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February 2002 NewsLast updated 02/6/2002 Articles
This program is co-sponsored by Biomed Ink and IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS), with support from the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the University of Pittsburgh. Presentation Description One of the most daunting design tasks that man has confronted has been, and still remains, the replacement of diseased, deteriorated, or damaged body parts. This is particularly true of the development of cardiovascular devices, in which intuition, trial and error, and chance still play a prominent role. Unlike other engineering disciplines in which the practice of design is founded on proven principles of physics, the design of blood-wetted devices still remains a black art. Consequently, the infiltration of modern prescriptive design methods has been slow. This presentation will share some of the history, challenges, and recent accomplishments in the field of artificial organ design, with particular emphasis on the development of the Pittsburgh Streamliner artificial heart-assist device. This is considered next-generation therapy for heart failure. It is based on a turbodynamic blood pump featuring a magnetically levitated impeller, and streamlined fluid dynamics. The design program for the Streamliner aimed to emphasize the use of engineering models and optimization principles, and lead to development of algorithms for computational shape optimization and a symbolic design "grammar" for maglev blood pumps. Current research at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine is now advancing technology for many other organ systems, including the heart, lungs, pancreas, liver, eye, and blood vessels. While there is little hope to fully replicate, let alone improve upon, the design of "original equipment manufacturer," we believe that this experience has corroborated the value of engineering rigor and improved models to improve man-made replacement parts for the human body. More information can be found on the Artificial Heart Program at http://www.upmc.edu/ArtificialHeart and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine (MIRM) at http://www.mirm.pitt.edu. About the Speaker James F. Antaki, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He received a BS in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1985) and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (1991). Over the past 10 years, Prof. Antaki has been leading the Artificial Heart R&D team at the McGowan Center for Organ Engineering of the University of Pittsburgh. In 1997, his team completed the development of a novel magnetically levitated turbodynamic blood pump, the Streamliner, which recorded the world’s first in-vivo implant of such a device, and was recently granted an IEEE Controls Systems Technology Award. His current interests relate to computational design optimization and optimal control of artificial organs. Dr. Antaki holds six patents related to artificial organs and three related to the harmonica. He was recently recognized as one of the top 40 most influential people under age 40 in the Pittsburgh region.
Don't Forget - Vote for 2002/2003 Section Nominations Please be sure to vote for section nominations by February 20, 2002. You can mail or fax the ballot from the January newsletter, vote by e-mail to Jeff Vipperman (jsv@pitt.edu), or use the online ballot at http://www.asme.org/sections/pgh/ballot2002.html. Every vote counts so please vote! The nomination committee, consisting of Dick Conley (rconley386@aol.com, 412-521-5941), Don Risko (donr@extrudehone.com, 724-863-5900) and Allen Selz (aselz@press-sci.com, 412-371-3117) reported their nomination results for the 2002-2003 Executive Committee: Jim DiPerna for Chairperson; Jeff Vipperman for Vice Chairperson; Doug Koebler for Secretary; and William Spohn for Treasurer. Darrell Rapp, Don Risko, Dick Conley, and Joy Kocar were nominated to fill four Director slots. Nominations were approved unanimously.
Member Input Needed On the April CTC Tour ASME members will get the opportunity to tour Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) on April 17, 2002. However, we need our members to let us know now if they would like to go on the tour and what they are interested in seeing at CTC. Travel to and from CTC and the tour itself will take a full weekday. Group travel arrangements may be made if enough member interest is expressed. In addition, security clearances will need to be processed for tour participants at least two weeks before the tour date. To express your interest in the tour and to identify your areas of interest, please contact Don Risko (donr@extrudehone.com) now. CTC, located in Johnstown, PA, has been described as an engineers' playground because CTC is involved in numerous industry and government projects with a broad technical focus. Some areas of CTC involvement include:
For more information about CTC, visit their website at http://www.ctc.com.
Nominations Needed For Engineer Of The Year And Industry Of The Year Awards Here's your chance to nominate the engineer or company that you feel deserves special recognition for their achievements. Nominations are due to Dick Conley (rconley386@aol.com) by March 31, 2002.
