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July 2002 News

 

Last updated 07/18/2002

Articles


2002 Annual Awards Banquet and Dinner-Dance Cruise Very Well Attended

This year's Annual Awards Banquet was held on May 24 to honor those who have served the Mechanical Engineering community of Pittsburgh with distinction. Over 100 people were in attendance to celebrate as we sailed the three rivers on the mighty Gateway Clipper Ship "Majestic", enjoying a wonderful meal, and listening to great music. The evening was a special opportunity to honor the Engineer of the Year, Industry of the Year, and Student Award winners. Special guests in attendance were Thomas Wendt, the ASME Region V Director, and Leighton Orr.

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR- Minking K. Chyu, Ph.D

INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR- Biomed Ink

STUDENT AWARDS- Amy Solana and "Josh" Jackson (Carnegie Mellon University), Christopher Hardin and Michael Bergen, Jr. (University of Pittsburgh)

SCIENCE AWARDS - Tom DeCarlo and Jennifer Cross

Congratulations to the winners !!

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2nd Annual Rube Goldberg Competition

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Rocky Economy Means Job-Seekers Need to Use Savvy Search Methods

Marilyn Borysek, ASME Member Services

(Reprinted with permission from the author)

The number of US. job opportunities edged up slightly in December following significant declines that began in March 2001, according to the US. Department of Labor.  A survey of 16,000 firms from staffing provider Manpower shows that only 16 percent of employers plan to hire in the first quarter of 2002, a dramatic drop from the 27 percent of employers who said they planned to hire during the same period last year.

Especially stunned are many technology professionals who have enjoyed a robust employment environment for the last five years but now are facing layoffs or have already lost their jobs.  So, what can job seekers in the mechanical engineering field expect?  Despite the bleak outlook, some bright spots exist for engineers.

According to The Wall Street Journal, employment experts see opportunities in the healthcare, biotechnology and technology sectors for certain engineering positions. Specialized technology workers such as software application engineers or systems analysts are most likely to see demand.

But, even the best-qualified senior mechanical engineers and seasoned executives will stumble if they land in a tough job, market with poor job-hunting skills. With layoffs spreading through almost every industry, mechanical engineers will have to work smarter and a little harder to land their next jobs.

Be Persistent: Some degree of pushiness is essential with all of your contacts. A good resume and solid skills aren't enough. Timing has a lot to do with it, so create your own luck by staying on the mind of your potential employers. Check in regularly, and send thank you notes.

Consider Alternative Employment: Offering your engineering services as an outside contractor, temp or volunteer can get you out there to show off your talent – and be on hand when a full-time opportunity becomes available.

If ASME's jobs Database helps you find a job, or if you have successful job hunting tips you want to share, contact Marilyn Borysek at borysekm@asme.org.

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Engineers’ Week a Success!

-based on a report submitted by Lori Rankin and Janet Henke

National Engineers’ Week at the Carnegie Science Center (CSC) on February 22 and 23 was a success!! 

This year’s National Engineers’ Week was the biggest ever at CSC.  The program featured over 600 volunteers (a 20% increase from 2001) representing 64 companies, agencies, societies, and universities (a 28% increase from 2001). A total of 561 normally under-represented students attended through the Vira I. Heinz Endowment grant for National Engineers’ Week Programs. In addition, 547 Girl Scouts earned engineering related badges and patches.

Over 7,600 visitors in attendance enjoyed the chance to speak to engineers and to participate in the many hands-on activities.  Our ASME table was located on the third floor overlook and was very busy both days. The Girl Scout roller bearing experiment and the heat transfer experiment went over well. And even though there were several pulley demos to choose from - ours was tried numerous times. We also had Girl Scouts work at the table demonstrating the experiments as a badge requirement.  The Girl Scout bearing activity was one of 6 activities that Junior Girl Scouts were required to complete in order to earn the “Making It Matter” engineering badge, a badge being offered by the Girl Scout organization for the first time this year.

The requirements for the Junior Girl Scouts “Making It Matter” badge are: 1) making a polymer, 2) making polymers with different properties by adding different ingredients, 3) finding out how a doorbell works by making one, 4) finding out the role of bearings in machines, 5) using newspaper to build a structure from which you can hang a cup, 6) filling the cup with gravel without it tipping over, and 6) talking to people who use CAD in their jobs. There were approximately 200 scouts working on this badge. 

To show the role of bearings in machines, ASME had two 7-lb cans that the girls had to try to spin when placed on top of each other.  Friction prevented the cans from spinning. Marbles were then added as roller bearings between the cans, providing a smooth surface and allowing the top can to spin on the bottom can.  The following people deserve special thanks for helping to make the ASME exhibit such a success:

-  Jim Di Perna for his help in setting up the table on Friday morning.

