Date and time: July 17,2025 6:30 to 8 :00 PM

Location: Asian American Resource Center (AARC), Community Room 8, 8401 Cameron Rd., Austin, Texas AND Virtual via Zoom

Speaker: James J. Mercier, P.E. 

Bio: James Mercier is licensed as a professional engineer in Texas and five other states, and a Texas licensed Master Electrician.  He is an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Life Member and an IEEE Life Senior Member, having joined both in college.  In the Central Texas Section, his past duties included Membership Development Chair, Sr. Member Upgrade Coordinator, and Treasurer.  He also is a Past-Chair of the IEEE joint chapter (PI)² (PES/PELS/IES/IAS/PSES).  His nickname is “Honeybadger”.  James was a 2020 George F. McClure Citation of Honor recipient for his dedication to IEEE and his Chapter.  

James has an eclectic history.  After serving 4-years in the Air Force, he worked and completed a four-year Apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1979, making him a qualified construction electrician.  The training specialized in industrial and commercial wiring.  Then, in 1986, he graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a BS in Civil Engineering and worked as an Environmental Engineer in the private sector.  In 1994, James was hired into the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to work in the Roadway Illumination and Traffic Signals Sections where he specialized in reviewing electrical plans, specifying grounding practices, inspecting installations for code compliance, improving design practices, and lightning protection. 

In 2001, James transferred to the TxDOT Bridge Division Hydraulics where he specialized in river and stream flows through culverts and bridges.  James used his multiple and varied experiences to design a collapse detection and motorist warning system for the Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge in south Texas.  James also was a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) and an instructor for the Texas Floodplain Management Association.   

He retired from TxDOT in 2015 so that he can enjoy doing what he wants to do!

Abstract: What do we mean by “engineer”?  What is an engineer?  What do engineers do?  Why are engineers usually considered “different” from other people?  Does this help us or hurt us?  How do we get bound up in our own ideals?  How does this affect our work product?  

James will discuss these issues and more with stories from his on experiences such as interaction with work crews as an engineer, experiences with engineers when he was an electrician, and a great problem to consider from his senior year of College where he and some classmates very innocently ruined a professor’s research work.  

In February, James gave this presentation at Texas A&M University as one of the keynote speakers at the 2025 Texas Power and Energy Conference (TPEC), sponsored by the TAMU Student Chapter of IAS/PES/PELS.  This will be a largely interactive presentation so being in person will be far preferable to on-line viewing if at all possible for you. 

Registration: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/491046