Obama Takes Presidential Oath; Targets Infrastructure, Energy, Education As Priorities President Barack Obama taking the Presidential Oath at Tuesday's inaugural ceremony. President Barack Obama took the Oath of Office on Tuesday, then emphasized several critical engineering industry objectives including investment in infrastructure, energy and education, during his inauguration speech only blocks from ACEC headquarters. An estimated 1.8 million people attended the inauguration, surpassing the previous record 1.2 million who attended Lyndon Johnson's inauguration. "We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together," Obama said.

His stimulus package, currently under consideration in the House, includes over $100 billion in new spending on infrastructure and public buildings, as well as other business-friendly tax changes. In his speech, Obama also vowed to harness the power of alternative fuels, transform schools to meet the demands of a new age, and lower the cost of healthcare—goals he also emphasized in an exclusive interview with ACEC that appears in the January/February issue of Engineering Inc. Click here to view interview. ACEC will work with the Obama Administration to make sure that the infrastructure-based stimulus funding is used for projects that provide sustainable recovery, and not just short-term repairs.

New Executive Committee Members Elected
Timothy Psomas, Chairman-elect Robin Greenleaf, Vice Chair Scott Heidner, NAECE Representative	ACEC's Board of Directors has elected four new members to ACEC's Executive Committee, with two-year terms beginning at the April 2009 Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. Gerald Stump, vice president of Wilbur Smith Associates in Franklin, Tennessee will become the new chairman-elect, succeeding Timothy Psomas who will begin his term as chairman in April. Newly-elected vice chairs are: Robin Greenleaf, president of Architectural Engineers, Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts; Bartlett Patton, chief operating officer of Kleinfelder in Irvine, California; and Kenneth Wightman, chief executive officer of David Evans and Associates, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. ACEC/Kansas Executive Director Scott Heidner will serve as the NAECE representative on the 2009-2010 Executive Committee. The new officers will join Psomas, Terry Neimeyer, Craig Avery, Ted Williams, James Duncan, and Dave Raymond on the 2009-2010 Executive Committee.	Gerald Stump, Chairman-elect-elect Bartlett Patton, Vice Chair Kenneth Wightman, Vice Chair

Sign Up Now For ACEC's 2009-2010 National Committees ACEC members are encouraged to sign up for service on ACEC National committees. Participation on an ACEC committee brings vitality to the Council and ensures that the issues of members are dealt with in Council operations. Most of ACEC's committees are "open" (i.e., sign up and you're on!). A few require appointment by the incoming ACEC chairman. The terms of committee members begin during the 2009 Annual Convention, April 26-29. Open and appointive committees are listed below. Be sure to share this information with co-workers and encourage them to volunteer as well—remember, ACEC committee membership is open to all employees of ACEC member firms.
Open Committees: Contract Documents Committee Environment & Energy Committee Federal Agencies & Procurement Advocacy Committee Institute for Business Management Committee Peer Review Sub-Committee* SEI Alumni Committee** International Committee Management Practices Committee Membership Committee Public Relations Committee Risk Management Committee Tax and Regulatory Affairs Committee Transportation Committee	Appointive Committees: Budget Committee for FY 2011 to FY 2014 Engineering Excellence Awards Committee Planning Cabinet Conference Curriculum Sub-Committee Professional Conduct Committee Bylaws & Procedures Committee ACEC/AASHTO Joint Committee Tellers Committee *Must be employees of Peer Reviewed firms. **Must be SEI Alumni
Click here to view current Committee Goals. To join a committee, send an email message to Mary Ann Emely, ACEC vice president of operations, memely@acec.org and designate which committee(s) you are interested in joining. Remember, if your interest is in an "open" committee, you will automatically be added. If you are interested in an "appointive" committee, please so indicate and if you are selected, you will be notified in March. Current members of "open" committees will be automatically continued, unless they advise otherwise. If you have questions about the process, please contact memely@acec.org.

