ASIE Joins “Professional Engineers Day” Celebrations Around the World

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Houston-based ASIE is joining the celebration of Professional Engineers Day nationwide and around the world.

By Dinesh D. Shah, PE, MBA, RAS, PTC

HOUSTON: The American Society of Professional Engineers and Architects (ASIE) joins a nationwide and around the world for celebration of Professional Engineers (PE) Day.

About 110 years ago, on August 8, 1907, the first professional engineering license was issued to Charles Bellamy in Wyoming. Since that time, licensure has expanded and professional engineers across the U.S. have made a commitment to protect the public by applying the knowledge of science and mathematics. They showed how the ingenuity of new products and developed solutions for technical, societal and commercial problems can make significant contribution in the lives of people around the world.

In the State of Texas, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers (TBPE) was established in 1937. In 2017, the TBPE is celebrating 80 years of “Engineering a Better Texas”. The mission of TBPE is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of Texas by regulating and advancing the practice of engineering through licensure of qualified individuals, compliance with the laws and rules, and education about professional engineering. Currently, more than 60,000 licensed engineers offer engineering services in Texas in 27 engineering disciplines.

Today, India is set to produce world’s largest number of engineers. During the year 2013, there were almost one million Indian-origin scientists and engineers working in USA, which is highest in Asian origin with a low scoring of China and Philippines.

Between 2007 and 2017, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reported that 318,670 applied for H-1B visa in architecture, engineering and surveying occupation category. About 8 % or majority were Indians and in the age of 25-34 years. There is an increase in the average salary also from $68,159 in 2007 to $92,317 in 2017.

Locally, in Greater Houston Area, with a population of 150,000 Indian-Americans has created a large hub for the engineering community. Just about 35 years back, many Indian Engineers had come to Houston, and worked for largest engineering companies like Bechtel, Fluor, formerly Brown & Root and now KBR, and Nasa’s Johnson Space Center. But many engineers became entrepreneurs by setting up different ventures, including those in manufacturing and energy and petrochemicals.

There are many design engineering successful companies in Houston area owned by Indo-Americans. Many of them are long time Corporate members of ASIE, since its inception in 1994. ASIE provides a forum for career advancement, business development, networking and voicing their opinions to impact public policies by interacting with governmental agencies. ASIE also provides scholarships to undergraduate and Graduate students of Indian origin in assisting them and motivating them to pursue their future career goals of becoming an engineer or an architect.

Please join us for our upcoming ASIE seminars: Aug. 5 – Transform Yourself from Business Stress & Engineering vs. Human Body Parts; Aug 17 – Gatobar FRP Rebar; Sept. 7 – Ethics and Technical Seminar; Sept 21 – Accessibility Design Standards; October – Panel Discussion; November – Student Scholarships, Awards to Senior Professional, and Holiday Event; and December – General Body Meeting and Election.

For more information about ASIE, visit the website at www.asiehouston.org or send an email to asiehouston@gmail.com.