in ASCE Region 5that consists of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,Georgia and Florida Sections.

Representative to Region 5 Board of GovernorsGovernor, Louisiana SectionNorma Jean Mattei, PEUniversity of New Orleans



President’s MessageBy Timothy M. Ruppert, PE

We had a wonderful Annual Spring Meetingand Conference in March thanks to the outstand-ing efforts of the host Shreveport Branch leader-ship. In case you missed it, I would like to tellyou about a couple important issues that werediscussed. And even if you were able to attend,please indulge me as I expound for a few para-graphs on these important topics.

I think it is a given that we engineers lovenumbers. We love our slide rules, our calculatorsand our spreadsheets. They are steady and reli-able companions, they make our work easier, andthey provide us the useful and accurate informa-tion we rely on to do the good work we do for thepublic and our clients.

Here is what we do not love: politics. I thinkmost of us cringe at the very thought. Unlikeengineers, who are guided by science and analyt-ical methods, politicians appear to be malleableand eager to adapt to emotional, public opinion.On our list of “favorite” activities, gettinginvolved in politics probably ranks up there nearHaving a root canal and Serving as a pall bear-er. But the reality is we do not have a choice. Iwould even say that it is an integral part of ourjob — our obligation to the public — as engi-neers.

Our code of ethics requires us to speak hon-estly and openly and to alert the public aboutdangerous situations or proposals. When theLegislature is debating building codes, how canwe not get involved? When the Legislature isconsidering funding for highway improvements,how can we not speak up? When the Legislatureis discussing whether government shouldencourage citizens to build safer, strongerhomes, how can we not offer a considered opin-ion?

When I say we should get involved in poli-tics, I do not mean that we should become par-ticipants in the unseemly partisan and parochialmud fights that all too often make the headlines.I am very sure most of us would not want tostoop to that level. What I am advocating is thatwe participate as non-partisan professionals. Weshould offer our expert advice, seasoned opin-ions and level-headed solutions. We shouldvoice support for laws and programs that wedeem beneficial, but always avoid taking sides in

degrading party and personality related debates.Our goal should always be to provide accu-

rate, unbiased information in a manner that hon-ors our profession and our fellow engineers. Wemust become engaged in the political process astrustworthy advocates without becomingentrapped in the distasteful and often disgracefulstruggles for money and influence.

You may be wondering if this is a legal orethical issue. As a non-profit organization organ-ized under IRS code 501(c)3 for educational, lit-erary and scientific purposes, ASCE cannot givemoney to candidates for political office. We can-not even endorse them, and I think that is entire-ly appropriate for this society.

What we CAN do is speak up on the issues.We can go to the public and speak for or againstany particular legislation. We can offer advice toour elected representatives and encourage themto support or oppose any proposition. We can dothis as individuals, and we can do this as a pro-fessional association. In short, we can fulfill ourrole as both citizens and engineers without con-flict, and without acquiring the stench of merce-nary lobbyists or partisan political players. I amhappy to report that we have already taken someimportant first steps.

At the national level, ASCE has producedthe Infrastructure Report Card to both inform thepublic and encourage lawmakers to take action.The Report Card has been widely recognized asan authoritative and unbiased assessment of theinfrastructure in America. Almost all of themajor media reported on its release and policymakers still regularly refer to it when the severi-ty of infrastructure crisis is being discussed.

Here in Louisiana, two new levee boardscame online earlier this year with the goal of pro-viding our citizens with the services and leader-ship of commissioners who have professionalcredentials instead of more of the same withcommissioners appointed based on politicalpatronage. We can all be proud of the key roleASCE members played in effectively launchingthese new levee boards.

The Section Board nominated Jerry Klier(Baton Rouge Branch) to represent ASCE on thelevee board nominating committee. Workingclosely with the committee, Jerry was able to seat

4 ASCE members on the Southeast LouisianaFlood Protection Authority (SLFPA) boards.They are Larry McKee (Baton Rouge Branch),Tom Jackson (New Orleans Branch), KerwinJulien (New Orleans Branch) and Mark Morgan(Baton Rouge Branch).

The SLFPA-East also named Tom Jackson asits president. I hope you had the opportunity toread about Tom in the cover story of the April2007 edition of Civil Engineering. Tom wasabout to embark on a well-deserved retirementwhen Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore. Tomnow works as hard as he ever has, and for noth-ing more than state per diem and the satisfactionof a job well done.

Tom and his fellow SLFPA-East membersare leading the way for reform in Louisiana.They are showing us that getting involved in thepolitical process does not require getting caughtup in the more unpleasant aspects of politics. Fortheir example, we owe them our gratitude.

I encourage you to find your place in thepolitical process as well. It may be simply writ-ing letters to the editor of your local newspaper,to your legislative delegation in Baton Rougeand to your congressional delegation inWashington. Or it may be volunteering to serveon a government commission or running for pub-lic office. Perhaps if a few more of us gotinvolved in public policy, we could be a positiveinfluence so politics would not be so distasteful.

Wherever you go, I look forward to workingwith you as civil engineers building a betterworld.

About the cover: It isn’t pretty but thisimpromptu field sketch is very effective. It wasmade as part of the documentation of a stormdamage survey for a residential structure withno plans available to use for easy markups. Itfacilitated the engineering work described in thearticle “Can a structural engineer truly deter-mine...” and it serves as a reference — Figure 2— in the article.Editor’s note: The incomplete website address“http://www.lasce” that appeared in the newtitle on the cover of the February 2007 issuewithout its extension “.org” is my error. I trulyregret any confusion or inconvenience that itmay have caused you.

I read your President’s Message in TheLouisiana Civil Engineer February 2007 issuewith great interest. It covers the problem ofassessing risk considering a 100-year level ofprotection. In your article, you demonstratedthat the computed risk of experiencing an eventat the 100-year level of protection over the 30year period, is a “whopping” 26 percent. I com-pliment you for your analysis discussing the highprobability of a disastrous flood event occurringin the New Orleans area over the service life of astructure and during the life span of our resi-dents.

After Hurricane Betsy destroyed the Gulf

Coast in September 1965, the Flood Control Actof 1965 gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineersthe responsibility to design the flood control lev-ees for anticipated hurricanes. In the absence ofthe Saffir-Simpson Scale at the time, the criteri-on for which the Corps was authorized to designthe levees was described as the Standard ProjectScale. By today’s measures it is the equivalentof a fast-moving Category 3 storm. At the time,the probability of an equivalent Category 4 or 5storm had not been considered. Even today, theeffect of a slow-moving Category 3 storm hasnot been considered in the Corps criteria to the

Letter to the President

(Continued on Page 7)



Engineering issues and historic buildingsBy Andrew Ferrell

Andrew Ferrell is the Chief of Architecture and Engineering at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches,Louisiana. He earned his Bachelor’s in German Language and Linguistics in 1992 from Louisiana State University followed by a Master’s inInternational Relations from Boston University - Brussels in 1995, and a Master’s in Architecture/Historic Preservation in 1997. Ferrell joined theNCPTT in 1999 and previously served as an Architecture and Engineering Research Fellow coordinating its national training initiative for architects andengineers. Prior to joining the NCPTT, Ferrell was employed with Gulf Engineers and Consultants as a cultural resource management specialist andenvironmental resources technician and he taught in the Cultural Resource Management Program at Southeastern Louisiana University.

The National Center for PreservationTechnology and Training (NCPTT) has beenoperating in Natchitoches, Louisiana, on thecampus of Northwestern State University since1994. Created by Congress as part of theNational Park Service (NPS), the mission of theNCPTT is to advance the application of scienceand technology to historic preservation in theUnited States. The roles of the Center discussedherein are in better preparing engineers to workwith heritage buildings, engineering issues forhistoric buildings post-Katrina, and innovativesurvey work that is currently under way.

Engineering for historic buildingsHistoric buildings are valued as cultural

artifacts that tell us important information aboutthe past. Historic buildings, almost by defini-tion, predate modern construction standards.They often make use of archaic building materi-als and systems that are no longer used and theyare rarely available today. Historic materials,like all materials, deteriorate over time and withexposure to the elements.

Retaining historic fabric is a basic tenet ofhistoric preservation, so wholesale replacementis usually not a viable option. An engineer isone of the first people consulted when a projectinvolves a historic building. The engineer isasked whether the structure is sound and canwithstand the planned preservation work andpossibly additional loads. How do engineerslearn to address the unique problems inherent inhistoric buildings and come up with solutionsthat meet both engineering and historic preser-vation needs?

At the prompting of then NCPTT Boardmember, Nick Gianopulos, PE, a renownedpreservation engineer, the NCPTT began inves-tigating how engineers were being trained todeal with the specialized aspects encountered inthe rehabilitation of older and historic buildings.In 1999, the Center began by reviewing thepreservation content of engineering programsaround the United States accredited by theAccreditation Board for Engineering andTechnology (ABET). While many professors inthese programs expressed interest in historicstructures and the issues their preservation mayraise, there was no evidence of formal preserva-tion content in any of the engineering curriculainvestigated.

In 2000 the NCPTT organized a colloquiumin Philadelphia to discuss how it might improvehistoric preservation training opportunities forengineers. The meeting was attended by repre-sentatives of private engineering firms, engi-neering and preservation professional organiza-tions and university engineering departments.

Upon inquiry, the engineers attending theworkshop revealed that they had largelyacquired their preservation knowledge fromtheir experienced colleagues through mentoring,and by reading, discussions with experts, his-toric preservation seminars and on-the-job expe-rience/training. The clear consensus amongthem was the need for an organized program ofstudy to better prepare engineers to work withthe historic building systems and materialsencountered in rehabilitation of historic build-ings. Thus began NCPTT’s ProfessionalDevelopment Program for Engineers in HistoricPreservation.

Preservation training for engineersThe NCPTT partnered with Michael Henry,

PE, AIA, and Sam Harris, PE, RA, JD to devel-op 4 course modules:• Materials and older buildings• Building pathology• Investigations and diagnostics methodology

and• Treatment strategies and interventions.

Working from the engineer’s standpoint, thecourse modules introduce the specific issues andtechnical challenges that are encountered inolder and historic buildings and offer illustrativesolutions. A description of the contents of eachof course modules follows:

Materials and older buildings. Addresses func-tional requirements and physical properties ofhistoric building materials; common mecha-nisms of deterioration in historic buildings; con-cerns when introducing contemporary buildingmaterials into older or historic buildings.

Building pathology. Addresses functionalrequirements and vulnerabilities of the systemsand components comprising the building enve-lope and structure; combinations of deteriora-tion processes; environmental factors that arenecessary for the most common deteriorationmechanisms; matching older building compo-nents and assemblies with modern replace-ments; flawed structures which have nonethe-less survived.

Investigations and diagnostics methodology.Addresses research and documentary review;impact of prior repairs and environmental condi-tions on the present state of the building; limita-tions of single-point observations and ways toovercome such limitations; going beyondobservable symptoms of deterioration and iden-tifying probable mechanisms and enabling fac-tors; developing and validating a hypothesis asto the mechanism(s) of deterioration.

Treatment strategies and interventions.

Addresses systematic multidisciplinaryapproach to investigate deterioration mecha-nisms and develop effective treatment strate-gies; documenting the process of selecting treat-ment strategies; impact of conflicting technicaland non-technical considerations; evaluatingpotential success of treatment strategies; docu-mentation and evaluation of implemented inter-vention.

Summer Institute The initial version of the courses was

offered as a 2-day workshop at the 2003Association for Preservation TechnologyInternational Conference in Portland, Maine. InJune 2004, the courses were expanded andoffered in Natchitoches, LA as part of theNCPTT’s first Summer Institute. The NCPTTheld additional workshops as part of theSummer Institute in 2005 and 2006. All 4 mod-ules were offered over 2 weeks as Engineeringfor Older and Historic Buildings. The coursecombined lectures, laboratory exercises, casestudies and field work. The course concludedwith student presentations of proposed interven-tion strategies that aimed to meet both preserva-tion and engineering needs.

The primary field sites were the circa 1800Yucca and Africa Houses, located at MelrosePlantation in northwest Louisiana. The classesalso visited many of the historic buildings atCane River Creole National Historical Park.These nationally significant buildings provideda living laboratory where students examinedcomplex historic fabric including hand hewnand sawn timber, soft, low-fired brick, limemortar and bousillage — a traditional clay andSpanish moss building material. These materi-als were of advanced age, with layers of inter-ventions and multiple deterioration mechanismsat work.

Since the inception of Engineering forOlder and Historic Buildings, partners haveincluded the Architectural Engineering Institute



of the American Society of Civil Engineers andthe Historic Resources Committee of theAmerican Institute of Architects. Both organiza-tions provide continuing education credits to par-ticipants. Additional partners included theAssociation for Preservation TechnologyInternational, the Association for thePreservation of Historic Natchitoches, CaneRiver Creole National Historical Park, CaneRiver National Heritage Area and NorthwesternState University.

After offering the workshop in Natchitochesfor 3 years, the Center is now investigatingexpanding the program nationally. The NCPTTis focusing on developing the course materialsinto a training manual that will be availablethrough its website (http://www.ncptt.nsp.gov).This will allow the NCPTT to convey the infor-mation to a larger audience and allow instructorsto incorporate this information into their classesor workshops. This will ultimately serve to pre-serve and protect more of the nation’s historicresources.

Disaster response With the historic preservation expertise of

the NCPTT and the proximity of the Center tothe Gulf Coast, the Center was involved in the

cultural resource response to Hurricanes Katrinaand Rita. The NCPTT has had a long interest indisaster mitigation and response for culturalresources and has funded research dealing withthe issue.

One of the Center’s research priorities is to“protect cultural resources against vandalism,looting, terrorism and natural disasters.” Afterthe 2005 hurricanes that affected the Gulf Coast,the NCPTT became involved in cultural resourcerecovery as members of the Heritage EmergencyNational Taskforce, leading a collaborative effortby• developing assessment tools• embedding staff members with FEMA• creating a web-based clearinghouse for tech-

nical information on disaster recovery• helping create Team Tarp — Operation Roof

Aid — in New Orleans• organizing and sponsoring wet recovery

workshops for museum collections and• providing technical assistance to FEMA,

communities, and individuals.The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that prior

to September 2005 there were 4,913,897 totalhousing units inside the FEMA designatedIndividual and Public Assistance Areas in Texas,Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.1 While not

every structure in this area was affected,100,000s suffered minor to massive damagefrom wind and water. In Louisiana alone204,500 homes were damaged by the 2005Hurricanes.2 This number does not account forthe structures that house businesses, offices, hos-pitals, or utilities.

One of the immediate problems facing his-toric structures after a disaster is the initial con-dition assessment that can possibly determinewhether or not they are demolished. Post-disas-ter assessment forms vary widely from city tocity and state to state with no way to compile his-toric information, and they often ignore the his-toric value of structures. The HeritageEmergency National Task Force recommendeddeveloping standardized and streamlined assess-ment tools that reasonably ensure historic infor-mation is gathered on all structures, which can beused long-term by national, state and localpreservation organizations.

NCPTT’s Andrew Ferrell, Chief ofArchitecture and Engineering Program, andMary Striegel, Chief of the Material ResearchProgram, worked with FEMA in the Greater NewOrleans area. Ferrell participated in reviewingthe historic integrity and conditions of all red-tagged buildings in the City’s National Register

Students discuss African House during a Building Pathology class inMelrose, Louisiana.

Students explore material properties during a Historic Materials class inMelrose, Louisiana.

Storm damaged historic residence in Holy Cross in New Orleans.

15714_ASCE_May07:Civil Engineer 5/9/07 4:04 PM


Districts while Striegel provided conditionassessment of damaged library and museum col-lections and technical assistance in collectionsrecovery. This experience led to a number ofpresentations and discussions about disaster pre-paredness and response for cultural resourcesacross the United States.

