Legal and Technical Seminars Organized by ASIE

Certificate of Appreciation presented to Dr. Daniel Wong (center) by ASIE VP Chetan Vyas on left and Naresh Kolli past president of ASIE on right.

Certificate of Appreciation presented to Dr. Daniel Wong (center) by ASIE VP Chetan Vyas on left and Naresh Kolli past president of ASIE on right.

By Dinesh D. Shah

HOUSTON: American Society of Indian Engineers and Architects (ASIE), a Houston based organization for engineers, architects, designers, and engineering technicians, held their two monthly seminars in the month of September at Bhojan Restaurant in Houston. The seminar was offered complementary by ASIE for all its members. In the full house capacity of the room, almost seventy professional members attended both seminars just a week apart. Due to absence of ASIE President Dinesh Shah, the current Vice President Chetan Vyas coordinated both meetings very efficiently with the help of other Board Members.

The Legal seminar was presented by Dr. Daniel Wong, a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. . He earned his Ph. D. degree in 1988. He currently serves as President and CEO of Tolunay-Wong Engineers, Inc. in Houston. Dr. Wong serves as a Board member of the University of Houston Civil Engineering Department Advisory Board and is a member of its Academy. He also served on the Board of Houston Council of Engineering Companies (formerly ACME) and as President of Asian American Engineers/Architects. Dr. Wong was elected and served as an At-Large City Councilman in the City of Sugar Land from 2002-2008. Dr. Wong was recognized as the Young Engineer of the Year by the Sam Houston Chapter of Texas Society of Professional Engineers in 1993. He was named as the Distinguished Young Engineering Alumnus in 1998 and the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 2009 by the UH Engineering Alumni Association.

Mahesh Wadhwa accepting a certificate of appreciation from ASIE VP Chetan Vyas and ASIE Board Member Tej Kour.

Mahesh Wadhwa accepting a certificate of appreciation from ASIE VP Chetan Vyas and ASIE Board Member Tej Kour.

In 2006, Dr. Wong was selected by the Texas Governor as a TBPE Board member and since in 2013 he has been serving as Board Chair. For the Legal aspects of the seminar, he presented the “Update of Texas Board of Professional Engineers on Rules and Laws.” He talked by giving examples mainly focusing on the rules and issues of the Professional Engineers. He also discussed about the use of engineering seal, professional procurement act, and conflict of interest. This seminar was well received and concluded with interesting Q & A session. As a part of the Continuing Education requirements for the license, the one PDH certificate was issued to all and a Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Dr. Daniel Wong as a speaker and sponsor for the seminar.      

On September 21, the second seminar was organized for the technical topic. It was presented by Mahesh Wadhwa, Architect, AIA. He is the President of Wadhwa & Associates, Inc., an Architecture and Design firm based in Houston. Wadhwa has over 45 years of experience in various Architectural/Engineering projects. His strength lies in design formulation, proper administration of project contracts, and containment of costs. His designs are based on energy conservation, environmental studies, code conformance, and intellect. He has designed and developed many office buildings, health facilities, multifamily housing, and industrial, commercial and institutional projects. The firm also provides complete architecture services for Hotel/Motel development including Planning, Conceptual and Detailed Designs, Architectural Designs, Project and Construction Administration. He is a Registered Architect and also Registered Accessibility Specialist in the State of Texas. He is also certified by the International Conference of Building Officials as a Building Code Accessibility/Usability Specialist.

With his qualification, Wadhwa talked in detail about the Texas Accessibility Standards. He covered the scoping and technical design standard requirements for accessibility to buildings and facilities by individuals with disabilities under the Disabilities (ADA) Act. It was helpful to engineers and architects. Texas requires plans for all new business construction or alterations over $50,000 to be submitted to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for review and inspection. He added that this information can be helpful for business owners and property owners to understand and get the details they need to comply with the ADA and Texas Accessibility Standards. This technical seminar was found interesting and informative by the professionals, as added the knowledge of accessibility standards for the project design requirements.

Everyone enjoyed the delicious buffet dinner served by Bhojan Restaurant. One of the sponsor of this seminar was Dan Khatri of TDK Construction, specialized in commercial construction for the since 1994. Another sponsor was Sudhir Mathuria, a principal of Mathuria & Associates. They provide services for complete health related insurance direct from business to consumer.

As a part of the Continuing Education requirements for the license, the one PDH certificate was issued to all and a Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Mahesh Wadhwa as a speaker.