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PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
President’s Corner
Portland Society of American Engineers Teammates & Friends!
February was a great month for the Portland Post. On February 24th, the Post and the
Portland District, USACE, hosted more than 80 Oregon and Washington high school students
for its annual Engineering Day event. Students participated in workshops on electrical,
mechanical and structural engineering, as well as small group discussions relating to careers in
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Students toured the newly remodeled
Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt federal building and discuss the role of engineering in
sustainability. The event was well received by the students and was another great partnering
opportunity between the Portland District and the Portland Post. I want to thank our sustaining
members who participated and help sponsor the event: Akana, Cardno, Cornforth,
GeoEngineers, HDR, Shannon & Wilson, WEST Consultants, GRI, OBEC and AECOM.
Our sustaining member’s time and financial support are truly appreciated and important to our
STEM efforts and the Society’s mission. By inspiring young students toward STEM careers,
we are strengthening our country’s future.
COL Bill Leady, P.E.
President, Portland Post of S.A.M.E.
I would like to remind everyone that we are looking for a high school student to send (the
Deputy Commander, Northwestern Division
Post’s scholarship includes registration fees and airfare) to the Army, Air Force or Marine
SAME engineering/STEM camp this summer. You can find more detailed information at http://samecamps.org . Kari Nichols,
[email protected] is the Portland Post’s point of contact. Applications are due by March 20, 2015.
I hope to see you at our next monthly meeting on 1 April at the Governor Hotel (614 SW 11th Ave, Portland). Ms. Julie Ammann,
from USACE’s Portland District will discuss the Silver Jackets Program. The Silver Jackets Program is a collaborative effort between
federal and state agencies for planning and implementing measures to reduce the risks associated with flooding and other natural
hazards. Please RSVP by 25 March to Toni Leon by email: [email protected] or phone (503) 643-8710.
Sincerely,
Bill Leady, P.E.
Colonel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
President, SAME Portland Post
Next Post Meeting
Date:
Time:
Location:
Speaker:
Topic:
Spotlight:
RSVP By:
Wednesday, 1 Apr 15
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Governor Hotel/Jake's Catering, 614 S.W. 11th Avenue, 2 nd floor
Mrs. Julie Ammann
The Oregon Silver Jackets Program
Mr. Kent Synder with Normandeau
25 Mar 15
Upcoming Post Events
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
Wednesday, 1 Apr 2015: Post Meeting
Wednesday, 6 May 2015: Post Meeting
Topic:
Oregon Silver Jackets Program
Topic:
Wanapum Dam Monolith
Speaker: Julie Ammann
Speaker: Julie Pyper
Spotlight: TBD
Spotlight: TBD
Wednesday, 3 Jun 2015: Post Meeting
Jun 2015(Tentative): Meet the Chiefs
Topic:
Isabella Dam Labyrinth Weir
Topic:
Meet the Chiefs
Speaker: Elizabeth Roy
Speaker: TBD
Spotlight: TBD
Spotlight: TBD
If you have a topic, idea or would like to be a presenter, please contact COL Jose L. Aguilar at:
[email protected] or 503-808-4500
Portland Post 2015 Slate of Officers (Proposed)
PRESIDENT
Col. Wm. Leady, PE
USACE, NW Division Deputy Commander
Col. Jose Aguilar, PE
USACE, NW District Engineer
Tony Roos, PE
Cardno, Principal, Transportation
Kari Nichols, PE
1ST VICE PRESIDENT
2ND VICE PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT FOR
EDUCATION
Mead Hunt
Maj. Sean Patrick, USACE
OSU Student Post
Mentor
SECRETARY:
Heidi Rice, PE
URS
Toni Leon, FSAME
Matt Cutts, PE
USACE
Michelle Peterson, RG, AMEC
TREASURER:
Immediate Past President:
2014- 2016 BOARD OF
DIRECTION
Rick Goodell, PE, FSAME
Steve Miles, PE, FSAME, USACE
Zack Martin, PE, MacKay Sposito
Craig Crotteau - Ball Janik - yes
Andrew Young, PE, NW Natural
2015 - 2017 BOARD OF
DIRECTION
Honorary
Jason Kelly, PE, OBEC
Daniela Todesco, PE, USACE
Kent Snyder, Normandeau
Maj. Rob Moriarty- Univ of Portland, Det 695, AFROTC
Pat Keough, , PE, FSAME, Walter O Bachus Recipient
Bud Ossey, PE, FSAME
Professional Engineers of Oregon (PEO)