The NCPTT compiled hurricane technicalassistance data for cultural resources and addedit to its home page, providing links to the NPSand non-NPS information. The NCPTT websitebecame one of the primary national informationresources for the cultural resource response.NPS provides direct links to this page athttp://www.nps.gov/katrina/, where the NPSposts all information on hurricane response andrecovery. The NPS maintains a list of historicsites and museums impacted by HurricanesKatrina, Rita, and Wilma on the NCPTT website.

In disaster areas, the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers runs a temporary tarping program thatinstalls plastic sheeting over damaged roofs.Unfortunately, this program does not install tarpson roofs covered with metal, tile, slate, asbestos,and other hard roofing materials often used onhistoric buildings. The NCPTT worked withpartners in New Orleans to provide assistance tohomeowners with damaged roofs that were noteligible for the Corps’ program. Building onthese efforts, the NCPTT entered into an agree-ment with the Tulane School of Architecture andTarp New Orleans (TNO) to produce, edit andpublish a substantial body of information per-taining to the preservation work of TNO to tarphistoric structures in New Orleans immediatelyafter Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The projectwill result in technical information on methods,materials and approaches to tarping; an analysisof the data gathered and varying results of theoverall tarping effort, and preliminary data fromthe NCPTT materials science testing of selectedtarping materials.

The Materials Research Program, in partner-ship with American Institute for Conservationand numerous state and federal agencies, heldworkshops titled After the Storm: Recovery ofWet Collections in March 2006. Funding for theworkshops was provided by the Samuel H. KressFoundation and donations from several otherpartners. These workshops were offered to assistpersons in charge of cultural collections withpost-disaster response and planning for futuredisasters.

Post disaster lessonsWhile many lessons were learned post

Katrina and Rita concerning health and safety,civil works, and in other areas, perhaps the mostcritical lesson in all areas is that time is of theessence. While taking care of life safety issuesis the highest priority post disaster and clearlyrequires the quickest response, the survivabilityof historic buildings is time sensitive.

One of the most critical lessons is the impor-tance of having an up-to-date survey of historicbuildings and sites. Critical to disaster planning,mitigation, and recovery is having a reliableinventory of all historic properties and otherresources of the area, including maps of historicbuilding sites. Normally state and local preser-

vation organizations collect such information.However, it is not always entirely up-to-date, noreasily accessible after a disaster.

Innovative strategies for rapiddocumentation of historic resources

The experience in the aftermath ofHurricanes Katrina and Rita underscored thelimitations in current approaches for document-ing and assessing heritage resources in a post-disaster context. Traditional paper-based dam-age assessment processes proved slow and inad-equate for measuring post-disaster impacts onheritage resources.

The NCPTT is embarking on a project withLouisiana State University to develop the meansfor the rapid documentation of heritageresources using new survey technologies. Thesemeans will rely on special equipment to simulta-neously capture digital imagery and geographicinformation. The NCPTT and LSU researcherswill develop and test technologies and method-ologies for data collection and integration intogeographic information systems platforms,analysis, and query-retrieval. It is hoped thatthis will allow the documentation of a variety ofhistoric resources in a relatively short time. Withthe new technologies and methodologies, it isanticipated that entire neighborhoods could bedocumented in the time one block is surveyedusing traditional methods.

The researchers will also develop trainingworkshops to disseminate the technologies andmethodologies; train and manage rapid deploy-ment documentation/damage assessment teamscapable of using the technologies and method-ologies; facilitate ongoing research and develop-ment of the technologies and methodologies byworking with partner organizations on otherresource documentation projects. These tech-nologies and methodologies will possibly allowweb accessibility permitting engineers, archi-tects, preservationists and conservators to accessthe information and effectively participate in thedisaster response from outside of the disasterarea.

The Center will continue to work with engi-neers and other professionals to develop trainingopportunities that will increase the practitioners’breadth of knowledge to allow them to moreeffectively deal with historic buildings and othercultural resources. At the same time, the NCPTTwill continue to support innovative research thathas the prospect to advance the application ofscience and technology to historic preservationand that will lead to a better understanding andthe preservation of America’s important culturalheritage.

References1 Gulf Coast Area Data Profiles, U.S. Census

Bureau, (accessed 9 April 2007),http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/Profiles/gulf_coast/profiles.htm

2 Hurricane Katrina Anniversary Data forLouisiana, Louisiana Recovery Authority, 20August 2006 (accessed 9 April 2007),http://rememberrebirth.org/documents/LouisianaKatrinaAnniversaryData082106.pdf

❖ Quote ❖Infrastructure: Any bid to improve roads and

bridges in Louisiana always seems to boil downto two facts: The need is there (and) the politi-cal will to pay for it is not... Without moremoney... (the) backlog (of roads and bridges)will grow by about $300 million a year... Mostvoters believed state roads were in bad shape butthey also opposed a gasoline tax increase toimprove them. Motorists (in Louisiana) now pay38.4 cents a gallon in road taxes... (while) thenational average is 46.8... Like other expensiveissues in Louisiana, lots of voters want some-thing for nothing... (and) think someone elseshould pay for them... (They) have never gottenover the days when energy dollars paid for manystate services.

- Will Sentell,Reporter for Capitol news bureauSunday Advocate 8/6/06

best of my knowledge. Considering the possi-bility of the intensity of storms exceedingCategory 5 in the future because of the globalwarming, the impact of high intensity storms andstorm surge on our infrastructure could be muchmore destructive.

Your article, in my opinion, addresses therisk based on the probability of flooding fromevents such as heavy rains and the relatedresponse for the flood control — the data gener-ally used by the insurance companies. If a sim-ilar probability is not considered for protectionfrom sustained wind and the accompanyingstorm surge, the City of New Orleans, and forthat matter, the entire Gulf Coast region, will beleft vulnerable and given future storm events itmay possibly be relegated to only a faint memo-ry of what it once was. This is in part because ofthe loss of the wetlands and similar other protec-tive natural or manmade elements that may con-tribute to disproportionate damage in futureyears.

Then what could be done? In Europe, mostof the engineered, manmade protective barriersagainst natural forces are designed for at least a1000-year level of protection or more. Is it nowprudent that we start designing our levees andprotective structures for at least a 500-year levelof protection. This will give a 5 percent proba-bility of experiencing an event exceeding the500-year level of protection over a 25-year serv-ice life and 10 percent over a 50-year servicelife. No doubt that this will increase the cost perlife significantly and increase the factor of safe-ty of structures from 1.3 as designed today tonear 2. Considering that dams are generallydesigned for a factor of safety of 1.5, would itnow be sensible for our flood protection levees,that protect 100,000s of lives and $100 billionsin property, be designed for a higher factor ofsafety than that? I urge you to bring this issue tothe forefront. As an engineering society, we oweit to the public.

Subhash Kulkarni, PresidentKulkarni Consultants

(Continued from Page 4)


Hurricane KatrinaKatrina was one of the 3 worst hurricanes to

visit the Gulf Coast in recent history. It formedas a tropical depression near Nassau, Bahamas,on August 23, 2005, then made a landfall in theMiami, Florida area as a Category 1 storm. Shecontinued northeast in the Gulf of Mexico gain-ing strength. By August 28th Katrina was locat-ed about 250 miles south-southeast of the mouthof the Mississippi River and had become aCategory 5 storm. On August 29th at 6:10 amCDT, Katrina made first landfall in Buras,Louisiana with sustained winds of 127 mph. Shecontinued northward making landfall nearWaveland, Mississippi, at about 10:00 am CDTwith sustained winds of 130 mph that correspondto a Category 3 storm.

The storm tide or surge reported in Wavelandby the National Weather Service was more than26 feet, completely destroying most of the resi-dences along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As aresult, 1000s of insurance claims were made bythe owners of the affected residences and busi-nesses. Many of them were denied coverage bytheir insurance companies based on the argumentthat the storm damage was caused by the surge— flooding often not covered by their insurancepolicies — and not by the wind that was coveredby their insurance policies. Thus, those without

flood insurance were ostensibly left without cov-erage.

Property descriptionI was contacted in November 2005 to survey

the storm damage to a residential property inWaveland, Mississippi, and perform an investi-gation to definitively determine, if possible,whether the storm damage was caused by thewind or the surge. This is a summary of theinvestigation performed and some of the conclu-sions that resulted.

The property, a two-story residential struc-ture more than 75 years old, faced the Gulf and itwas located within 300 feet of Beach Boulevardthat parallels and follows the Gulf shore. Thesite featured a rise in grade elevation of about 5to 6 feet from street-level to the residence thatwas surrounded by trees and vegetation.

I was furnished photographs of the residencetaken prior to Hurricane Katrina. There were nodrawings or plans of the residence available atthe time. A photograph of a front view of the res-idence prior to Hurricane Katrina is shown inFigure 1. The frontal property boundary is par-allel and adjacent to Beach Boulevard that is ona northeast bearing. However, for simplicity, ref-erences to direction made here forward are basedon the assumption that the front of the residence

faces due south.The residential structure had a basement

with a footprint of approximately 44'-6" × 64'-8"with its 44'-6" dimension oriented east/west andparallel to Beach Boulevard as indicated in thefield sketch from the damage survey shown inFigure 2 that appears of the cover of this issue.The basement had a floor-to-ceiling clearance ofapproximately 8'-0" and it featured a concretefloor slab and a 6-inch-thick concrete perimeterwall that extended above grade approximately 3'-6". The concrete basement slab supported sever-al brick pilasters that together with the perimeterwall supported a wood frame superstructure at itsfirst floor level.

Concrete decks approximately 6 inches thickextended about 10'-6" beyond the basementperimeter walls on the north and south sides ofthe residence. The top of these slabs matchedclosely to the top of basement perimeter wall.One edge of the concrete decks was supported bythe basement perimeter wall and the other wassupported by an integral concrete edge beamresting on brick pilasters spaced at approximate-ly 10' centers. This provided for a crawl spaceunder these concrete decks. The concrete deckon the south side (front) of the residence thatfaced the storm surge had a 2×6 wood sill plateembedded in its concrete. In the crawl spaceunder the concrete deck on the north side of theresidence, the concrete steps leading to the base-ment entrance were supported by 2 concretewingwalls.

On the west side of the residence was a brickfireplace and its chimney that stood about 24 feetabove grade. Also on west side of the residencewas a steel fire escape that provided an entranceto the upstairs of the residence and also served asa stairway between a raised first floor entranceand grade.

A carport on the east side of the residencefeatured an on-grade concrete slab bounded by

8 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / MAY2007

Can a structural engineer truly determinewhether wind or storm surge caused thedamage to property during Hurricane Katrina?By Subhash Kilkari, PE

Subhash V. Kulkarni, PE, is President of Kulkarni Consultants which he founded in 1981. He earned his BS in civil engineering in 1965 and hisMaster of Technology in soils engineering in 1967 from the Indian Institute of Technology and his MS in Structural Engineering in 1970 from the SouthDakota School of Mines and Technology. A licensed engineer in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and several other states, Kulkarni has planned anddesigned numerous civil and structural engineering projects located throughout the South and Midwest. He is a Fellow of the ASCE and a member ofthe ACI, LES, NSPE, PCI, SBC and other engineering-related organizations. He was honored by the ASCE - Louisiana Section with its 2003 OutstandingCivil Engineer of the Year Award.

Figure 1. Photograph of the front of the residence before Hurricane Katrina.



the basement perimeter wall and a low brick wallon its opposite edge that supported the columnsof a canopy over the carport near its ends. A con-crete pathway about 6'-0" wide leads from BeachBoulevard to the residence and it is connected toits concrete steps that face Beach Boulevard andprovided access to the first floor level of the res-idence from the pathway. Two curved walls con-structed of brick provided support for the con-crete steps.

The wood studs in the framing were support-ed on and toenailed into a continuous 2×6 woodsill plate that was anchored into the concretebasement perimeter wall by a series of anchorbolts. Several of the toenails that connected thewood studs to the wood sill plate remained afterthe storm and were visible during the damagesurvey. Several of the anchor bolts that anchorthe 2×6 wood sill plate into the concrete base-ment perimeter wall were also visible.

Wind damage surveyTo the best of my knowledge and from its

appearance, the site had remained undisturbedfrom immediately following Hurricane Katrina’svisit to the Gulf Coast until the damage survey

was made. The concrete basement perimeterwalls and concrete decks on the north and southsides of the residence remained in place but mostof the wood framing above it was totally demol-ished and its debris field was located about 225'away from — and northwest of — the originallocation of the residence. Several trees — somemore than 30' tall — surrounding the residencehad fallen to the west. The trees that survived thestorm were leaning to the west. There was a trailof roofing tiles leading in a northwest directionaway from the original location of the residence.The scattered contents of the residence followeda similar trail shown in Figure 3. (Note that thesketch number provided in the caption of eachdamage survey photograph is referenced in thefield sketch shown in Figure 2.)

It was obvious from observing the orienta-tion of the debris field and structural damage andother evidence that the components and contentsof the residence were moved to the west by thehigh wind forces during Hurricane Katrina. Thebrick pilaster at the northeast corner of the con-crete deck on the north (back) side of the resi-dence and shown in Figure 4 was broken offfrom the slab that was moved to the west about

2½". The toenails connecting the studs to the sillplate that remained in the sill plate were bent tothe west as shown in Figure 5. This indicatedthat the stud walls moved due to the wind forcesfrom the east. Several of the wood sill plateanchor bolts embedded in the concrete basementperimeter wall were also bent to the west con-firming that the residence was moved by thewind forces from the east. The brick pilasters inthe basement were broken into several pieces andthey fell to the west as shown in Figure 6.

The base of the fireplace on the west side ofthe residence was detached from the basementperimeter wall and floor framing as shown inFigure 7. It was inclined to the west leaving agap of about 3" at floor level. The chimneyabove the fireplace fell to the west and broke into3 segments coming to rest adjacent to the steelfire escape that also fell to the west as shown inFigure 8.

Close observation of the connections of rooftiles to the wood planks of the roof deck revealedmore information on the failure of the structureand its sequence. Several nails had popped

Figure 3. Scattered roof tiles and building contents observed in a debrisfield leading northwest from the original location of the residence (sketchnumber 2).

Figure 4. Concrete deck slab is broken from its support and it has movedabout 2½" to the west (sketch number 3).

Figure 5. An example of a toenail that attached a stud to the remainingsill plate is typically bent to the west (sketch number 4).

Figure 6. The brick pilasters supported on the basement floor slab fell tothe west (sketch number 6). The pilasters together with the basementperimeter walls supported the structure at the first floor level.




Branch News and Leadership Forum

ACADIANABy M. Jamal Khattak, PE, President

Spring is usually a busy time for the Branchand this Spring is no exception. On Monday,May 14, we will host our traditional SpringClassic Golf Tournament at Southern Trace.President-Elect Rusty Cooper is once againorganizing this event that, like last year’s, prom-ises to be a great success. I would like to remindyou that the golf tournament is our only fundrais-er of the year to benefit Louisiana Tech civilengineering students.

Thanks to funds raised last year, theShreveport Branch presented 2 scholarships of$500 each to the outstanding senior of the year,John David Brown, and the outstanding juniorof the year, James Ellingburg. The scholarshipswere presented during the Winter Banquet host-ed in February by the Tech ASCE StudentChapter.

Depending on your anticipated continuingsupport we plan to continue to present thesescholarships to Louisiana Tech students eachyear. If you would like more information on thegolf tournament, including teams and sponsor-ships, you can download the forms from ourwebpage at http://www.lasce.org/shreveport/index.aspx or contact Rusty Cooper [email protected] or (318) 286-6877.

