American Society of Nepalese Engineers (ASNEngr.org) and Computer Association of Nepal-USA (CAN-USA) Jointly held a Very Successful Fifth Annual Conference in Leesburg, VA; May 26-27, 2012
About 160 participants including 110 practicing engineers, scientists, technologists, academicians, and students from private and multinational industries, government agencies, and academia, and 50 accompanying guests attended the conference.
The conference provided an excellent opportunity for theparticipatingengineers, scientists, and related professionals to share their knowledge and experiences on relevant topics, including but not limited to, Earthquake Preparedness and Disaster Relief in Nepal, Energy and Environmental Issues and Concepts, and Recent Advances in Engineering and Science. The conference included four technical sessions with 15 presentations among which three were presented from Nepal via the Skype connection. His Excellency Shankar Prasad Sharma, Ph.D., Ambassador of Nepal to the United States of America gave a warm welcome remark and recommended all academicians, engineers, scientists and technologists of Nepali Diaspora community to get involved in the projects in Nepal.
Source: http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e98d0a7fbb8a3c9a8626a2703&id=6698d86163&e=4ea23acf61
PRESS RELEASE
(June 01, 2012)
American Society of Nepalese Engineers (ASNEngr) and Computer Association of Nepal-USA (CAN-USA) Jointly held a Very Successful Fifth Annual Conference in Leesburg, VA; May 26-27, 2012
The American Society of Nepalese Engineers (ASNEngr) and Computer Association of Nepal-USA (CAN-USA) held their fifth joint Annual Conference on May 26-27, 2012 in Leesburg, Virginia (Greater Washington, D.C. area), U.S.A. The Greater Washington, D.C. (GWDC) Chapter of ASNEngr, the very first chapter of the Society, was proud to host this conference first time. About 160 participants including 110 practicing engineers, scientists, technologists, academicians, and students from private and multinational industries, government agencies, and academia, and 50 accompanying guests attended the conference. The conference drew participants from 15 States in the U.S. (including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C.), Canada, and Nepal.
The theme of this conference was “Bringing Engineering, Scientific and Technological Communities Together for a Better World”. The conference provided an excellent opportunity for theparticipatingengineers, scientists, and related professionals to share their knowledge and experiences on relevant topics, including but not limited to, Earthquake Preparedness and Disaster Relief in Nepal, Energy and Environmental Issues and Concepts, and Recent Advances in Engineering and Science. The conference included four technical sessions with 15 presentations among which three were presented from Nepal via the Skype connection.
The conference kicked off in the morning of Saturday May 26, 2012. Ramesh B. Malla, Ph.D., Conference General Chair and President of ASNEngr welcomed the attendees, delivered Conference Opening remarks, highlighted the achievements of ASNEngr, and presented an overview of conference program. Thakur Dhakal, P.E, President Elect/current Vice President, GWDC Chapter of ASNEngr and Shashi Dahal, P.E., Chair, Conference Local Organizing Committee gave their warm welcoming address. Following those welcome speeches, His Excellency Shankar Prasad Sharma, Ph.D., Ambassador of Nepal to the United States of America gave a warm welcome remark and recommended all academicians, engineers, scientists and technologists of Nepali Diaspora community to get involved in the projects in Nepal. Conference Technical Chairs Rajendra K. Shrestha, Ph.D., Vice President of ASNEngr and Amod Pokharel, Ph.D., Executive Member of CAN-USA highlighted and presented the overview of the technical program. The general opening session was concluded with vote of thanks from Jagannath Ghimire, P.E., Conference Activities/Logistics Chair and General Secretary of ASNEngr.
The four technical sessions of the day, two each in the morning and in the afternoon consisted of technically and scientifically insightful and enriching presentations and went extremely well with active participation from audiences. Upendra Karna, D.Eng. P.E. and Prakash C. Khanal, P.E. chaired the first technical session titled “Joint ANMF/ASNEngr/CAN-USA initiative on Earthquake Preparedness and Disaster Relief in Nepal.” Five technical papers, including one via Skype from Nepal, were presented in this session dealing with physical infrastructures, medical and public health, communications, and resources for earthquake preparedness in Nepal. Bipin Pathak, Ph.D., P.E. and Deependra Pokharel chaired the second technical session titled “Earthquake Safety Engineering and Information Communication Technologies.” Three papers including two via Skype were presented on emergency communications and language processing and access in this session.
