Development opportunities | The ripple effect
The United States Society on Dams gives an insight into the hard working and lighter sides of its recent annual conference
IN APRIL 2024, THE United States Society on Dams (USSD) welcomed more than 900 dam and levee professionals to the scenic city of Seattle in Washington state for multiple days of knowledge exchange, networking, and fun. This year’s theme, Ripple Effect: Amplifying the Importance of the Dam Industry, focused on how industry professionals, individually and collectively amplify the importance of their work through the lens of advocacy, awareness, and appreciation. The conference presented unique opportunities for attendees to explore the latest innovations, share knowledge, and engage in discussions that will continue to ripple beyond the conference to shape the future of dam and levee safety. Two featured speakers were Ellen Faulkner of
Ayres Associates and Ron Klemencic of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Inc. Ellen’s Legacy Lecture presentation, Floods, Real and Imagined, provided insight into her career experience as it relates to the analysis of extremely large floods, which are chaotic, unpredictable, poorly documented and enormously complex. While Klemencic’s Plenary Session presentation centred around his observation that disruption often leads to innovation, he challenged the audience to continue finding new solutions and fresh approaches to engineering problems.
The lighter side Through the collective efforts of USSD’s Young
Professional Committee, the 2024 Conference hosted our first-ever student career fair. Based on their feedback, this event inspired several students to more fully consider pursuing a career in the dam engineering profession.
While a 5K fun run has long been a tradition of the conference, this year’s event offered an evening Walk/Run to raise money for the USSD Kim de Rubertis Scholarships. Participants broke into groups based on their preferred speed. Guides from a local running club then led each group on a tour of downtown Seattle, including Pike Place Market, while pointing out places of interest and intrigue.
USSD Conference by the Numbers Total Registration Exhibit Booths
Committee Meetings Papers Presented Technical Sessions Workshops Offered
919 73 17
129 39 7
In the spirit of raising money for scholarships, participants were encouraged to wear apparel from their alma mater. Overlooking Lake Union, this year’s Young
Professional Social was held at a self-pour tasting room, with 57 taps including wine, beer, and other beverages. Besides the wonderful assortment of drinks, this social included food trucks which participants claimed had “the best” tacos, possibly ever, along with other delicious fare. It would not be a USSD Conference without an amazing Wrap Party, and this year was no exception. Hopping aboard the historic Seattle Centre Monorail, built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair, conference attendees were treated to an evening at the Museum of Popular Culture (aka MoPop). The video DJ kept the audience dancing all evening with familiar songs from the ‘70s, ‘80s and beyond, while conversations bubbled around displays of cultural icons such as Jimi Hendrix, the Wizard of Oz, Mork and Mindy, and of course Harry Potter. The Sound Lab was a particular favourite with many, as were other hands-on displays.
More information
A full event recap can be found in the Summer 2024 issue of USSD’s official publication, Dams & Levees: Bulletin of the US Society on Dams. This and past issues can be found online at
https://www.ussdams. org/resource-center/bulletin
24 | July 2024 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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