Gordon C. Russell, PE, who died unexpect-edly in February, was a dear member of theShreveport Branch. He was scheduled to be theguest speaker for the February Branch member-ship meeting. Louisiana Tech Assistant

Professor, Luke Lee, graciously agreed to be ourspeaker. He gave a very informative presenta-tion, “Rehabilitation of Reinforced ConcreteStructures.” As usual, our Tech faculty is alwaysavailable to the Branch and willing to serve inwhatever way that is needed.

Last month, the Branch hosted the Section’sAnnual Spring Meeting and Conference at theClarion Hotel in Shreveport. I am very proud toreport that the Conference was a success and thatall of our officers worked very hard during thatweek to make it possible. Among the technicalsession presenters were several professors fromLouisiana Tech University and University ofLouisiana at Lafayette, including two notables inULL Dean of Engineering, Mark Zappi, PE, andASCE Region 5 Director, Steven C.McCutcheon, PE.

The Shreveport Branch Board of Directorshas made several important decisions during thepast 3 months. First, approved by the Board, wasa $1000 contribution to the Louisiana TechASCE Student Chapter to help with its prepara-tions for the 2007 Deep South Conference ithosted and that took place the same week as theSection Annual Spring Meeting and Conference.

The Board also approved designating theBranch’s outstanding senior scholarship, usuallyselected by the Tech faculty, as The FreddyRoberts Outstanding Senior Scholarship, inmemory of our dear member and professorFreddy L. Roberts, PE, who died March.

Additionally, I would like to thank you forsupporting all the activities that we have organ-ized since the beginning of the year, especiallythe recently concluded Conference. A specialthanks to all the companies that participated assponsors and exhibitors. Through their partici-pation and support, we were able to keep the costto our participating members to a minimum. Wehope that our previous sponsors will again con-sider being one of our sponsors for the GolfTournament in May.

SHREVEPORTBy Elba U. Hamilton, EI, President

Mustapha recognizedBy Ali M. Mustapha, PE

The Civil Engineering Department of theLouisiana Tech University College ofEngineering and Science recently honored AliM. Mustapha, PE as a 2007 distinguished alum-ni. Mustapha, a 1985 civil engineering graduate,was recognized for his accomplishments, ser -vice, dedication, and contributions to the engi-neering profession. He is currently the VicePresident of the Section. He previously servedas President of the Louisiana EngineeringSociety.

Mustapha is currently serving on theLouisiana Professional Engineering and LandSurveying Board and he is a member of theTrenchless Technology Center IndustryAdvisory Board. He is employed by theEngineering Division of the City of Shreveportas the Assistant City Engineer responsible fordrainage, water distribution, and sewer collec-tion systems. He is also the City’s Floodplainadministrator.

Ali Mustapha

The program for the January Branch mem-bership meeting and luncheon was a presentationby Said M. Ismail, PE, the PavementManagement Engineer and Administrator at theLouisiana DOTD. He presented and demonstrat-ed the use of the video images and pavement dis-tress data available through the DOTD’sVISIDATA software. This pavement data is col-lected and processed continuously for all of thepavement on the state highway system inLouisiana.

The data is collected on a 2-year cycle athighway speeds from a specially equipped vehi-cle with kinematic differential GPS locationtechnology, high definition video cameras, andother instrumentation in the vehicle. The datacollected every 0.100 mile provides images andmeasurements for pavement distresses and itslocation including cracking, rutting, faulting, etc.Incidentally, the location of — and the legend on— highway signs, highway bridge locations andclearances and ramp locations, and roadway cur-vature and slope are measured.

This data provides the DOTD with the infor-mation and the means to develop comprehensive,current inventories of the pavements and any

other visible features along the roadway fordeveloping databases and comprehensive needsanalyses. For the pavement managementprocess, the data is converted into the informa-tion needed for developing a cost-effective strat-egy for the timely application and choice ofreconstruction, rehabilitation or routine mainte-nance treatments that are consistent with thebudget available.

The Branch chose not to have a Februarymembership meeting due to the LouisianaTransportation Engineering Conference spon-sored by the Louisiana DOTD and the MardiGras holiday. However, an early March mem-bership meeting was scheduled to avoid a con-flict with the Section Annual Spring Meeting andConference hosted by the Shreveport Branchlater in the month. Our guest speaker wasDonald Hayes who made a presentation titled “AHolistic Approach to Sediment Remediation.”Hayes joined the University of Louisiana atLafayette faculty in January 2007 as the Co-Director of its Institute for Coastal Ecology andEngineering and the UNOCAL/BORSF




BATON ROUGEBy Brant B. Richard, PE, President

Membership eventsThere was a Branch membership meeting

and luncheon in March. The guest speaker wasAndrew Beall, employed by the LouisianaDepartment of Natural Resources. The title ofhis presentation was “Integrated EcosystemRestoration and Hurricane Protection –Louisiana Comprehensive Master Plan for aSustainable Coast.” Beall’s presentation provedto be very interesting. He discussed the chal-lenges facing the Department, considering thedemand of Louisiana’s population to live in thevulnerable coastal zones, and how the plan wasin conformance with the overall Coast 2050 plan.

In 1998, the State of Louisiana and itsFederal partners approved a coastal restorationplan titled, Coast 2050: Toward a SustainableCoastal Louisiana. That document presentedstrategies jointly developed by federal, state, andlocal interests to address Louisiana’s massivecoastal land loss problems. For the first time,solutions were proposed to address fundamentalecosystem needs to prevent the loss of this natu-ral treasure. By implementing the plan’s region-al ecosystem strategies, it is envisioned that asustainable ecosystem will be restored in coastalLouisiana in large part by using the same naturalforces that had originally built the coastal zonelandscape.

Following this luncheon presentation, a one-hour PDH seminar was presented by Steven C.McCutcheon, PE, titled “Disaster Preparednessfor Civil Engineers: U.S. population movinginto harms way.” Steve is the Chair of the ASCERegion 5 Board of Governors and he is currentlyat the University of Georgia. It was a pleasure tohave Steve visit our branch and volunteer to

present this seminar to our membership.

Engineers Week activitiesFebruary 18-24, 2007 was the week desig-

nated for the celebration of this year’s EngineersWeek. In Baton Rouge, it featured various activ-ities designed to interest young people in engi-neering and technology. The Baton RougeBranch was involved in the following activities:• Awarding three scholarships to engineering

students attending LSU and SouthernUniversity

• Placing two billboards advertising EngineersWeek on Interstate routes in Baton Rouge

• Appearing on a local television morning pro-gram to discuss Engineers Week.

In recent years, we give back through scholar-ships to future civil engineers during the annualEngineers Week Banquet sponsored by theBaton Rouge Chapter of the LouisianaEngineering Society. This year, we werepleased to be able to present three scholarships.The recipients were• Tynekia Hampton of Southern University• Ineaka Carbo of Southern University and• Danielle Chabaud of LSU.

A national ASCE state public affairs grant(SPAG) was awarded to the Baton Rouge Branchfor its proposal to develop and place anEngineers Week advertisement on a high visibil-ity billboard. The billboard was to be rented dur-ing the month of February in observance ofEngineers Week. There were 2 billboards rentedfrom the LAMAR Outdoor Advertising. Theywere located in Baton Rouge on Interstate routeI-12 near Sherwood Forest Boulevard — a stan-dard vinyl billboard — and on Interstate route I-

10 near College Drive — a digital billboard. Thegraphic used on the billboards with the slogan,“Civil Engineers Make a World of Difference”appears on the cover of the February 2007 issueof this journal.

On February 12, I was able to get scheduledto appear on WAFB-TV to promote awareness ofcivil engineers and civil engineering in the com-munity and encourage young people to considerengineering as a viable career choice. We needmore engineering leadership making and takingsimilar public relations opportunities to supportthe future need for engineers in the profession.The news of the television spot made the ASCENews as an example to encourage branches andsections throughout the nation to consider fol-lowing suit.

Get involved...As we continue to proudly pursue and enjoy

the career we have chosen as civil engineers, Ibelieve that we have a civic duty to promote ourprofession. We need for young people at all agesto better understand the nature of engineeringand to consequently be excited about what theengineering profession has to offer as a career.This is why I believe that it is extremely impor-tant to be involved. Involvement can take on theform of many effective activities that can bedevised and/or selected according to the interestsand talents of our many members. It can rangefrom informal discussions of the importance ofengineering at impromptu social gatherings toformal presentations to math and science stu-dents eager to learn about the character of — and

Professor of Civil Engineering. On behalf of theBranch, I wish to welcome Donald Hayes who Ibelieve is a valuable addition to our professionalcommunity.

We are all aware that Louisiana’s highwaytransportation infrastructure has not receivedadequate funding for decades. The deplorablecondition of the state highway system is testa-ment to the fact. Gasoline tax is the major sourceof revenue for funding the state highway system.The revenue from the State gasoline tax for

highways has not increased significantly since1984 while in the same time period inflation hassubstantially increased the cost of constructionand maintenance of highways. In calling atten-tion to this sad state of affairs, the LafayetteChamber of Commerce has initiated a campaignfor additional state transportation funding. TheChamber supports a proposition that “all high-way user fees be dedicated to building and main-taining our highways.”

State Representative Donald M. “Don”Trahan will be as the guest speaker for theBranch membership meeting and luncheon inApril. It is anticipated that a number of bills willbe introduced to increase state highway funding.Representative Trahan is leading the formation

of a coalition of fellow legislators to introduceand seek the passage the legislation necessary toaccomplish this goal. Representative Trahan’sDistrict 31 consists of the southern part ofLafayette Parish and Vermilion Parish. He willbe speaking more generally about the upcominglegislative session.

A few months ago, the Board decided tolaunch a digital newsletter transmitted via emailto our membership. Since then, the attendance atthe membership meetings became and remainedlower than usual. The Board understands thatthis is probably due in part to the decision tochanging the newsletter to the digital form with-out a transition. Moreover, the email address ofmembers has not been a vital communicationlink used by the ASCE in the past. Therefore, thecurrent email address has not been well main-tained by our members. Nevertheless, the Boarddecided to switch back to the hard copy of thenewsletter for the remainder of the year.

As a part of the Branch’s public outreacheffort, it participated in the career exposition heldby the University of Louisiana at Lafayette dur-ing Engineers Week in February and the careerconnections event in the Cajundome in April.The Branch manned a booth to provide informa-

tion about the ASCE. The booth was decoratedwith information and attractive posters, and theBranch leadership were present to answer ques-tions. It was a great success. Further, the publicoutreach committee plans to launch its previous-ly developed Powerpoint presentation for highschool students April 20th at Northside HighSchool Engineering Academy. This presentationis designed to attract high school students to thecivil engineering profession as a viable careerchoice.

The Branch finalized the date for the one-day Spring Seminar it is planning to sponsor.The May 9th seminar will cover 4 major subjectareas in civil engineering:• geotechnical• hydraulics/hydrology• structures and• transportation.

It will be offered at an affordable fee. TheBranch has also planned its May Crawfish boil inconcert with the Lafayette Chapter of theLouisiana Engineering Society and the LafayetteSection of the Institute of Electrical andElectronic Engineers. The tentative date for thisevent is May 17th.





NEW ORLEANSBy Christopher L. Sanchez, PE, President

On March 16th, James R. (Jim) Danner, PE,and I attended the award ceremonies for theGreater New Orleans Science Fair. Traditionally,the Fair has been hosted by the University ofNew Orleans in its Arena. However, the Arena isstill undergoing repairs from hurricane damageso this year the Fair was hosted by the FirstBaptist Church of New Orleans.

The Senior Pastor of the Church opened theaward ceremony with a brief prayer about howGod gave us science so we can make the world abetter place for all. Being a Christian, it occurredto me what a great way this was to connect thespiritual, scientific and engineering worldstogether for our historically and exclusively sci-ence/engineering oriented event and its partici-pants — students and engineers who may nothave considered the connection no matter whattheir religious affiliation may be.

The Senior Pastor’s message paralleled thepurpose of Jim Danner’s and my presence —outreach. We were present to introduce theyouthful contestants to the engineering profes-sion and its connection to science through practi-cal application. More specifically, we were thereto present the 1st and 2nd place prizes — $75and $50 cash awards — respectively for the jun-ior and senior high school divisions.

The Branch and its Structural EngineeringInstitute Chapter — formally the BranchStructures Committee — have traditionally par-ticipated in and supported this event. However,there are a growing number — currently about50 — organizations that now support this event.

While this increasing support is surely appreci-ated and encouraging for the purposes of theevent, it presents a challenge for the Branch tokeep the previous ASCE message and civil engi-neering profile from being diminished.

Jim Danner came up with a great idea tomeet the challenge by gaining everyone’s atten-tion and encouraging teacher involvement.How? you ask. Double the cash awards and offeradditional prizes — $50 gift certificates — to thestudents’ teachers. While the Branch supportsJim’s idea, I see it as a short term solution andbelieve that it will not take long for it to catch onwith some of the other supporting organizations.

Clearly, to substantively set the ASCE apart,I believe we need to use the unique assets wehave and consider a mentoring program support-ed by the members of the Branch. This would bementoring student contestants and there teachersthrough their project selection and early projectdevelopment explaining what engineering reallyis about. This is not about having the studentsand the teachers work with engineers to developa better and more impressive science fair project.This is about exposing the students and theirteachers to the engineering process so the stu-dents may be better informed about — and moreinterested in — engineering when they considercollege curricula and careers and the teachersmay more effectively counsel their other talentedand interested students in curriculum and careerchoices.

Jim, I and the Branch leadership who servewith us typically set aside several hours a month

in service to our civil engineering communityand we appreciate that there is only so much ofthis volunteer effort that we can carry. A mem-ber of our branch leadership, and the Section’sGovernor to Region 5, Norma Jean Mattei, PE,leads the Branch’s excellent outreach programfor the New Orleans Area. By my estimate, wejust need a few more people who can make andmeet a commitment to set aside several hoursonce or twice a year to mentor the students andtheir teachers for the various science fairs.

Similarly, volunteer commitments are need-ed to• support the Mathcounts events• support other student competitions• work the kid’s booth at Jazzfest or• develop and execute new ideas.

Our goal is not simply to recruit young peopleinto engineering, it is to inspire them to defineand pursue their own goals with a clearer under-standing of engineering and particularly civilengineering as a career opportunity.

Hurricane Katrina provided or heightenedpublic awareness of civil engineering aroundwhich the Branch is building many of its pro-grams. We need to keep the momentum going.Those Branch members interested is supportingthe Branch’s efforts should contact a member ofthe Branch Board or of the executive committeeof its SEI Chapter. Contact information can beobtained from the Branch website, www.asce-neworleans.org.

Some readers may be wondering about thisnew Branch entity. It is not new. It is the sameold Structures Committee of the Branch with anew name. The SEI Chapter is still an integralpart of the New Orleans Branch but it is now alsoan integral part of the Structural EngineeringInstitute.

Seminars presentedSince the last committee report in November

2006 issue, the Chapter hosted the followingseries of seminars in the Branch:• April 27, 2006 — The World Trade Center

Investigation: Analysis and Recommen -dations. Fahim Sadek from the NIST,Washington, DC presented the recommenda-

tions from the investigation of The WorldTrade Center collapse. This presentationwas the Chapter’s Annual David HunterLecture.

• June 6, 2006 — New Orleans Levee Failure.Gordon P. Boutwell, PE, from Baton Rougepresented the facts from the InvestigationCommittee Report about the New Orleanslevee failures during the Hurricane Katrina.A record of more that 150 members attendedthis seminar.

• August 17, 2006 — Achieving FloodResistant Design Seminar. Chris Jones fromNorth Carolina gave a timely seminar aboutways to design the structures that will serveas flood resistant.