2009 Online Seminars Kick-Off With Hot Sustainability Topics Developing a Cleantech Business Strategy January 27, 1:30-3 p.m. Opportunities to leverage new "cleantech" or "sustainable" technologies, processes and services can be substantial for acquiring new clients and securing higher-margin lines of business. Presented by Scott Boutwell, C-Level Strategies LLC, this seminar will explain specific market segments in sustainability and emerging trends in technology development and investment. To facilitate benchmarking, Boutwell will provide strategy development examples from other industries and A/E/C case studies. For details and to register, click here. Calculating Carbon Footprints—Potential Business for Engineering Companies January 28, 1:30-3 p.m. Mark van Soestbergen, founder of the International Carbon Bank & Exchange, and a nationally known expert on climate change, discusses "carbon footprinting," defined as "a measure of the impact of human activities on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced and measured in units of carbon dioxide." As a faculty member of ACEC's Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities: Opportunities in New Markets, van Soestbergen foresees that a project's carbon footprint will increasingly be an evaluation criterion. He will describe how to establish an organization's carbon footprint and how that practice can be extended to client work. For details and to register, click here. Get Ready For Future Sustainability Market Business Opportunities With Feb. Course Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities February 9-12, Portland, OR Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Communities was developed by ACEC and Colorado State University for engineers and planners looking for a course on civil infrastructure projects and town/regional planning approaches to sustainable design and construction. Set for February 9-12, in Portland, the certificate course will cover sustainable development in a business context today and in the future, sustainable design tools and techniques, impacts of development and projects on the environment, sustainable design for specific engineering markets (urban water management, transportation, buildings) and client interaction on sustainable projects. The course will be presented by a well-known and diverse team of experts: Larry A. Roesner, professor, Colorado State University; Angela Lindner, associate dean, University of Florida; Harold E. Peaks, Federal Highway Administration; David R. Stewart, environmental consultant; Mark van Soestbergen, founder, International Carbon Bank and Exchange; and Bill Wallace, author and consultant on sustainable development. For details and to register, click here. Course Preps Engineers, Architects, Surveyors For Engineering Expert Witness Service Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness March 19-20, Kansas City, MO Many engineers may well be professionally qualified, but only the court-savvy, prepared and prudent engineers are prepared for potentially lucrative assignments as an expert witness in legal proceedings. Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness, ACEC's unique new one-and-a-half-day course, set for March 19-20, Kansas City, prepares your engineers for legal service with recognition and a certificate of course completion. Designed for professional engineers, architects and surveyors interested in earning credentials for legal service engagements, the course will be presented by recognized experts Alan B. Croft, an experienced litigator and trial attorney; Fred Schoenlaub, Feldhausen & Schoenlaub, PC, a former judge and veteran international construction attorney; and Guy Vaillancourt, president, Woodard & Curran, who has served clients as a testifying expert for the past 15 years. For details and to register, click here. BDC: Managing The Basics Better Is Crucial To Navigating In Slow Economy The Business of Design Consulting: Managing to Succeed in a Challenging Economic Environment March 25-28, Orlando, FL ACEC's perennially popular Business of Design Consulting adds a new course subtitle to better convey the focused 2009 approach to strategies for a successful A/E business: Managing to Succeed in a Challenging Economic Environment. Early registration is open for the course set for March 25-28, Orlando. Content covers the eight key areas of leadership, human resources, contracts, risk management, information technology, finance, business management and marketing—all in the context of the current economic climate and the long view of essential business functions, plus real-world technical examples. For owners, principals, executives, and managers of A/E firms, this contemporary look at the building blocks of your business is a cost-effective investment for surviving the current A/E business challenges and succeeding in a more competitive-than-ever future. For details and to register, click here. BIM Course Focuses On Work Flow Changes, Technology Issues, Risks Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and The 2009 Reality for A/E/C Firms March 26-27, Seattle, WA Addressing the present and future of industry challenges, Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and The 2009 Reality for A/E/C Firms is an informative and timely look into the many components of this increasingly important interdisciplinary project delivery system. ACEC presents the 2009 edition of this detailed overview course, March 26-27 in Seattle, for COOs, IT and project managers, and company principals. Course faculty represent diverse perspectives and first-hand experience in adoption of BIM. Agenda topics include: A Reason for Change; Exploring the Technology and Interoperability; Implementation Strategies and IT Case Study; BIM in the Field; Fabrication in the BIM Environment; and an update on Risk Management & Insurance for "BIM-Ready" Firms. For details and to register, click here. Opportunities Ahead—Be Ready With Sustainable Infrastructure Course Engineering Sustainable Infrastructure: Opportunities in Green Transportation and Water Projects March 26-27, Dearborn (Detroit), MI This highly focused new course "reframes the conversation about sustainable development," looks at it in a business context, outlines tools and techniques, and examines the exciting and expanding future opportunities of sustainable design in specific engineering markets. Presenting faculty are recognized experts Michael Replogle, Living Cities Program, Environmental Defense Fund; David R. Stewart, Stewart Environmental Consultants; and Bill Wallace, Wallace Futures Group, LLC. For details and to register, click here. ACEC, Virginia Tech Team Up For Sustainable Project Management Course ACEC and Virginia Tech present Sustainable Project Management for Facilities and Infrastructure Systems, March 17-20, at the Northern Virginia campus (Falls Church) of Virginia Tech. The course will detail the practical side of sustainable development technologies and services. For details and to register, click here. The American Council of Engineering Companies 1015 15th St., NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005-2605 Phone: 202-347-7474 - Fax: 202-898-0068 www.acec.org - E-mail:acec@acec.org Alan D. Crockett, Director, PR • Ann Brandstadter, Editor/Designer