LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
AUUG
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STT 2006 NE
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PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS
By: Robert Degeyter, P.E.
It is my duty, honor, and privilege to serve as your 2006-2007 Baton Rouge Chapter President. I and the rest of the Baton
Rouge Chapter Board are committed to continuing the positive efforts LES has been putting forth in the past. Our new
board members include Robbie Lear, P.E., L.S.I. as President-Elect, Dan Rosenquist, P.E. as Vice President, Ken
Robichaux, P.E. as Secretary-Treasurer and Geoff Wilson, E.I. and Gerald Doyle, P.E. as Directors. We have an excellent
Board in place to handle a very busy and demanding year for our membership. Special congratulations goes out to Kevin
Crosby, P.E. serving as our new State LES President this year. We are confident with his leadership that the State Board
will work hard to promote our membership and profession throughout the state. I would like to also congratulate and give
a special thanks to our outgoing Chapter President, Gavin Gautreau, P.E. for all of his service and dedication last year,
especially on the fight to keep the Quality Based Selection process in the best interest of the engineering community and
public welfare.
The Baton Rouge Chapter will host our first General Meeting on Thursday, August 17th at Ralph & Kacoo’s Restaurant.
Our guest speaker will be Mr. Peter Newkirk, EBR Public Works Director, and the topic of discussion will be the “Green
Light Program”. Please see the announcement in the
newsletter for further details. Also included in the
UGUST UNCHEON
newsletter is a tentative calendar for the upcoming
J
OINT MEETING WITH ASCE
year. Please mark your calendars for upcoming events
that are of interest to you or your colleagues. Our
When:
Thursday, August 17, 2006
calendar includes several service events and activities
11:30 a.m.
such as our annual scholarship golf tournament,
LSU/SU Student Function, Future Cities competition,
Where:
Ralph & Kacoo’s Restaurant
Mathcounts competition, and our annual Engineering
Bluebonnet Blvd.
Week Banquet. Baton Rouge will have a challenging
year in hosting the State Mathcounts competition as
Speaker: Peter Newkirk, P.E.
well as the 11th Joint Engineering Societies
Director of Public Works
Conference. Consider getting involved in chapter
East Baton Rouge City / Parish
activities as a fulfilling way to enhance your
professional development. We are always open to any
input that meets the needs of our membership, so if
Topic:
Baton Rouge Green Light Program
you have a topic of discussion or any suggestions that
would be of interest to our membership, please contact
Cost:
$20.00
me at (225) 766-6330 or rdegeyter@pyodom-mca.com
RSVP:
Billy Wall (NTB Assoc.)
We are always in need of additional support for our
mailsport@ntbainc.com
annual Future Cities and Mathcounts competitions.
225-216-3433 (Leave Message)
These are great events that our organization sponsors
for the enhancement of students with aspirations to the
PDH:
Michael Songy – CSRS
engineering profession. If you are interested in
Management – Green Light Program
supporting these efforts, please contact Geoff Wilson
Immediately Following the Luncheon
at (225) 757-0558.
Make Checks Payable to
Please join with me and thank the Board members for
“ASCE Baton Rouge Branch
their generous contribution, time, and effort to lead our
membership into a promising year. Again, thanks for
supporting your organization!
A
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
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PAGE 1
LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
FUTURE CITY COMPETITION KICKING OFF
By: Geoff Wilson, E.I. – Baton Rouge Region Coordinator
The start of school marks the start of the Future City
Competition. Schools around the state will begin signing
up to participate in this year’s competition. The State
Competition will be held on January 26, 2007 in Alexandria, LA.
Engineering mentors will be needed to make this LES-backed program a
success.
Please visit the Future City Competition website at
http://www.futurecity.org/ and give me a call at 225-757-0558 or email at
geoffatbhe@bellsouth.net for additional information about becoming
involved in the Future City Competition.
CALL FOR SPONSORS FOR THE 13TH ANNUAL
LSU / SOUTHERN STUDENT FUNCTION
The Baton Rouge Chapter is looking for sponsors for the LSU / Southern
Student Function scheduled for November 9, 2006 at the CEBA Building
on LSU’s Campus. Proceeds will be put towards the William A. Wintz
Scholarship, which is awarded to LSU and Southern Engineering Students
by the Baton Rouge Chapter each year. Donations can be sent to Robbie
Lear at 10305 Airline Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA 70816. Any level of
sponsorship is greatly appreciated.
LES GOLF TOURNAMENT – OCTOBER 20
The annual LES Golf Tournament is scheduled for October 20 at the LSU
Golf Course. Registration for participation and hole sponsorships will be
included in next month’s newsletter. Mark your calendars for an
afternoon of golfing and camaraderie with your fellow LES members.
NEWSLETTER / WEBSITE ADS FOR SALE
The Baton Rouge Chapter is offering advertisement in both
the monthly Newletter and Chapter Website for $100 per
administrative year. Renewals will be sent to current advertisers this
month. Anyone wishing to place an ad in the newsletter and website can
contact Robbie Lear at rlear@sigmacg.com or (225) 298-0800.
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER


August 24, 2006
General Meeting

September 28, 2006
General Meeting

October 20, 2006
LES Golf Tournament
LSU Golf Course

November 9, 2006
Student Function
CEBA Building, LSU

December 14, 2006
General Meeting

January 25, 2007
General Meeting

January 26, 2007
Future City State Competition

February 2007
Mathcounts Regionals

February 18-24, 2007
E-Week

February 22, 2007
E-Week Banquet

March 22, 2007
General Meeting

April 26, 2007
General Meeting

May 24, 2007
General Meeting
Any announcements? Email me at
rlear@sigmacg.com
PAGE 2
LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
LSU CE DEPT SEEKS INPUT FOR PROJECT COURSE
By: Miles Williams, P.E.
The Civil Engineering Department at Louisiana State University is initiating a new class this fall semester
entitled “Professional Issues and Concept Design in Civil Engineering” (CE 4750). One of the main objectives
for this course is to allow senior students to develop a realistic civil design project that will help prepare them
for the work force when they graduate. Thus, participation and input from practicing professional civil
engineers are vital for the success of this class. This course will consist of two parts: one part which deals with
professional issues common to all subject areas in CE and another part which deals with the conceptual design
of a project that will be the basis for a detailed design development in one of the 4 elective project courses that
will be taken the following semester. These courses are CE 4760 – Civil Engineering Design, CE 4460 –
Bridge Design, CE 4430 – Structural Design and CE 4260 – Hydrologic Design.
The Civil Engineering Department through Dr. Chester Wilmot is soliciting volunteer Practicing Civil
Engineers and Engineering Organizations for the following 2 tasks in support of this course sequence:

Practicing Engineers who could be contacted by the students for possible interviews regarding the CE
common subject areas portion of CE 4750. This will deal with professional practice issues such as
project management, the design process, costing, bidding, standards, ethics, consultant/contractor
interaction etc. The commitment would be for 1 or 2 occasions of a couple of hours, perhaps at the
participant’s office or in the classroom

Practicing Engineers who would be willing to present case study project designs, participate in the
conceptual design process, and evaluate the students. This commitment will be periodic over 2
semesters leading from the conceptual design in one semester through the successful small group
completion of a project design in the next semester.
If you are interested in participating in either one of these two tasks please contact Miles Williams, P.E. at
mwilliams@sigmacg.com or 225-298-0800.
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
The following individuals are new members of LES. If you see these individuals, please welcome them to the
Society.
Rebecca Ferrell
Joel Luke, Jr., P.E.
Eric Marx, P.E.
David Solberg, E.I.
William Taylor, III, E.I.
Matthew J. Colosino
Matthew H. Colosino
Travis Mautner, E.I.
Wilbur Nesbit, Jr.
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
Student Member
Frank Thompson & Associates, LLC
Prosys, Inc.
McLin and Associates, Inc.
CRESCENT Power Systems
CRESCENT Power Systems
CDI
Nesbit & Associates, LLC
PAGE 3
LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
SAGE ADVICE FROM KARL TERZAGHI
Reprinted From: "Geo-Strata", GEO Institute Magazine, May/June 2006, page 14, part of the article "Advice to
a Young Engineer", by Ralph B. Peck, Ph.D., P.E.
Karl Terzaghi, the “Father of Soil Mechanics” had this in mind when he gave his students at Harvard a set of
rules for what he called the game of engineering. The rules are full of wisdom:
1. Engineering is a noble sport which calls for good sportsmanship. Occasional blundering is part of
the game. Let it be your ambition to be the first one to discover and announce your blunders. If
somebody else gets ahead of you, take it with a smile and thank him for his interest. Once you begin
to feel tempted to deny your blunders in the face of reasonable evidence, you have ceased to be a
good sport. You are already a crank or a grouch.
2. The worst habit you can possibly acquire is to become uncritical towards your own concepts and at
the same time skeptical towards those of others. Once you arrive at that state, you are in the grip of
senility, regardless of your age.
3. When you commit one of your ideas to print, emphasize every controversial aspect of your thesis
which you can perceive. Thus, you win the respect of your readers and are kept aware of the
possibilities for further improvement. A departure from this rule is the safest way to wreck your
reputation and to paralyze your mental activities.
4. Very few people are either so dumb or so dishonest that you could not learn anything from them.
Engineering is indeed a noble sport, and the legacy of good engineers is a better physical world for
those who follow them. You are well started in a career that can leave such a legacy, and as you pursue
that career, I give you my very best wishes.
VOLUNTEERS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS SEEKS MATH TUTORS
Volunteers in Public Schools, sponsored by ExxonMobil, is looking for math tutors for their
EveryOne Counts program in East Baton Rouge Parish. Volunteers called Math Friends
provide one-on-one math tutorial assistance for a student in the second or third grade. They
will tutor the student who is working with below grade level math skills in an effort to improve their math and
critical thinking skills. Tutoring sessions are held at Progress Elementary School located in north Baton Rouge
on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5:00pm. They are looking for volunteers that can tutor for
at least one of the days, but welcome anyone that would like to donate more time. If you are interested in
donating your time, please contact Tracy Portle at (225) 226-4701 or tportle@ebrpss.k12.la.us .
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
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LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
UPCOMING CPD OPPORTUNITIES
The Louisiana Professional Engineering and Surveying Board have posted on their website a list of CPD
opportunities within the next few months. Click your browsers to http://www.lapels.com to see what’s coming
up. Remember, your membership in LES counts as 1 PDH per biennial renewal period!!!

