Calendar of Events

What Your PE Signature and Stamp Says to Your Stakeholders

This presentation intends to help both PEs and non-PEs best understand what it means for a PE to sign and stamp their work.

Each state will have specific requirements for placement of PE stamp, information to include with a PE Signature and other expected formats. This presentation seeks to inform an audience not currently involved in the PE Signature and Stamp process on the general nature of the process, from what to expect when signing, what the PE Signature and Stamp demonstrates when complete, and what to consider when assuming the role of PE over a previous PE’s work.

This presentation also seeks to guide engineering-related technical personnel (such as those that support "exempt” industry) from “ground-floor” (no process) to a successful PE Sign/Stamp process.

The presentation will highlight key topics from the resource "What a PE Says with their Signature and Stamp: A Resource for Professional Engineers”, recently published by NSPE to the general public.

Learning Outcomes

Understand wholly the general nature of the process, from what to expect when signing, what the PE Signature and Stamp demonstrates when complete, and what to consider when assuming the role of PE over a previous PE’s work.

Better convey the importance of a PE Signature and Stamp to other audiences.

Speaker

Craig S. Sisco, PE, F.NSPE

Director of Gas Operations of the Southern Nevada Division
Southwest Gas Corporation

Craig has been involved for more than a decade in NSPE in progressive local, state and National roles. Past responsibilities have included President/NSPE-Nevada (NSPE-NV) state chapter, WPR Chair and the NSPE-National Board of Directors as Director/ NSPE Western and Pacific Region (WPR)/2018-2020. Craig presently serves on two NSPE-National committees: as a member of Committee on Policy and Advocacy (COPA) and as Chair of the Council of Fellows Executive Committee (COFEC). Craig was honored by NSPE with the title of Fellow, NSPE in 2019.

Craig is, as of March 2022, the Director of Gas Operations of the Southern Nevada Division of Southwest Gas Corporation. Southwest Gas Corporation (Southwest) is the natural gas pipeline operator providing safe and reliable service to more than 2-million customers in Arizona, Nevada and California. Craig has worked in roles of successively additional responsibilities in design, project management, engineering, compliance, field operations and leadership over his 23-years with Southwest.

Craig currently directs and coordinates the daily pipeline safety operations activities supporting nearly 1-million customers in the areas of Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada; Bullhead City, Arizona; and Needles, California. The team is responsible for engineering and technical services for more than 13,000 miles of pipeline and associated facilities, including innovations in sustainability efforts in methane emissions reductions and renewable natural gas (RNG).

Craig received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from University Nevada Las Vegas in 1999. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Nevada since 2008. Craig has completed several technical, management and leadership courses during his tenure at Southwest, including completion of the 2015 Utility Executive Course (UEC) at University of Idaho and the 2017 Western Energy Institute Business Acumen program. Craig also regularly attends technical conferences presented by industry organizations such as American Gas Association (AGA) and Western Regional Gas Conference (WRGC). Craig is expected to complete a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Arizona Global Campus in early 2024.

In his personal time, Craig enjoys time with his family and friends, reading, sketching and participating in obstacle course races.

Register here

Professional Engineering Ethics, Risk, and Liability with Technology

Software has eaten the world. The rapid change in technological advancement is outpacing how manage and/or protect the public health, safety, and welfare from new emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and robotics underpinned by open-source software as the foundation. Many engineered systems today are enhanced and modified digitally while being integrated into physical systems in our world. Digital modernization includes terms such as Software Factory, Software Supply Chain, DevSecOps, Cybersecurity, Software Bill of Material, and Open-Source Software. Not only are digital systems and tools impacting our end products, the design and implementations processes are. Much of emerging technologies are about their capabilities and perceived public benefit, but many questions remain unanswered regarding the ethics, liability, and responsibility. No matter you are an engineer in private practice, working for a corporation, forensic engineer, or engineer in training, software is changing, auditing, and/or benefiting the engineering profession. Software is the pervasive thread in the public and interwoven in the daily activity of engineers. The emerging technology warrants how engineers should be accountable to protect the public’s security and welfare. Engineers are the default for these digital systems. The road to digitization is being embedded into our defense, infrastructure, and control systems. The products, services, principles, methods, and laws that professional engineers apply are being digitized. The public looks to the profession to prevent digital accidents and fatalities, which have already occurred with improper fundamentals outside of the Professional Engineers purview and oversight. Critical aspects of these systems require prevention, isolation, and remediation of errors, mistakes, attacks, and breaches, but this is not happening. We must not ignore that the world will continue to automate, integrate, and innovate using software. This presentation is a critical starting point for discussions for standards, certification, and best practices that protect public security and provides guidelines to measure the safety readiness of software technologies under consideration for deployment. It is intended for public policy decision-makers, regulators, engineers, developers, legal, operations, security leaders, and others. We strongly encourage the understanding, process, and platforms that are changing today and your role in the transformation to a digital world.

