St. Louis Chapter of the Geo-Institute Monthly Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 January 14, 2015, 7:30am Meeting Location: PSI, 8669 Olive Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri Conference Call #: , conference ID Nicholas Roth (Chair), Shari Cunningham (Secretary/Treasurer), Jared Holland, Allen Minks, Jake Shaffer, Lyle Simonton (by phone) 1. Site Characterization Practices for Geotechnical Design - Panel Discussion featuring Dr. Erik Loehr Tuesday, February 3, 2015 a. Schedule: Registration and buffet dinner at 5:30pm, presentations from 6:00pm to 8:00pm b. Location: Training room at Geotechnology, Lackland Road, St. Louis MO c. One panelist confirmed so far - Mark Roenfeldt from USACE will be there instead of Mike Maven. Mark is Chief of the Corps Section in St. Louis overseeing geotechnical exploration and lab testing. d. Nick will follow up with Erik, and possibly set up a conference call with Allen and Shari to review the presentation outline and prep questions for panelists to address. e. Nick will also follow up with Ronaldo and Pat about other potential panelists such as IDOT, MSD, and/or general contractors. Also verify that Ronaldo will serve as moderator for the event. f. Nick will request that the flyer be sent in the ASCE mid-month blast, and also GI members to encourage participation. g. Deadline to RSVP is January 23 in order to place the catering order. 2. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2015 at the St. Charles Convention Center. b. Conference committee met on December 16. Discussed potential additions to the conference format, such as a short course the day before. Also discussed revisions to the selection process for student presenters. c. Flyer will be sent this spring to area universities to solicit abstracts from students interested in presenting. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee, and short listed students will be interviewed prior to the final selection. d. GeoInstitute (national) is accepting nominations through January 30 for the next Cross-Country Lecturer.

2 e. Application to host the Cross-Country Lecturer at GeoConfluence 2015 will be due in April, and Nick will submit. 3. ASCE luncheon, March 10, 2015 a. No updates Dr. Gerrarro Marino from Urbana, IL has confirmed that he will speak at the luncheon. Nick will check on any needed revisions to the presentation format with the chapter s change to offer 1.0 PDH at the monthly luncheons. b. GeoInstitute members are encouraged to attend and bring a colleague. 4. Case Histories Night, Thursday, April 16, 2015 a. Location: Engineer s Club of St. Louis b. Anticipated schedule: 5:30pm to 8:30pm c. Discussed potential projects of interest to geotechnical engineers: i. IKEA site under construction (stone columns) ii. Wrigley Field renovations iii. Streets of St. Charles (Shawnna & Lyle may be more suited to GeoConfluence?) iv. MSD tunnel if updates can be presented (prelim. geotechnical presentation was given at the March 2014 ASCE luncheon) v. Corvette Museum (karst) vi. Arch ground renovations geotechnical work is done but construction hasn t started, not sure it would be suitable for the case histories presentation yet. vii. Mine grouting along IL Route 15 Jared to check with Bobs Gibson, the IL DNR representative who has presented the project to other engineering societies. viii. GeoInstitute members should bring firm ideas to the February meeting. 5. GeoInstitute committee communications a. Meeting minutes will be ed to committee members, in addition to being posted on our website. b. Updates will be sent to the Technical Committee Chair of the ASCE St. Louis Section when applicable, or our committee will indicate no report. c. Lyle and Nick will clean up the list of active committee members to be listed on our website and who will receive s about GI meetings and events. 6. Next meeting: Wednesday, February 11, 2015, 7:30am a. Location: PSI, 8669 Olive Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri b. Be prepared to finalize speakers/topics for the spring 2015 Case Histories Night. STL GI Minutes Page 2