Last year the Portland Post signed an MOU with Professional Engineers of Oregon (PEO) that enables us to share meeting and
educational opportunities. PEO will hold their Annual Conference Wednesday May 13, 2015 at 4:00 PM PDT to Friday May 15,
2015 at 5:00 PM PDT at Sunriver Resort. The Conference features 13 PDHs with 2 tracks focused on Technical and Global
Professional Trends and Licensure Track - 24 sessions to choose from plus networking opportunities through a kick off pre-conference
tour and 2 day conference that includes key note speaker during the general session, two concurrent breakout sessions, one main
reception, business meeting and award ceremony during banquet. List of classes, presenters and schedule:
http://files.ctctcdn.com/81a9051b001/45a18ae1-a012-45eb-a257-2f12cdcff1f6.pdf
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
Second Annual Pacific Northwest SAME Small Business Symposium (28 Apr 15)
Please hold April 28th, 2015 on your calendar for the 2nd Annual Pacific Northwest Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)
Small Business Symposium. Last year, over 200 people attended, making this one of our more popular events. Because of the
extremely positive feedback we are happy to host this event once again. This year, we have integrated many of your excellent
suggestions to improve the quality and usefulness of this event. We've added the following enhancements to this year's event:
 Full day event
 Happy Hour Networking and Raffle Giveaway Reception
 Small Business Focused Courses throughout the day (PDH's will be offered)
 More Sponsorship Opportunities (listed below)
 Plenary Session
 Additional rooms for networking
 More networking!
This event has proven to be a great networking and educational opportunity for both small and large SAME member businesses in the
Architectural, Engineering, and Construction industry. This outreach event is being jointly sponsored by the SAME Portland, Tacoma
and Seattle Posts and will once again be held at the Kitsap Conference Center in Bremerton, WA. The sit down luncheon will feature
NAVFAC Northwest Commanding Officer, CAPT Mark Geronime, CEC, USN as our keynote speaker. The agenda will be split into
4 venues: Small Business Panel Discussions, Small Business Focused Courses, Small/Large Business Matchmaking, and Exhibit
Booths.
Registration Information can be found at:
http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-pacific-northwest-same-small-business-symposium-registration-16208816005
Engineer Week Thanks!
Engineers make a difference! SAME The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District and the Society of American
Military Engineers would like to thank our partners for their outstanding support of another successful 2015 Engineers Week!
Sponsors
AECOM
Full Booths:
Akana
Cardno
HDR
WEST Consultants, Inc.
GRI
Half Booths:
SAME Portland Post (contribution
from E&M Fund)
Cornforth
GeoEngineers, Inc.
Shannon & Wilson Inc.
OBEC
SAME Camps (Calling ALL High School Students)
The Society of American Military Engineers, in collaboration with the Military Services, offers a series of engineering/STEM camps
designed for high school students who excel in math, science and technology courses and are interested in pursuing engineering,
architecture, or a related field in college. These one– week camps are high energy, hands–on events for students from across the
country and around the world. The camps are led by a professional staff of engineers from both private industry and the uniformed
military services. Each camp has its own unique focus and theme and is a one‐of‐a‐kind opportunity to learn what engineers do from
professional engineers, learn practical skills and gain exposure to the military services.
E Camps
U.S. Army Camp:
Vicksburg, MS
June 21 - 27, 2015
U.S. Air Force Academy Camp:
Colorado, Springs, CO
June 25 - July 1, 2015
U.S. Marine Corps Camp:
Camp Lejeune, NC
June TBD, 2015
The Portland Post Society of American Military Engineers sponsors one outstanding applicant to attend their selected SAME Camp.
The Post provides reimbursement of the FULL registration fee and airfare costs for the selected student. If you know a high school
student that is interested, please encourage them to apply!!
APPLICATIONS TO THE POST ARE DUE MARCH 20, 2015
AND
A SELECTION WILL BE MADE BY APRIL 3, 2015.
