Engineer Memoirs
Then there are the water organizations. Actually, there are about three of them. I was the first
president of the National Waterway Foundation. It was set up to provide grants and not to be
outwardly active. We published a book called Waterway Productivity. It's a good book. The
National Waterway Foundation is a passive sort of organization. It does not have members.
The Water Resources Congress, like so many water organizations, is having a hard time
because the interest that supports it has been moved into other areas. Business can't support
too many organizations, so it's a challenge for the Water Resources Congress to find a new
field to supplement its previous areas of grandeur.
The other activity that's taking a lot of time is the Corps of Engineers Historical Foundation,
now the Army Engineer Association, which was covered earlier.
Q ..
You've also been involved with the National Academy of Engineering, too, isn't that right?
A ..
Yes. The
I was honored by election to the Academy in 1977, and for the first
several years thereafter I was not involved too much. About six years ago I joined the Building
Research Board of the Academy. The Academy has boards and committees. Normally there
are two or three members of the Academy on a committee and the remaining members serve
from industry based on their professionalism and desire to service the Academy.
The Building Research Board is financed, in large measure, by the Federal Construction
Council, which is made up of the federal agencies involved in the construction business
including the Corps, the Navy, the Air Force, the Smithsonian, the State Department, the
Postal Service, the General Accounting Office, et cetera, et cetera.
Service with the Academy is another effort to return to society some of the lessons learned at
public expense while in the Army and since I retired. I've enjoyed my activities in the
Academy. As I said earlier, I also serve on the WSTB. A current WSTB study concerns flood
protection for Sacramento.
The Building Research Board has looked into the responsibility of the architect-engineers in
the construction phases of contracts. Previously the board published a report on the value of
inspections to quality. We analyzed the need for mega-projects and if there could be
projects in the future because of the constraints from environment, funding, and local
cooperation, et cetera, for major projects. Could we put a man on the moon? I think the super
collider is probably evidence of the problem because it's now been stopped, not because of
the project itself but because of financial considerations.
All the pro bono effort when put together adds up to about a third of my time, at least three
to four months a year spent doing things that are directly related to passing on knowledge, if
you want to call it that, or to repay an obligation to my benefactors through the contributions
of my knowledge and experiences.
Q ..
Recently the Army Engineer Association has taken up a bit of that time.
A ..
Yes, that's been a great demand lately. I was the originator of the Corps of Engineers
Historical Foundation. I was on the board and later the chairman at the very end. The Army
Engineer Association is important to me because of my role in getting the structure, the
charter, and the bylaws taken care of. I asked not to be put on the new AEA board. On the
other hand, President Chuck Fiala did ask me to be chairman of the Policy Committee. Once
all this levels out, my role will be to try to market the considerable value of this association.
When I get to the point where those extracurricular things seem to be more important than the
consulting work, I'll retire like everybody else does.
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