3 February 11, 2015, 7:30am Meeting Location: PSI, 8669 Olive Boulevard, Saint Louis, Missouri Conference Call #: , conference ID Nicholas Roth (Chair), Shari Cunningham (Secretary/Treasurer), Jeff Bertel, Jake Shaffer, Lyle Simonton, Reza Osouli 1. GeoInstitute Local Involvement Committee a. Nick was contacted by Joe Waxse from the GeoInstitute s Local Involvement Committee. Joe was unable to join by conference call for today s meeting, but would like to have a few minutes at an upcoming meeting to offer assistance finding speakers for GeoConfluence or our other events. 2. ASCE luncheon, March 10, 2015 a. No updates Dr. Gerrarro Marino from Urbana, IL has confirmed that he will speak at the luncheon. Nick will check on any needed revisions to the presentation format with the chapter s change to offer 1.0 PDH at the monthly luncheons. b. GeoInstitute members are encouraged to attend and bring a colleague. 3. Case Histories Night, Thursday, April 16, 2015 a. Location: Engineer s Club of St. Louis b. Anticipated schedule: 5:00pm to 8:30pm c. Discussed potential projects of interest to geotechnical engineers: i. BJC shoring walls Lyle has confirmed Doug Hardin from Schnabel will be a speaker. ii. Corvette Museum (karst) Hayward Baker project has been presented at a conference in Nashville. Lyle will check with Jeff to contact the potential speaker. iii. Mine grouting along IL Route 15 Reza will check with Bob Gibson, the IL DNR representative who has presented the project to other engineering societies. 1. Reza mentioned another topic that Bob Gibson could present regarding new subsidence curves based on statewide underground mine data. Might be more suited to GeoConfluence. iv. Route 364 extension in St. Charles County Jake will ask John Kotteman in his office whether this could be presented as a case history project.

4 d. Student participation student poster presentations will likely be limited to 2 per school with 5 minutes each for the presentation. Lyle will check with Ronaldo Luna about SLU s participation and find out if there is a new contact for the geotechnical students at MS&T. Nick will contacts at SIUE, SLU, MS&T, and MU. e. Flyer Nick will prepare a flyer for the March ASCE newsletter. Final lineup of speakers and topics will be included, if possible. f. Registration Shari will look into EventBee for advance registration with credit card payment, and also contact Brent Vaughn for information on the online registration and payment system for ASCE s monthly luncheon. Shari will report to Nick in time to include credit card registration/payment information on the flyer. g. Registration fees Nick will confirm the dinner menu and prices with the Engineer s Club, and set registration fees accordingly. Subsurface Constructors volunteered to sponsor a portion of the expenses. 4. Site Characterization Practices for Geotechnical Design - Panel Discussion featuring Dr. Erik Loehr Tuesday, February 3, 2015 a. 41 were in attendance, including speaker and panelists. b. The event had income of $800 and expenses of $630. Checks collected at registration were mailed to the ASCE treasurer, Chad Schrand. Jeff Hill will transfer the credit card income and send a check to ASCE. 5. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2015 at the St. Charles Convention Center. b. Flyer will be sent this spring to area universities to solicit abstracts from students interested in presenting. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee, and short listed students will be interviewed prior to the final selection. c. Application to host the Cross-Country Lecturer at GeoConfluence 2015 will be due on April 15, and Nick will submit. d. Call for Abstracts flyer will be needed this spring. e. Conference committee is expected to meet soon to discuss potential invited speakers. Jonathan Bray was mentioned as a potential speaker (contacted for 2014 conference but had a schedule conflict), as was Tom O Rourke (2013 Cross-Country Lecturer who could not attend due to a schedule conflict). 6. Mike Alizadeh Graduate Studies Scholarship a. Lyle reported that information and applications will be sent to universities in March. He will follow up with professors to ensure the students are aware of the scholarship and the submittal deadline. 7. GeoInstitute Committee Finances a. GeoConfluence 2014 had a net surplus of approximately $6,200, according to conference treasurer Greg Hempen. b. Shari will ask Chad Schrand for an update of our account at Edward Jones, and also of the committee s funds in the ASCE account. 8. Next meeting: Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 10:30am a. Location: Engineer s Club of St. Louis, 4359 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis MO b. Meeting will be held downstairs prior to the March ASCE luncheon. STL GI Minutes Page 2

