Hello and happy May! Your MSPE Board of Directors and I continue to collaborate with our National Society to develop practical resources and opportunities designed to promote, protect, and preserve the significance and value of your PE License.

Now is a great time to review your member benefits and become involved! Our member-supported society has several opportunities for you to share your experience and expertise.

For example, consider an MSPE leadership role, participate on a committee, mentor a new engineer, volunteer or donate to MATHCOUNTS, contribute an article to MSPE Briefings, or suggest your own ideas. Simply contact me or any Board member to learn how you can get involved for as little or as much time as you'd like.

Please also share this issue with your colleagues, and invite them to join NSPE/MSPE to gain all the benefits of professional membership and quality resources designed to help our members create, maintain, and renew sustainable communities.

In this issue, we feature a member and welcome new members; invite you to learn firsthand about the Memorial Bridge replacement project; remind you of the Ethics Contest submission deadline; share exciting updates about our state’s Mathletes and reasons to support the important work of Massachusetts MATHCOUNTS with your tax-deductible donation, and provide new resources to enrich your engineering practice.

MSPE invites all members and non-member guests to join us on Thursday, June 1 at 4:30 p.m. for a FREE (with registration) walking tour of the Woods Memorial Bridge in Medford, MA. (The approximate total walk is 0.56 miles.)

PROJECT OVERVIEW: The Woods Memorial Bridge project replaced two functionally obsolete and structurally deficient bridges on a heavily traveled corridor through Everett and Medford, MA. The project also enhanced bicycle and pedestrian safety and improved connectivity. Stantec designed two new bridges, reconstructed part of Route 16, and added a shared-use path to connect with transit and new development.

More project details: Stantec Project Page and Roads & Bridges Magazine Article 

EVENT OVERVIEW: MSPE Board Member John J. Hayden, PE, Senior Transportation Engineer with Stantec, will lead the tour of two bridges. At key points of interest, he will share details about the history of the old superstructure, substructure, and walls, as well as design and construction challenges that were overcome to achieve the successful outcome. Following the tour, participants are invited to gather at The Porch restaurant in Medford to informally socialize with members of MSPE and the Board.

On March 11, our State’s MATHCOUNTS Competition was held at UMass Lowell. 129 students from 26 schools participated in a grueling day of competition to determine the four who will advance to represent Massachusetts at the 2023 National MATHCOUNTS Competition from May 13-15 in Orlando, Florida.

The day began with a Sprint Round, in which students had 40 minutes to finish 30 math problems without a calculator. Next was the Target Round, consisting of four pairs of problems that each had to be completed in six minutes with calculator assistance. Finally, the Countdown Round was a direct competition in which students buzzed in their answers like a game show. At the national level, this round determines the championship winner, but at the state level, it is simply for fun and practice.

4th Place: 8th Grader Christopher Ray Cheng from Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington;

3rd Place: 8th grader Nikhil Reddy Byrapuram from The Pike School in Andover;

2nd Place: 8th grader Adam Ge from Jonas Clarke Middle School;

1st Place: 7th grader Selena Ge from Jonas Clarke Middle School.

Pictured: State winning Mathletes with Coach Josh Frost

Last year at the 2022 National Competition, Selena placed 14 out of 224 competitors; was the second female competitor in the country; and was the first-place Grade 6 student in the country. This year at the 2023 State Competition, Selena scored a rare perfect score. “Getting a perfect score is very rare. It really is a special accomplishment,” explained Josh Frost, math teacher at Jonas Clarke Middle School and longstanding coach of the Massachusetts MATHCOUNTS Team.  

Middle Schoolers Take on Math Competition at UML, by Brooke Coupal of UMass Lowell.

MSPE recognizes with grateful appreciation the 7 Chapter Coordinators, who volunteer their time and talent to support more than 800 Mathletes in 7 chapters across Massachusetts. See the MA MATHCOUNTS section of mspe.com for details.

Every corporate sponsorship and every individual contribution donated serves to directly support our student Mathletes™. The MATHCOUNTS Foundation, a National Organization, supplies only about 1/3 of our State program’s operating costs. The remainder comes from organizations, like the Massachusetts Society of Professional Engineers and other professional organizations, local companies and individuals.

ANY SIZE of donation can be of benefit in helping to fund & expand the program.

The MATHCOUNTS Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. View or download the Sponsor or Donor Registration Form. For additional information, please visit the MATHCOUNTS website, the MSPE website, or contact State Coordinator John J. Hayden, PE.  

Learn More about Opportunities to Support Massachusetts MATHCOUNTS