Questions? Contact Kari Nichols, [email protected], 503‐548‐1496
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
SAME Portland Post OSAC Scholarship
Each year SAME awards a $1,000.00 scholarship to a deserving college sophomore or above majoring in aeronautical,
biomedical, chemical, civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering. Apply through the Office of Student Access and Completion
(OSAC) website: http://www.oregonstudentaid.gov/
The scholarship is title: 481 SAME – Society of American Military Engineers Portland Post
Saturday Academy Instructor’s needed
Saturday Academy strives to engage all motivated young people, including those from under-represented communities, in hands-on,
in-depth learning by connecting them to community experts as educators and mentors. Saturday Academy provides innovative
programs open to all students in grades 2 through 12. They value all learning, and offer experiences in many disciplines. They
emphasize, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), because these fields are critical for children’s careers and their fast
pace of change is difficult to address in traditional school settings. More information about the program can be located at their
website at: www.saturdayacademy.org
Help: Saturday Academy is seeking instructors to support their Aeronautics, Rocket Science, and Engineering (Solar Car Challenge)
programs. Post members interested in learning about and/or volunteering for these opportunities should contact Ms. Heidi Venneri,
the School-Based Program Coordinator at 503-200-5859.
10th Annual Energy and Construction Best Practices Summit
The 10th Annual Energy & Construction Best Practices Summit – Clean Tech: Washington’s WISE Future
May 28 & 29, 2015 - At Bates Technical College – south campus.
Keynote - Brian Young, WA Dept. of Commerce Clean Tech Sector Lead, will provide an excellent link between the clean energy
and construction industries and align the theme with the governor’s platform on clean technology.
Registration: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=i4szzydab&oeidk=a07eaix2r5ka70e0b59
More information: cleanenergyexcellence.org/summit
Sustaining Firms
SAME’s Portland Post is updated our records, we’re updated our Sustaining Firms records, the current list is on the last page of this
month’s Postscripts, if your firm is not listed please email the postscripts editor at: [email protected] so we can get
your information updated!
Post Website Manager
Rich Nardini and Kent Snyder are our Post website manager, please congratulate them and forward any information you think needs
to be added to our post website. http://posts.same.org/portland/
Vacant Portland Post SAME Position
VACANT POSITION: Membership/ Sustaining Member Chair
Are you interested in being more active with SAME Portland Post? This is your opportunity!
Post Membership POCs lead recruitment and retention efforts, relying on the support of SAME HQ. The position gives ample
opportunities to interface with the board and Sustaining members. Regular duties include: tracking and base-lining post membership;
outreach to potential members; assisting with membership issues, and attending board meetings.
Additional duties: Coordinate Engineering Day with the USACE Portland District and manage Sustaining Member Spotlight
Presentations. Regular duties require a time commitment of 3-5 hours per month. Additional duties may require additional hours.
More information is in Chapter 7 of the SAME Post Operations Manual
http://www.same.org/images/stories/2014SAMEPostOperationsManual.pdf
If interested, contact a SAME Portland Post board member.
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
Member Profile (Record) Updates
All members can update their member profiles by visiting: https://membership.same.org/MainLogin.shtml for individual
members https://membership.same.org/cvweb_samesm/MainLogin.shtml for sustaining members.
Keeping your member profile current ensures all Post and committee communications reach you. As always, you can contact
the SAME HQ membership team for assistance with updates to your membership record. Your demographics are more valuable
because of new Streamer requirements and statistics that provide us with a base of who our members are.
Thermal Bridge Mitigation (Moving Towards High-Efficiency Building Enclosures
(By Axy Pagan-Vazquez, PE, PMP, M.SAME, and Justine Yu, LEED Green Associate, Reprinted with permission from SAME TME
Mar 2015)
Energy loss attributed to inefficient building enclosure systems has been a major issue in the United States during recent decades.
Key voices including the Department of Energy, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Engineers all acknowledge the importance of achieving better and more energy efficient buildings. As a
consequence, these organizations have been providing recommendations to mitigate building energy losses throughout a facility’s
lifespan.
In addition to novel and stringent
building energy saving methods, it is crucial
to keep out rainwater, prevent excess of
moisture transfer, and reduce undesired air
infiltration through building envelope walls.
This means having a durable building
enclosure that will guarantee a desired
separation between its exterior and interior
environments. However, keeping a consistent
and durable enclosure and construction is not
a trivial task, particularly when a vast list of
factors affecting the construction components
must be addressed. Dealing with the building enclosure layers as a whole might create a decision-making process in which one factor
could be sacrificed at the expense of the other, or might end up in increased construction costs if proper actions are not taken during
the construction phase.