Following the 2nd technical session, Dr. Malla presented the Certificates of Appreciation to all 15 Silver and 8 other sponsors of the conference to recognize their generous financial support for the conference during lunch. He also expressed sincere thanks to all sponsors for their support and generous contributions.
In the afternoon, Shyam Sharma, Ph.D., P.E. and Yubaraj Budhathoki, P.E. LEED AP chaired the third technical session entitled “Energy and Environmental Issues and Concepts.” The various presentations under this session highlighted the emerging energy technologies and their advancements. Rishi Baral, P.E., CFM and Kulmani Acharya chaired the fourth Technical Session entitled “Recent Advances in Engineering and Science Topics.” The presentations in this session covered topics dealing with building structures, , unconventional petroleum production technologies, and structure on the Moon for human settlement..
This year, there was a special attraction of the Best Presentation Awards for the top three presentations delivered at the technical sessions. Coordinated by Bipin Pathak, Ph.D., P.E., a panel of five distinguished practicing engineers and academicians consisting of Gopi Upreti, Ph.D., Anil Baral, Ph.D., Shyam Sharma, Ph.D., P.E., and Amod K. Pokhrel, Ph.D. evaluated the presentations delivered at the conference based on a pre-designed comprehensive evaluation form with 5 criteria. The papers entitled “Understanding the Structural Behavior of your Home” authored by Raj Tamang P.E.; “Advances in Technology Aid Production from Unconventional Petroleum Resources” authored by Rajendra K. Shrestha, Ph.D.; and “Natural Frequency Determination of a Proposed Lunar Habitat Subjected to Diurnal Cycle Extreme Temperatures” authored by Kevin Brown and Ramesh B. Malla, Ph.D., won the best presentation awards. During the dinner program in the evening, Certificates for the Best Presentation Awards were presented to the winning authors. In addition, plaques for the award winners will be mailed at a later date.
Upon completion of the four technical sessions, Mr. Kulmani Acharya, Chair of the Election Committee of the GWDC Chapter of ASNEngr announced results of the newly elected Officers and Executive Committee members led by Thakur Dhakal, P.E. as the President and expressed sincere thanks to the GWDC Chapter’s outgoing Executive Committee members led by Yubaraj Budhathoki, P.E. LEED AP for their contributions and leadership.
The evening programs featured delicious dinner, cultural shows, and lots of fun for the attendees (participating engineers, scientists, their families and friends). The performers in the Cultural Program included several members of the GWDC Chapter of ASNEngr and students as well as 3 popular Nepali professional artists, Messrs. Prem Raja Mahat, Ratan Subedi, and Shyam Prasad Khadgi. On behalf of the Conference Organizing Committee, Dr. Malla thanked the cultural program participants for their contribution in making the program a success and presented Certificates of Appreciation to them and a few other student volunteers to recognize their help and support for the conference.
The second and final day (Sunday May 27, 2012) of the conference began with the Annual General Membership Meeting of ASNEngr in the morning under the chairmanship of Society’s President, Ramesh B. Malla, Ph.D. Dr. Malla and Dr. Rajendra Shrestha (Vice President) reported on the Society’s many activities and accomplishments. The meeting attendees discussed the strategic planning on membership drives, bylaws amendment, scholarships, organization finance, opening of new chapters throughout the U.S., annual conference in 2013, liaison with Nepal, future short and long term activities and plan, and other area of interests. At the meeting Dr. Malla, announced the proposal received from CAN-USA to hold the 6th Joint ASNEngr/CAN-USA Annual Conference in 2013 in San Francisco (CA) Bay Area. The meeting attendees discussed and approved the proposal unanimously. Speaking from Atlanta, Georgia via Skype, Prahlad D. Pant, Ph.D. Chair of the ASNEngr Nomination/Election Committee announced the election results of the Officers and Directors for the next 2-year (2012-2014) term. The meeting attendees also discussed and provided feedback and comments on reports presented by various committees of the Society.
