ASCE student chapter and club activities are extremely valuable to the growth and development of undergraduate civil engineers in that they help develop teamwork, leadership, and project management skills. Student leaders and faculty advisors often need help and encouragement to improve their student chapter organizations or take them in new directions. This paper identifies seven key elements that are crucial for any successful student chapter or club. The importance of the seven keys is explained and tips are provided for proper inclusion of these elements. Finally, student leader survey results regarding the seven keys are presented and discussed.

This paper analyzes the current situation of the environmental engineering (ENVE) field in Mexico and proposes some guidelines for future developments, particularly with respect to human resources. In Mexico, the ENVE field has evolved in a disorganized way, such that research, technology development, and human resources education and training (HRET) are all separate activities that do not adequately address national problems. Mexico faces tremendous environmental problems, with very limited economic resources and technically qualified professionals. The total number of environmental engineers in the country in 1998 was around 600, whereas in 1996 it was estimated that 3,500 professionals, 1,500 professors, and 250 researchers were required to sufficiently manage the current level of environmental degradation. The development of an effective HRET program in ENVE must include the improvement of existing programs, development of specialized courses outside of formal programs, and incorporation of new educational strategies; each of these sectors should retain close ties to research groups. At the same time, it is very important to support technology development along with research. The government must undertake the role of coordinating and integrating HRET, research and development, and private sector participation.

Despite intensive recruiting efforts by engineering schools and professional societies, the number of women employed as engineers in the United States has never reached 10%. This failure is generally attributed to the fact that girls tend to shy away from math and science in high school. Recruiting efforts are therefore directed toward encouraging girls to study math and science, but these efforts are focused on the wrong problem. Some reasons for the scarcity of female engineers are: the general public's lack of understanding of what engineers do; a misguided emphasis on math and science, rather than problem solving, that makes girls think that engineering is not for them; and the poor image of the engineering profession. Efforts to recruit bright young people, male and female, into the engineering profession will be fruitful when they are focused on engineering, rather than its tools. This can be done by educating the public about what engineering really is and by making schoolchildren aware that being an engineer goes way beyond “doing math and science.”