Learning Outcomes

We will discuss the digital world and the risk growing exponentially, demonstrate the skills people should consider as the minimum standard of care, and the technology to support on-going efforts. Evidenced on the need for certification as our professional obligation, we will illustrate how best practices and platforms converge to advance through certification. We will cover the importance to the public’s well-being, platforms, and certification that engineers are finding most critical in their own work. Discussions will include events that are threatening the safe, secure integration and deployment of systems in today’s digital world.

Speakers

Bart Kemper

Principal Engineer
Kemper Engineering Services LLC.

Bart Kemper is a principal engineer at Kemper Engineering Services LLC. Bart Kemper is a Professional Engineer licensed in multiple states and Australia as well as being a board-certified forensic engineer. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of the National Academy of Forensic Engineers. He is on multiple standards committees for autonomous and uncrewed systems with ASME as well as is on the Software Certification policy group and Committee on Policy and Advocacy (COPA) for the National Society of Professional Engineers. Kemper is also a retired US Army Corps of Engineers officer with over 32 years of service and multiple combat tours, including working in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, infrastructure assessment, and nation building with assignments through battalion command and general staff.

Dr. Jeff Daniels

Program Director
Lockheed Martin Corporation

Dr. Jeff Daniels is the Director of Business Transformation & Systems Modernization at Lockheed Martin Corporation, a global security company that employs 105,000 people worldwide. He is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services.

Jeff is responsible for leading the Intelligent Factory, Manufacturing Execution Systems, Product Lifecycle Management, Asset Intelligence, and Sustainment systems strategy, integration, services, and research on a wide-ranging portfolio that includes enterprise systems and major strategic programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program. In 2011, Jeff was appointed to UMGC faculty as full professor of Cybersecurity in the Graduate School of Management and Technology. He has served as adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida and Florida Southern College teaching and designing senior-level systems analysis and design coursework.

Jeff is the recipient of several awards including Lockheed Martin’s highest honor, the NOVA Award, and the Lockheed Martin Excellence Award. Jeff received the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award, for exceptional and consistent quality in teaching excellence. He is a recognized Chief Information Security Officer and conducted the industry’s first doctoral research on cloud computing and cybersecurity. Jeff is also a plank-holder in CodeQuest, the high school student programming contest that originated in 2012 at Fort Worth. The DFW-based program has transformed into a global initiative reaching thousands of computer science students in the United States, Poland, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia.

He holds Doctor of Philosophy from Indiana State University, a master’s degree in management of technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and holds an USSF/Texas D Soccer Coaching License. Jeff serves on the UCF Board of Directors and is a senior member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Association for Computing Machinery, and is on the editorial staff of the British Blockchain Association. He resides in Fort Worth, Texas.

Cate Richards

Director, Federal Programs
Sonatyp

Cate Richards is the Director, Federal Programs for Sonatype, Inc. where she focuses on technology that secures the software supply chains to protect the public’s security and welfare. She maintains the responsibility for all Sonatype software sales and client relationships in the territory. She also serves as an advisory board member for NSPE.