ASME University of Pittsburgh Student Chapter Attends ASME Expo In NYC -based on a report submitted by Mike Bergen, Jr., President of the ASME University of Pittsburgh Student Chapter The ASME University of Pittsburgh student chapter attended the ASME conference in New York City in November. For most of the group, this was their first time to the Big Apple. The group consisted of seven members-Mike Bergen, Jr., President; Megan Devlin, Vice President; Chris Hardin, Treasurer; Diane Henderson, ESC Delegate; Scott Mullaugh, Junior; and Jessica Schaefer and Jessica Kubilius, Sophomores. The first day at the conference the students attended the Pratt Institute Power Generation Plant Tour in Brooklyn. They were guided through the steam boiler plant and then the electric generation room, which was first operated before the turn of the century. They liked the quaintness of the power plant and were amazed that after almost a century the machinery was still needed and was still running. They enjoyed hearing the history and evolution of the equipment yelled over the noise of the machinery. At the end of the tour, the students were permitted to use the steam from the plant to blow a very large steam whistle from an old luxury ocean liner. That afternoon the students attended the Student Design Competition. There the group watched the mechanically controlled fishing rod compete. At the design competition, Megan Devlin and Mike Bergen, Jr. met Mahesh Aggarwal the Region V Vice President. They spoke to him about their reemergence as a group and described some goals and plans they had for the future. That evening, Chris Hardin, Diane Henderson, Jessica Schaefer, and Mike Bergen, Jr. went to the Terrorism v. Technology presentation. There they saw the first five presenters speak about advances in bomb detecting technology, bio-organism detecting technology, airplane control devices, and other technologies. The presentation made the students feel better about the future of security. The second day, the ASME students followed a schedule tailored specifically for students. The schedule started out with a student breakfast and presentation from MBNA about student finances. There was also a presentation on research sponsored by professional baseball (MLB) regarding wooden versus aluminum bats and the consistency of baseballs. There was an interview skills workshop, a resume workshop, and a presentation from a female former NASA astronaut. The woman spoke about her experiences as an astronaut and NASA in general. During the NASA presentation, Chris Hardin and Mike Bergen, Jr. attended a seminar about the 2002 student design competition to be held in April. All of the students attended a lively Professional Ethics seminar that was given by a real estate agent from Florida. The ethics seminar covered the full gamut of professional ethics and was the students' favorite seminar. According to the students, the 2001 Exposition included copious amounts of food and some very interesting exhibits. Mike Bergen, Jr. participated in the ASME pavilion raffle and won a Sony Personal Organizer.
To all of the members of the professional chapter, the students say "thanks" for the financial support and a unique experience in New York City.
Voices of Innovation A new daily public radio program, "Voices of Innovation," launched by the American Association of Engineering Societies with generous support from ASME, will feature some 200 engineers in 2-minute programs that explore and celebrate the world of engineering. The program will begin airing in April 2002. To be considered for one of the programs, engineers need to submit a story idea form, which is available at www.voicesofinnovation.org.
E-Mentoring Program to Expand to Young Engineers The success of last year's program and the enthusiastic response of members wanting to become mentors has fueled the expansion of the e-Mentoring program. This program for student members is expanding to include mentoring services for engineers who have recently (5 years or less) graduated from engineering school. Young engineers can now benefit from the career advice of more seasoned engineers in their particular field of interest. Recent graduates may get even more benefit from a mentoring relationship, since they have some experience and may have more specific career questions. Last year, the new e-Mentoring program matched 100 pairs of students and mentors by May 2001. This year, 75 pairs of students and mentors were matched as of last November. How does the program work? Students and young engineers (mentees) seeking a mentor choose from a database of names, which gives information about the mentor's background, experience and engineering specialty. Mentees are then asked to fill out an online application indicating their top three choices for mentors. The mentor requests are evaluated by ASME and matched on a first come, first served basis. Only members are eligible to participate in this program as a mentor or mentee. Anyone wishing to find a mentor or to volunteer to become a mentor for a student or young engineer member should visit the website at www.asme.org/ementoring. Volunteers can choose to mentor a student, a young engineer or both. Questions about the program should be addressed to Deidra Hackley, at hackleyd@asme.org.
