Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008 - (Page 32)

Ballard Thrills and Inspires he famous underwater explorer revealed that his history-making discovery of the Titanic was actually a cover for a topsecret military mission. He also described his journey to the bottom of the deepest recesses of the ocean: “We found 40-foot-tall steam-emitting chimneys rich with all types of key minerals. And, moreover, we found life that should not have been down there.” “Fifty percent of the United States lies under the sea,” he said. “Yet, we have better maps of Mars than we do of our own ocean floor.” T In addition to exploration, he emphasized his other passion—exposing youth to the excitement of engineering and science. Through his Jason Project, which uses advanced communication technologies to allow school children to participate remotely in undersea exploration, Ballard has helped inspire more than 500,000 young people. “The battle for the engineer is over by the eighth grade,” he said. “If, through this program, I can get their jaw to drop, I have won a new engineer.” Matthew Reil, left, a senior at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., and recipient of the ACEC Kennedy/ Jenks Consultants Scholarship, at book signing with Distinguished Award of Merit winner David Billington. Billington Receives Distinguished Award of Merit A Famed explorer Robert Ballard poses with one of his biggest fans, nine-yearold Tyler Rouis, son of Paul Rouis of Ryan-Biggs Associates in Troy, N.Y. Paul brought his son to the Fall Conference so he could meet his idol in person. CEC presented its highest honor, the Distinguished Award of Merit, to Professor David P. Billington, one of the world’s foremost engineering educators. A professor at Princeton University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science since 1961, Billington was named by Engineering News Record as “one of the top five educators in the construction industry over the past 125 years.” In his many books, Billington evokes “the grand tradition of modern engineering, the transformation of American society by engineering and the role of engineering in the history of America.” In accepting the award, the professor spoke passionately about the engineering field and the need to pass on its excitement to a new generation of students and practitioners. Courtney Brown, left, president of ACEC/Metro Washington, talks with ACEC/ Virginia leadership—Steve Roberts, president; Cindy Allen, president-elect and John Mann, national director—during a break at the Board of Directors meeting. 32 ENGINEERING INC. NovEmbER / DECEmbER 2008

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 Contents From ACEC to You News & Notes Market Watch Legislative Action Engineering Goes Back to School Winning the Talent War Mastering A Hard-Luck Economy Education Makes the Grade in Green Construction 2008 Young Professionals of the Year 2008 Fall Conference Highlights Technology Members in the News One On One

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008

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