Reflections Of A Global Civil Engineer And Candidate For ASCE Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI) Governor
By Dr. Jey Jeyapalan
Editor’s Note:
Dr. Jeyapalan’s writings on pipelines, cables, sharing rights of way, and underground structures are used widely in engineering practice. He is the author of the 400+ page authoritative book “Advances in Underground Pipeline Design, Construction and Management,” where he has shared his practical lessons with readers. He chaired the Executive Committee of the Pipeline Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the 1st and 2nd International Conferences on Advances in Underground Pipeline Engineering sponsored by the ASCE. He is the author of over 250 papers and has taught over 100 seminars on underground pipelines and cables to engineers and contractors worldwide and he is a registered professional engineer.
Having already had a long and distinguished career serving the public and advancing the water industry, Dr. Jeyapalan penned this memo to express his desire to continue that mission by filling an important and soon available position.
Why I wish to serve as an ASCE Utility Engineering Surveying Institute Governor and what I wish to accomplish in this role.
ASCE has been a premier civil engineering body for over 170 years when we were compelled to design civil structures strong enough to survive new threats — two world wars, seismic loads, floods, environmental pollution, and epidemics, to name a few. We have been fortunate that we had the trust of the public behind us in our pursuits. When a sewer line is designed and built in town, during the unveiling of the sewer no member of the public would ever dare to ask, “What is the return on the public investment into the new sewer?” When a town is recovering from a snowstorm and the above-ground cables that carry electricity are down, the anger of the public against the utility company arise from “What poorer outcome would it take for the utility company to bury the power cables underground?” Civil engineers have learned to cope with ice loads on cable bridges long ago, yet electrical engineers feel challenged by the very ice loads on high-voltage cables supported by tall towers above ground. Although civil engineers enter colleges with lower GPA and SAT scores than those who aspire to become all other types of engineers, civil engineers are trusted with projects costing much larger budgets. It is ironic that despite the superb quality of American colleges and universities, civil engineers leave their profession, do not continue as members of ASCE, and farm out hardcore engineering calculations to India, the Philippines, South Africa, South America, and others. Unless ASCE members study what has made the American Medical Association and similar trade associations effective, ASCE and its members will be impacted by globalization, commercialization, ABET [Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology] requirements, and more.
ASCE is very fortunate to have the political clout as “a people-serving profession.” Because of the trust and credibility of civil engineers, we are obligated to serve the people with the latest design techniques, sound knowledge, and the latest field observation tools. We shall also be committed to foster younger engineers to become the mentors for future engineers. Engineers also need to disseminate the lessons learned from causes of failure of various structures.
If I am given the opportunity to serve as an UGSI governor, I will invest my time and knowledge to increase the output of UESI. Any ideas to pursue stronger and more frequent interactions among members of all types, gender, age, race, creed, or cultural background would be thoroughly vetted among the members of the Board of Governors. Some initiatives I would undertake are:
- germinating closer interaction among all women and men;
- speaking to civil engineers and spending time with them via one-on-one communications and forums or townhall gatherings over the internet to get difficult projects done;
- I have worked in 30 countries during the past 50 years; this has allowed me ample opportunities to learn the subtle cultural differences from one country to another;
- We need to not only carefully select the content of the annual pipeline, utility, and surveying conferences, but we need to keep in mind that the very conferences must fulfill the dire need for the attendees to benefit from the lessons from problematic pipeline projects;
- I will work diligently to bring back the format of water, wastewater, oil, natural gas, and hydropower pipelines in the future ASCE pipelines conference; and
- Siphon penstocks and sharing existing pipes and conduits for multiple functions belong in our efforts to conserve energy and cut down emissions. This may take longer than three years depending on the volatility of the market conditions and other factors.
Public Service By Dr. Jey K. Jeyapalan
2012-2016: Chair, ASTM F-36, Technology and Underground Utilities
1999-2000: Board Member, University of California, Berkeley Alumni Association
2004-2009: Member of Cigre WG B1-08 Cable systems in Multipurpose or Shared Structures
2008-2009: Member of the Organizing Committee of the International Conference on Pipelines by ASCE in San Diego, August, 2009
2005-2007: Member of the Advisory Board of Pacific Telecommunications Council
2002-2007: Board Member, Intelligent Community Forum
2003-date: Member, IEEE-Power Engineering Society: ICC
2003-2008: Chair, IEEE:ICC: Working Group on Installing and Operating Power Cables in Existing Pipelines and Rights of Way
2003-2008: Member, Advisory Board, Industria, Inc., Iceland
1991-2014: Member, AWWA Steel Pipe Design Standard Committee
1991-2014: Member, AWWA Fiberglass Pipe Design Standard Committee
1991-2014: Member, AWWA Concrete Pressure Pipe Design Standard Committee
2001-2007: Chair, ASTM F-36, Technology and Underground Utilities
2001-2007: Chair, ASCE Task Group on Fiber Optic Cables in Sewers
2002-2009: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Trenchless Engineering, Poland
1990-1995: Chair, Organizing Committee of the 2nd International Conference on Advances in Underground Pipeline Engineering, Seattle, Washington 1995
1981-1985: Chair, Organizing Committee of the 1st International Conference on Advances in Underground Pipeline Engineering, Madison, Wisconsin 1985
1988-1993: Member, Vice Chairman, Chairman, Executive and Advisory Committees of the Pipeline Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers
1987-1995: Chair, Vice Chair, Member of Programs Committee of the ASCE Pipeline Division
1981-1983: Member, Organizing Committee of the ASCE Conference on Pipelines in Adverse Environments, II
1985-1988: Member, Organizing Committee of the ASCE Conference on Pipeline Infrastructure
1988-1990: Member of Organizing Committee of ASCE 1990 Pipeline Conference
1985-1990: Member, Chairman of ASCE Pipeline Division Research Committee
1982-1988: Member, Vice Chair, Chair of ASCE Pipeline Division Planning Committee
1989-1996: Member, ASCE Task Force that Rewrote Pipe Rehabilitation MOP 62
1988-1995: Member of ASCE Pipeline Division Infrastructure Committee
1988-1989: Member of the Technical Scientific Committee of the International Conference on Pipeline Construction, Hamburg, West Germany, 1989
1981-1996: Member, ASTM Underground Flexible Pipes Committee
1984-1996: Member, ASTM Vitrified Clay Pipe Committee
1986-1996: Member, ASTM Cast in Place Pipe Committee
1988-1996: Member, Transportation Research Board, A2K04-Committee on Culverts and Hydraulic Structures
1980-1989: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, John Wiley
1991-1993: Member of the Student Profile Commission of the Lake Washington School District, State of Washington Developing Learning Objectives for K-12 Students to Succeed in the 21st Century