Member Get a Member 2001-2002 Member-Get-A-Member Campaign - Invest in the Future of Mechanical Engineering Help ASME International serve the needs of the mechanical engineering community by sponsoring new members. With each new member, you recruit, 50% of the first year’s dues will be spent on scholarships for mechanical engineering students. For complete program details, log onto http://www.asme.org/membershipdrive
Nominations Needed for Young Engineers Award ASME International wants to give $5,000 plus a prepaid life membership to a young ASME member that has done an outstanding job in their profession, community, and the work of ASME. If you know someone who deserves to win this award, please nominate a young engineer for the Old Guard Young Engineers Award today! For more information, visit http://www.asme.org/cma/og/youngengineer.html .
Volunteers Needed For Engineers' Week 2002 Show pride in your profession! Members interested in helping during Engineers' Week at the Carnegie Science Center February 22-23, 2002 should contact Darrell Rapp (rappd@ctc.com, 412-577-2658) or Lori Rankin (larankin@switch.com, 412-688-2093). The theme this year is "Engineers: Turning Ideas Into Reality." Come and enjoy the activities, with the $2 coupon off general admission (printable PDF version).
Show Your Support for ASME If you sponsor ASME Pittsburgh, we will feature your company's products and services in our newsletter. For $300 you can capture the attention of 1500+ fellow members and inform them of your company on a full page of one issue. For $180 your company will be featured in 1/2 page; for $95, 1/4 page; for $70, 1/8 page; and for $50 a business card space for one issue.
Management Skills Handbook ASME Region V Management Skills Handbook (MSH) is full of meaningful how-to's and tips. The articles are written for use in management as well as ASME leadership positions. Involvement in ASME is an excellent way to develop and enhance your management skills. The plan was to present a topic from this handbook in each newsletter issue, but because of space or time constraints, we were unable to consistently do so. It is back by request. (Thank you for the feedback!) It will however, be provided differently. Only the PDF version will be available. You can access the sections from http://www.asme.org/sections/pgh/mgmtskillshbk.html. The Contents file (http://www.asme.org/sections/pgh/mshcontents.pdf) links to each section and will be updated as the sections become available, so be sure to get the current version of the Contents when you download any new sections. The first chapter, The Engineering Manager's Job, is now available. It contains the following sections:
Professional Development Please continue responding to the online survey at http://www.asme.org/sections/pgh/pdsurvey.html. Future topics will be selected based on member input.
U.S. Open University MBA Program LEAD DON'T FOLLOW - START YOUR MBA NOW. ASME Members save 10%. If you're serious about competing in the global economy consider the United States Open University MBA. Derived from the largest business program in Europe, this proven program combines the best management practices and learning from around the world, with an emphasis on strategic analysis, interdisciplinary skills and independent judgment. Find out more at http://www.asme.org/asmevirtualcampus/Open.html The USOU MBA offers: ** CONVENIENCE & FLEXIBILITY Study online and earn your degree without giving up personal or professional commitments. Your online faculty member provides one-on-one guidance, feedback and support and there's 24/7 technical help. ** NO GMAT or GRE A four-year Bachelor's degree in any subject, from an accredited university, with a GPA of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale), plus 5 year's management experience is all you need to get started. No GMAT or GRE required. ** COURSES YOU NEED TO GET AHEAD Coursework gives you knowledge and skills you can apply on your job today. ** A TIMETABLE YOU CAN LIVE WITH Concentrated 9-week courses allow you to complete your studies while you continue your career. Studying part-time, you could be just three years away from earning your MBA. Kathy Warner
ASME International News
Sign up to receive ESWP publications, free As a member of ASME, you can receive a copy of the monthly, TechniCALENDAR and the quarterly, Pittsburgh Engineer. Sign up
The next Executive Committee meeting is on Friday, Feb. 15, 2002 at 7:30 AM in Denny's Restaurant (map), 3980 Wm Penn Hwy, Monroeville. If you wish to attend, please contact Joy Kocar 724-744-2445. See the Calendar page for this year's program.
See also archived minutes.
Section E-mail List Moved The Section E-mail list has been moved from Listbot to YahooGroups. The Listbot service is no longer available. If you'd like to receive timely news from ASME International, job opportunities, events, etc., consider joining the Section e-mail list (simply send an e-mail to asmepghnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Instructions are also on http://www.asme.org/sections/pgh/joinlist.html)?
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