5 March 10, 2015, 10:30am Meeting Location: Engineer s Club, 4359 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO Nicholas Roth (Chair), Dennis Boll (Vice Chair) Shari Cunningham (Secretary/Treasurer), Jake Schaffer, Jeff Bertel, Lyle Simonton, Matt Glisson, Reza Osouli 1. Case Histories Night, Thursday, April 16, 2015 a. Location and Schedule: Engineer s Club of St. Louis, 5:00pm to 8:30pm b. Speakers and topics are as follows: i. Doug Hardin from Schnabel BJC secant walls. ii. Mike Marassa from Hayward Baker Corvette Museum karst damage repairs iii. Bob Gibson from IL DNR mine grouting along IL Route 15 c. Student participation student poster presentations will be limited to 2 per school (8 presentations total) with 2-3 minutes each. Nick has ed contacts at SIUE, SLU, MS&T, and MU, and requested that they respond before April 1 with the number of posters they plan to present. If the allotted spots are not filled, additional students will be allowed to present on a first come basis. d. Flyer was included in the March ASCE newsletter with the speaker lineup and topics. Nick will request that it be published again in the April ASCE newsletter and included in the mid-month blast. e. Speaker gifts discussed giving gift cards to student poster presenters as well as the invited speakers. Details will be finalized at the April meeting. f. Dinner Nick will select the dinner menu with Kurt Krispin at the Engineer s Club. g. Registration Shari set up online registration through ASCE s Constant Contact account, allowing registrants to pay with credit card, mail checks to Nick, or pay at the door. Shari will contact Brent Vaughn for additional information on paypal options for credit card payments. h. Will need to print PDH certificates (Dennis?) and payment receipts (Shari). i. Introductory slides Nick will prepare a slideshow to play during registration and dinner with information about abstracts for GeoConfluence 2015 and applications for the Alizadeh scholarship.

6 2. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2015 at the St. Charles Convention Center. b. Flyer will be sent this spring to area universities to solicit abstracts from students interested in presenting. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee, and short listed students will be interviewed prior to the final selection. c. Application to host the Cross-Country Lecturer at GeoConfluence 2015 is due on April 15, and Nick will submit. d. Call for Abstracts flyer was prepared by Pat Kinsella, and will be published in an upcoming issue of GeoStrata. e. Conference committee is expected to meet soon to discuss potential invited speakers. i. Lyle will contact Jonathan Bray to inquire about his availability (was invited to the 2014 conference but had a schedule conflict) f. ASCE treasurer Chad Schrand is still waiting for the check from paypal credit card receipts at GeoConfluence Mike Alizadeh Graduate Studies Scholarship a. Lyle reported that information and applications will be sent to universities by early next week. He will follow up with professors to ensure the students are aware of the scholarship and the submittal deadline in early May. 4. Committee Officer Elections a. Dennis Boll will take over as Chair of the GeoInstitute committee in September, and Shari Cunningham will become Vice Chair. b. Secretary/Treasurer position will be up for election for a 2-year term beginning in September. c. Members are asked to consider serving as secretary/treasurer and bring names of volunteers to the April meeting. 5. Committee Budget a. Shari will prepare a draft budget for discussion at the April meeting. Budget will be finalized and adopted at the May meeting. b. Current budget includes $900 for sponsorships and grants, as well as $300 for donations. Nick and Lyle will communicate with nearby student chapters that funding requests may be submitted to the committee if financial support is needed for events or projects. 6. Next meeting: Wednesday, April 8, 2015, 7:30am a. Note new location: Subsurface Constructors, Inc. 110 Angelica St. St. Louis, MO b. Be prepared to discuss secretary/treasurer election, budget, GeoConfluence 2015, and finalize details for Case Histories event. STL GI Minutes Page 2