• October 26, 2006 — Sheet Pile DesignSeminar. Richard Hartman from New Jerseypresented a very informative 8-hour seminaron sheet pile design. Hartman shared withthe attendees his considerable experience inthis discipline. Approximately 90 membersattended the seminar and received two hand-outs including design examples and copiesof the seminar notes.

• November 14, 2006 — Offshore Seminar.Jose Vasquez of Houston presented theAnnual Offshore Seminar on Soft Berth con-cept. It was a unique concept of maximizingthe LNG unloading at the Port of Louisiana.

2006 Annual Report of the Branch SEI ChapterOm P. Dixit, PE, Chair



career opportunities in — engineering. As I look back over our recent Engineers

Week experiences in the Branch, I believe thatwe should continuously recognize the need toeffectively present the message that there is andwill be an ongoing and pressing need for engi-neers well into the future. As such, the future ofthe engineering profession is in the young peopleof this country who are now seeking a challeng-

ing and rewarding career in providing the fabricthat supports and advances our civilization. Ichallenge you to get involved in your local com-munity. Make and take the opportunities thatallow you to make a difference as an engineer.Remember, Engineers Turn Ideas into Reality.

Here are some examples of involvement:• Volunteer to tutor in math and science in

local schools

• Volunteer to present and discuss civil engi-neering on career day

• Write a letter to the editor about the impor-tance of engineering in community issues

• Tell someone about engineering once aweek, and

• Plan public relations opportunities in yourcommunity.



Highlights of the Annual Spring Meeting and Conference

There were approximately 65 participants inthe Section Annual Spring Meeting andConference. They were able to choose from 18technical sessions presented by 15 differentspeakers that provided professional developmentunits required to maintain professional engineer-ing licensure in Louisiana. In addition to themany technical sessions offered, conferenceattendees were able to listen to the keynotespeaker for the Thursday luncheon, CedricGlover, Mayor of Shreveport. This luncheonwas dedicated to the memory of ShreveportBranch member Gordon C. Russell, PE, whodied unexpectedly in February.

As part of the Conference, the Branch host-ed the traditional awards banquet to honor theASCE members who recently achieved the statusof Life Member. Also, the Section’s distin-guished senior civil engineering students fromthe civil engineering departments housed inLouisiana’s universities were also honored. Theawards banquet this year was dedicated to thememory of Louisiana Tech University professorFreddy L. Roberts, PE, who died in March.

On behalf of the host, Shreveport Branch, Iwish to thank Branch member O. LeeUnderwood, PE, for helping us to honor ournewest Life Members in such a dignified man-

ner. Always willing to serve the Branch, Leeserved as the master of ceremonies for the LifeMember certificate presentations during theawards banquet. He presented a brief summaryof the careers and achievements of the 4 LifeMembers who were present during the banquetto accept their certificates. This presentation leftthe audience impressed with their many profes-sional and personal accomplishments.

The brief history of each of the LifeMembers David N. Williams, PE, Donald M.Edington, PE, Jerry G. Lazenby, PE, andSteven P. Rider, PE, who were present duringthe banquet follows:

David N. Williams, PE, is a resident ofBaton Rouge and since 2001 he has been theCivil/Structural Department Manager for CDIEngineering Solutions, Process and Industrial.Williams is a native of Saint Joseph, Michigan,and in 1964 he earned his BS in civil engineeringfrom Tri-State University, Angola, Indiana. Heis currently licensed to practice in 21 states andterritories of the United States.

Williams is married to his childhood sweet-heart and friend for life, the former Nancy LeeRose, of Saint Joseph, Michigan. They have 4daughters who graduated from Louisiana StateUniversity in Baton Rouge and have graced them

with 10 grandchildren. Of their 4 sons-in-law, 2hold degrees from Louisiana Tech Universityand Louisiana State University.

He began his career in the Chicago area as aStructural Engineer, designing commercial andresidential high-rise structures. He was an asso-ciate with the joint venture of the businessesincluding Daniel, Mann, Johnson, andMendenhall — Max O. Urbahn — Seeley,Stevenson, Value, and Knecht — and TheGeorge A. Fuller Construction Company.Collectively known as DUSAF it was commis-sioned to engineer and construct the NationalAccelerator Laboratory west of Chicago, nowknown as the Fermi Laboratory, www.fnal.gov.For his part in this project, Williams was instru-mental in the structural design of the 16-storyRobert Rathbun Wilson Hall, the 830-seatNorman F. Ramsey Auditorium, and the MesonLaboratory located in the Fixed TargetExperimental Area on the 6,800-acre complex.

In 1973, Williams moved to Baton Rougewhere he continued his career as a SeniorStructural Engineer in the capacities of LeadEngineer, Project Engineer, and DepartmentManager with the engineering firm of Barnardand Burk Inc. In 1989 he joined Salmon andAssociates as the Chief Structural Engineer andManager of the Civil/Structural Department. In1992 he moved to Lakeland Florida as Vice-President and Chief Engineer of the firm’sFlorida Operations.

Donald M. Edington, PE, a native ofSpringhill, Louisiana and a 1965 graduate ofLouisiana Tech University, earned his BS inCivil Engineering and continued a semester ofgraduate studies in Environmental Engineering.He attended Navy Officer Candidate School inNewport, Rhode Island and was commissionedas Ensign. He served in the U.S. Navy CivilEngineering Corps and attended the Navy CivilEngineering Corps School in Port Hueneme,California. From there he served as Facility

David Williams receives his Life Member certifi-cate from Section President Tim Ruppert.

Donald Edington receives his Life Member cer-tificate from President Ruppert.

Jerry Lazenby receives his Life Member certifi-cate from President Ruppert.

Steven Rider receives his Life Member certifi-cate from President Ruppert.

Guest speaker and radio personality MoonGriffon pictured with Shreveport BranchPresident Elba Hamilton during the AwardsBanquet.




Engineer, Public Works Center, Subic Bay,Philippines, 1966-1967; and Assistant PublicWorks Officer, Naval Air Station, Lemoore,California, 1967-1968.

In 1969 Edington continued his graduatestudies at Louisiana Tech in EnvironmentalEngineering where he and his wife PatriciaCarroll from LaSalle Parish met and were mar-ried. He was employed as Project Engineer,International Paper Company, Mobile, Alabama,1970-1974 — Community DevelopmentEngineer, Research and Development Center,Jackson, Mississippi, 1974-1981 — EngineerSupervisor, Resource Recovery andDevelopment Authority, Baton Rouge,Louisiana, 1981-1985 — Parish Engineer andParish Administrator, DeSoto Parish Police Jury,1985-2000, from which he retired. He has sinceserved as Branch Manager for Meyer, Meyer,Meyer, LaCroix & Hixson, Inc. to present.

Don and his wife Pat have a daughter,Suzanne.

Jerry G. Lazenby, PE, is President ofLazenby and Associates, Inc. in West Monroe,Louisiana. The firm offers consulting engineer-ing and land surveying services. A 1965 gradu-ate of Louisiana Tech University, Jerry began hisengineering career with the Federal HighwayAdministration. In 1974 he moved to WestMonroe joining the consulting firm of Jenkinsand Madden Engineering Company that evolvedinto Lazenby and Associates.

Jerry is a past chairman of the ProfessionalEngineers in Private Practice, a practice divisionof the Louisiana Engineering Society, and a pastPresident of the Monroe Chapter of the LES. Heis the 1993 recipient of the LES Charles M. KerrPublic Relations Award and the 1994 recipient ofthe LES Andrew M. Lockett Civic AffairsAward.

A past President of the Consulting EngineersCouncil of Louisiana, Jerry also served as itsLouisiana National Director 1997-1998 andchaired its Transportation Committee. In 2000

Jerry received the A.E. Wilder, Jr. Award forOutstanding Service to the CEC/L. He has beenelected to the position of Fellow in the AmericanConsulting Engineers Council and the Instituteof Transportation Engineers. Jerry was appoint-ed to — and served 6 years as a member of — theLouisiana Professional Engineers and LandSurveyors Board and he has remained active inservice to the National Council of Examiners forEngineers and Surveyors.

Jerry has served on the Louisiana TechEngineering Foundation, and the Tech CivilEngineering Advisory Committee andEngineering and Science Foundation. In 1995 hewas awarded Tech’s Distinguished AlumnusAward in Civil Engineering and elected a LifeDirector of Tech’s Engineering and ScienceFoundation.

In his community, Jerry is a member and pastpresident of the West Monroe/West OuachitaChamber of Commerce and the West MonroeRotary Club and he is a Paul Harris Fellow.

John David Brown receives his commemorativeplaque from Shreveport Branch President ElbaHamilton for the Louisiana Tech UniversityDistinguished Senior Civil Engineering StudentAward.

Lauren Johnson receives her commemorativeplaque from President Hamilton for the LSUDistinguished Senior Civil Engineering StudentAward.

Brandon DeJean receives his commemorativeplaque from President Hamilton for theSouthern University Distinguished Senior CivilEngineering Senior Award.

Rebecca Sherer receives her commemorativeplaque from President Hamilton for the UNODistinguished Senior Civil Engineering SeniorAward.

Atieh Sehati receives her commemorative plaquefrom President Hamilton for the University ofLouisiana at Lafayette Distinguished SeniorCivil Engineering Senior Award.

David Minton receives his commemorativeplaque from President Hamilton for theMcNeese State University Distinguished SeniorCivil Engineering Senior Award.



Jerry and Christine, his wife of 41 years, have 2sons, a daughter and 9 grandchildren. Christineis also a Louisiana Tech graduate. They areactive members of the First Baptist Church ofWest Monroe. Jerry’s hobbies include deer hunt-ing and fishing.

Steven P. Rider, PE, graduated from collegein 1965 and began working for Rust Engineeringin Calhoun, Tennessee. He moved to NortheastEngineering in Springfield, Massachusetts andthen proceeded to earn his MS from theUniversity of Cincinnati in 1975. In this setting,he was the only student licensed to practice inCalifornia and he gave the professor a hard timeabout leaving out parts of the seismic calcula-tions. The following 13 years he worked forPedco in Cincinnati, Ohio and then for FluorDaniel in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Richmond, VAfor 16 years. He retired in 2000. Since retire-ment, Williams works on small jobs forMcCormick & Co. At one time, he was licensedin 13 states including Civil in California andStructural in Illinois. He has worked all over theworld, including service in the countries ofMexico, Uruguay, the Philippines, India, Turkey,and all over the United States.

He currently lives in Shreveport with hiswife and they were recently blessed with agrandchild.

The distinguished senior civil engineeringstudents honored during the banquet were JohnDavid Brown from Louisiana Tech University,Lauren Johnson from LSU, Brandon DeJeanfrom Southern University, Rebecca Sherer fromUNO, Atieh Sehati from the University ofLouisiana at Lafayette and David Minton from

McNeese State University. The keynote speakerfor the banquet was radio personality MoonGriffon from the Moon Griffon Show. He gavean informative and entertaining presentationabout “Louisiana Politics.”

The Conference concluded with theSection’s Annual Spring Meeting presided over

by Section President Tim Ruppert. During thismeeting, the Section Board of Directors for thenext administrative year was nominated andelected by the Section members present.President-Elect E. R. DesOrmeaux, PE, willsucceed to the office of President of the Sectionfor the 2007-2008 administrative year.



• December 7, 2006 — Are you using ASCE-SEI 07/05 Correctly for Wind Design?Frank Bernardo from Florida presented theways to use ASCE-SEI 07/05 for winddesign. Besides giving a lot of design toolsand references Bernardo presented thechanges in the Miami Dade County buildingcode and the reasoning behind the changes.

• February 7, 2007 — Prediction for the Life-Cycle of Engineered Structures UsingFabrication Quality Control and StructuralHealth Monitoring. Vivek R. Dave fromSanta Fe, New Mexico presented this semi-nar on predicting the life-cycle of engineeredstructures. He introduced us to state-of-the-art integrated methodology for the monitor-ing, control, and prediction of defects thatcould be life-limiting for the entire life-cycleof engineered structures, or engineeredassembled systems. Some of the examplesof types of structures included oil and gasstructures, naval structures and large civilinfrastructure such as bridges and commer-cial buildings.

Seminars planned• May 10, 2007 — Professional Practice and

Business of Forensic Engineering. RobertRatay from Manhasset, NY, specializes infield of analysis of failures of structures, willpresent the Annual David Hunter Lecturethis year.

• June 9, 2007 — Underwater Inspection ofStructures. Ken LeBrey, C.H. Fenstermakerand Associates, Lafayette, LA.

• August 11, 2007 — What Should StructuralEngineers Know About a GeotechnicalReport? William Gwyn, PE, of EustisEngineering, Metairie, LA and DavidLourie, PE, of Lourie Consultants, Metairie,LA.

All seminars sponsored by the Chapter are heldat the University of New Orleans. Seminardates, registration and pertinent information canbe found on the New Orleans Branch website atwww.asceneworleans.org. To add your name toour mailing list for announcements, email OmDixit at [email protected]. The Chapter isalways interested in new seminar topics andpotential speakers. Any recommendations youhave may be forwarded to [email protected].

Chapter businessThe Chapter also has continued its support of

Mathcounts and the Regional Science Fair. Thissupport to both events comes in the form of pro-viding judges during the events, monetaryawards and donations. The awards provided tothe Regional Science Fair consisted of cashprizes for the First Place and Second Place proj-ects in the Junior and Senior Divisions.

The Chapter’s Executive Committee recent-ly approved the addition of William E. Rushing,

Jr., PE, of Waldemar S Nelson, New Orleans, andDale T. Hunn, PE, of Parsons Technology as newmembers. Rushing has been very active withAmerican Concrete Institute and Hunn has beenvery active in National Society of ProfessionalEngineers. The Executive Committee welcomesthese individuals for their added expertise on thecommittee. Anyone interested in joining theChapter’s Executive Committee may contact anyone of its members for more information.

Jerry Klier (standing), Chair of the Section Student Awards and Activities Committee, visits brieflywith some of the civil engineering students during the Awards Banquet prior to the awards presenta-tions.

Did you know...

...that according to a survey commissionedby the American Management Association withresponses from 1121 managers and humanresources types, the leading factor most likely tocause unethical corporate behavior is businessobjectives and deadlines? Some others in theorder of their effect on unethical behavior are the

• desire to further one’s career• desire to protect one’s livelihood• cynicism, poor morale; ignorance and lack

of training concerning ethics, and lack ofconsequences if caught

• need to follow orders• peer pressure or need to be a team player• desire to harm the organization and• desire to help the organization.

Structural Engineer 6/06, p. 16



STUDENT CHAPTER NEWS

UNOBy Rebecca Scherer, President and Mark Middleton, Treasurer

The Chapter focused its attention this pastyear on rebuilding its labs and preparing for theDeep South Conference. We had many interest-ed and eager students ready to plan and partici-pate in all of the events the Conference had tooffer including the Concrete Canoe, SteelBridge, Concrete Frisbee, the Mystery Event,Surveying competitions, and the Daniel Meadepaper. There were 21 students and 3 facultymembers who attended the Conference. The fac-ulty members were Gianna M. Cothren, PE,Faculty Advisor; Michael D. Folse, PE,Professor, and Byron Landry.

In the concrete canoe races, the paddlerswere Daniel Flores, Mark Even, and Chris Raufor the Men’s Endurance; Jennifer Schindler,Melissa Montz, and Rebecca Scherer who took2nd place in the Women’s Endurance; MarkEven and Daniel Donahoe who took 1st place inthe Men’s Sprint; Jennifer Schindler and NoelleCoupel who took 3rd place in the Women’sSprint; and Daniel Flores, Daniel Donahoe,Lesley Cedotal, and Mallory Davis for the co-edsprint.

