ASCE Corpus Christi Branch Update

October 2021

The ASCE Corpus Christi Branch has remained active through our leadership’s resiliency during this unprecedented time. We recently kicked off the 2021-2022 year with our first in-person meeting. On September 7, 2021 the Branch featured Sean Merrell PE, Texas Section President 2020-2021, on the Campus of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. The members enjoyed the face-to-face meeting and were able to remain socially distant. Mr. Merrell presented on Innovative Structural Solutions to Dallas Traffic Signals in addition to installing the new branch officers. The newly installed officers include the following:

• Victor E. Murillo, P.E., President
• Justin De La Rosa, P.E., Vice-President
• Grecia Diaz, Treasurer
• Thomas Everett, P.E., Secretary
• Joe Alvarez, Section Director

The Committee members include:

• Carlos Martinez, P.E., Past President/Membership
• Justin Buchen, Student Chapter Liaison
• Kendal Morrow, Social Media
• Allan Hayes, P.E., History & Heritage
• Marissa Montoya, Younger Members Chair
• Sushanta Shrestha, Newsletter

In August, the Corpus Christi Branch organized a Leadership Seminar for the 2021-2022 Board of Directors to share goals and ideas for the upcoming year. It was great to see many new members stepping up and getting involved with ASCE. Also, three Corpus Christi Branch leaders attended the Leadership Development Weekend held in Houston, Texas. This includes Carlos Martinez (Past President), Victor Murillo (President), and Joe Alvarez (Section Director).

The virtual meetings allowed our members to continue their education.

In January Allan Hayes PE, History and Heritage Chair, shared a presentation on the 1947 Texas City Industrial Explosion. The presentation included a first-hand witness account from Corpus Christi Life Member, Dr. Joe Minor.

In February the Branch hosted a virtual joint meeting with the students of Texas A&M University – Kingsville. Steve Ramos, Water Resource Manager, and Maria Corona, Utilities Compliance Superintendent, presented on the “Seawater Desalination Project for the City of Corpus Christi”. Following the technical presentation Dr. Breanna Bailey, presented on the Program Educational Objectives for the Texas A&M University – Kingsville Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering. Thereafter, the students and professionals were split into breakout rooms where they were able to ask questions about their career, interests, work, and potential summer internship opportunities. This was a highly attended meeting, and the breakout rooms were a success.

In March, we had a fantastic presentation on “Infrastructure / Power Grids” by Ms. Lori Lopez, Director for CPS Energy, and Mr. David Ford PE, a retired manager with extensive knowledge in the petrochemical industry. Several Texas Section representatives including Lindsay O’Leary, Texas Section Executive Director, and Sean Merrell, Texas Section President, were also in attendance during this meeting. This meeting was a hot topic of conversation due to the power outages caused during the ‘Texas Winter Storm’.

In May, Dave Zill performed a presentation on Erosion Control Solutions, “Protecting your Projects”, and in June, Karen Morgan PE presented on ‘Making Your Proposal Examples SHINE to the Selection Team”. In addition to these meeting the Corpus Christi branch hosted a graduation celebration at Texas A&M university – Kingsville for the aspiring young minds and future ASCE members!