7 April 8, 2015, 7:30am Meeting Location: Subsurface Constructors, 110 Angelica Street, St. Louis MO Conference Call #: , conference ID Nicholas Roth (Chair), Dennis Boll (Vice Chair) Shari Cunningham (Secretary/Treasurer), Jake Schaffer, Lyle Simonton, Jeff Hill, Jared Holland 1. Case Histories Night, Thursday, April 16, 2015 a. Location and Schedule: Engineer s Club of St. Louis, 5:00pm to 8:30pm b. Speakers and topics are confirmed as follows: i. Doug Hardin from Schnabel BJC secant walls. ii. Mike Marassa from Hayward Baker Corvette Museum karst damage repairs iii. Bob Gibson from IL DNR mine grouting along IL Route 15 c. Student participation Nick has confirmed three students participating so far with posters and brief presentations, one from SLU and two from SIUE. Awaiting a response from MS&T which may send two additional students. d. Flyer will be circulated again by . Registration deadline is this Friday. e. Speaker gifts Shari will bring gift cards to present to students and presenters. f. PDH certificates Dennis will print. g. Introductory slides Nick will prepare a slideshow to play during registration and dinner with information about abstracts for GeoConfluence 2015 and applications for the Alizadeh scholarship. 2. Mike Alizadeh Graduate Studies Scholarship a. Lyle reported that a second reminder was sent yesterday to participating universities. Applications are due on May Committee Budget a. Draft budget was presented. Discussion centered on line items for donations and grants, emphasizing the need to reach out to geotechnical student chapters so that they can request funds for specific needs. b. Budget will be finalized and voted on during the May meeting. 4. Committee Officer Elections a. Secretary/Treasurer position will be up for election for a 2-year term beginning in September.

8 b. Dennis Boll will take over as Chair of the GeoInstitute committee in September, and Shari Cunningham will become Vice Chair. c. Jake Schaffer and Jared Holland were nominated to the position of Secretary/Treasurer, and both accepted the nominations. d. Additional nominations can be made prior to officer election, which will take place at the May meeting. Members can contact Nick, Dennis, or Shari with nominations. 5. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2015 at the St. Charles Convention Center. b. Conference Chair Jeff Hill discussed options to extend the event with a short course, site tour, dinner, or other social event on the day or evening before the conference. Jeff will contact the convention center for prices. c. Jared Holland volunteered to act as student liason to encourage their participation. Flyer will be sent this spring to area universities to solicit abstracts from students interested in presenting. Abstracts will be reviewed by the conference committee, and short listed students will be interviewed prior to the final selection. Two time slots will be available for student presentations during the conference. d. Application to host the Cross-Country Lecturer at GeoConfluence 2015 is due on April 15, and Nick will submit. e. Call for Abstracts flyer was prepared by Pat Kinsella, and will be published in the May issue of GeoStrata. Jared volunteered to circulate the Call for Abstracts through ISPE. f. Potential invited speakers were listed and discussed. Committee members are asked to send additional names & topics to Jeff Hill in the next 2 weeks. 6. Next meeting: (NOTE CHANGE IN TIME AND LOCATION) a. Date and Time: Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 4:00pm b. Location: Urban Chestnut Brewing Co Washington Avenue St. Louis, MO c. Be prepared to elect secretary/treasurer, finalize and vote on budget, and discuss GeoConfluence STL GI Minutes Page 2

9 Meeting Location: May 6, 2015, 4:00pm Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., 3229 Washington Avenue, St. Louis MO Nicholas Roth (Chair), Dennis Boll (Vice Chair) Shari Cunningham (Secretary/Treasurer), Jake Schaffer, Pat Kinsella, John Kotteman, Reza Osouli 1. Geo-Institute Committee Budget, a. Draft budget was presented for discussion. b. Budget was amended to reflect increased expenses for speaker travel fees at GeoConfluence. c. Amended budget passed unanimously. 2. Committee Officer Elections a. Jake Schaffer was elected Secretary/Treasurer for a 2-year term beginning in September. b. Dennis Boll will take over as Chair of the GeoInstitute committee in September, and Shari Cunningham will become Vice Chair. 3. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Scheduled for Friday, November 6, 2015 at the St. Charles Convention Center. b. Application to host the Cross-Country Lecturer was submitted by Nick. Winners will be announced in late summer. c. Call for Abstracts/Save the Date flyer was prepared by Pat Kinsella, and will be published in the next issue of GeoStrata and the ASCE St. Louis Section newsletter. Jared will coordinate with universities for student participation. Members are encouraged to circulate the flyer to other professionals and organizations. d. Members are asked to send names & topics for potential invited speakers to Jeff Hill in the next 2 weeks. 4. Next meeting: a. Date and Time: Wednesday, September 9, 2015, 7:30am b. Location: Geotechnology Lackland Road Suite 150 St. Louis, MO 63146

