Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski Briefs ACEC Members at National Headquarters ACEC President Dave Raymond and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) discussed key industry issues during an ACEC/PAC fundraiser at ACEC headquarters. ACEC/PAC and the political committees of Arcadis, HDR and Jacobs Engineering hosted a hosted a fundraising event this week for Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) at ACEC headquarters. “The great work that engineering firms do—including many of the organizations represented here today—is critical to helping us craft workable solutions to our nation’s energy problems,” said Murkowski. “I urge you all to make your voice heard in Congress, and continue to be politically engaged, because your contributions to this discussion are invaluable to both parties.” The meeting with the senior Republican on the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee also included representatives from Bechtel, CH2M Hill and Michael Baker Corp. Sen. Murkowski has played a critical role in achieving bipartisan solutions. She has been active in promoting the use of all types of energy resources, including oil, gas, nuclear and alternatives.

Maryland Member Firms Join ACEC/PAC In Supporting Senator Benjamin Cardin ACEC/Maryland presented an ACEC/PAC check this week to Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD). At the presentation were (from left to right): Jim Otradovec, executive director of ACEC/Maryland, Harvey Floyd of KCI, Mike Myers of RKK and president of ACEC/Maryland, Sen. Cardin, George Wirth of Schnabel Engineering and Jerry Jannetti of Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Senate Approves Funding Increases in Annual Transportation Funding Bill The U.S. Senate last week increased transportation spending above levels passed by the House when it approved the annual appropriations bill for F.Y. 2010. The bill increases funding for most transportation programs, providing $43.4 billion for highways, which is $1.4 billion above the House-passed level; $11.1 billion for transit programs, which is $600 million above the House; and $3.5 billion for airport improvement projects, the same level as the last four years. The Senate also included $1.1 billion for multimodal surface transportation grants and $1.2 billion for high-speed rail. The Senate has endorsed the increased funding levels for 2010, despite the fact that current projections indicate that the Highway Trust Fund will not have sufficient revenues to support these levels. Congress will either have to pass a new six-year program to support the increased transportation spending or transfer funds from the General Fund to make up for the shortfall. ACEC encourages members to continue to press their Congressional delegation on the need to pass a multi-year surface transportation bill this year with adequate and stable financing to address the current infrastructure funding gap. Click here to access a sample letter to send to your Congressman and Senators, as well as other details.

Senate Considers Big Water Funding Increase in F.Y. 2010 Spending Bill The Senate is debating ACEC-supported legislation this week that would significantly increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) and moderately boost Superfund program funding. SRFs provide capitalization grants to states to operate loan programs for municipal water and wastewater projects. For the Clean Water SRF, the Senate bill boosts the funding to over $2 billion for 2010, more than double the 2009 funding level. The Safe Drinking Water SRF would get $1.4 billion, a $571 million increase above last year. The House passed a bill in July that includes similar funding levels. The Superfund program would receive approximately $1.3 billion, slightly above last year. Final numbers on the EPA budget will need to be worked out in a conference committee with the House when the Senate completes its work on the bill, which is scheduled to receive a floor vote later this week.

HNTB’s Theodore Zoli Named MacArthur Fellows Program "Genius" HNTB’s Theodore Zoli received a 2009 MacArthur Fellowship to pursue creative ideas that benefit society. Theodore Zoli, vice president for HNTB in New York City, is one of 24 recipients of a 2009 MacArthur Fellows Program “genius grant”—a $500,000 fellowship. An expert in long-span, cable-supported bridges, Zoli played a key role in Boston’s Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge and the Blennerhassett Island Bridge over the Ohio River. “The fellowship hit me like a bolt of lightning,” Zoli said. “I’m really humbled by it all.” The MacArthur Fellows Program is designed to encourage talented people to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations for the benefit of society. Among this year’s other recipients are a molecular biologist, a short-story writer, a climate scientist and a photo journalist. Zoli said he hasn’t decided what to do with the money. “I am a bridge engineer. I want to build things,” he said. “The fellowship will hopefully provide me the opportunity to explore ideas and new materials to solve problems in long-span structures that might not have been considered.”

