A. Maurice Myers is stepping down as CEO at Waste Management Inc., but he will remain chairman of the company's board until November. David P. Steiner, who has been executive vice president and chief financial officer, becomes the new CEO immediately, the company said today. Lawrence O'Donnell III also becomes president and chief operating officer of the nation's largest trash company. Learn more here.;

The European GeoMembrane Association (EGMA) was formed on the 26th of November, 2003. The president is Stefan Baldauf of GSE Lining Technology GmbH, and it has eight members, two of which are gsa underwriters, Atarfil and Alkor Draka (Solvay). Their web site can be found at the "continued" link below. Learn more here.;

Please visit Colbond's new and improved, one-week-old web site. Colbond is a gsa underwriter.

The Czech Republic now has an IGS Chapter. It is one month old. Congratulations from gsa! Greece will be the next chapter to be added to the IGS. This will make a grand total of 25 chapters. Encourage the growth - contact the IGS for details on how to incude professionals in your country in the Society.

March 17-19, GMA will be holding a Committee Meeting for Strategic Planning.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL., Mar. 1, 2004. AMCOL International Corporation (NYSE: ACO), today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Linteco Geotechnische Systeme GmbH (LGS), a specialized geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) manufacturer headquartered in Linz, Austria. The acquisition will strengthen the Company’s presence in the European lining market and add a highly skilled team of professionals to complement CETCO’s lining technology operations in the U.S., U.K., Poland, Korea and China. Ryan McKendrick, CETCO president, said, “The acquisition of LGS will bring together two well established companies serving the European lining market today. This combination expands the breadth of our product offerings and provides CETCO with better market penetration in several important market areas. Coupled with the product and technology synergies we can deliver today and in the future, the arrangement will result in benefits to each company’s customers.” Larry Washow, AMCOL president and chief executive officer, added, “Building on customer relationships is a key component of our strategy for long-term growth. LGS’s European sales and support presence makes it a strong fit for us as we seek to expand distribution of our products into a wider range of market segments throughout Europe." LGS is a geosynthetic sales and manufacturing company with headquarters and manufacturing facilities located in Linz, Austria. It has sales offices in Spain and Scandinavia. In addition to supplying and manufacturing GCLs for the European market the company sells complimentary products such as drainage composites, nets, geotextiles and geomembranes. The company was incorporated since 1997. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CETCO Environmental Offshore Services is a division of CETCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMCOL International Corp. AMCOL produces and markets specialty mineral products used for industrial, environmental and consumer-related applications. The company operates in three industry segments, minerals, environmental and transportation. AMCOL’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “ACO.” The company’s web site is www.amcol.com.

Conference Report and Photos from gsa's roving reporter Lara Peggs.

The PVC Geomembrane Institute (PGI) is pleased to announce that the PGI Specification 1103 has been updated. The index test for Average Plasticizer Molecular Weight has been added to the PGI Specification effective January 1, 2004. This index test is required to be tested once per formulation of material. Increasing the plasticizer molecular weight of the plasticizer increases the amount of plasticizer that is retained over time. Thus, increasing the plasticizer molecular weight increases the long-term flexibility and thus the durability of PVC geomembranes. The change is important because the requirement of 400 Average Plasticizer Molecular Weight helps further define PVC geomembrane versus PVC sheet not suitable for geomembrane applications. A copy of the PGI specification is available on the PGI website, http://pgi-tp.cee.uicu.edu. According to Patrick Diebel, President of PGI, this new requirement “is an added measure to ensure only high quality PVC is used. This average plasticizer molecular weight assures that the best ingredients are used in formulating a PVC geomembrane.” Tim Stark stated that “PGI is committed to consistently improving the methods for defining quality PVC geomembranes. Expect more work of this nature to come from PGI during 2004 including the inclusion of leachate resistance to the PGI 1104 specification” For more information on PGI, contact Laurie Honnigford, at 651-554-1895.

