Annual Report 2011 - CSCE • Canadian Society for Civil Engineering

The Sherbrooke Section student chapter is activewith close to 70 student members. Thefaculty advisor, Mrs. Nathalie Roy, and Mr.Eric St-Georges are involved at the Sectionlevel. The civil engineering professional communityis invited to join the student chapterconferences and activities in order to createlearning and networking opportunities.Student Chapters in Laval and Sherbrookecontinue to be active through participation invarious competitions, site tours and social activities.More emphasis has been given to theMontreal Civil Engineering Universities(École Polytechnique, École de TechnologieSupérieure, McGill and Concordia) since September2011 in collaboration with the CSCENational office. Many events, such as theCSCE Membership Benefit introductionconference, technical visits, engineering careerpresentations and networking events havebeen organized. We hope this interaction willmotivate and attract the CSCE student chaptermembers to pursue their involvement atthe professional level with the Montreal Section.Ontario RegionVice-President, James Garland, P.Eng.,FCSCEThe Ontario Region comprises six Sections,namely, National Capital, Durham-Northumberland, Toronto, Hamilton-Niagara,Northwestern Ontario and London andDistrict. The Ontario Regional Council, withrepresentation from each Section, works topromote sharing of best practices, speaker andevent information and to provide a vehicle forrepresentation of Section interests to theCSCE Board. The Council typically meets byteleconference but will meet in person at theCSCE Annual Conference.The National Capital Section, chaired by GaryHolowach, has focused their energies in 2011as members of the Local Organizing Committeefor the AGM and Conference. The Sectionincludes two active Student Chapters: CarletonUniversity and University of OttawaThe Section provided sponsorship and participatedin the 2011 Ottawa Regional ScienceFair, EngFrosh 2011 at Carleton University,University of Ottawa Iron Ring Ceremonyand the Concrete Toboggan competition.The Section also provided sponsorship of thededication of the Fleet Street Pump Station asa CSCE National Historic Site during theconference.The Durham-Northumberland Section servesa large geographic area from east of Torontoto Kingston and is chaired by Brandon Robinson.The Section hosted two luncheons in2011; Japan’s Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Accident:A Technical Assessment, by Dr. JohnLuxat and Highway 2 Bus Rapid Transit, byJames Garland.Average attendance at luncheon events is 30.The Section is financially healthy, but wantsto add more members to its executive.Cameron Blair became Chair of the TorontoSection in the fall of 2011 with Peter Langancontinuing to serve as Past Chair and Treasurer.The Section facilitates continuing educationworkshops, and lectures of interest to CSCEmembers. The Section supports the RyersonUniversity and the University of TorontoCSCE student chapters. This year the Sectionalso provided financial support to the OntarioEngineering Competition being hosted by theUniversity of Toronto.All Section events held during the year havebeen well attended, typically with 40 to 60people. As well, two Young Professionalsevents were held and well attended, showingpromise for future Young Professionals eventsand activities within the Section. Nigel Parkerhas created a new website giving the TorontoSection a strong internet presence and improvedcommunication of events and activitiesto members (www.cscetoronto.ca).Initiatives to engage members and encourageattendance have met with success includingautomated event registration and an alternativevenue to the ones used in the past.The Hamilton-Niagara Section serves a verylarge area with a population of approximatelyone million people. The Section supports theMcMaster University student chapter. TheSection was fortunate to host the CSCE 2011National Lecture Tour Tsunami Impacts on Infrastructureby Dr. Ioan Nistor. Attendancewas overwhelming with representation fromstudents from McMaster University, facultyand industry participants. The Section executive,chaired by Ben Hunter, currently hasseven members, including active and retiredprofessionals, academics and students, all whoare involved in the planning of the Section’sevents and activities. New executive membersare currently being welcomed to assist in coordinatingthe Section’s efforts.The Northwestern Ontario Section serves anarea with a population of 150,000 people andis chaired by Gerry Buckrell. This Section alsohosted the CSCE 2011 National Lecture TourTsunami Impacts on Infrastructure in September.The Section Chair is keen to expand hisexecutive so that more ideas can be implemented.The London and District Section is a jointCSCE-CGS Section with a representation ofprofessionals, professors and students on thetwelve-person executive. The Section, chairedby Tom Mara, has members from acrossSouthwestern Ontario, particularly from theLondon, Windsor and Kitchener-Waterlooareas. The Section supports the CSCE StudentChapter (Western Society for Civil Engineering)at The University of WesternOntario (UWO) and integrates some activitieswith the students including a Second YearWelcome to Civil BBQ and an internationaldevelopment course project report presentationevent. The Section hosted seven dinnerpresentations with an average attendance ofapproximately 30 people, some of whom werestudents. The Section works closely with localengineering firms to sponsor a number ofUWO student activities, such as the PolarStick Bridge competition, Western ConcreteCanoe (WECCA), Western Concrete Toboggan(WETT), as well as providing an OutstandingStudent award at the completion ofeach academic year.Prairie RegionVice-President, Harold Retzlaff, P.Eng.,FCSCEThe Prairie Region includes the provinces ofManitoba and Saskatchewan. The Regioncomprises three Sections, Manitoba, SouthSaskatchewan and Saskatoon. The Regionsponsored a Section Workshop in Winnipegin April 2011 to assist the Winnipeg Sectionas they began to plan local activities. Membersfrom the Saskatoon and South SaskatchewanSections attended and provided lessonslearned information to the Winnipeg Section.In September, the Saskatoon and SouthSaskatchewan Sections partnered with theConsulting Engineers of Saskatchewan to facilitatea seismic design seminar in Saskatoonand Regina.The South Saskatchewan Section, chaired byHarold Retzlaff, has been moderately active.The Section hosted several technical lunchpresentations and a fall NLT. In addition, theSection hosted two workshops, Seismic Design,and Bridge Hydraulics. The Section isworking with the University of Regina to de-8