National Society of Professional Engineers: Wyoming State Society      
 
 
 
 

 


Nominations Now Accepted for MSPE Recognition Awards
MSPE Sponsoring and Supporting Engineering Legislation
Opposition of Non-PEs Designing Certain Individual Sewage Treatment Systems
MSPE and NSPE Will Again Provide Lunch at April PE Exam
MATHCOUNTS Celebrates 25 Years (aka 52) and Enjoys Successful State Meet
Projects and Individuals Honored at 2008 Engineers Week Awards and Recognition Banquet


Nominations Now Accepted for MSPE Recognition Awards

Do you know someone who deserves some recognition? Nominations are now being accepted for MSPE’s annual recognition awards: the Engineer of the Year Award, Young Engineer of the Year Award, Public Service Award and the Extra Mile Award. Recipients will be recognized at MSPE’s annual meeting on June 17 at the Science Museum.

Please submit your nominations of current MSPE members by Thursday, May 15.

Recognition is ALWAYS appreciated – please consider nominating someone!

Engineer of the Year Award: Recognizes outstanding achievements to the advancement and improvement of the engineering profession, public welfare and service to mankind. 2008 Engineer of the Year Nomination

Young Engineer of the Year Award: Recognizes outstanding achievements by a young engineer. Eligible nominees must be a member of MSPE, be a licensed PE or EIT and be under 35 years of age as of January 1, 2008. 2008 Young Engineer of the Year Award Nomination

Public Service Award: Given in recognition of outstanding contributions and service to the public. 2008 Public Service Award Nomination

Extra Mile Award: Created to recognize MSPE members who have gone the "extra mile" in MSPE activities in the past year. More than one Extra Mile Award may be presented. Self-nominations are encouraged!  2008 Extra Mile Award Nomination Form

Changes in PE License Renewal Process

For the first time, all Minnesota licensed PEs will renew their licenses online with the MN Board of Licensure. The upcoming license renewal, due June 30, 2008, will only be available online (forms can also be downloaded and printed by licensees). Postcards will be mailed to all licensees in late April or early May informing licensees how to renew. Please watch for your postcard and check inside your other mail (magazines, etc.) for it – no paper renewal forms will be sent!

If you have changed addresses within the last two years, it is suggested you contact the Board of Licensure to make sure they have a current mailing address on file for you. To update your address with the board, contact Holly Salmela at holly.a.salmela@state.mn.us.

Note that licensees can carry over 12 hours per profession licensed. Tracking your continuing education is a personal responsibility – neither MSPE nor the Board of Licensure know how many hours you have or how many you carried over from the last renewal period.

MSPE, NSPE Provide Lunch at April PE Exam



MSPE, in partnership with NSPE, again provided lunch to over 225 examinees at the April 11 PE exam at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Thanks to MSPE members Anthony Aderhold, Dan Faulkner and Kent Schneider for helping to greet examinees as they made their lunch selections! This outreach has been provided for the past few years – MSPE and NSPE plan to continue providing lunch in the future.


 



MSPE Sponsoring and Supporting Engineering Legislation

PE Requirement in MnDOT Leadership Position

MSPE is sponsoring legislation in the 2008 session that would require Mn/DOT have a deputy commissioner/chief engineer and would further require that this position be filled by a licensed Professional Engineer.

As of April 15, this legislation has been included in both the House and Senate transportation policy bills (See HF3800 beginning with line 39.33 and SF3223 beginning with line 48.28 for specific language). This language is different from that which was originally introduced. MSPE is still working to see that the most appropriate language is what is eventually passed and that the final version best protects the health, safety and welfare of Minnesotans.

This effort is supported by other engineering organizations, including the American Council of Engineering Companies/Minnesota, the American Public Works Association – Minnesota Chapter, the American Society of Civil Engineers/Minnesota Section, the Association of General Contractors – Minnesota, the City Engineers Association of Minnesota, the Minnesota County Engineers Association, the Minnesota Government Engineers Council and the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Opposition of Non-PEs Designing Certain Individual Sewage Treatment Systems

MSPE has actively opposed legislation that would allow non-engineers to design subsurface discharge wastewater treatment systems with flow rates less than 10,000 gallons per day, or about 35-40 homes per system.