Civil Engineers Define a New Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century. The proposal is the first among engineering disciplines to call for advanced studies, work experience, in addition to bachelor's degree. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Many Americans would be surprised - if not alarmed - to learn that the people responsible for designing their roads, bridges, buildings and drinking water are only required to hold a bachelor's degree while doctors, lawyers, physical therapists, accountants and even elementary school teachers are expected to hold professional and graduate degrees. Despite practicing a profession where technology and techniques are ever- evolving, the educational requirements for today's young engineers are less than their counterparts' of 150 years ago. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released a report today, Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, outlining a plan to broaden and deepen the "Body Knowledge" required for future civil engineers. The knowledge, skills and attitudes that will be required of an individual entering the civil engineering profession in the 21st century must be broadened emphasizing leadership principles and technical specialization. "Civil engineering must restructure its 150-year-old educational model to meet the challenges of the 21st century," said ASCE President Patricia D. Galloway, P.E., F.ASCE. "The next generation of civil engineering professionals will be engaged in increasingly complex work, requiring knowledge both broader and deeper than the current engineering education provides." At the turn of the last century, civil engineering graduates completed 155 credit hours, compared to the 125 credit hours earned by most of today's students. Civil engineering students take at least 20 fewer credits than did counterparts in the 1920s and they take a whole semester less of technical and professional engineering courses at a time when the complexity of civil engineering is escalating. In comparison, law and medical students at the turn of the last century had no more than one to four years of training, compared to the average eight years of undergraduate and graduate work today. "Most professions - business, law and medicine - do not consider the bachelor's degree a professional degree, yet engineering does," said National Academy of Engineering President William A. Wulf. "With growing global competition and the explosion of new technology changing the shape of the profession, we must restructure the way we educate engineers." The first of any engineering discipline to develop a proposal to elevate educational prerequisites for future practicing engineers, the report recommends that a graduate degree, or the equivalent of 30 credits, and practical experience be required in addition to an undergraduate degree before a civil engineer can sit for the licensure exam and practice professionally. The plan will lead to the revision of current undergraduate and graduate programs to reflect the basic skills and knowledge that will be expected of professional civil engineers, and may eventually lead to the creation of new programs. The Body of Knowledge is developed to be flexible in how future civil engineering students pursue their education. The trend towards distance learning programs and high-quality corporate and government agency education will not be ignored and can be cultivated as an optional to traditional graduate school programs for future civil engineering student. "As the steward of the civil engineering profession, ASCE must lead the development and implementation of this new educational model," said ASCE Task Committee Chair Jeffrey S. Russell, Ph.D., "The current four-year bachelor's degree is becoming inadequate formal preparation for the practice of civil engineering in the 21st century." ASCE's Committee on the Academic Prerequisites for the Professional Practice of Civil Engineering developed the recommended new Body of Knowledge that will serve as the foundation for the education of civil engineers in the future. Through this new Body of Knowledge, ASCE can influence changes to the civil engineering curricula, as well as necessary changes in licensure requirements, to ensure that the profession will meet its obligations to serve public health and safety in the increasingly complex technological world of the future. Knowledge, skills and attitudes that comprise the Body of Knowledge include the abilities to: 1) Apply knowledge of math, science and engineering; 2) Design and conduct experiments as well as to analyze and interpret data; 3) Design a system, component or process to meet desired needs; 4) Function on multidisplinary teams; 5) Identify, formulate and solve engineering problems; 6) Understand of professional and ethical responsibility; 7) Communicate effectively; 8) Understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context; 9) Recognize the need for and engage in lifelong learning; 10) Know contemporary issues; 11) Use techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice; 12) Apply knowledge in a specialized area related to civil engineering; 13) Understand the elements of project, construction and asset management; 14) Understand business, public policy and administration fundamentals; and 15) Understand the role of a leader and leadership principles and attitudes. For Additional Information Contact: Norida Torriente 202-326-5129 (office) 202-253-5058 (cell) ntorriente@asce.org

A link to the latest newsletter (December 2003) from the Geosynthetic Institute. Learn more here.;