Global Link – International Activities
Winter 2025
ASCE’s 3rd Greater China Conference draws members for its focus on sustainability and innovation
2025 kicked off in a strong way for ASCE members in the Greater China Section, which staged the 3rd Greater China Conference with cohost Guangxi University. ASCE Region 10 leadership was among the large number of attendees who took in developments and discussions around the theme of technological innovation and sustainable development in civil engineering.
ASCE 2025 President Feniosky Peña-Mora, attending virtually, Region 10 Director April Lander, and Region 10 Governor Chao Li delivered opening speeches, as well as a representative of Guangxi province’s Association for Science and Technology. Li also assisted with conference planning, and Region 10 Governor Kamal Laksiri attended. A total of 15 keynote speeches were delivered by top international scholars and engineering authorities from Australia and Japan as well as China.
Attendees went on a site trip to see progress on construction of the massive, 134.2-km (83.4 mile) Pinglu Canal, which began in 2023 and is slated for completion next year.
ASCE brings together Britain’s ICE, other global engineering federations to strengthen alliances
Top leaders from ASCE’s sister society in the United Kingdom and from three international unions of civil engineering societies gathered at ASCE’s northern Virginia headquarters to discuss developments in the profession and upcoming plans and commit to working together more to tackle common concerns.
Joining in the discussions were delegations from the Institution of Civil Engineers, the World Federation of Engineering Organizations, the Pan American Union of Engineering Organizations, and the Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council, plus ASCE, represented by President Feniosky Peña-Mora, Past President Marsia Geldert-Murphey, and Region 10 Director April Lander.
Topics included the mutual recognition licensure agreement between the Engineering Council-UK and the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, designed to streamline reciprocal licensure among engineers in the two countries. Nature-based solutions, sustainability initiatives, and plans for a Triennial Conference program held jointly with the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, potentially in conjunction with the ASCE 2025 Convention, also were discussed.
ASCE standards, notably this year’s endorsements by WFEO, UPADI, and ACECC of the new ASCE 73 Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure, were a major topic, as was the potential to combine and share engineering expertise initiatives. The bonding among leaders added to the foundation set for further collaboration.
Society members asked to vote on member grade streamlining
Should ASCE eliminate the affiliate and associate member levels and have just one “member” status? A form of that question will be put to Society members in May as part of the ASCE annual election. The ASCE Board of Direction has given its first and second reading approval to the amendments to the Society’s Constitution to streamline member grades. Learn more about the proposal before you make a decision.
ASCE UK Group, Institution of Civil Engineers take on today’s ethical challenges
Doing the right thing isn’t always black and white, so how do you make the ethical choice when the situation is a shade of gray? ASCE members in Britain who belong to the UK Group got together with like-minded members of Britain’s Institution of Civil Engineers to host an online forum on how to address ethical dilemmas and pass on advice from experienced hands to the younger generation. Tara Hoke, ASCE general counsel, provided an overview of the ASCE Code of Ethics including what changed and why when it was revised in 2020. ICE attendees shared and discussed the guidance of its Advice on Ethical Conduct document.
Fund from ASCE Foundation sponsors 3 international attendees of ASCE 2024 Convention
ASCE 2025 President Feniosky Peña-Mora, second left, meets Lisselyn Cristina Cordova Arias, center, who came to the 2024 ASCE Convention from Peru.
Younger ASCE members from Brazil, Lebanon, and Peru were excited to travel to Tampa, Florida, to attend the 2024 ASCE Convention, sponsored by the ASCE Foundation’s Younger Members Global Activities Fund. Made possible by a donation from a Washington, D.C. member, the fund supports convention attendance for Region 10 members under the age of 36. Although the threat of a hurricane curtailed the convention, these honorees were still delighted to be here:
Lisselyn Cristina Cordova Arias of the Peru Group, a professional New Face honoree with an international perspective on resilience.
Lea Habr of the Lebanon Section, one of ASCE’s collegiate New Face of Civil Engineering who recently graduated and is now pursuing her master’s degree, a former president of ASCE’s Lebanese American University Student Chapter.
Renan Gustavo Pacheco Soares, president of the ASCE Brazil Group, university lecturer and presenter of Future World Vision to students in Brazil, who took part in the 2024 ASCE president’s trip to Brazil.
ASCE shows strength in Australia at Section gathering
Australia Section members bonded at a networking event hosted by Region 10 Past Director Brett Phillips at Stantec in St. Leonards, New South Wales. Keynote speaker Kenneth Rosenfield, the immediate past Region 9 director serving California and a designated ASCE Advocacy Captain, spoke at the gathering to remind members of the power they hold to speak up for good government policies and enhanced infrastructure investment.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
ASCE International Conference on Challenges and Innovations for Sustainable Smart Cities (CISSC 2025)
Chandigarh, India
Feb. 7-9
4th International Conference of Construction, Infrastructure and Materials (ICCIM 2025)
Jakarta
July 24; papers due March 30
10th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR10)
Jeju, South Korea
Oct. 21-24
15th Asian Regional Conference (ARC-15) of International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment
Kathmandu, Nepal
Nov. 21-27
Submit your item for a future Global Link
Do you have news or an announcement for ASCE international members that might be worthy of an item in Global Link? Submit it to Civil Engineering Source associate editor John Marston at jmarston@asce.org.