8 Hour Homeland Security Seminar Sponsored by LES
September 15, 2006,Baton Rouge Marriott, 5500 Hilton Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
$125 Registration Fee (Includes Lunch)
Visit https://www.secure-quotes.com/les/homeland_security_regform.asp for registration information

ASCE Seminar - HEC-RAS Computer Workshop for Unsteady Flow Applications
September 20-22, 2006, Chateau Sonesta Hotel, 800 Iberville Street, New Orleans, LA
2.4 CEU’s available
$1185 for ASCE members / $1385 non-members
Visit www.asce.org/conted/seminars for registration information

AIChE Cogeneration Seminar
Friday, September 29, 2006, Holiday Inn South, 9940 Airline Highway, Baton Rouge, LA
7 PDH’s available
$70/person for Professional Society Members prior to 9/15/2006
$85/person for non-members and all after 9/15/2006
Visit www.aiche-br.org for registration information
LAPELS LAWS AND RULES OF THE BOARD
By: Robert Lear, P.E., LSI
The practice of engineering in the State of Louisiana is regulated by the Louisiana Revised Statues (Laws) and
Title 46 Part LXI of the Louisiana Administrative Code (Rules), both of which are administered by the
Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land Surveying Board. Each licensed professional is required to
understand and adhere to those laws and rules. How long has it been since you have reviewed the Louisiana
Laws and Rules? Louisiana’s engineering climate has been very dynamic in the past year as we react to the
rebuilding needs in the wake of Katrina and Rita. Let’s not forget the basic premises that govern our profession
both legally and ethically. Visit the LAPELS website at www.lapels.com for a full copy of the Laws and Rules
for Louisiana.
LAC §46:101
Evidence of Qualification; Licensure
A.
In order to safeguard life, health and property, and to promote the public welfare, any individual in
either public or private capacity, or foreign or domestic firm, practicing or offering to practice professional
engineering or professional land surveying, shall be required to submit evidence that he/she is qualified to so
practice and shall be licensed with the board. Unless specifically exempt by law, it shall be unlawful for any
person to practice or to offer to practice in this state, engineering or land surveying, as defined in the licensure
law and the rules of the board, or to use in connection with his/her name or otherwise assume, use or advertise
any title or description tending to convey the impression that he/she is a professional engineer or a professional
land surveyor, unless such person has been duly licensed under the provisions of the licensure law and the rules
of the board.
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
PAGE 5
LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
LES BATON ROUGE CHAPTER 2006-2007 OFFICERS
(Left to Right): Ken Robichaux, P.E., Dan Rosenquist, P.E., Geoff Wilson, E.I.,
Robert Degeyter, P.E., Gerald Doyle, P.E, Robert Lear, P.E., LSI
LES BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
2006-2007 OFFICERS
President:
Robert Degeyter, P.E.
rdegeyter@pyodom-mca.com
225-766-6330
Secretary / Treasurer
Ken Robichaux, P.E.
krobicha@dps.state.la.us
225-925-4920
President Elect
Robbie Lear, P.E., L.S.I.
rlear@sigmacg.com
225-298-0800
1st Director
Geoff Wilson, E.I.
geoffatbhe@bellsouth.net
225-757-0558
Vice President
Dan Rosenquist, P.E.
drosenquist@hntb.com
225-368-2800
2nd Director
Gerald Doyle, P.E.
Doylefam3@cox.net
225-381-5895
Visit us on the web
http://www.les-state.org/brchapter/
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
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LOUISIANA ENGINEERING SOCIETY
AUGUST 2006 NEWSLETTER
BATON ROUGE CHAPTER
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