Through unfortunate circumstances on raceday, our canoe suffered several severe fracturesthat threatened its integrity. Through the effortsof the 24 students and faculty that came to con-ference, we were able to get the canoe function-al for the last two races of the competition.Though the repaired canoe was not going to wina speed event at this point, the final 2 races werecompleted with considerable pride and effort.The canoe crossed the finish line in both races,and has since been retired.

Thanks to the extracurricular efforts of someof our seniors, the Chapter was for the first timein 2 years able to field a team to compete in thesteel bridge competition. Their efforts produceda beautiful bridge with an efficient design. Thesteel bridge team included Carmelo Gutierrez,Corey Gaudet, Daniel Donahoe, Brian Froeba,Mark Even, Michael Villaraza, and ShawnLedig.

The Chapter’s Concrete Frisbee competitionteam constructed 7 concrete frisbees. They wererequired to toss them toward predeterminedgoals. The frisbees had to stay in one piece andget as close to the goal as possible. The members

The UNO Student Chapter contingent following the Conference Awards Banquet.

UNO concrete canoe competition team with their repaired canoe “The Caribbean.” Kneeling fromthe left are Noelle Coupel, Jennifer Schindler, Mallory Davis, Rebecca Scherer, Melissa Montz, LesleyCedotal and Daniel Flores. Standing from the left are Dustin English, Mark Middleton, Mark Even,Jeremy Pagoada, Daniel Donahoe, Chris Rau, Yelena Riviera and Josh Hutchinson.

Call for speakers for the Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference and ShowBy Nathan J. Junius, PE

Preparations are active for the 2007ASCE/ACI Louisiana Civil EngineeringConference and Show scheduled for September13-14, 2007 and sponsored by the New OrleansBranch and the Louisiana Chapter of theAmerican Concrete Institute. At this time, theConference’s agenda, including its 2-day agendaof 3 concurrent technical sessions, is being

organized and filled. For the approximately 600registrants who will be in attendance, the techni-cal sessions will minimally span the general sub-ject areas of Civil, Structural, Geotechnical,Environmental, Transportation, Management/Legal, Professional Topics, and Construction. Ifyou are interested in presenting a technical ses-sion during this conference, please submit the

completed Speaker Information Sheet availableat http://www.lasce.org/documents/spkrinfosht07.doc on or before June 15, 2007.You may also contact either Ryan Koenig [email protected] or (504) 218-0847,or Nathan Junius at [email protected] toobtain a copy of the Sheet.




UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTEBy Sehati Atieh, Secretary

The Chapter began the Spring 2007 semesterwith its January membership meeting featuringguest speakers Ryan P. Reviere, PE, and Kurt M.Brauner, PE. They are both employees of theLouisiana DOTD where Reviere is a BridgeEngineer Manager. They made an informativepresentation about the DOTD Bridge DesignSection.

The 2007 Science Olympiad was held on thecampus of the University of Louisiana at

Lafayette. This competition is for high schooland middle school students. One of the events isTower Building. Civil engineering students andfaculty act as judges for the events. The objec-tive of the tower building event is to design andbuild the lightest tower, with the greatest struc-tural efficiency — capable of supporting a loadup to 15 kg. Student contestants are allowed towork in teams of 2 people and 7 teams partici-pated in this year’s event. Shin-Tai Song and E.

R. DesOrmeaux, PE, served as judges and therewere 4 Chapter members who served with themas assistant judges.

Deep South ConferenceThe Chapter participated in the 2007 Deep

South Conference of student chapters in Ruston,Louisiana. There were 10 chapter members that

The Chapter members who participated in the 2007 Deep SouthConference pictured from left are Divina Lanclos, Jarred Veazey, ChrisGiglio, William Roth, Andy Sellers, Deborah Hunter and PatrickBroussard.

Chapter members participating in the Mystery Design event during the2007 Deep South Conference.

UNO steel bridge competition team from the left is Carmelo Gutierrez, Daniel Donahoe, ShawnLedig, Corey Gaudet, Brian Froeba, Mark Even and Michael Villaraza.

of the team were Mark Middleton and JoshHutchinson.

The mystery event required 4 participantswho were given a few simple items to constructa device to catch water balloons. The winnerwas determined by the greatest distance a waterballoon could be thrown and successfully caughtin the device. Our team consisted of JeremyPagoada, Dustin English, Chris Rau, and JoshHutchinson. They successfully tossed the bal-loon approximately 55 feet.

The Surveying team had to find the eleva-tion of a point on the top of a building on the LATech campus. The competition was not withoutits tribulations, but our team, Jeremy Pagaoda,Dustin English, Daniel Flores, and YelenaRiviera, were very dedicated and determined tocomplete the task successfully no matter howlong it took.

Senior Noelle Coupel wrote a paper on“Eminent Domain and an Engineer’s EthicalResponsibilities” for the Daniel Meade papercontest. She presented her paper at the confer-ence, and did a wonderful job with the presenta-tion and the writing of the paper.

Ultimately, through the efforts of many ded-icated individuals and the generous donations ofour sponsors who are listed below, a strong foun-dation was set for the Chapter’s future. TheChapter has successfully bounced back from thesetbacks of Hurricane Katrina, and with manystudents returning for next year it can only growfrom here.

A very special thanks goes to all of the spon-sors who supported the Chapter. They include:• Julien Engineering• Waldmar S. Nelson and Company• Engineering Dynamics Inc.

• Boh Brothers• Morphy Makofsky Inc.• Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.• ASCE - New Orleans Branch, and• ASCE - Louisiana Section.





LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITYBy Nathan Lindhardt, PresidentChapter events

The 2006-2007 school year for the Chapterwas a busy one. An improved emphasis wasplaced on growing its membership while keepingfocused on hosting a great regional conference ofstudent chapters. The officers planned numerousevents to keep the chapter members interested,while attracting as many freshmen and sopho-mores as possible. These events ranged fromsocials, to service on the teams building the com-petition concrete canoe and steel bridge, to com-munity service projects.

We started recruiting even before the schoolyear began by hosting an information table dur-ing freshman orientation. This did not bring inmany new members, but got our name out thereto the incoming engineering students beforeother professional engineering groups. The firstsocial event we had for the members was ourannual Burger Burn. We had a barbecue to wel-come the Chapter members back to school beforemost of them even had a class. This was also achance for the members to socialize with some ofthe professors. The Chapter had a strong show-ing at the ESA Gumbo Fest, getting 2 newrecruits from the freshman class early in the yearincluding next year’s Marshal, Stephanie Bayne.Chapter President Nathan Linhardt won the cov-eted Ice-cream Bar Eating Competition.

One main focus of the Chapter this year was

service to both the community and Tech. In par-ticipation with the College of Engineering andScience, the Chapter hosted the tailgating atTech’s first home football game by having pro-fessor Dixie Griffin in a dunking booth. To bet-ter serve the community, the Chapter participat-ed in Up Til Dawn for St. Jude’s hospital,MathCounts for the local schools, and The BigEvent to help clean up Tech.

The monthly Chapter membership meetingswere full of guest speakers from organizationslike Applied Research Associates, NCI BuildingSystems, Pate Engineering, the Louisiana DOTDBridge Design Section, ABMB, and CoyleEngineering. This year we had social events atmost of the membership meetings to attempt tobring a degree of levity to everything. One waywe did this was to have our own Christmas partyat the December meeting. We are happy to saythat due to the increased efforts of all the mem-bers the Chapter has grown in both quality andquantity of members.

The strength of the Chapter’s membershipwas evident during the Deep South RegionalConference. Our chapter hosted a great confer-ence, while fielding outstanding teams for boththe concrete canoe and steel bridge competitions.The students put forth good management andplanning skills to host a great conference. Thereal credit belongs to Mary Lou Schwaller, the

Deep South Conference Chair, our co-FacultyAdvisors Luke Lee and Mike Baumert, and allthe committee’s Vice Chairs. The Chapter as awhole followed their lead and helped out withanything that was needed.

The officers for the 2007-2008 academicyear were elected in March. They begin theirservice in their respective positions during theChapter’s April membership meeting. One oftheir first priorities is to honor Freddy Roberts,who died from cancer in March. They have highaspirations to reach and I am confident that theywill achieve them as a strong unified group.

2007 Deep South ConferenceWhat happens when over 300 civil engineer-

ing students, faculty, and professionals gettogether for a weekend in Ruston? Bridges arebuilt, distances are measured, and concrete fliesand floats! On March 22-24, 2007, LouisianaTech University’s ASCE Student Chapter hostedthe 2007 meeting of the Deep South Conferenceof ASCE student chapters. Practicing engineers,and the students and faculty from the 13 univer-sities in the Conference located in Arkansas,Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee convergedon Ruston for an eventful weekend of comraderyand competition in the

Surveying competition team at work. Timed steel bridge construction.

Setting up for a concrete canoe race. Final touches on the timed bridge construction.




• concrete canoe• steel bridge• concrete frisbee• professional paper presentation• surveying and • mystery event.

The Deep South Conference is typicallyhosted by a member university’s student chapterin a rotation once every 13 years. The hostingduties involve an entire year of planning andfundraising led by the dedicated members of thechapter. The Louisiana Tech Chapter’s planningcommittee led by Mary Lou Schwaller includedJared Allen, Jim Ellingburg, Rachel Hicks,Nathan Linhardt, Hailey Prince, Michael Rister,Brittany Rojas, William Watson, Paul Will andFaculty Advisors Mike Baumert and Luke Lee.

CompetitionThroughout the Conference the competition

is designed to challenge the competing teams tocooperatively apply the methods and knowledgegained from the civil engineering classroom todesign, analyze, build, test, prepare and pre senttheir work. For instance, the competitors in thesteel bridge competition were awarded for the

lightest, stiffest, most economic and most effi-cient bridge entry, and fastest construction. Thecompetitors in concrete canoe competition areawarded for the best design paper, oral presenta-tion, finished product and performance through aseries of canoe races. The competitors in theprofessional paper competition are required togive an oral presentation to defend their ideasand analytical methods in the presence of judgeswho are licensed engineers.

The concrete canoe, steel bridge and the pro-fessional paper — the Daniel W. Mead Prize forStudents — are all conference/regional competi-tions where the winners have the opportunity toadvance to a national competition. The 20thAnnual National Concrete Canoe Competitionwill be June 14-16, 2007 hosted by theUniversity of Washington in Seattle,Washington. The 2007 National Student SteelBridge Competition will be hosted on theCalifornia State University at Northridge campusMay 25-26, 2007. The winning Mead papers arepublished in the ASCE’s Civil Engineering mag-azine.

The surveying competition challenged theteams to measure the height (372.9 feet) of a

black marker on the top of the red light locatedon top of Wiley Tower. This was accomplishedusing leveling, pacing, and computational tech-niques developed in the classroom.

The 2-day conference and the competitiondepicted in part herein concluded with an awardsbanquet where the competing teams were recog-nized. Guest speakers at the banquet includedStan Napper, Dean, Louisiana Tech College ofEngineering and Science; Steve McCutcheon,Chair, ASCE Region 5; and Tim Ruppert,President of the Louisiana Section. The overallConference team winners for the concrete canoeand the steel bridge competitions were theMississippi State University and the ArkansasState University Chapters, respectively. For thesummary of the results of all of the competitionstabulated under the title 2007 Deep SouthConference Results, and more pictures of theConference events, please visit the Conferencewebsite at www.deepsouthconference.com. Inother news from the Conference, the LSUStudent Chapter agreed to host the 2008Conference and the UNO Student Chapteragreed to host the 2010 Conference.


LSUBy Lauren Johnson

The Chapter’s steel bridge competition teambegan work on its bridge in the Fall semester of2006. A team of 7 students was formed for thetask. Several design alternatives were evaluatedusing the Visual Analysis computer program.The design was finalized and a material selected.The bridge was designed to be light yet rigid.

The materials were ordered in December beforethe Christmas break. In January, the fabricationof the bridge began. The team worked longhours every weekend to get the bridge ready forcompetition.

On March 24, the steel bridge team compet-ed in the 2007 Deep South Conference inRuston. The team did very well in this competi-tion, placing first in efficiency and third overall.The efficiency category pertains to the weight ofthe bridge and the amount of deflection it sus-tains under load. The bridge was the lightestoverall at 171 pounds, but it did not place first inthis category because of a minor weight penalty.The bridge also had a very small aggregatedeflection of 0.901 inches.

Due to its strong showing in the regionalcompetition, the team received an invitation tothe National Steel Bridge Competition that will

be hosted by California State University,Northridge. To prepare for this competition, thatwill be held May 25-26, the team will make afew changes to the bridge and spend a great

amount of time practicing to reduce its construc-tion time. The team is looking forward to repre-senting Louisiana at the National Steel BridgeCompetition.

The LSU steel bridge competition team pictured with their bridge following the competition in theDeep South Conference in Ruston.


attended the Conference participating in theSurveying and Mystery Design events. TheChapter appreciates the thoughtful organizationof the Conference events and the efforts made bythe host chapter, the Louisiana Tech UniversityStudent Chapter.

Engineers WeekEngineering Week as celebrated on the UL at

Lafayette presents a great chance for Chapter

members to display their skills for the other stu-dents in the College of Engineering, and for theparticipating high school students that attend theevent and toured the engineering facilities. Thisyear’s event was scheduled for March 25-30, andit was sponsored by the Louisiana EngineeringSociety Student Chapter.

The UL at Lafayette College of Engineeringwelcomed Steven C. McCutcheon, PE, as a dis-tinguished visitor during its Engineers Week cel-

ebrations. McCutcheon is currently Director ofASCE Region 5 and a member of the ASCEExecutive Committee, and he is a past Presidentof the American Ecological Engineering Society.On Monday evening, he was the principal speak-er for the Engineers Week opening event for theCollege of Engineering. On Tuesday, he provid-ed Power Point presentations of digital photo-




The Chapter had a very successful year. Itsparticipation in the 2007 Deep South Conferencewas a big success. We were able to walk awaywith 2 victories. One was in the ConcreteFrisbee competition and the other was in theSurveying competition.

We were unable to have a concrete canoe thisyear due to various complications, but we took acouple weekends out of the semester to designthe concrete mix for the frisbees. Three differentmixes were designed, cured and later tested. Weselected the best design, and then performedmore testing on the final mix to guarantee thestrength. The Concrete Frisbee team would berequired to play Frisbee golf so they practicedtheir throwing. The Chapter team was the sec-ond team to compete that day, and the team con-sisting of Dane Dupont and John Winfield wonthe competition.

The surveying competition allowed the useof a total station to measure angles, but all dis-tances had to measured by pacing. The objectivewas to measure the height of the tallest buildingon the Louisiana Tech campus. The Chapter’sSurveying team had a strong determination tofind the exact height, a determination that ulti-mately put them only 0.03 foot short of the actu-al height of the building. The competition start-ed at 8:00 am, the team of Ben Boudreaux,Austin Buckels and Jeff Tyson worked until 3:15pm opting to skip lunch to ensure the accuracy oftheir work. The team’s superior field book, accu-

rate measurements and calculations gave theChapter its second win of the Conference.

In addition to hosting the various competi-tions, the Louisiana Tech Student Chapter alsohosted a social event the one evening that wastotally optional. The event required the design ofa balsa wood airplane, all materials were provid-ed. We participated wholeheartedly with theteam designing a total of 4 planes. Even though

no one on the team is an aeronautical engineer,the designs were innovative, original and theevent was an excellent way to decompress after acompetitive day.

The Chapter would like to thank all of itssponsors for supporting this year’s efforts and welook forward to next year’s Conference that willbe hosted by the LSU Student Chapter.

McNEESE STATE UNIVERSITYBy Renus Kelfkens

From the left, Jay Uppot, Faculty Advisor, with the McNeese State Surveying competition team JohnWinfield, Austin Buckels, Ben Boudreaux, Jeff Tyson, Dane Dupont.

