Post Notes Archives

Mike Thompson receives RVP Medal

Mobile, AL – Mike Thompson was presented with the SAME Regional Vice President Medal during the Mobile Post meeting in February. Thompson was recognized for his outstanding leadership as a dedicated member of the Post over the past ten years.

Since 2004, Thompson has been a member of the Mobile Post Board of Direction. He has also served as Vice President and President of the Post, providing leadership for numerous programs and committees. He had the responsibility of locating the South Central Region’s 2013 Joint Regional JETS with the Post’s sister region in the South Atlantic Region. Under his guidance and leadership, Thompson facilitated the partnership between the Mobile and Pensacola Posts in the planning of the next South Central/South Atlantic Joint Regional Conference. Moreover, he was responsible for promoting the Academy of Fellows in the Post, which resulted in a new Fellow in each of the two previous years, in addition to the newly inducted Class of 2013 Fellow Col. Robert B. Keyser, P.E., USA (Ret.), F.SAME.

As Outreach and Communication Streamer Chair, he was responsible for GEMS, K-12 Outreach, USA Student Chapter, Mentoring, Scouts, and Public Relations activities. He was instrumental in positioning the Mobile Post to win this streamer with distinction for three consecutive years. Under his guidance, Mobile was named the top Large Post in 2011. As a Board Member, he promoted the development of the Director Emeritus position in Mobile and other Posts in the region. He mentored Young Members and other Post members to strive for higher positions and duties within the Post, thus continuing the tradition of Mobile’s history as a distinguished Post.

As an integral part of the Mobile Post’s Scores for Scholars Golf Tournament for several years, he coordinated the logistics and planning to make the fundraiser a huge success. In 2012, his hard work helped raise over $10,000 for engineering scholarships.

Society of American Military Engineers, Honolulu Post Volunteers for University of Hawaii Junior Engineering Expo

Honolulu, HI (01 March 2013)— Volunteers from Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), Honolulu Post hosted the “Juice Box Tower” challenge at the University of Hawaii (UH) Junior Engineering Expo.

The UH Junior Engineering Expo is held annually and hosts over 200 students from Oahu middle schools. Middle school students had a chance to meet UH engineering students and others in the engineering industry, including SAME volunteers from the Architect/Engineering (A-E) consulting field. Middle school students competed in various engineering competitions, such as bridge building, a marshmallow catapult and SAME’s activity - the “Juice Box Tower” structural competition. Students were given a stack of colorful construction paper and one roll of Scotch tape. The rules were provided to students prior to “construction” of their tower and students were asked to build a construction paper structure that would be given 1 point for each six inches of height and 2 points for every juice box that was able to be stacked on top of the structure. Students from each school had to work together as a team to determine the best approach for building their structure. After 30 minutes, all of the schools presented their structures and attempted to stack the juice boxes on the top. Most of the groups’ structures were able to hold all of the 16 juice boxes, however, some toppled and fell under the weight. Points were totaled and awards were given to the middle schools that won the most points in each of the different junior expo competitions. The students had fun along with the SAME volunteers and it was a great way to interact with aspiring engineering, science and technology students in a fun activity that demonstrates basic engineering concepts.

DMP Sponsored Engineering Explorer Post 827 Completes 5th Year Introducing Youth to Careers in Engineering, Science & Architecture

The SAME Denver Metro Post sponsored Engineering Explorer Post 827 completed its fifth year of operation on February 12th when 30 young women and men spent two hours discussing careers in aerospace and astronautics with astronaut Bruce McCandless at the Lockheed Martin Waterton Canyon facility.

The 2013 program included six weekly meetings during which the youth were introduced to careers in:

Electrical, Computer Hardware & Software Engineering – This meeting was sponsored by Tandberg Data Corporation. Mr. Randy Spalding provided exciting insight into careers in electrical engineering as well as computer hardware and software design.

Micro-Biology – Thanks to Dr. John Spear and Colorado School of Mines, the youth heard about the educational path to careers in micro-biology and toured the cutting edge micro-biology and advanced energy research laboratories at the Colorado School of Mines.

Architecture – The National Park Service presented an outstanding program on architecture and engineering associated with the work the National Park Service is involved with designing and maintaining the beautiful facilities in our nation’s National Parks.

Transportation Engineering – The youth met with Colorado Department of Transportation Chief Engineer Tim Harris who discussed careers in transportation engineering and conducted a tour of the Colorado Intelligent Highway Command Center located in Golden, Colorado (photo below).

Construction Management & Civil Engineering – Thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Kiewit Construction for hosting our first Saturday meeting at the Tri-Lakes COE office located at Chatfield Reservoir. Two Kiewit Construction Managers and one civil engineer, together with two COE civil engineers presented a program on careers in construction management and civil engineering. The presentation was followed by a tour of Chatfield Dam which included a tour of the discharge manifold at the base of the dam.

Astronautics & Aerospace Engineering – Explorer Post 827 joined with the Explorer Post sponsored by Lockheed Martin for an evening with astronaut Bruce McCandless. Bruce was responsible for the design of the jet pack used by astronauts in space and flew the mission when he used the backpack in space for the first time.

SAME Explorer Post 827 tours CDOT Intelligent Highway Control Center, Golden, CO

The Denver Metro Post wishes to acknowledge and thank post members George Rasmussen, Jim Quin, Patrick Scher, Jon Holbrook and Tim Zvada for their contribution to the Post’s K-12 Education program and planning and executing the 2013 Engineering Explorer Post program.

Local engineer earns high accolades during National Engineer Week

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah-area professional engineering community formally recognized Carol H. Abercrombie, a civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District for her notable contributions to water resource projects in Coastal Georgia.

Abercrombie received the 2013 “James Connolly Award” during the Savannah E-Week Technical Training Conference at Armstrong Atlantic State University, Feb. 19. The conference is held annually in Savannah as part of the nationally-recognized Engineer Week (E-Week) observance.

The Connolly Award is presented each year to a civilian or military engineer within the Savannah community for notable contributions in the field of engineering, particularly in design and construction methods. The award is named in honor of James B. Connolly (1868-1957), who was an Olympic gold medalist, Spanish-American War veteran, distinguished author, and a former Corps’ Savannah District employee. Abercrombie is the ninth recipient of the Connolly Award since it was first presented in 2004.

"It's wonderful to feel appreciated by my co-workers and the Savannah engineering community as a whole," Abercrombie said. "I hope the work I have done has made a positive difference in the community."

The award was presented by the Savannah Community of Engineer organizations, which includes the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Savannah Post and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Savannah Branch.

With 31 years of service at the Corps' Savannah District, Abercrombie is a technical expert in coastal engineering and design. She serves as the Engineering Technical lead on numerous Civil Works Projects, most notably the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project. Other key projects she has worked on include the Tybee Island Beach Renourishment, previous deepening projects at the Brunswick and Savannah harbors, and tailrace dredging at the Richard B. Russell Dam in Elberton, Ga.

A resident of Hardeeville, S.C., Abercrombie holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Science in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University.