Indiana DOT to Offer Engineer Scholarships

The Indiana Department of Transportation has announced the creation of the INDOT Engineer Scholarship Program to keep talented engineers in the state.

The new scholarship program leverages federal transportation funding to offer civil engineering scholarships to college students enrolled at one of Indiana’s seven accredited engineering colleges: Purdue University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Tri-State University, University of Evansville, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern Indiana and Valparaiso University.

Scholarship recipients will receive more than $3,000 a semester for up to five years of college, including up to two years of graduate school. Each academic semester, INDOT will make scholarship payments to 20 engineering students.

In return, recipients will work full time at INDOT in paid positions during their college summer breaks. After graduation, scholarship recipients will work six months at INDOT for each academic semester they received a scholarship.

“INDOT’s Engineering Scholarship will turn some of the brightest students in Indiana into exceptional civil engineers, and then put their engineering knowledge to work building a better future for Hoosiers,” said INDOT Commissioner Karl Browning.

For more information and-or to download an application, visit http://indotscholarship.in.gov on the Internet.

Updated Manuals on Masonry, Concrete Floors

The Skokie-based Portland Cement Association has announced updated editions of manuals on masonry and concrete floors.

The sixth edition of “Concrete Masonry Handbook for Architects, Engineers, and Builders” highlights recent advancements in concrete masonry. The manual reflects the most common practices for concrete masonry construction, from the latest American Society of Testing Materials’ standards to innovations in materials and methods.

Emphasis is given to relevant codes, including the 2006 International Building Code and the 2005 Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures.

In addition, the newly revised “Concrete Floors on Ground” serves as a design guide, construction manual and reference for contractors, designers and suppliers. The expanded fourth edition describes the planning, construction, and repair of concrete floors on the ground for a variety of floor classifications.

For more information on either book, visit the PCA’s online book store at www.cement.org/bookstore.

Smith Named President of Missouri AGC

Doug Smith was recently named president of the Associated General Contractors of Missouri in Jefferson City. He is replacing the retiring Duane Kraft.

Smith was previously the director of member services and operations of the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association.

The 2008 officers were also elected, including Richard Markey as chairman. He is a project manager for Clarkson Construction Co. in Kansas City, Mo.

Other elected officers include Vice Chairman Phil Hocher, president of Pace Construction Co. in St. Louis, and Treasurer Steven Schrimpf, vice president and secretary of Schrimpf Landscaping Inc. in Jefferson City.

Landscape Architects Issue Climate-Change Policies

The Washington, D.C.-based American Society of Landscape Architects has released a series of strategic policy recommendations on climate change to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate global warming.

• Encourage sustainable site planning for new communities and buildings of all types.
• Require open space and parkland preservation as a component of all public and private development, from small site-specific projects to regional land use plans.
• Encourage the research and use of native and adapted vegetation in the built environment to take full advantage of the most appropriate plants to increase air quality, conserve water resources, and sequester carbon dioxide.
• Encourage the use of sustainable stormwater management practices that enhance the treatment and increase the infiltration of stormwater.
• Encourage the use of green roofs on public and private buildings of all types.
• Require comprehensive transportation and utility planning as a component of land use planning, matching infrastructure capacity with current and proposed land uses.
• Encourage the development of smart growth communities.
• Enact policies that support design of safe transportation routes for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and those who use wheelchairs.

The full policy recommendations can be viewed at www.asla.org.