Energy, for instance, could be saved by adding insulation. But what would happen if insulation is added in an incorrect
location, in combination with super air-tight construction and an inefficient mechanical system that would not allow excessive
moisture to leave the building?
The building then could develop mold due to condensation issues that in turn will end up in additive cost—first due to the
wasted energy; and second because of subsequent repair or restoration of degraded building components. THERMAL BRIDGE
PROBLEMS
As a subset of the building envelope issue, it is of concern to emphasize the thermal bridge problem. This, as defined by the
International Organization for Standardization, is a phenomenon generally occurring due to construction with a variety of materials, in
which different values of thermal conductivity creates a particular thermal path or “bridge” between the exterior and interior sides of
the building enclosure.
As shown in Figure 1, these can take place in junction between windows and walls, floors, or where high thermally
conductive materials (usually structural) penetrate the building envelope.
It could be assumed (and in past decades has been) that the impact of thermal bridges is insignificant as compared to the rest of a
building’s energy draining factors. However, professionals in the Building Sciences field in recent years have found the thermal
performance of a building enclosure could be downgraded significantly enough through overall degradation of its R-value, or thermal
resistance to the point where undesired side effects, such as discomfort, higher energy costs and mold, would need to be seriously
taken care of. Even more alarming, studies carried out on buildings exhibiting greater amounts of insulation, but which do not
appropriately address thermal bridge losses, have shown to bring more underestimated thermal losses than partially insulated
constructions. European assessment studies similarly show that thermal bridges could easily bring a greater impact on high
performance buildings.
And so, why in the military should we care about these types of bridges and not just the ones civil engineers usually deal
with? In short, we must care because the U.S. Army, although moving towards very high energy efficiency standards, unfortunately
has a large inventory of buildings with serious thermal bridge problems. CATALOGUING SOLUTIONS
A few years ago, several researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center - Construction Engineering
Research Laboratory visited several installations to search for thermal bridging issues in a variety of facility types. The results were
interesting, although not surprising. Using infra-red imaging, it was easy to detect that thermal bridges were everywhere, including in
new constructions.
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
The primary explanation for the deficiencies is that the thermal bridge and energy problem in the past was not the priority
that it is today. Instead, structural integrity and safety were the primary drivers of design and construction plans. In older, very energy
inefficient buildings, thermal bridge effects were overshadowed by the poor performance of the building as a whole. In response,
researchers worked towards an answer to this thermal bridge mitigation challenge. This resulted in the development of a Thermal
Bridge Mitigation Catalog, with supporting illustrated architectural details and construction sequencing steps.
Currently, the catalog is a compilation of 30 different building details—mostly junctions of walls, fenestration components and
building construction sections intrinsically containing high conductive elements that bypass the thermal barrier in the building’s
exterior walls. Each catalog page contains an existing and recommended architectural detail drawing, construction material information and guidelines to implement the improved section.
Take for example, a thermal bridge problem emerging from a window inserted into a steel stud wall that has interior and
exterior insulation. Although the wall may seem well insulated and may also have a thermally broken window, there still can be
serious thermal bridge problems just at its connection. For thermal bridge mitigation, a rule of thumb is that the window thermal break
should be aligned with the wall system insulation plane. The Thermal Bridge Mitigation Catalog contains many problems and corresponding solutions with significant detail.
A second tool for addressing thermal bridge mitigation and building envelope energy savings are illustrated step-by-step
architectural construction detail sequencing procedures. These illustrate how to upgrade an existing Army construction detail into a
thermal bridge mitigated detail.
Earlier experience had shown that one of the most challenging aspects of dealing with thermal bridges was keeping a
continuous thermal plane while maintaining continuous moisture and air barrier layers. Every small detail such as taping the air barrier
to the window support angle brackets or using a plastic window sill flashing if it would be penetrating entirely through the building
envelope, can impact the building’s overall energy efficiency and durable construction.
ACHIEVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
The building envelope integrity plays an important role in achieving energy efficient constructions. For today’s highly energy
efficient buildings, which maximize the performance of their mechanical and electrical systems, the overall energy performance will
be jeopardized if localized heat flow paths, or thermal bridges in the envelope, are not adequately addressed.
Having identified their impact and consistency in a variety of buildings within Army installations, it was necessary, in the
context of energy savings, to devise effective means for prevention and remediation of thermal bridging effects.