Cate has worked in the Federal and State & Local sector for over 30 years as an educator, solution developer, information architect and software client executive. Her focus on this sector has been inspired by her family’s long history of United States military service. Cate is a Gold Star Mom of a USMC Scout Sniper. She spends her time off work volunteering for numerous fund raisers for veteran organizations. Prior to her current role, Cate has worked for other companies in the software supply chain security. She has held several positions leading Federal Sales and Industry Solutions focused teams for all Public Sector organizations. At IBM, she was responsible for leading North America Public Sector Solutions sales, specializing in Cognitive Cities, Resilience & Infrastructure, Citizen Services, Smarter Cities, Public Safety, and Intelligent Asset Management. Cate has served on several steering committees including leadership teams and councils on Smarter Cities, NIEM (National Information Exchange Model), government procurement and review boards.

Cate is an eight-time best-selling author of technology application development and administration books for Que and SAM Publications and has been published in several trade and industry magazines. She holds a master’s degree in business administration, with honors, from Rollins College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing from the University of Southern Florida.

Register here

Exploring Digital Twins in Water Industry

Digital Twins in the Water industry is a growing arena and this presentation explains the basics of creating digital twins and their usage and application in the water industry.

Learning Outcomes

1. Basics elements needed to build a system’s digital twin
2. Understanding basic steps involved in building a digital twin
3. Troubleshooting errors in building a digital twin
4. How to use the results of a digital twin

Speaker

Vineela Griddaluru

Water Resources Engineer
Jacobs

Vineela is a proficient Water Resources Engineer and a GISP with 13 years of professional experience. Her expertise over the years includes successfully developing numerous models of surface water hydrology and hydraulics (h&h), water distribution systems, storm water management, stream bank stabilization design, dam breach analysis, and soil saturation analysis using GIS integrated1D, 1D-2D, and 2D modeling software. She developed flood models, Watershed Management Plans (WMPs), and Best Management Practices (BMPs) for plethora of watersheds, communities, cities, counties, and water management districts across the states of Florida, and Missouri. She provided extensive strategic asset management planning resolutions in water utility industry in the St. Louis Metropolitan region through comprehensive distribution system modeling. Vineela is a leading forerunner in the water industry’s forthcoming concept of future technology/ digital twins. She has successfully completed creating a functioning digital twin for one of the biggest water distribution network models of the Bentley’s Water Gems modeling software on its digital twin platform called Watersight.

Register here

The Ethics of the Cutting Edge

Participants will explore the ethics of both introducing and incorporating cutting edge technologies into their work. One focus will be the examination and evaluation of consequences, both immediate and long-term. Guidance will be provided about using total life-cycle cost approaches.

Learning Outcomes

1. Attendees will understand when to introduce cutting edge techniques to their clients as options.
2. Attendees will understand when to incorporate cutting edge techniques in design and maintenance.
3. Attendees will expand their understanding of ways to identify and evaluate consequences.
4. Attendees will expand their understanding of total life-cycle cost analysis.

Speaker

Rebecca A. Bowman, Esq., P.E., D.F.E.

Senior Director for Ethics and Professional Practice
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)

Rebecca A. Bowman, Esq., P.E. is the 36-year principal of a woman-owned business in forensic civil engineering, dispute resolution, real estate, and legal services. She is a registered professional engineer, licensed attorney, and a certified arbitrator, mediator, and Christian conciliator. She received her B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of North Dakota, her M.B.A. degree from Oklahoma University, and her J.D. degree from Duquesne University. Mrs. Bowman recently joined the National Society of Professional Engineers as the Senior Director for Ethics and Professional Practice. She also serves as the Executive Director for the National Academy of Forensic Engineers.

David Kish, Ph.D., P.E., M. NSPE

Purdue College of Engineering’s Flex Lab

David Kish, Ph.D., P.E., M. NSPE currently oversees operations, maintenance, and functioning of the Purdue College of Engineering’s Flex Lab. He is a Purdue-educated electrical engineer with BSEE ’87, MSEE ’89, and PhD ’93. He also earned an MBA from the Krannert School of Management in 1998 and is a graduate of Leadership Lafayette. He has worked at Purdue since 1992. Dave was appointed to the NSPE Board of Ethical Review in 2020.

Register here