- Rip Curran, Frank Faron, Bob Frownfellter, Don Risko, Lori Rankin and Doug Koebler for manning the table.

- Doug Koebler for helping pack up everything.

- Marilyn Reeder, John Wesner, and Jim Di Perna for lending videos.

- Darrell Rapp for his heat transfer graphs.

- Don Risko and Extrude Hone for the new ASME information poster.

- Don Molloy, Olympic Manufacturing, Ronkonkoma, NY who donated the steel and aluminum pieces for the heat transfer experiment.

- Michael’s Bistro (US&S cafeteria), who loaned two 7-lb cans for the roller bearing experiment.

- GFS, Inc in Carnegie, which let us use some of their steel furnace pictures.

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Recognizing our Fellow Members

The Fellow Grade is the highest elected grade of membership within ASME, the attainment of which recognizes exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.

 Did you know there are 52 members in our Section who are Fellows? If you know any of them, please congratulate them on their achievement!

 Adnan Akay, Harvey Allen, Cristina Amon, Edmund Appleby, John Barsom, Donald Burnham, Jonathan Cagan, Norman Chigier, Minking Chyu, Ronald Coffield, Maria Comninou, Arthur Croll, Ellison Davison, James Di Perna, David Dietrich, W. Doty, L. Ike Ezekoye, Martin Falk, Jerry Griffin, Donald Griffin, Gus Holabeck, Charles Jones, Wilbur Kennicott, William Lankford, Jack Maurer, Bertram Milleville, Jack Moore, William O’Donnell, Leighton Orr, Fletcher Osterle, Sam Palusamy, William Purcell, David Purdy, Arthur Rathbun, Stephen Roth, Wilfred Rouleau, Sunil Saigal, Stanley Schaffer, Allen Selz, Patrick Smolinski, Alfred Snow, Paul Steif, Theodore Stern, Remco Waszink, John Wesner, Jonathan Wickert, Donald Wiebe, Bernard Winer, Savio Woo, Tse Chien Woo, Shi-Chune Yao, Campbell Yates.

 If you would like to know what it takes to become a Fellow grade member, visit http://www.asme.org/member/fellow/index.html.

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Format Change for ESWP Technicalendar

The ESWP TechniCalendar will be in electronic format only Beginning May 1, 2002, the TechniCalendar will be a paperless document. As a member of the ASME Pittsburgh Section, you are entitled to receive this publication produced by the ESWP.

If you wish to continue receiving this publication by e-mail, please send an email to eswp@eswp.com, with the Subject: E-TC Subscription.  In the body of the message, include:

1. Your Name

2. The e-mail address you want the E-TC messages sent to

3. ASME Pittsburgh Section

4. Your subscription mailing address

If you are not a current subscriber to the ESWP publications, but would like to be one, send an email but with the Subject: ESWP Publications, and include the information above. Your mailing address is still required for the Pittsburgh Engineering magazine. If you have any questions, please contact ESWP at 412-261-0710 x10, eswp@eswp.com.

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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.

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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.

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Member Get a Member

2002-2003 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

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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 .

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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.

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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. 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 second chapter, Organization and Time Management, is now available. It contains the following sections:

  1. Organization
  2. Getting Organized
  3. Time Management
  4. Unblock Your Clock

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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.

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ASME International News

The Online Newspaper of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

http://www.asmenews.org/

Mechanical Advantage - Today's News and Views for Tomorrow's Engineers

http://www.asme.org/mechanicaladvantage/

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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

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Upcoming Meetings

The next Executive Committee meeting is on Tuesday, July 23, 2002 at 6:00 PM at Jim DiPerna's home. If you wish to attend, please contact Jim DiPerna at 412-731-2927.

See the Calendar page for this year's program.

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Notices

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Meeting Minutes

See also archived minutes.

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In the News

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Updates

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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Did You Remember To...

Renew your membership?

Add your program ideas for next year? Send them to Joy Kocar.

Consider getting involved with any of our activities? There are many ways, such as Industry Relations, Engineer's Week, Science Fair, Awards Banquet, web site, discussion list. Contact Joy Kocar.

Consider signing up to be an e-Mentor?

Make sure that your contact information is up to date? We will increasingly use electronic means to contact our members so please be sure your e-mail and fax numbers are accurate.

Set up your e-mail alias? You can have a yourname@asme.org address that you can conveniently manage yourself. People will always be able to locate you, regardless of your work situation.

Download your ASME screensaver?

Show your interest in a Professional Development course by taking the survey?

Think about articles, tips, brain teasers, news, how-to's, etc. you can contribute to our newsletter?

Consider joining the Section e-mail list?

Consider getting involved with the Executive Committee? You can get involved in any capacity. If you can contribute only one hour a week, we would be grateful for your time. Contact anyone in the committee.

Sign up for the ESWP publications?

 

 

 

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