The McNeese State Concrete Frisbee competition team. The McNeese State Concrete Frisbee competition team in the heat of thecompetition.


graphs to 2 groups of students and faculty depict-ing the structural damage in Sri Lanka thatresulted from the tsunami in 2005, and the struc-tural damage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast thatresulted from Hurricane Katrina. That evening,McCutcheon was one of the 3 judges of the stu-dent paper competition in the College.

The events Wednesday were attended by 860high school students from various schoolsthroughout Louisiana and Mississippi. Civilengineering students served as their tour guides,and performed various laboratory experimentsfor those attending.

❖ Quote ❖Ethics: Always do right: this will gratify

some people and astonish the rest.- Mark Twain



The ASCE representative on the NominatingCommittee for the Southeast Louisiana FloodProtection Authority — East and the SoutheastLouisiana Flood Protection Authority — West,Jerome M. Klier, PE, provided an oral and a writ-ten report providing an accounting of theNominating Committee’s actions since the previ-ous Board meeting. Jerry advised that theCommittee provided a new slate of 11 nomineesfor the Southeast Louisiana Flood ProtectionAuthority — West for the Governor’s considera-tion, from which she appointed its 7 members onFebruary 6, 2007. The Governor had previouslyappointed the members for the SoutheastLouisiana Flood Protection Authority - East.See the article in this issue for more details.

The Section’s reserve funds in its investmentaccounts will be moved into 4 certificates ofdeposit of approximately equal amount. Initiallythere will be 4 CDs with a 3 month, 6 month, 9month and 12 month maturity. As each maturesan automatically renewable 12 month CD will bepurchased. This conservative investment strate-gy was deemed more consistent with theSection’s purposes and its lack of the consistenthands-on financial management required for themore aggressive investment strategy associated

with an investment account.The CDs can be purchased through the

Whitney Bank where the Section maintains itschecking and savings accounts. This will con-solidate all of the Section’s finances in one insti-tution and since Whitney Bank has offices incities statewide, each Secretary-Treasurer rotat-ing among the 4 branches of the Section can eas-ily move the management of the Section’saccounts to a nearby Whitney Bank office.

It was reported that the attendance by theSection leadership during the ASCE Region 4and Region 5 joint leadership conference inNashville, Tennessee was disappointing. It wassuggested that more priority, attention andadvanced planning needs to go into attending thisannual event. It is an important opportunity forthe ASCE leaders attending to become betterinformed concerning national issues, networkwith leaders across sections and regions, andgain valuable training and insight in leading theirrespective organization components.

In other matters• The Acadiana Branch is in the early stages of

planning a Spring seminar to be scheduledsometime in April.

• Samantha E. Miller, the Younger Member

Committee Chair for the Baton RougeBranch, was appointed to simultaneouslyserve as the YMC Chair for the Section.

• The 2006-2007 Section annual budget itemfor website development and maintenancewas increased by $1500 to cover the antici-pated costs for the remainder of the adminis-trative year.

• The New Orleans Branch proposal wasapproved to expend its $4665 portion of thesurplus Section funds being disbursed on thepurchase of new cabinets to secure theequipment in the engineering laboratories atUNO. This is where its ASCE StudentChapter fabricates its competition concretecanoes and steel bridges.

• Robert W. Jacobsen, PE, who had agreed torepresent the Section during theCongressional Fly-In Annual LeadershipTraining in Government Relations inWashington, D.C. had to withdraw becauseof unanticipated business commitments.Subsequently, the Board approved Ronald L.Schumann, Jr., PE, and Reid L. Dennis, PEto represent the Section on 2/14/07.

Highlights of the February Board of Directors meeting

Section News and Information

I had the distinct honor and pleasure to rep-resent Louisiana by attending the ASCELeadership Training in Government Relationssessions in Washington, D.C. this March. Thepurpose of the sessions is first to provide trainingin how to effectively lobby one’s congressionaldelegation and second to gain practical experi-ence by meeting with delegation members tolobby for bills important to the ASCE. In 2005,the ASCE developed a report card for America’sInfrastructure. It includes evaluations of• Aviation• Bridges• Dams and Levees• Drinking Water• Energy• Hazardous Waste• Navigable Waterways• Public Parks• Transportation• Railroads• Schools• Security• Solid Waste• Transit and• Wastewater.

The result of the evaluations suggests thatAmerica’s infrastructure has a grade point aver-age of a D — Security had an Incomplete. Thebills supported by the ASCE during the 110thCongress are believed integral to improving thisdismal grade.

I had the opportunity to meet with staff rep-resentatives of• Senator Mary Landrieu• Senator David Vitter• Congressman Bobby Jindal and• Congressman William Jefferson

and lobby them for their bosses’ support for thefollowing bills supported by the ASCE:

National Infrastructure Improvement Act.This bill was in committee for development. It

would establish the National Commission on theInfrastructure of the United States to reasonablyassure that the nation’s infrastructure will meetits current and future demands and that it willsupport future economic growth. Landrieu,Vitter, Jindal and Jefferson support this bill andthey are committed to voting for it once it reach-es the floor of the House and Senate.

Water Quality Financing Act of 2007 (H.R.720). This bill would authorize the appropriationof $20 billion over 5 years for the constructionand repair of America’s aging wastewater treat-ment plants. Landrieu, Vitter, Jindal andJefferson support this bill. It passed the House303 to 108 and it is currently being considered inthe Senate.

Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act (H.R.1098). This bipartisan bill in committee wouldprovide $200 million over 5 years for repair,rehabilitation and removal of publicly owneddams. The ASCE estimated that $10.1 billion isneeded over the next 12 years to repair just themost critical dams — public and private — thatpose a risk to human life. Landrieu, Vitter,Jindal and Jefferson all support this bill and theyare committed to voting for it once it passes outof the respective committees onto the floors ofthe House and Senate.

Reauthorization of the Federal AviationTransportation Program. The reauthorization of

Leadership training in government relationsReid L. Dennis, PE

Representative David Vitter and Reid Dennis




Freddy L. Roberts, a resident of Ruston, wasborn December 29, 1941 in Dermott, Arkansasand died March 16, 2007 at his home surroundedby family and friends following a courageousbattle with cancer. Freddy was a member ofChrist Community Church where he served as anelder. He is preceded in death by his parents andsurvived by his wife of 42 years, Judy, and theirtwo daughters and a granddaughter. Freddyearned his BS and MS degrees from theUniversity of Arkansas and his PhD from theUniversity of Texas. During his career, he taughtat Clemson University, University of Texas,Texas A&M and Auburn University beforeaccepting his position at Louisiana TechUniversity in 1990 as the T.L. James EminentScholar Chair in the College of Engineering. As

a professor of civil engineering, Freddy special-ized in pavement management systems, pave-ment performance, design of asphalt pavements,and the behavior of asphalt and other pavingmaterials. He was a member of the ASCE and alicensed civil engineer in Louisiana. The weekprior to his death, Freddy was elected Professorof the Century by his students and he was award-ed the title Professor Emeritus of Louisiana TechUniversity. Those interested in rememberingFreddy Roberts in a meaningful way may con-sider contributing to The Freddy RobertsMemorial Scholarship Fund • Louisiana TechFoundation • Post Office Box 3183 • Ruston, LA71272

ASCE member Gordon C. Russell, PE, ofLogansport, Louisiana died February 8, 2007.He was born November 15, 1927 in Kinston,Alabama. Russell is survived by his wife of 45years, Anne Stubblefield Russell, his son, twodaughters, and 7 grandchildren. Russell was amember of the First United Methodist Church ofLogansport where he served as a Sunday schoolteacher, Chairman of the Administrative Board,and choir member. Russell was a member of theKiwanis Club and he was a Mason. He alsoserved on the Sabine River Authority.

Russell graduated from Bastrop High Schoolin 1944 and earned his BS in civil engineeringfrom Louisiana State University in 1951. He wasa Colonel, United States Army, Retired andserved in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dur-ing the Korean War, and later served as com-

mandant of the 4158th Army Reserve school inShreveport until his retirement. Russell ownedand operated Russell Engineering and SurveyingCompany in Logansport for over 45 years. Healso served as a rural mail carrier for the U.S.Postal Service for 25 years.

An active member of the ASCE ShreveportBranch and a member of the LouisianaEngineering Society, Russell was scheduled tospeak on “Post tension slabs in NorthwestLouisiana” during the February meeting of theShreveport Branch to be held jointly with theShreveport Chapter of the LES. Russell isdescribed by the Shreveport Branch leadership asa faithful member of the Branch who was verysupportive of its activities. “It was always a joyto be around him.”

Gordon C. Russell dies

Freddy L. Roberts dies

Out of the Governor’s concerns about theresidency requirements for the 2 original nomi-nees from Jefferson Parish submitted by theNominating Committee for Southeast LouisianaFlood Protection Authority - West for her con-sideration on December 22, 2006, the appoint-ments were delayed. The office of the AttorneyGeneral reviewed the Governor’s concerns andadvised that these appointees must be residentsof the west bank of the Mississippi River andwithin the territorial jurisdiction of their respec-tive parishes of the west bank authority.

Consequently the Governor requested thatthe Nominating Committee withdraw its originalslate of nominees and open a new applicationprocess for a new slate of nominees. TheNominating Committee began deliberations onJanuary 19, 2007 and opened a new applicationprocess. On February 1, 2007 the NominatingCommittee submitted a new slate of nomineesfor the Governor’s consideration for appoint-ment. The slate included 11 nominees to be con-sidered to fill the seats of the 7-member board of

the Southeast Louisiana Flood ProtectionAuthority - West. On February 6, 2007, theGovernor appointed the following members tothe Board:• Mark Lee Morgan, PE, Civil Engineer,

Baton Rouge• Michael Louis Merritt, Geologist, Baton

Rouge• Joannes Jacobus Westerink, Professor/Water

Resources, South Bend, Indiana• Susan Helen Maclay, Executive Director -

Nonprofit, Harvey• Robert Edward Howson, CEO (retired),

New Orleans• David Joseph Binewald, Sr., Project

Manager, Harvey• Kerwin Eldred Julien, PE, Consultant, New

OrleansMorgan and Julien are both licensed civil

engineers in the state of Louisiana and they aremembers of the ASCE and the LouisianaSection.

West levee board appointments ❖ Quotes ❖Economics: The challenge is funding.

States don’t have the needed funding for criticalstructural maintenance and repair. While usercosts are important, they would significantlyreprioritize the way limited resources are spent,requiring even more funding to cover criticalstructures and maintenance.

- Jim Cooper, FHWQ Chief BridgeEngineer (retired)

Nowadays, there are a relatively large num-ber of technical articles that are accessiblethrough electronic venues. However, the impres-sive amount of data does not imply that all ofthose articles provide new or relevant informa-tion, or that one can find these articles easily.For example, conference papers are tough toobtain if you did not actually attend the event. Insome instances, the information conveyed seemsto be a regurgitation of other articles. It hasbecome increasingly difficult, I think, to identifythe publications that really contribute to theimprovement of engineering.

- Cathy Bazáán-Arias, EIT

Freddy L. Roberts

Gordon C. Russell



- Career Benchmarks -

Section members Eric S. Borne, PE, Lisa A.Bourgeois, PE, Kevin D. Durbin, PE, David J.Girouard, PE, Heather E. Myers, PE andChristopher L. Sanchez, PE recently earnedtheir professional engineering license inLouisiana. If you are in contact with any ofthem, please offer your congratulations on theiraccomplishment.

Louisiana residents David A. Branch, PE,Stephanie S. Cavalier, PE, Israel G. Cecchini.PE, Koby J. Coulon, PE, Christopher B.Domingue, PE, Ned G. Doucet, PE, Karim T.El Kheiashy, PE, Nicholas A. Fagerburg, PE,Benjamin J. Fisher, PE, Niccola D. Gill, PE,Joshua T. Hardy, PE, Steven R. Joubert, PE,Mary E. Kincaid, PE, Jason M. Lacombe, PE,Walid Shahla, PE, Hayward E. Simonton, III,PE, David T. St. Marie, PE, Mingjiang Tao,PE, Michael K. Tate, II, PE, Travis P. Trahan,PE and Charles E. Williams, PE, recentlyearned their professional engineering license inLouisiana. They are civil engineers or in a relat-ed discipline and they are not members of theASCE. A copy of this issue of the journal is sentto them as an informal introduction to theSection. If any of them wish to join and/or findout more about the ASCE, they are hereby invit-ed to visit the ASCE national website,http://www.asce.org. If you are in contact withany of these engineers, please consider formally

introducing them to the Section by inviting themto attend a branch meeting as your guest.

The following Section members have recent-ly become Life Members; from the Baton RougeBranch: Lewis Burruss, Nilmani Banerjee, JoeH. Harmon, David N. Williams, PE, James M.Aronstein, Jr., PE, and James L. Fouss; fromthe New Orleans Branch: John C. Gribar,Lloyd A. Held, PE, Eugene A. Brian, PE,Ronald J. Shaw, PE, Leo W. Gagnon, Jr., PE,Enrique J. La Motta, PE, Larry R. Heston,and Harry W. Stinchcomb; and from theShreveport Branch: Donald M. Edington, PE,Stephen P. Rider, and Jerry G. Lazenby, PE.

Governor Blanco, after a short delay due toquestions raised concerning residency require-ments, appointed the 7-member board of theSoutheast Flood Protection Authority — West onFebruary 6, 2007. Among the appointees areMark L. Morgan, PE, and Kerwin E. Julien,PE who are both Louisiana Section ASCE mem-bers and licensed civil engineers in Louisiana.

Mark L. Morgan, PE, is a resident of BatonRouge and a licensed engineer in Louisiana and7 other states. He is also the designee for hiscompany’s contractor’s licenses in 7 statesincluding Louisiana where it is certified for leveeconstruction. He also holds a driller’s license.Morgan is currently the President of the BatonRouge Chapter of the ACEC/L and he serves onthe engineering selection board for the City ofBaton Rouge. Historically, Morgan has been

active in the ASCE and the LouisianaEngineering Society. Morgan’s family of originhas resided in the New Orleans metropolitan areasince 1958. As a youth, he experienced firsthandthe storms and/or the aftermath of HurricaneAudrey in 1960, Hurricane Betsy in 1965 andHurricane Camille in 1969.

Morgan entered Louisiana State Universityin Baton Rouge in 1973 where he earned his BSdegree in civil engineering in 1978; after whichhe was employed by Servitron, Inc. — a multi-discipline engineering consulting company andhe became a permanent resident of Baton Rouge.His work experience with Servitron includedflood studies for FEMA that included St. CharlesParish. Morgan worked with the Corps ofEngineers on 100 year storm surge projectionswhere for example “...we modeled a 100 yearstorm surge of 12.5 feet MSL...” on the westernend of Lake Pontchartrain. He then specializedin drilling monitoring wells in conjunction withthe requirements of the Resource Conservationand Recovery Act moving him into the environ-mental business.

In 1981, Morgan became a minority ownerof GEC Engineering that absorbed Servitron’sdrilling business in conjunction with its geotech-nical work for revetments and flood controlstructures from Texarkana to Morgan City andVicksburg to Venice. He moved to Pearce andLeBlanc Constructors and Engineers in 1983where he gained valuable experience in earth-work construction contracting.

In 1986, Morgan was employed by ITCorporation that is now part of Shaw. He man-aged the eastern division of its GroundwaterField Services Division. He was responsible for13 offices from Boston to Austin. In 1992, ITCorporation eliminated its Groundwater FieldServices business and a number of its key staffmembers started SEMS, Inc. where Morgan cur-rently serves as its President. SEMS, Inc. doesconsulting engineering and contract constructionin the southeastern United States.

