Annual Report 2005

American Society of Civil Engineers

Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute

Information Report to the Board of Direction

August 1, 2005

The Board of Governors met on October 18-19, 2004 and May 7-8, 2005.  The next meeting is scheduled for October 16 & 17, 2005.

1.0       RESOLUTIONS

1.1       No resolutions are awaiting committee action.

2.0       ACTIVITES RELATIVE TO ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE ANNUAL ELEMENT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN

2.1       Objective 2.4:  Be the primary source of technical information

Element 2.4.5:  Produce new conferences that deliver technical information to civil engineers and related professionals consistent with identified market needs.

COPRI prepared the technical program for the following conferences that were managed by ASCE since the last report:

• Civil Engineering in the Oceans VI, Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the ASCE Annual 2004 Conference
• Solutions to Coastal Disasters ’05, Charleston, SC
• Waves ’05, Madrid, Spain

COPRI cosponsored the following conferences since the last report:

• International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) ’04, Lisbon, Portugal
• American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) Fall ‘04 Conference, New Orleans, LA
• 4th International Surfing Reef Symposium ’05, Manhattan Beach, CA
• Coastal Dynamics ’05, Barcelona, Spain
• Coastlines, Structures and Breakwaters ’05, London, UK

COPRI is the ASCE support unit for the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC).  Specifically, the COPRI Ocean and Offshore Engineering Committee has a subcommittee on Offshore Technology Conference Support that performs functions that are critical to the success of OTC.  This committee helped develop the technical program for the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) ‘05.  OTC had 51,320 attendees in May, 2004.  Bill Luyties, the ASCE representative on the OTC Board of Directors, was scheduled to become the Chair of the Board next year, but he had to decline the chairmanship for personal reasons.  He will serve out the remaining two years of his term on the OTC Board. 

COPRI is in the process of developing the following conferences with ASCE and others:

• Asian and Pacific Coasts ‘05 (APAC), Jeju, Korea
• Port of Los Angeles Container Wharf Seismic Code Workshop, San Pedro, CA
• ASBPA Fall ’05 Conference, San Francisco, CA
• International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) ’06, San Diego, CA
• Ports ’07, San Diego, CA
• Coastal Sediments ’07, New Orleans, LA
• Coastal Structures ’07, Venice Italy
• International Conference on Coastal Engineering (ICCE) ’08, Hamburg, Germany

2.2       Objective 2.5:  Enhance the understanding, delivery and exchange of technical information

Element 2.5.40:  Organize and hold the 2004 Civil Engineering in the Oceans VI Conference. 

COPRI organized the Civil Engineering in the Oceans Conference (Oct. 20-22, 2004) in conjunction with the ASCE Annual Conference in Baltimore.  The conference included exceptional key-note speakers, insightful papers, as well as a technical field trip and networking functions.  This small, focused, technical conference was held at the same venue as the ASCE Annual conference in an effort to share expenses, help with the room block, and to maximize attendance to both events.

Element 2.5.41:  Organize and hold the 2005 Waves Conference. 

The Waves 2005 Conference was held in Madrid, Spain (July 3-7, 2005).  Over 300 delegates attended this year’s conference, exceeding the 227 registrations from the previous conference.  Preliminary feedback indicates that attendees were happy with the strong technical content and the networking functions.  Two pre-conference workshops were held on the first day of the conference, and other conference highlights include the exhibit hall and a museum quality technical exposition on the life of a renowned Spanish coastal engineer, Iribarren.  The key-note speakers included Dr. Robert Dalrymple, P.E., Dr. Harald Krogstad, and ASCE post-tsunami assessment team members. 

Element 2.5.42:  Organize and hold the 2005 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference. 

The 2005 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference was held in Charleston, SC (May 8-11, 2005) with great success.  The conference exceeded budgeted numbers with the 230 attendees and the final sponsorship amounting to $47,250.  Preliminary feedback indicates that attendees were happy with the strong technical content and the networking functions.  A pre-conference workshop was held on the first day of the conference.  The exceptional key-note speakers included Margaret Davidson (Director of NOAA Coastal Services Center), The Honorable Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. (Mayor of Charleston) and ASCE post-tsunami assessment team members. 

• Other Institute Activities

• Strategic Planning:  Since COPRI is now in its fifth year, the COPRI Board and Committee Chairs held a two-day strategic planning session on May 7 & 8, 2005, in Charleston, SC.  Larry Roth, ASCE Deputy Executive Director, was the facilitator.

• South Asian Tsunami of 2004:  COPRI was a major participant in ASCE’s response to the South Asian Tsunami on Dec. 26, including assisting with website content and supplying experts for news media and events.  Several COPRI members were in the news, with feature articles in major newspapers (ex. Wall Street Journal), industry media (ex. Engineering News Record), and a COPRI Board member gave a live interview on NBC’s Today Show.  COPRI, in conjunction with ASCE’s TCLEE and the Institute of Civil Engineers, put together three teams of engineers to carry out post-tsunami assessments in Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India.  In addition to the formal report (to be published by ASCE), the teams also developed special sessions for COPRI’s Waves 2005 Conference, Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005 Conference, and the ASCE 2005 Annual.