Tickets Going Fast for ACEC/PAC’s Fall Sweepstakes Drawing The Fall Conference raffle drawing is only two weeks away! Don’t miss your chance to win the Grand Prize—$10,000 in ACEC/PAC’s Fall Sweepstakes. Tickets are still just $200 each and are limited to five tickets per person (to increase your odds of winning). There are multiple chances of winning: 2nd place is $5,000; 3rd place is $2,000; and 4th place is $1,000. The drawing will be held on Saturday, October 10, during ACEC’s Fall Conference in Palm Springs, Calif. You do not have to be present to win. Nearly 300 tickets have already been sold—so buy your tickets today before they are gone! Now, it’s easier to enter than ever before. You can purchase a sweepstakes ticket online through the ACEC/PAC Contribution Center, or send us a completed Sweepstakes Form by fax to our secure line: (202) 682-4376. For information about ACEC/PAC or the Fall Sweepstakes, please contact Elizabeth Coit at ecoit@acec.org or 202-682-4322.

Lien Laws: Use Them to Your Advantage Liens are powerful tools for collections, but are rarely used by engineering firms, partly because liens laws vary so dramatically from state-to-state. ACEC’s new state-by-state summary of lien laws on www.contractscentral.net gives Member Firms a free resource for determining their lien options. If a firm has significant resources tied up in a project that has run into trouble, a lien encumbers the property, providing an avenue for payment for services rendered. Most states specifically mention in their statutes that engineers, land surveyors and design professionals are covered under lien laws. In Massachusetts and Iowa, it is questionable whether a design professional can file a lien, so check with local counsel. The state-by-state summary describes whether a state requires a pre-lien notice, whether design professionals are specifically covered, deadlines for filing claims, and citations to the relevant state laws.

ACEC Young Professional of the Year Award Entry Deadline is October 12 Member Organizations and Member Firms seeking to recognize the achievements of a young engineer must submit their entry for the ACEC 2010 Young Engineer of the Year Award by October 12, 2009. The Award acknowledges the accomplishments of engineers under the age of 30 who, while still at the beginning of their engineering careers, already have made significant contributions to the profession. Nominees will be evaluated by the Awards Subcommittee of the Committee of Fellows. Award winners will be recognized at the 2010 ACEC Fall Conference and in Engineering Inc. magazine and will automatically compete for the 2010 New Faces of Engineering Awards, which are coordinated through National Engineers Week. For more information on the awards and entry guidelines, click here.

Get First Crack at the Next Generation of Engineers; Advertise in Engineering Inc. The November/December issue of the award-winning Engineering Inc. magazine will offer a unique opportunity to introduce your firm to college engineering students—soon to be engineering graduates—throughout the nation. The magazine will present a special report on the current state and future trends of engineering education, featuring curriculum and industry perspectives from deans of some of the most renowned U.S. colleges of engineering. A bonus distribution of the November/December Engineering Inc. will go to major colleges of engineering and college engineering libraries throughout the nation. This will be a must-read issue for engineering students, and a must-advertise opportunity for engineering firms. The deadline to reserve space in this issue is October 2. Contact Nina Goldman today at ngoldman@acec.org to place your ad. Click here to view more information on advertising with ACEC.

Update Management Tools for New A/E Realities, Oct. 21-24, St. Louis The Business of Design Consulting: Managing for Success in a Climate of Change October 21-24, St. Louis, MO ACEC’s Business of Design Consulting: Managing for Success in a Climate of Change is a unique and comprehensive update of the elements and functions of the successful A/E business... all in the context of a challenging business environment. Content covers the eight key areas of business management, finance, marketing, risk management, contracts, leadership, human resources, and information technology, plus real-world technical examples presented by leading practitioners in the A/E workplace. Created for owners, principals, executives, and managers of A/E firms, this state-of-the-art look at the key components of your operation is a cost-effective investment for succeeding in a more competitive than ever environment. For earlybird savings, register by Monday, Sept. 28. For details, click here.