Kerwin E. Julien, Sr., PE, is a resident ofNew Orleans. Julien earned his BA degree inPhysics from Xavier University in 1987, BSdegree in civil engineering from TulaneUniversity in 1987 and MS degree in civil engi-neering from the University of New Orleans in1992. He is a licensed engineer in Louisiana and3 other states and his experience from 1988 to1995 is mostly in civil/structural engineeringdesign and project management. From 1995 topresent he is the owner and President of JulienEngineering and Consulting, Inc. of NewOrleans where his principal duties include proj-ect management and oversight of the firm’scivil/structural engineering work._______________________________________

Editor’s note: There are three disciplinesthat are licensed by the Louisiana ProfessionalEngineering and Land Surveying Board and thatmay be considered closely related to civil engi-neering. They are the environmental, structuraland architectural engineering disciplines. As ofJune 2006, the active engineering licenses con-ferred by the Board were approximately 5,937 incivil, 741 in environmental, 58 in structural and8 in architectural.

Mark L. Morgan

Kerwin E. Julien, Sr.

— net surfing—This feature is discontinued. With

the completed implementation of theSection website that is operated in closeconjunction with this journal, all of thewebsite addresses previously refer-enced in this feature are now either ref-erenced on — or linked through — theSection website.

the Federal Aviation Transportation Programrequired in 2007 had not been presented. Due toits importance, the ASCE wants to educateCongress in preparation for its presentation. TheASCE believes that its reauthorization should befocused on 3 goals:• expanding infrastructure investment• enhancing infrastructure delivery and• maximizing infrastructure effectiveness.

I found the discussion of these bills veryinteresting. While my initial perception was thatI would speak directly with my Congressman orSenator, I actually met with their legislativeassistants. These assistants gather informationto be discussed with their boss and they adviselobbyist about their boss’ current position on theissue(s) in question. I found the legislative assis-tants to be very engaging and particularly inter-ested in the ASCE position. They were eachvery aware of the ASCE report card forAmerica’s infrastructure and understood howeach of the bills discussed would support itsvitality. I believe that the Louisiana Section ben-efits significantly from this involvement, and Iwould look forward to repeating as its represen-tative if given the opportunity.




Section members invalid email address listed:Aguettant Jennifer E Estopinal Stephen V Kemp Jimmy W Perrin FelicienAlawady Mohamed A Fenner Robert D La�Biche Wayne M Peterson Wayne RAlvarez Hector F Fergus Richard H Lachin Philip J Petitbon John BBabatunde Michael A Foust Henry C Langley Welda E Pfeiffer David RBadeaux J A Fuselier Charles A LaSalle Shelby P Phan Tang DBhatti Ataur R Fuselier Ryan J Lauderdale Anne C Pizzolato Vincent PBodin William J Gaines Avis H Leininger Jacob E Poland Clayton LBourgeois Lisa A Gaines Timothy F Lipari Frank Ranken Catherine MBroussard Leon A Galloway Richard C Lobdell Larry W Reed BarryBuskie Stephen W Gaspard Brendon E Love James C Renard Joshua KCammarata Nick G Gattle Thomas M Lucas Elihu R Roussel Herbert JCoco Russell J Gautreau Glynn P Maji Amritendu Royer Bruce ACole Howard D Geihsler James A MarlboroughDwayne A Ruckstuhl Bernard LColombatto Terrence J Grimball Ross G Masson Gabriel E Sannino Megan RConover Nelson P Gross Greg A Mayfield Jimmy G Schindler Newell HCox Bobby E Gudiel Joaquin F McHie William F Sensebe Joseph ECulver Frederick H Haggerty Daniel R Miller Frank C Sharma Radhey SCurwick Philip B Harper Lonnie G Mills Brady P Szabo August JDaly Linda Haydel Norman C Moise Harold Tisdale Travis EDanforth Elmo J Heinzen Morris R Morris Jack D VanderbrookKevin CDiamond Alfred J Hunn Dale T Morrison Sinyale Walker JohnDrouant Bradley W Icenogle Gary D Normand Chris Warner Alton REhlinger R P Inabnet Courtney P Okubo Ronald S Williams Janice PEhrensing Lucas H Jacobs Wesley D Olinde Thomas R Wilson Ken PElguezabal Domingo J James E L Ovunc Bulent Zappi Mark EEstevez Fernando Jensen Dale R Patin Daryl B

As you may appreciate, it is and always hasbeen important for you as a member of the ASCEto keep your contact information current andaccurate so that you can gain the full value ofyour ASCE membership in part by receiving allof the ASCE communications that are directed toyou. As the national organization, the sectionand the branches move more into the use ofemail communication with the membershipwhen it is effective to do so, it becomes moreimportant for you as an ASCE member to keepyour email address current as part of your contact

information. It is appreciated that email address-es tend to change more frequently than residen-tial and business mailing addresses and as aresult they probably need more regular attentionto keep them current.

Tabulated below are the 103 section mem-bers who have email addresses listed in theASCE database that are either not active or forsome other reason they did not receive a recentemail transmission attempted. Tabulated on thefacing page is the more than 300 Section mem-bers listed by branch that do not have an email

address in their contact information in the nation-al ASCE membership database. As you may beaware, all of the contact information is providedto the Section and the branches through thenational ASCE database. This database is whereall of the basic information is kept for ASCEmembers and it can be reviewed and modified onthe ASCE website by the individual member.Members without on-line access may also reviewand revise their membership data via the ASCEtoll free telephone number 1-800-548-2723.

Membership: Housekeeping

We all like to think that we make rational andwise decisions when managing our money. Butmost of us are influenced far more by our emo-tions than our brains. Why do smart peoplemake irrational investment decisions so com-monly and so easily? The fascinating study ofbehavioral economics and decision science fillsmany books, but let us look at a few of the waysin which investors’ minds play tricks on them.

The timid bunny — Worrying over riskWhy do so many people bank their money in

savings accounts, CDs and money markets whenthey are often actually losing money if measuredagainst inflation and taxes? Some people do itbecause they are so fearful of risk that they donot consider that such fixed investments are notrisk-free. The interest credited to your accounteach month is subject to the likelihood of shrink-ing purchasing power, especially over time. Acanoeist struggling to get upstream against cur-rent and wind will have the illusion of move-ment, but he will have to switch to a boat with amotor to make real progress.

The hoarding pack rat — Treasuring whatwe own

The preference to keep things the way theyare is called the status quo bias. We tend to fallin love with what we own and stick to the famil-iar even if we would likely be financially betteroff with a different investment. We validate ourprior choice by sticking with it. What we knowfeels better than what we do not know.

The foolish sheep — fearing lossWe are so averse to accepting loss that we

will throw good money after bad. This is some-times called the sunk cost fallacy — our inabili-ty to let go of money that is already been spent orlost. We will invest more money on car repairssimply because we have already spent so muchon the car. Rather than evaluate a losing invest-ment on its cost — as we are prone to do — itmakes more sense to assess its current potentialfor loss or gain. If you would not choose to buythat investment today, then why do you make thechoice every day to keep your money invested init? Usually, it is because you are focusing on the

past — what you have already spent. But it hasno relevance to the future.

The little chicken — Focusing on the nega-tive

We feel the pain that comes from loss moreacutely than we do the pleasure from an equal orgreater gain. If you invest $100,000 in a stockportfolio, and it rises in value to $150,000 butthen drops to $130,000, you are more likely to bemotivated by the disappointment in your loss of$20,000 than the pleasure in your net gain of$30,000. You may focus on your phantom lossrather than your available gain. This can leadyou to be less willing to sell a profitable stockand buy an undervalued one, even though wehave all heard that it makes more sense to buylow and sell high.

The stubborn mule — Refusing to changeWe frequently decide not to decide, and that

inaction can cost serious money. There are somany options out there that we become para-

Real illusions: How we trick ourselves about financesSubmitted by Thomas R. Thurmond




Baton Rouge Branch : Bivona Bruce J McGinnis Richard R Jones Roy DAdkins Kenneth W Blackburn Brent R McNamara Edward J KirschenbauNeil EArceneaux Kenneth S Blessey Walter E McCabe Raymond J Madden Jerry MBabin Lance Boh Robert H Meyn Kenneth J Marsalis Gordon ABaker John R Bonie Walter C Miller Donald J McDaniel John SBanerjee Nilmani Bonura Timothy P Morehiser Mervin B Meredith Robert FBoles Jimmy P Brignac Edmond M Munson Christopher M Miller Fletcher CBriggs George Buisson Robert Myers Fred H Mohr James DCampbell Pressley L Burk William R Naomi Alfred C Munn Malcolm RChopin Lamy J Burke Richard J Nataraj Mysore S O'Hare Maurice WClary James Cabiro Richard J Nguyen Quy V Peterson Otis ECoates Charles H Cali Peter R Ory Francis J Poole Ronald GCostner Harry H Camp Charles R Parent John B Pressley Charles WCox Allen L Campbell Emily B Parjus Antonio Raley Frank JCox Ross E Campo Juan J Pepper Jerome Rider Stephen PDanielson Donald W Cartier Roy A Peterson Nikolai Snelling Murdock MDart Olin K Cenac Michael A Pilie Glen MDavis David E Chin Agustin Pittman Charles R Acadiana Branch :

De�Blanc Edward M Chopin Michael D Ponder Russell J Alexander CassieDyson Gerald R ChryssovergJoseph E Prucz Zolan Aucoin Karl JEslinger Charles R Combe Adrian J Ramirez Adolfo Bailey George VEvans Edward E CunninghamMurray H Rawls Joseph S Ballard Stacey DGarber Benjamin A Davis George B Reddy Pratap P Beedle Warren PGuissinger Roger P Desselle Earl P Riviere Michael R Bellard Michael CHammett Bryant O Diasselliss Kenneth P Roach John W Boudreaux Aldes TLeBas Sherri D Dickson Edwin M Rushing William E Bowie James EHargrave Wallace J Dimitrios Don F Sanders Herbert C Broussard Larry FHeroy Frank Dorsa Joel S Shires John H Courville CalvinHickey William Douglas August H Skinner Joseph C Croft ScottHuang Andrew T Egeseli Engin A Sloan Charles L Dahlberg Carl FJimenez Michael Evans Kurt M Smith William C De�Blanc MichaelJustice James W Falati Matthew J Smythe Arnold R DeMarco TonyKalivoda Eric I Fall Steven M Sosa Luis F Diaz Ivan MKern Sheelagh B Fant Andree L Stamps Michael J Domingue EmeryKillen Mark A Faschan Adam Stoll George J Gates Thurmond JKleinpeter Henry E Fleming Cletus G Stumpf Edmund P Glaubrecht GeorgeKlier Jerome M Flynn Harold J Sullivan George J Going E�JacksonLanglois Cletus Follett Prescott�H S Suthon Felton Heikamp Albert JLe�Bas Michael Foster Frank S Thibodeaux Jean M Hibbeler Russell CLeak Harrison C Fromherz Thomas A Todd Brett P Hoppe Peter ALewis Stanley J Fry A�Kevin Treas Jaret M Hughes Robert CLoup Jeffrey J Gagnon Leo W Tsai Long-Shen Ivey Don LMagill Natalie Garrett Elwood VanWoottenRichard A Kingston J. RMcClanahanEdwin A Gautreaux James H Villafane Joaquin T Landry B JMeyer Vernon F Gerrity Daniel M Vossen Jean S Landry MatthewMoody Gene B Ghose Malay H Wagner David A Letz Harold JMoody Lamon L Giddens John B Walk Frank H MacDonald Robert WMorgan Rollin D Gilbert James G Wethern Clarence A Malla Bala KOverall Robert C Gillen Glenn P Williams Jerry L Maniscalco JoePatterson Clint V Gonzalez Jose A Williams Robert M Marchand Amanda CPerrault A�Jackson Graham James B Winer Harley S Mc�Gee Ralph DPerrault Charles Gray E M Wurtzel David R Montagnet Andre EPorta Lloyd E Grieshaber John B Zaeringer Kevin P Moore Charles DProchaska Billy R Guiza Donato Mouton James PRodi Ronald J Hannoura Alim P Shreveport Branch : Nguyen BaRoth Charles J Hardy Rixby J Atchley Ben Poirrier Martin TSayes Malcolm D Haydel Gerald M Benedict Osme V Pontiff Darrell JSchoeffler Paul Hedges Charles S Bowman John R Provost Raymond ASchott Henry K Heston Larry R Brown Billie W Richard Christopher KShah Shyam N Hornberger Frederick C Brynsvold John H Richard Donald LShortess John R Horne Wendy E Cormier Paul B Richards PaulShread Richard R Hotard James S Downs Donald R Robichaux Neal PSlaughter Scott H Housey John J Erlund Michael N Sadreddini MohammadSmith Jon J Huang Chunwei Flynn Homer Savoy Mark LStarring John W Hymel Norwood F French Enoch J ScarboroughN DTheriot Alexandre Jackson Frank J Gadberry Foy B Sellers Eugene MTilley Frederick L Jolissaint Robert E Garrett Darryl D Smart Claude DTucker Robert C Judlin Walter D Garrett William R Snyder Millard PTullier Daniel Kaufmann Ray J Grillot Sidney L Stephenson Mark AWalker Roy E Kramer Norman E Grogan Dexter L Stutes Shirley A

Lambert Laurence L Hansel Bradley L Talley Willis JNew Orleans Branch : Lang Meinrad F Harrison Donald R Thibodeaux Rodney TAlsop Othniel LeCorgne William R Hazen Steven M Thompson Mack FArmbruster James W Legendre James Hogan Michael G Todd Garry LArnold William E Logan Neil D Holloway Benoit Touchet Kim JBellanger Earl T Lopez Francisco S Huey Stanton E Vincent Walter CBernard Jules C Luton Loyd E Hyde Clyde D Wang Robert SBisso Louis C Martin Charles A Johnson John W Wyble Mitchell P

Section members with no email address listed:



— Calendar of Events —

June 6-8, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Design of Foundations for Dynamic Loads,

New Orleans.

June 7-8, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Pipe and Pipeline Renewal, New Orleans.

June 7-8, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Wind Loads for Buildings and Other

Structures, Galveston, Texas.

June 7-8, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Renovations of Buildings, Atlanta,

Georgia

June 7-8, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Treatment Plant Hydraulics for Civil Engineers,

Atlanta, Georgia.

June 14-15, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Pumping Systems Design, San Antonio,

Texas.

June 21-22, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Fundamentals of Earthquake Engineering,

Austin, Texas.

June 28-29, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Geotechnical Aspects of Bioreactor Landfills,

Atlanta, Georgia.

July 26-27, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Earthquake Induced Ground Motions, Houston,

Texas.

July 26-27, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Soil Constitutive Modeling for Engineers:

Fundamentals, Evaluation and Calibration, Atlanta, Georgia.

August 9-10, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Construction Administration for Engineers,

Houston, Texas.

August 19-22, 2007 ASCE Conference * International Air Transport, Dallas, Texas.

August 16-17, 2007 ASCE Conference * Wetlands and 404 Permitting, Atlanta,

Georgia.

September 12-14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * HEC-RAS Computer Workshop: Unsteady

Flow Applications, Atlanta, Georgia.

September 13-14, 2007 New Orleans Branch Louisiana Civil Engineering Conference

and Show, Kenner

September 13-14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Design and Evaluation of Highway Bridge

Superstructures Using LRFD, Dallas, Texas.

September 13-14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Geotextile Tube Designs. Applications and

Case Histories, Houston, Texas.

September 13-14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Seismic Repair and Rehabilitation of Concrete

and Masonry Structures Using FRP Composites.

