The Chinese American Institute of Engineers and Scientists held its annual installation of officers at the Four Seas Restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. Over 120 members attended. CAIES not only swore in new officers (headed by president Paul Lui) but also promoted a discussion on the earthquake retrofit by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).
We [CAIES] are a bridge which acts as a link with our community to enhance citizen safety and the quality of life and facilitate the introduction of new technology to people," Lui said. "We also want to have our members understand important engineering issues of the day so that we can explain them to our community and if interested bid on them."
In the San Francisco Bay Area, BART's earthquake-safety renovation may serve as "an issue of the day." BART is expected to spend over $1 billion to earthquake-proof the entire transit system in one of the largest public works projects in the next 10 years.
CAIES was established 62 years ago as a response to the very limited opportunities for Chinese engineers at the time. Originally founded by defense industry engineers, it expanded to include scientists in 1978. It has conducted exchanges with the U.S. and Chinese governments.(Source: AsianWeek, Jan. 28, 2005)