American Society of Indian Engineers Hosts Director Krueger

HOUSTON:American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE) had their May luncheon meeting at HESS with the Director of Public Works, City of Houston, Dan Krueger as the featured speaker. A large gathering of almost 160 engineers from all walks of fields was in attendance to hear Krueger and his message to the engineers in Houston. ASIE, a body consisting of Engineers of Indian origin, organized the event where 33 consulting engineering companies sponsored the event, the proceeds of which were dedicated to be spent on scholarships to deserving students pursuing engineering education. American Society of Indian Engineers (ASIE) is a Houston based non-profit organization established in 1994 with specific objectives for engineers, architects, and engineering technicians of Indian origin. ASIE played a key role in assisting its members by providing opportunities for networking, career advancement through continuing technical seminars, project management workshops for the past twenty years. ASIE sponsored thousands of dollars in Scholarships over the past 20 years for much needed support and motivation of young students in the Greater Houston area with engineering and architectural aspirations.

Sekhar Ambadapudi, the current president of ASIE welcomed the gathering. He reiterated the efforts of ASIE in providing networking among various engineers and thanked the Director for consenting to be the featured speaker. Ambadapudi said that “This year, ASIE will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and we will be hosting a gala to celebrate the occasion” and went on to say that the scholarship program has been working well for ASIE. Last year, ASIE awarded several scholarships to students in an amount of $10,000. He said all this was possible due to active participation of engineering consultants, contractors and suppliers in sponsoring the events. Raj Basavaraju, the current Treasurer, then recognized all the sponsors. He was then followed by Showri Nandagiri, Vice President who introduced Dan Krueger to the audience. He said Krueger, being the director of public works for City of Houston since July 2010 is a very familiar public official among the engineering community of Houston. He said that Krueger directs the operations of one of the larger departments under Mayor Parker, and that he is responsible for overseeing the Department’s services to Houston citizens through the planning, operations, maintenance, construction management and technical engineering of the City’s public infrastructure. His Department of Public Works and Engineering is staffed with a trained work force of approximately 3,900 employees and operates with an annual budget of approximately $1.2 billion.
Director Krueger in his remarks commended the efforts of ASIE in organizing the events which help the students with financial assistance. He reminded the fact that this week was National Public Works Week recognizing the contribution of engineers to the community. He said engineering was a blend of Math and Science, and engineers apply these two branches in a most appropriate manner to assist the community in a variety of ways. He went on to advise the audience that they should always be responsible, innovative and honest in whatever they do. In conclusion he told the engineers that they should continue to provide the good service they are providing to the City of Houston.
Sekhar Ambadapudi then presented a plaque to the Director. Rajesh Tolikonda, Secretary, proposed a vote of thanks.