September 13-14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Environmental Bootcamp for Engineers

September 14, 2007 Louisiana Section Annual Meeting, New Orleans

September 14, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Seismic Design of Liquid Storage Tanks, New

Orleans.

September 16-19, 2007 ASCE Conference * International Symposium on Fluid Control,

Measurement and Visualization, Tallahassee, Florida.

September 19-21, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Design of Buildings and Industrial

Facilities for Blast Loads and Accidental Chemical Explosions,

Atlanta, Georgia.

September 20-21, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Design of Residential Buildings

Using the 2006 Residential Building Code, New Orleans.

September 20-21, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Design of Cold Formed Steel Structures,

Dallas, Texas.

September 20-21, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Earth Retaining Structures Selection, Design,

Construction and Inspection, Dallas, Texas.

September 20-21, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Water Hammer in Transmission and

Distribution Systems, Houston, Texas.

September 26-28, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Vibration Analysis, Design and

Troubleshooting, Atlanta, Georgia.

November 1-2, 2007 ASCE Conference * Civil Engineering Conference, Orlando,

Florida.

March 9-12, 2008 ASCE Conference * Geocongress 2008, New Orleans.

*For more information, call ASCE toll free at (800)548_2723 or visit the ASCE website:

www.asce.org.

For the schedule and registration for the ASCE web seminar continuing education regularly

offered: Visit the ASCE website / continuing education / distance learning / live interactive

web seminars.


lyzed and stay with the familiar. Often this ismotivated by fear of short-term regret at makinga less-than-perfect decision even though weknow that there are no perfect decisions. But, asMark Twain said, “Twenty years from now, youwill be more disappointed by the things you did-n’t do than by the things you did do.” By plac-ing more emphasis on what we have alreadyexpended than on what could be gained bychange, we ignore lost opportunity costs becausethey do not seem real. But with your financialsecurity at stake, where you are headed is muchmore important than where you have been.

——————————————————Thomas R. Thurmond, Senior Vice President,Wealth Advisor with Morgan Stanley in NewOrleans, Louisiana. He may be contacted byemail at [email protected] by telephone at (504)587-9669 or (800)659-0009. Any particular investment should be ana-lyzed based on its terms and risks as they mayrelate to your specific circumstances and objec-tives. Information and data in this article wereobtained from sources considered reliable andpublished for general information and educa-tional purposes only. Morgan Stanley makes norepresentation or warranty with respect to theaccuracy or completeness of this material andthe giving of the same is not an offer or solicita-tion to buy or sell any security or other financialinstrument or participate in any trading strate-gy. It was prepared by Morgan Stanley sales,trading or other non-research personnel.Morgan Stanley does not render advice on tax ortax-accounting matters. This material was notintended or written to be used, and it cannot beused by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoid-ing penalties that may be imposed on the tax-payer under U. S. federal tax laws. Consult yourtax or legal advisers before making any tax- orlaw-related investment decisions. Investmentsand services are offered through Morgan StanleyDW Inc., member SIPC.

Did you know......that self-propelled robot traffic cones have

been developed that will position themselves tomark off repair zones and reduce the need forworkmen to put themselves in harm’s way plac-ing and removing such markers manually? Thecones are on a 3-wheeled base featuring twoelectric motors and a 12-volt battery. The activ-ities of a fleet of robot traffic cones is coordinat-ed by a lead robot or shepherd that is controlledby an operator with a laptop. The operator viewsa camera image of the road and uses software tomark the cone positions onscreen and can openand close traffic lanes faster than human work-ers. The cones employ dead reckoning to findtheir positions. The shepherd uses a laser-basedradar system to correct any positional errors ofthe cones and ensure that the fleet is properlylocated. The cost of the robot traffic cones mustbe lowered to become commercially viable.- New Scientist 04/28/04



- In Memoriam -

Sidney L. Poleynard died December 28,2006 in Atlantic Beach, Florida. A native of St.Martinville, Louisiana born November 27,1916 he served his country in the U.S. ArmyAir Corps in World War II and in the U.S. AirForce in the Korean Conflict. Sidney is sur-vived by his wife, Betty, and their daughter,two sons and six grandchildren. He earned hisBS degree in civil engineering from LouisianaState University in 1947 and was employedthat same year by the Louisiana Department ofHighways in its Bridge Department. After ayear with the Department, Sidney left to join aprivate company before volunteering for Koreain 1951. In 1952, he returned to the BridgeDepartment and was promoted to head theBridge Department in 1954 where he investedmuch of his distinguished career with theDepartment. Sidney was a licensed profes-sional engineer in Louisiana and he wasappointed by the Governor to serve as a mem-ber of the Louisiana State Board ofRegistration for Professional Engineers andLand Surveyors — a 9-year term one of whichhe served as its chairman. Sidney also servedhis profession as an active member of theASCE and the Louisiana Engineering Society.He served on the Board of Directors of theASCE Baton Rouge Branch including a termas its President in 1971-1972. Sidney retiredfrom the Department in 1978 after advancingto the position of Assistant Director ofHighways in 1972 and transferring to AssistantSecretary of the Office of Highways of theLouisiana Department of Transportation andDevelopment. Upon retirement from theDepartment, he joined Raymond Internationalas a vice president with responsibilities in mar-

keting and providing engineering servicesworldwide and from which he and Bettyretired in 1983 to Skidaway Island inSavannah, Georgia where they lived for 20years before moving to Atlantic Beach. Sidneywas involved in the design and construction ofa major portion of the bridges on the Interstatehighway system in Louisiana. Chief amongthem were the Mississippi River bridges atBaton Rouge (I-10), at Vicksburg (I-20) and atLuling (I-310), the Calcasieu River bridge atLake Charles (I-10) and the Atchafalaya BasinFloodway elevated roadway (I-10). He wasalso involved in the design and construction of

the Atchafalaya River bridge at Simmesport(LA 1), the Red River bridge at Alexandria (US167) and several other major bridges crossingthe navigable waterways of Louisiana. Sidneydeveloped new concepts in bridge design andhe was significantly involved in the implemen-tation and further development of the precastprestressed concrete elements that have beenused extensively in Louisiana’s highwaybridges since 1960. Recognized as a foremostauthority in pile driving, Sidney was alsonationally recognized for his contributions inthe field of bridge design and construction. Heserved as the Chairman of the Subcommitteeon Bridges and Structures of the AmericanAssociation of State Highway andTransportation Officials. For his outstandingservice in — and contributions to — bridgeengineering in Louisiana, Sidney was inductedinto the Louisiana Highways andTransportation Hall of Honor in 1991. In hismemoirs, “Memories of a Louisiana Cajun,”written at the urging of his children, Sidneyelegantly concluded:

As I sit here in my study reflecting on whatI have written, I realize how rich my life hasbeen. Rich in the friends of my childhood andthose of later years. Rich in the experiencesthat I have had — in the challenges given andtaken. Rich in having had the opportunity towork with many talented men and womenthroughout this nation. But above all, rich inwhat has given my life full meaning — Betty,my constant companion for 48 years and mythree beloved children. So when the ends ofmy life ring touch and I must leave, I willknow full well that I have been indeed a fortu-nate man. S.L.P. April 1992

ACEC/L Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana is scheduled forMay 31 through June 3, 2007. It will be held in the Bluffs Resort located in St. Francisville, Louisiana.Part of the agenda is an 8-hour and 8 PDH seminar titled, “Business finance for building value in yourbusiness.” Topics that will be discussed during this seminar are

• accounting principles• financial metrics• building value in the firm• ownership transition and• exit strategies.

This seminar will be of value to those who currently own a business and to those with the aspiration toown a business. It is open to both the members of the ACEC/L and nonmembers and the fee structureaccommodates those who would wish to attend the seminar only. Either email [email protected] orcall (225) 927-7704 to request more details about the ACEC/L Annual Meerting registration, travel andaccommodations, or visit http//:www.lasce.org.



straight upwards indicating that the wind forcesacted upward from underneath the plankingcausing uplift. The sequence of the failure of thebuilding framing could be envisioned by observ-ing the location of a wooden screen door foundon top of the roofing debris. This confirms thesequence of events indicating that the roof lost itsintegrity first when it was detached from thebuilding frame by the wind uplift forces andblown away. Following the loss of the roof,other structural components from the first andsecond floors like the screen door were scatteredover the debris field to the west and on the top ofthe demolished roof components.

The damage to the brick wall supporting thecarport canopy columns also confirmed thedirection and magnitude of the wind forces. The3'-0" high wall collapsed at both ends where thecarport canopy column supports were attached.This indicated that the carport canopy supportsconnecting to the wall were uplifted by windforces causing its ends to fall in opposite direc-tions as shown in Figure 9. The bricks from thiswall were scattered nearby forming a trail to thewest.

The stud wall around a water closet on theeast side of the residence collapsed into the base-ment against basement perimeter wall on thewest side of the basement giving another clearindication that wind forces causing this damagewere from east.

Storm factsThe National Aeronautics and Space

Administration recorded the maximum windspeeds as shown in Figure 10 when HurricaneKatrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast August29, 2005. The recorded speed of the wind gustsin the Waveland area varied from 130 to 145mph. This would explain the severe destructionto the roof and framing constructed of wood.The National Climatic Data Center reported that“...as the hurricane made its landfall on theMississippi and Louisiana Gulf coasts, windspeeds were approximately 125 mph...” Thisputs the wind gusts at higher than 145 mph.

Figure 7. The fireplace was detached from the building and was inclinedto the west (sketch number 9).

Figure 8. The steel fire escape stair and the chimney located on the westside of the residence fell to the west (sketch number 10).

Figure 10. Hurricane Katrina wind speed map.




The damage potential for hurricane windspeeds between 131 and 155 mph is expected tobe extensive as explained in the information pro-vided in Figure 11. This chart prepared by theNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) indicates the damageexpected for different categories of storms/hurri-canes and it states that for wind speeds between131 to 155 mph

...extensive curtainwall failures with somecomplete roof structure failure on smallresidences can occur... (and) major damageto lower floors of structures near theshore...

can be expected.This clearly describes the damage that was

observed during the damage survey of the sub-ject property.

From the evidence depicted in Figures 2through 11 and the above observations, it wasobvious that damage to the property occurred inthe east-to-west direction. This provided theunquestionable conclusion that this destructionwas caused by the high wind forces consistentwith the velocities and the east-to-west directionof the winds reported in the “Summary ofHurricane Katrina” of the NOAA Satellite andInformation Services.

A partial list of the structural analyses per-formed following the wind damage survey in anattempt to confirm the evidence follows:• Wind forces on exterior skin of the structure

based on Standard Building Code.• Uplift forces at the base of studs, building, as

well as carport.• Shear forces at the top concrete basement

perimeter wall.• Anchor bolt shear.• Brick mortar stresses.• Shear stresses in concrete slab due to storm

surge.• Brick mortar stresses in pilasters due to

storm surge.• Stability of the fireplace and chimney.• Shear stresses in wood members due to

uplift.

Surge damage survey

Figure 9. The carport canopy supports at each end of its low wall werelifted and fell away from the wall (sketch number 11).

Figure 12. The concrete deck slab on the south (front) side of the resi-dence was cracked, separated into segments and displaced to the north(sketch number 13).

Figure 11. Damage expected from different categories of hurricanes. (Continued on Page 30)




CALI & LAPLACEENGINEERS,LLC300 ST CHARLES, ST.

BATON ROUGE, LA 70802

58 CYCAS STREETKENNER, LA 70065

Lance LaPlacePrincipal / Vice PresidetEmail: [email protected]

Phone: 225-388-9500Fax: 225-388-9110Cell: 225-405-0643

the north-to-south orientation also. Some of thewalls that face in the north/south direction felldifferently. The concrete deck slab on the south(front) side of the residence was completelydetached from its supporting brick pilasters asshown in Figures 12 and 13 and it was moved tothe north 12" to 14". This was caused by thestorm surge that followed the high wind forcesabout 2 to 2.5 hours later.

At the front steps, the concrete deck slab hadbeen moved toward the north shearing off con-tact between brick and the concrete deck. Thiswas the result of the storm surge forces pushingthe deck slab horizontally to the north and awayfrom the Gulf. The magnitude of horizontalforce from the storm surge was so large that theconcrete deck slab had cracked in 4 locations anddisplaced into separate sections as shown inFigure 12. The brick wing wall on the side of thefront steps was cracked. The concrete deck andits integral edge beam was also completely sepa-rated from its supporting brick pilasters andpushed northward causing the concrete basementperimeter wall to which it is attached to buckle.

The continuous concrete edge beam support-ing the concrete deck slab and spanning betweenthe brick pilasters was cracked in several loca-tions as shown in Figure 14. The brick pilaster atthe southwest corner of the concrete deck wasbroken and separated from the concrete deck slabthat was pushed into the broken part of concrete

basement perimeter wall almost 5 feet in north-west direction. This failure was due to the largehorizontal forces from the storm surge.

The south-to-north direction of the stormsurge was clearly visible from the direction inwhich the shrubbery and small plants were lean-ing as shown in Figure 15. They were leaningover — some almost touching the ground — tothe north, away from the Gulf and in the direc-tion of the storm surge.

ConclusionBased on the available data and the observa-

tions from the damage survey, it was concludedthat• the winds caused severe damage to the roof

and the framing of the residence completelydestroying and displacing its superstructure.

• The damage to the residence caused by windwas in the east-to-west direction.

• The storm surge followed the high winds andcaused damage to what remained — the con-crete deck slab on the south (front) side ofthe residence.

• The damage to the residence caused bystorm surge was in the north-to-south direc-tion.The cause of the damage to the property in

this case whether it was due to wind or to stormsurge forces can be determined by the evidenceavailable on the site. The evidence is carefully

and completely documented by a hand sketch ofthe undisturbed damage and the debris fields onthe site and the photographs of the site takenimmediately after the storm and during the dam-age survey. To effectively assess the damage, itis also important that a structural engineer per-forms or supervises the damage survey and takesinto account not only the structural damage to thefacilities but also gives proper consideration tothe surroundings, including the character of thedebris fields and the response of the vegetationand trees to the wind and/or storm surge forces.


Figure 14. The continuous concrete edge beam supporting the concretedeck on the south side of the residence and spanning between the brickpilasters was cracked and damaged (sketch number 14).

Figure 15. Bushes observed leaning north from the effects of storm surge(sketch number 15).

Figure 13. The concrete deck slab at the south-east corner of the residence was detached fromits support and displaced 10" to 14" to the north(sketch number 12).



For ASCE member address corrections, visit http://www.asce.org or call (800) 548-2723 or For listing and advertisement revisions contact E.R. DesOrmeaux, PE,

email: [email protected] or telephone: (337) 237-0404

The listing of your business card or larger advertisement here with our other supporters to help subsidize The Louisiana Civil Engineer, the journalof the Louisiana Section is greatly appreciated. For information about listing rates and requirements, please visit http://www,lasce.org

and/or direct inquiries to E. R. (Ray) DesOrmeaux, email: [email protected] or telephone: (337) 237-0404.

1111 Hawn AvenueShreveport, LA 71107

201 Harbor CircleNew Orleans, LA 70126(504) 243-5500(504) 243-5508 (Fax)

CDMlisten, think, deliver.

Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc.330 Marshall Street, Suite 920Shreveport, LA 71101Tel: [email protected]

Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc.6120 Perkins Road, Suite 200Baton Rouge, LA 70808Tel: [email protected]

Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc.1515 Poydras Street, Suite 1350New Orleans, LA 70112Tel: [email protected]


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THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEERJournal of the Louisiana Section-ASCEE.R. DesOrmeaux, PEP.O. Box 52194Lafayette, LA 70505-2194

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15714 ASCE May07:Civil EngineerThe Louisiana Section is located in ASCE Region 5 that consists of...

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