Another special attraction at the conference this year was the professional development presentations. Carla A. Ramos, Sales Engineer, Fibrwrap Construction Services, Inc. and Michael Wolfe, Territory Manager, Simpson Strong-Tie Company presented one-hour lecture each on the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers for Structural Strengthening and Lateral System for Wood Design, respectively. The attending professionals earned one Professional Development Hour (PDH) credit from each of the industry presentations. Dr. Malla thanked the industry presenters for their insightful and technically enriching presentations and presented to their organizations the Certificate of Appreciations for their support and sponsorship of the conference.
At the lunch duration following the professional development lectures, Dr. Malla presented the Certificate of Appreciation from ASNEngr to all members of the Conference Organizing Committees, sponsors/donors, volunteers, and outgoing Officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Society.
Amid warm hospitality and flawless execution by the Conference Local Organizing Committee in the Greater Washington, D.C. area, the highly successful 2012 Joint ASNEngr/CAN-USA Annual Conference ended on a very high note with lots of enthusiasm and momentum for next year’s conference.
ASNEngr and CAN-USA extend their sincere thanks and gratefully acknowledge many hours of voluntary time and effort contributed by the members of the GWDC Chapter of ASNEngr and Conference Organizing Committee and the generous financial and in-kind support provided by all the sponsors to make the event a grand success. Following were the sponsors for the conference:
Silver Sponsors: (1) AMA Engineers LLC, Annandale, VA; (2) Angeethi Restaurant, Leesburg, VA; (3) Chhetry and Associates, PC, Philadelphia, PA; (4) ConocoPhillips Company, Houston, TX; (5) Fyfe Company LLC, San Diego, CA; (6) Himalayan Consultancy LLC, Germantown, WI; (7) JES, VA / MD / DC / NC; (8) Mr. & Mrs. Sameer and Shama Khakurel, Fairfax, VA; (9) New York Life Insurance Co., Bethesda, MD; (10) R2 Integrated, Baltimore, MD; (11) Remax Component, Baltimore, MD; (12) Spring Hill Real Estate, Vienna, VA; (13) RJN Group, Inc., Vienna, VA; (14) SHEETZ, Altoona, PA; and (15) Williams Galaxy LLC, Fairfax, VA. Friends: (1) ACS Hydrostructures, Norfolk, VA; (2) BEI Structural Engineers, Inc., Fairfax, VA; (3) GEOENV Engineers & Consultants, LLC, Fairfax, VA; (4) Law Office of Keshab Raj Sedai, PC, New York; (5) New Grocery & Halal Meat, Manassas, VA; (6) Simpson Strong Tie Company, VA; (7) Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Chantilly, VA; and (8) Travel House Nepal, Woodbridge, VA.
Last but not least, ASNEngr and CAN-USA express their deep appreciation to authors/presenters and conference attendees without whom the Conference would not have been possible.
More information on this year’s and past years’ conferences can be found on the ASNEngr website at http://www.ASNEngr.org or on the CAN-USA website at http://www.can-usa.org.
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American Society of Nepalese Engineers (ASNEngr) - a non-profit organizationestablished in September 2007 with IRS 501(c) (3) tax exempt status – aims at providing a common platform for people of Nepalese background and their friends, in engineering and closely related scientific and technical areas to come together, exchange ideas, and support each other for their and the larger society’s common good and benefits. It operates for engineering, scientific and technological research and educational purposes. The Society also strives at promoting engineering, scientific, and technological advancement in Nepal. The Membership application form and detailed information on ASNEngr and updates on its recent activities can be found at http://www.ASNEngr.org.
Computer Association of Nepal-USA (CAN-USA) is an American organization dedicated tothe professional development of its members and technological progress of Nepal. It is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with members throughout the United States. The organization continues to utilize the creativity and talent of its members and the broader American community to develop technology-rich solutions that address some of Nepal's challenges. Please visit http://www.can-usa.org/for more information.
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