10 Meeting Location: September 9, 2015, 7:30 am Geotechnology, Lackland Road Suite 150, St. Louis MO Dennis Boll (Chair), Shari Cunningham (Vice Chair) Jake Schaeffer (Secretary/Treasurer), Pat Kinsella, Ken Berry, Lyle Simonton, Reza Osouli (by phone) 1. Geo-Institute Committee Budget, a. Voted to request transferring $3,000 budget surplus to Edward Jones account as shown in the 2014/2015 budget. b. Budget discussion included amending to increase amount allowed for student entry at GeoConfluence and for scholarships. No changes were made to the 2015/2016 budget. c. Budget submittal due GeoConfluence 2015 a. 8 exhibitors and 1 break sponsor have been confirmed thus far. b. All speakers have been booked, with the exception of the graduate students. c. Jared will coordinate with universities for student participation. A deadline needs to be set for the student abstracts. d. Members are asked to forward the registration flyer to colleagues and other professional organizations. 3. Future GeoConfluence: a. Discussed potential change in venue for date flexibility. b. Discussed option of adding a short course the day before (need to add to questionnaire to gauge interest). 4. Next meeting: a. Date and Time: Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 7:30 am b. Location: AE COM 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63110

11 Meeting Location: October 7, 2015, 7:30 am AE COM, 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 300, St. Louis MO Dennis Boll (Chair), Shari Cunningham (Vice Chair) Jake Schaeffer (Secretary/Treasurer), Pat Kinsella, Ken Berry, Lyle Simonton, John Kottemann, Allen Minks, Jared Holland, Sruthi Mantri, Greg Hempen (by phone) 1. Geo-Institute Committee a. Add John Kottemann and Nick Roth to list. b. Selected webinar Approaches to Grouting in Karst on January 28 th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. c. Ideas for March luncheon speaker to be submitted next meeting. 2. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Two student abstracts have been selected. b. ASCE President has expressed an interest in some sort of role at conference. c. 42 attendees have been confirmed thus far. d. Members are asked to forward the registration flyer to colleagues and other professional organizations. e. Jake, Ken, and Allen will help with morning registration. 3. Next meeting: a. Date and Time: Wednesday, November 18, 2015, 7:30 am b. Location: AE COM 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63110

12 Meeting Location: November 18, 2015, 7:30 am AE COM, 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 300, St. Louis MO Dennis Boll (Chair), Shari Cunningham (Vice Chair) Jake Schaeffer (Secretary/Treasurer), Pat Kinsella, Ken Berry, Pravin Jha, Shawnna Erter, Nick Roth, Sruthi Mantri, Ronaldo Luna (by phone) 1. Geo-Institute Committee a. Confirmed webinar will be Approaches to Grouting in Karst on January 28 th from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM. Doors open at 10 AM for check in and 1.5 PDH s will be awarded. b. Ideas for March luncheon speaker include Dr. Ronaldo Luna and Dr. Richard Stevenson. c. Discussed options to make the March luncheon more inclusive to other branches and disciplines. d. Discussed replacing Case Histories event with a presentation from Dr. Briaud. Will check future dates with ASCE and Engineer s Club to avoid schedule conflicts. e. Discussed possibility of placing additional percentage of funds from events into the scholarship fund. 2. GeoConfluence 2015 a. Discussed responses from surveys taken at conference. Results were positive overall. b. Interest was expressed in a short course before next year s conference (approx. 4 hours long). c. Considering Saint Louis University as a possible location for short course. d. Preliminary numbers from conference indicate a surplus of approximately $5,000 to $7,500 (need verification). 3. Next meeting: a. Date and Time: Wednesday, January 6, 2016, 7:30 am b. Location: AE COM 1001 Highlands Plaza Drive West, Suite 300 St. Louis, MO 63110