Add Expert Witness Skills to Your Firm’s Profile, Oct. 29-30 Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness October 29-30, Dearborn, MI Adding new services such as expert witness capabilities to your firm’s portfolio is a shrewd business strategy, particularly as an extension of existing skills and expertise. However well-qualified your key staff may be, only the court-savvy engineer should take on potentially lucrative assignments as an expert witness in legal proceedings. Applying Expertise as an Engineering Expert Witness, ACEC’s unique 1-1/2 day course to qualify engineers, architects and surveyors for recognition as expert witnesses, will be presented Oct. 29-30 in Dearborn, MI. Participants earn a certificate of course completion equipping them for legal service. Early bird registration for best savings is available through Monday, Sept. 28, then regular registration fees apply. The course will be presented by recognized experts Guy Vaillancourt, president, Woodard & Curran, who has served clients as a testifying expert for the past 15 years; Duncan G. Cameron, senior litigation partner, Donovan Hatem, New York, and a litigator of complex construction and commercial matters in federal and state courts; and the Honorable Arthur Bergman, New Jersey Superior Court Judge, who has presided over numerous construction cases and previously spent 13 years representing design professionals, owners and contractors. For details and course agenda, click here. For an in-depth look at engineers in the expert witness role, click here to read Holding Court in the July/August issue of ACEC’s Engineering Inc. magazine. In completing this course, attendees take an important first step towards qualifying for the professional designation of Engineer Expert Witness (EXW). For information on the EXW designation program, e-mail ebajer@acec.org.

Get Big-Picture BIM: Technology, Risks, Economics, Benefits, Oct. 29-30, Seattle Building Information Modeling (BIM): The Promise and the Reality for A/E/C Firms October 29-30, Seattle, WA As headlines point to the growing importance of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process to private and public sector clients (See Engineering Inc. story “Wisconsin, Texas First States to Require BIM on Public Projects”), ACEC presents a first-hand examination of the challenging interdisciplinary process. Set for Oct. 29-30 in Seattle, this fast-paced 1-1/2 day course is an informative and timely look into the many components of the BIM project delivery system by faculty practitioners and early-adopters. Highlights of the agenda include segments on reasons for change, exploring the technology and interoperability, implementation strategies and IT case study, risk management and insurance updates for “BIM-ready” firms, plus the latest views of BIM from the M/E/P perspective. This unique course is ideal for firm principals considering, planning or launching BIM. Earlybird registration for best savings is available through Monday, Sept. 28, then regular registration fees apply. For the course brochure and to register, click here.

Online Next Week: Understanding the "Millennials"; Improving Project Profitability Winning With Millennials: How to Attract, Retain and Empower the Latest Generation and Why It Matters Now September 29, 1:30-3 p.m. Tensions among firm leaders and young professionals exist in the A/E workplace—but in 2010, the so-called “millennials” will dominate the U.S. workforce. Firms that haven’t found ways to deal with cross-generational differences in style, communicating, work habits and attitudes effectively and productively will get left behind. Presented by J. Tim Griffin, RMF Engineering, Inc., this session focuses on practical tools to attract, retain, and empower this segment of the workforce to integrate them successfully into the design firm for the benefit of all. For details and to register, click here. Controlling Project Costs to Improve Profitability September 30, 1:30-3 p.m. Controlling costs directly impacts your project’s profitability—and those controls must be in place right from the start to maximize positive bottom-line impact. June Jewell, Jewell & Associates, helps you look at your project management process for fine-tuning or a complete revaluation. You’ll get practical ideas and information on how to better anticipate, manage and ultimately control your project costs… from the essentials of control to types of contracts to using software for cost control, and ways to track exactly where the “budget gets blown.” For details and to register, click here.

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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 • Gerry Donohue, Designer