As of April 15, legislation had passed both the House and Senate Environment & Natural Resources Committees and was being held for potential inclusion in the environmental omnibus bills (See the House and Senate language at HF3643 and SF3386).

MSPE is particularly opposed to this legislation because the 2007 legislature requested that the MPCA organize a work group of all interested organizations to discuss and try to reach consensus on this issue, with a final report requested to the 2008 legislature in February. The work group, including MSPE, did meet through early February 2008 and issued a report to the legislature, which recommended that professionals licensed by the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveyors, Landscape Architects, Geoscientists and Interior Designers including engineers, soil scientists and/or geologists be involved in the design of these systems. SF3386 and HF3643 ignore this recommendation and instead support a lower standard for the design of these systems, which is not in the best interests of protecting the environment.

MATHCOUNTS Celebrates 25 Years (aka 52) and Enjoys Successful State Meet

The Minnesota state MATHCOUNTS 2008 competition was held March 14-15 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Plymouth and was a huge success! Thank you again to all the chapter coordinators and volunteers who helped out with chapter meets and the state meet. You make a difference! This year’s competitions were a great success and would not have been possible without all of the dedicated help from MSPE members all over the state.

Top individual winners of the 2008 state MATHCOUNTS competition (in order of finish) are:

1. Martin Camacho, grade 8, Virtus Academy, St. Paul
2. Nathan Salo, grade 8, Falcon Ridge Middle School, Apple Valley
3. Ben Dion, grade 8, Parkview Center School, Roseville
4. Sahiba Singh, grade 7, Wayzata Central Middle School, Plymouth

These four won top honors from among 120 participants representing 41 schools at the 25th annual competition. The four will form the Minnesota state team and travel to Denver May 8-11 to compete in the national MATHCOUNTS competition against teams from throughout the United States. The MATHCOUNTS program pays for the students and coach to travel to the national event.

Placing fifth and sixth was:

5. Nate Bonshire, grade 8, Black Hawk Middle School, Eagan
6. Max Timmons, grade 8, Highland Park Junior High, St. Paul

The top scoring team at the meet was Falcon Ridge Middle School in Apple Valley, which included team members Nathan Salo, Mariel Supina, John Granlund and Maren Loe. The team was coached by Mary Hoffman. As the coach of the top-scoring team, Ms. Hoffman will coach the Minnesota state team traveling to Denver to compete in the national MATHCOUNTS competition.

Other top teams at the state meet were:

2. Central Middle School, Eden Prairie
3. Wayzata Central Middle School, Plymouth
4. St. Michael - Albertville Middle School, St. Michael
5. Kellogg Middle School, Rochester
6. Black Hawk Middle School, Eagan
7. Wayzata West Middle School, Wayzata
8. Marcy Open School, Minneapolis
9. Sartell Middle School, Sartell
10. Parkview Center School, Roseville

Winners of the Countdown Round were:
 

1. Martin Camacho, Virtus Academy, St. Paul
2. Nathan Salo, Falcon Ridge Middle School
3. Nate Bonshire, Black Hawk Middle School
4. Joshua Fourre, Eden Prairie Central Middle School

For more information on the state meet and pictures of participating teams, visit the Minnesota MATHCOUNTS Web site at www.mnspe.org/mathcounts.

Projects and Individuals Honored at 2008 Engineers Week Awards and  Recognition Banquet

Over 250 engineers, award winners, clients, scholarship recipients and their guests attended the 44th Annual Engineers Week Awards and Recognition Banquet on Friday, February 22 at the University Club in downtown St. Paul. Master of Ceremonies Col. John Kunkle, deputy commander of the St. Paul District Corps of Engineers guided attendees through an evening of recognition. Twenty-two scholarship recipients were acknowledged, as were Minnesota Federation of Engineering, Science and Technology Society winners of the Young Engineer of the Year Award, the Charles W. Britzius Distinguished Engineer Award and the Richard Alberg Distinguished Science and Technology Professional Award. The evening concluded with the presentation of the Seven Wonders of Engineering awards, which recognized 22 project entries including 2008 Project of the Year Award winner URS Corporation for the Midtown Greenway Bridge over Hiawatha Avenue. For a complete list of entries and information on the winning projects and individuals, click here.

 


Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers
20 E. Thompson Ave. #206
West. St. Paul, MN 55118
Phone (651) 457-2347
Fax (651) 457-6631
Contact us at mail@mnspe.org