Global Link – International Activities
Spring/Summer 2025
Congratulations to Region 10 Director-elect Adeyemo and Governor Li
Region 10 members have made their voices heard with their votes in this year’s ASCE election. Emmanuel A. Adeyemo, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, the driving force behind establishing an ASCE presence in Nigeria as founder and first president of the Nigeria Section, will be the next Region 10 director and will serve on the ASCE Board of Direction. Chao Li, Ph.D., C.Eng., M.ASCE, currently a Region 10 governor from Hong Kong and a longtime leader of the Greater China Section, has been elected to a new term.
Get to know Adeyemo and Li better, and the plans each has to serve Region 10 and the ASCE international community. Explore the complete 2025 ASCE election results.
India’s Northern Region hosts successful conference on sustainable smart cities
Courtesy Punjab Engineering College
ASCE leaders, including 2025 President Feniosky Peña-Mora and 2025 President-Elect Marsha Anderson-Bomar, shared insights in virtual addresses at the International Conference on Challenges and Innovations for Sustainable Smart Cities, also known as CISSC-2025, hosted by the India Section – Northern Region Branch with assistance from Punjab Engineering College.
The event drew 225 registrants, more than 300 research submissions, and participation from about 15 international delegates for technical sessions, talks, workshops, and tutorials along eight tracks. Current India Section President Har Amrit Singh Sandhu served as conference chair and its guiding force since preparations began during his term as Northern Region president. Region 10 Director April Lander and 2020 President K.N. Gunalan also addressed the conference. The ASCE leaders’ participation strengthened the global perspective of the discussions, making the conference more beneficial for attendees. Read more details.
ASCE representative in Pan American Federation of Engineers named VP
Raymond Issa, who serves as the American Society of Civil Engineers member and represents the United States in the Pan American Federation of Engineers (UPADI), has been named the federation’s vice president. Issa is a construction management professor at the University of Florida and among his many ASCE activities, he is chief editor of the ASCE Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.
Also related to UPADI, immediate past president and ASCE member Ari Herrera has been appointed to the steering committee of the Alliance of International Scientific Organizations for Disaster Risk Reduction for a five-year term. Herrera is the sole North America representative among a group of world leaders who will focus on disaster risk reduction and resiliency.
Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council meets in Myanmar after major quake
A few short weeks after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked Myanmar and neighboring Bangkok, the Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council held its 48th Executive Committee Meeting in Yangon. ACECC leaders had considered a postponement, but the Federation of Myanmar Engineering Societies urged planners to continue as scheduled. “Despite so much suffering and challenges the country and society in Myanmar at this time, the [Federation] went above and beyond in hosting all of us in Yangon, treating us just like close family members,” wrote President Udai Singh.
Representatives of 12 member societies attended in person; those from the remaining 5 societies attended virtually. In addition to considering ways to provide post-disaster help to Myanmar, a major focus was preparations for the upcoming Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region, CECAR10, Oct. 21 to 24 in Jeju, South Korea.
Engineering landmark in Chile connects ASCE with sister society
The Malleco Viaduct in Collipulli, Chile, the world's highest when opened in 1890.
A request by a professor in Chile about an ASCE historic civil engineering landmark virtually in his backyard sent ASCE and the Institute of Engineers of Chile on a quest for information, proving the value of their agreement of cooperation, down to the member level.
Leonardo Albornoz, a history professor in Collipulli in the Araucanía region of Chile interested in preservation, spotted an ASCE landmark plaque on the Malleco Viaduct, then reached out to ASCE to alert the Society of the condition of the sign, and to get background on the history of the 1890 span and its designation as a landmark, which took place in 1994.
Before replying, ASCE Global Programs reached out to Chile’s engineering institute to assist, and Secretary-General Carlos Gauthier quickly responded, eager to help. The background and materials that both societies provided professor Albornoz may lead to a preservation effort. The joint response to the request shows the value of agreements of cooperation between ASCE and allied international groups, down to individual members. ASCE has AOCs with 84 engineering organizations in 66 countries around the world.
Sri Lanka Section bonds over Bakmaha Ulela celebration
Courtesy Sri Lanka Section
Members, their families, and student chapters of ASCE’s Sri Lanka Section together honored Sinhala and Tamil New Year traditions while creating new memories at a celebration of Bakmaha Ulela. Team spirit, unity, and cultural celebration were on display at the Wasana Nature Resort in Kandana as participants played games, engaged in an energetic Avurudu Kreeda, enjoyed delicious food, and exciting gift giveaways. Learn more about the event and other section activities in the latest edition of its Vision Big newsletter.
ASCE gives US infrastructure an improved C grade in new report card
ASCE’s 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure has given an overall grade of C to infrastructure in the United States, the best since ASCE began determining grades in 1998 and incrementally better than the C- assigned to its 2021 predecessor. Eight categories saw improved grades, seven stayed the same, and two slipped. Explore the grades and insights into the trends and potential problems ahead in the U.S.
Free special ASCE OPEN collection explores climate change’s effects on resilience
The global climate’s unprecedented rate of change is expected to have direct effects on the functionality and service life of civil structures and infrastructural systems. ASCE’s Gold Open Access journal, ASCE OPEN: Multidisciplinary Journal of Civil Engineering, has launched a special collection bringing together the latest research on how climate change affects the resilience of structures and infrastructure. Read the papers in this free collection.
UPCOMING EVENTS
4th International Conference of Construction, Infrastructure and Materials (ICCIM 2025)
Jakarta
July 24
10th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR10)
Jeju, South Korea
Oct. 21-24
21st Asia Pacific Vibration Conference (APVC 2025)
Auckland, New Zealand
Nov. 24-27
15th Asian Regional Conference (ARC-15) of International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment
Kathmandu, Nepal
Nov. 27-29
3rd International Conference on Sustainability (ICSDI 2026)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Feb. 8-12, 2026
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.