UESI Pipelines 2024 Conference in Calgary a Success

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Utility Engineering & Surveying Institute (UESI) brought its annual Pipelines Conference to Calgary, Alberta July 27-31 and by all accounts the event was a resounding success. 

For the second year in a row, the UESI Pipelines Conference surpassed 1,000 attendees and bested the record-breaking 2023 conference in San Antonio, Texas. UESI was able to distribute 100 municipal and 20 student scholarships to assist in attending the conference. 

The Pipelines 2024 Conference is a key component of UESI’s vision to be the worldwide leader in generating products and services that promote and reward excellence in the engineering, planning, design, construction, operations and asset management, for utility infrastructure and engineering surveying.

Co-chairs for the 2024 event were Jason Lueke, Ph.D., P.Eng., national discipline leader trenchless technologies at Associated Engineering; and Jeffrey Shoaf, P.E., PMP, F.ASCE, principal engineer at San Diego County Water Authority. Lueke and Shoaf, the UESI staff and a group of dedicated Program Committee volunteers worked for more than a year to assemble the technical program, workshops and recreational and technical opportunities.

“The 2024 UESI Pipelines Conference in Calgary was one of the best Pipelines Conferences I have attended in my career,” says conference co-chair Jeffrey Shoaf, P.E., PMP, BC.PLW, F.ASCE, principal engineer, San Diego County Water Authority, Engineering Department/Program Services. “It was well supported, and we had a record number of technical papers submitted. So many that we had to add another technical track to our program.”

The program featured eight pre-conference workshops and nine technical tracks featuring 72 sessions. In addition to the educational aspect of the event, attendees got a glimpse of the latest technologies and services offered in this ever-expanding pipeline engineering market by visiting the exhibition that featured 78 exhibitors. 

The conference also served as an opportunity to give back. Organizers planned a charity golf outing for the afternoon of July 30. Thirty-two companies sponsored the event with proceeds going to the IndigeSTEAM Society. IndigeSTEAM’s mission to provide Indigenous-led and culturally relevant programming in STEM/STEAM to support a better future for Indigenous youth in STEM. More information about IndigeSTEAM can be found at indigeSTEAM.ca.

The conference also served as an opportunity to celebrate individuals whose work has a made difference in the utility pipeline engineering community.

UESI Pipelines Conference Awards

UESI Pipelines Conference Best Poster: Construction Practices Critical to Success of World Record Horizontal Directional Drill – Author: June Patton

UESI Younger Member of the Year Award: Khalid Kaddoura, Ph.D., P.Eng., PMP, CCM, CM-BIM, IAM Cert., ENV SP, CLSSBB, M.ASCE

UESI Pipelines Conference Best Paper Award: Determining Pipe Material for Lead Service Line Replacement in Low-Income Communities – Author: Alissa Hill, Graduate Engineer, Dewberry Inc.

UESI Project of the Year Award: DWU Glendale Park Five Mile Creek Interceptor Emergency Replacement Project, Dallas, TX

UESI Pipeline Division Award of Excellence: John Jurgens, Aff.M.ASCE and Jeff Boschert, P.E., BC.PLW, F.ASCE

Stephen D. Bechtel Pipeline Engineering Award: Mohammad Najafi, Ph.D., P.E., BC.PLW, F.ASCE

“There are several reasons why one should attend the annual UESI Pipelines Conference. First and foremost, this is an international conference and the ‘conference of choice’ for pipeline professionals, including engineers, contractors, vendors and the like,” says Shoaf. “It provides a forum for participants to share and gain valuable knowledge related to planning, design, constructing, managing and maintaining pipeline assets.”

He adds, that by attending the UESI Pipelines Conference attendees can:

• Expand their knowledge base by learning the most current state-of-the-art engineering technologies for pipeline and utility infrastructure. 
• Network with peers, potential clients, sponsors, vendors and project team leads.
• Earn Professional Development Hours (PDHs) via thought-provoking interdisciplinary education, inspiring and enlightening keynote speakers, and short courses/workshops on topics relevant to pipeline and trenchless technologies, in water, wastewater, storm water, gas and oil pipeline systems.

Planning is under way for the Pipelines 2025 Conference, which takes place Aug. 9-13 in Tampa, Florida. The deadline for abstracts has passed, but UESI is always looking for volunteers to be reviewers, moderators, mentors or track chairs. If interested, a link to fill out the volunteer information is available on the conference homepage at pipelinesconference.org.