The resulting mechanism, the Thermal Bridge Mitigation Catalog along with illustrated sequencing, will serve to support
initial and future efforts to create awareness of the problem and viable solutions.
The SAME Job Center is up and running! The SAME Job Center is the premier electronic recruitment resource for those seeking to
fill positions within Architecture/Engineering/Construction organizations. The Job Center helps companies find the right candidate
from our talented membership base. For Job Seekers, you can post your resume for free and connect with companies around the world.
See more at: http://www.same.org/index.php/component/content/article?id=235#sthash.Me1siqg6.dpuf
Upcoming SAME Events:
Mar 30 – Apr 1, Kansas City
Industry Day Education & Training
Workshop
See more at:
http://samekc.org/smworkshop.php?id=1
Apr 15-17 Philadelphia, PA
8th Symposium on Design &
Construction Issues at Hazardous
Waste Sites
See more at:
http://www.same.org/index.php/events
/calendar-ofevents#sthash.rJH0R0Ds.dpuf
Mar 31 – Apr 9, Virtual
International Business Opportunities
Webinar Series
See more at:
http://www.same.org/index.php/events
/calendar-ofevents#sthash.rJH0R0Ds.dpuf
Apr 20-21, Linthicum, MD
TISP Critical Infrastructure
Symposium
See more at:
http://www.tisp.org/index.cfm
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
Apr 13-16, Chicago
2015 Small Business Industry Days and National
Energy Forum
See more at:
http://www.same.org/index.php/events/calendarof-events#sthash.rJH0R0Ds.dpuf
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m
Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act
(FBPTA) Implementation Update
See more at:
http://www.same.org/index.php/component/conten
t/article/213-webinars/1085-fam-april-webinarfbpta#sthash.1t9AGqcE.dpuf
Pictures from the Dec 2014 Meeting
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
PRESIDENT
COL Wm. Leady
1ST VICE PRESIDENT
COL Jose Aguilar
2ND VICE PRESIDENT
Tony Roos
PAST PRESIDENT
Capt (Ret.) Matthew Cutts
VP FOR YOUTH
Kari Nichols
SECRETARY
Heidi Rice
TREASURER
Toni Leon, FSAME
HOUSE
Toni Leon
MEMBERSHIP/ SUSTAINING MEMBERS
Amber Schulz
READINESS
Daniela Todesco
COMMUNITY/SOCIAL/SPECIAL
ACTIVITIES
Midge Graybeal
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Maj L. Robert Moriarty
PUBLICITY
Linda Scronce-Johnson
SMALL BUSINESS LIAISON
Terry Hosaka
AECOM
AMEC
Ball Janik
BERGER/ABAM Engineers
Brown & Caldwell
Cardno TEC
CH2M Hill
Cherokee Construction Services
Continental Mapping Consultants
Cooper Zietz Engineers
Cornforth Consultants
David Evans and Associates
Dull Olson Weeks-IBI Architects
ESA
Exeltech Consulting
SUSTAINING MEMBER FIRMS
GEI Consultants
GeoEngineers
Geotechnical Resources, Inc.
Gerding Builders
GHD
Hamilton Construction
Hart Crowser
HDR Engineering
Integrated Water Solutions
IO Environmental & Infrastructure
Jacobs Associates
Kiewit
Mason, Bruce & Girard, Inc.
Otak
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Professional Service Industries
Portland Post
c/o MacKay Sposito
Attn: Zack Martin
1325 SE Tech Center Drive, Suite 140
Vancouver, WA 98683
Portland Post
c/o MacKay & Sposito, Inc.
Attn: Andrew Young
1325 SE Tech Center Drive, Suite 140
Vancouver, WA 98683
PORTLAND POSTSCRIPTS | April 2015
2014-2016 DIRECTORS
Michelle Peterson
LTC (Ret) Rick Goodell
COL (Ret) Steve Miles
Zack Martin
2013-2015 DIRECTORS
Toni Leon
Andrew Young
Jason Kelly
Daniela Todesco
Amber Schulz
HONORARY DIRECTORS & FELLOWS
Patrick Keough
Bud Ossey
Sealaska Constructors
Shannon & Wilson
Siemens Industries
Skanska
Tetra Tech
Thomas/Wright
Portland District – USACE
The Urban Collaborative
URS Corporation
WEST Consultants
Westlake Consultants
Weston Solutions
WHPacific
Wildlands