News
TBPELS Announces Changes to Exam Requirements to Become a Registered Professional Land Surveyor in Texas
At the November 17, 2022, meeting of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS), changes were approved to the examination requirements to become a Registered Professional Land Surveyor (RPLS) in the state of Texas. Starting in May 2023, the current RPLS exam will be replaced with a combination of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Principles and Practice of Professional Surveying (PS) exam and a new Texas Specific Surveying Exam (TSSE).
Official Announcement with Background and More Information PS & TSSE Exam FAQNational Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
Honors Govind Nadkarni, P.E. For His Service
TBPELS advisory member and former board member Govind Nadkarni, P.E., was awarded with the Distinguished Service Award with Special Commendation at the 101st NCEES annual meeting held in August in Carlsbad, California. Nadkarni was honored for his extensive work on the state, national, and international level with NCEES and TBPELS. We congratulate him on this important recognition. The NCEES news release for the service award winners is posted online at https://ncees.org/ncees-recognizes-long-standing-service-2022/
Over his career with the board, Nadkarni has been recognized three times by NCEES, including the Distinguished Service Award in 2012. He is the only member from Texas and first Asian American to receive all three awards. He was appointed to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) in 2000 and served through 2012. As an advisory member, he serves as a mentor to new board members, providing valuable information and historical knowledge regarding board operations.
Nadkarni has been integral in several important activities with the board, including international agreements with South Korea, Canada and Australia. He has participated in ABET visits on behalf of the board and is a liaison to various engineering groups for outreach events in the coastal/south Texas area. He is also involved in engineering outreach and engagement for universities.
Surveyor Advisory Committee
The Surveying Advisory Committee (SAC) is a statutorily required advisory committee to the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (TBPELS) that is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the board on matters related to the regulation of land surveying. The Board has recently revised the structure of the SAC, setting the membership at nine members, each serving a three year term. The application for open positions was opened earlier in the year and we had an incredible response to the request – over 70 RPLS submitted an application for the three open spots. The review and selection process is complete and the Board approved the new members at the August Board Meeting. The three new members to the SAC are:
- Vasileios Kalogirou, RPLS
- David McDow, RPLS, LSLS
- Dorothy Taylor, RPLS
Thanks to everyone that submitted an application. Each year we will be selecting three additional SAC members and we encourage interested RPLS to continue to volunteer in the future. We will post the application information on the TBPELS website mid-2023 for the next round of nominations.
We look forward to working with the new members of the Surveying Advisory Committee.
Events
TBPELS Ethics Webinars
The Board is offering these webinars to assist license and registration holders with meeting their ethics requirement. Each webinar provides an overview of agency activities, case studies, and professional ethics topics.
Current schedule is on our webinars page.