• Public Policy:  COPRI has recently become more involved with public policy issues relating to the COPRI mission.  In 2004, the COPRI Board approved the formation of a public policy committee.  COPRI worked closely with the ASCE Government Relations Department on the highly successful 2005 ASCE Report Card, as well as to submit comments to Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee on the FY06 Budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  The Institute has also been monitoring the Senate hearings and legislative developments of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). 

• New Committees:  The COPRI Governing Board recently approved the formation of two new committees.  The Wetlands and River Restoration Committee has been revamped into the Wetlands and Sediment Management Committee, whose purpose is to study and report on techniques for wetland restoration, creation, protection and management and for managing sediments in and/or removed from coastal or inland projects. The COPRI Board also approved the formation of the Military Programs Technical Committee, whose purpose is to study and disseminate information within the overall mission of COPRIrelated to all aspects (technical, policy, etc.) of military-related programs and specific project application on a world-wide basis.

• Local Groups: The Deepwater Infrastructure Forum (DIF) was established in 2001 within COPRI, and its purpose is to serve the offshore industry in the Houston area.  DIF continues to help meet the needs of an audience that was not currently drawn to the local ASCE community.  DIF serves as the clearinghouse for all local offshore activities and coordinates closely with other organizations in the Houston area.  The DIF meetings occur approximately quarterly and typically draw 50 to 75 people.  The theme of this year’s meetings is “Challenges of the Cold Regions.”

• Newsletter (Waterways): The newsletter has been highly acclaimed.  It serves as an important promotional piece for COPRI products and services, and as a report of past events.  Numerous photographs give the newsletter a community feeling.  In addition to the print newsletter, COPRI also produces an electronic newsletter in an effort cut expenses and to provide more timely information without space limitations.  E-newsletters are e-mailed to COPRI members with e-mail addresses (80 percent).  The newsletter is also mailed to a “non-member distribution list” which includes top Army Corps of Engineer officials, members of Congress and staffers, and other prominent people in COPRI related fields. 

• Continuing Education:  COPRI helped organize the technical program for the following pre-conference workshops since the last report:

• Applications of Coastal Engineering in Coastal Zone Management
• Long Waves
• Application and Use of Wave Data for Typical Engineering Projects

• Exhibiting:  The COPRI booth was exhibited at the ICCE ‘04 Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, at low cost since the booth was staffed with volunteer leadership attending the conference.  COPRI exhibiting materials were also displayed at the following conferences: ASBPA Fall ‘04 Conference, Civil Engineering in the Oceans VI, International Surfing Reef Symposium ’05, Coastal Dynamics ’05, Coastlines, Structures, and Breakwaters ’05, OTC ’05, Solutions to Coastal Disasters ’05, and Waves ‘05.

• Publications:  COPRI prepared the following publications for printing/sale by ASCE since the last report:
• Coastal Structures 2003
• Estuarine and Coastal Modeling 2003
• California and the World Oceans 2002
• Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005

• Membership Statistics:

COPRI began Oct. 1, 2000 with approximately 1100 ASCE members

Individual Membership in July 2005: 

                        ASCE Members:                  2790

                        COPRI-only Members:         113

Total Membership:             2903

Organizational Members:

            Blasland, Bouck & Lee, Inc.

Manson Construction Company

Moffatt & Nichol

MWH Americas Inc.

Ocean and Coastal Consultants

Ocean Facilities Program NAVFAC

Sequoia Scientific, Inc.

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center

Waterway Surveys & Engineering

Supporting Organizational Members:

            Institute for Water Resources

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company

Tetra Tech Inc.

Membership drives for individual membership have concentrated on capturing attendees from COPRI conferences or co-sponsored conferences.  These efforts have been successful at low cost. 

COPRI started an Organizational Membership program last year.  The purpose of the program is to encourage private companies, government agencies, and universities to join and become involved in the Institute, thereby making themselves more visible to the technical community.  There are three membership levels (Organizational Member, Supporting Organizational Member, and Sustaining Organizational Member) with varying benefits and dues.  The interest shown in the program during our second year is promising, as ten of the eleven 2004 members have renewed and two additional companies have joined. 

 

• Partnering:  COPRI is actively partnering with PIANC, IAHR, ACE, SNAME, ASBPA, universities, and government agencies on its numerous conferences and activities.  Formal Partnering Agreements are in place with PIANC, IAHR, and ACE.  Current activities include:

• COPRI is partnering with SNAME, OOAE, and IMarEST as a financial sponsor for the annual International Student Offshore Design Competition.
• PIANC held their Annual Meeting 2004 at the ASCE Conference in Baltimore.
• PIANC held their Annual General Assembly 2005 in Charleston, SC at the same time as COPRI’s Solutions to Coastal Disasters ’05 Conference. 
• CEDEX hosted the COPRI Waves ’05 Conference in Madrid, Spain.
• IAHR will host the COPRI Coastal Structures ’07 Conference in Venice, Italy.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute

Gordon Sterling, M.ASCE, President

Charles Calhoun, Jr., P.E., F.ASCE, Past President

Billy Edge, P.E., F.ASCE, Vice President

Stephen Curtis, P.E., M.ASCE

John Headland, P.E., M.ASCE, ASCE Appointed Governor

David Kriebel, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE, Secretary

            Thomas H. Christensen, P.E., M.ASCE, Treasurer

            Kelly J. Barnes, Program Director

Report prepared by:             Kelly J. Barnes