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October 2005 News

 

Last updated 10/15/2005

This Month's Articles:


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Would You Like To Be A Pittsburgh Section Sponsor?

If you sponsor ASME Pittsburgh, we will feature your company's products and services in our newsletter and capture the attention of 1500+ members to inform them of your company, or on this site and be on the WWW. For more information click here or contact anyone on the Executive Committee.

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November Event - McKesson Automation Tour

Program:

Tour - McKesson Automated Prescription Systems

Date:

Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Time:

6:00 PM

Location:

McKesson Automation
51 Pennwood Place, Suite 400
Pittsburgh, PA 15086-6501
412-209-1400

Parking:

Free

Dinner:

Quaker Steak and Lube
1298 Freedom Road
Cranberry Twp. PA 16066
724-778-9464
(map)

Cost:

Members and Guests - $TBD
Students - $TBD

There is no charge for the program alone, but please call to reserve a space.

Contact:

For registration or more information, contact Lori Rankin,
412-688-2093 or larankin@switch.com

RSVP:

by Monday, November 7, 2005

Program Description:

Please join us on a tour of McKesson Automated Prescription Systems (APS), located in Thorn Hill Industrial Park in Cranberry.

McKesson Automation Inc., a business unit of the Fortune 15 McKesson Corporation, manufactures and markets inpatient medication and supply management systems that help hospitals re-engineer their medication-use and supply management processes to reduce errors, improve cost savings and enhance the quality of care. All of our technologies for hospitals are based on a foundation of bar coding, which ensures accuracy throughout all stages of the healthcare continuum.

Their product offerings range from software solutions to improve medication safety to hardware automation products for managing drug inventory to the ROBOT-Rx, a system capable of picking patient specific drugs for each patient in the hospital.

The ROBOT-Rx is a stationary robotic system that automates the drug dispensing process using bar code technology. Located in the central pharmacy, ROBOT-Rx automates the storage, dispensing, returning, restocking and crediting of bar coded medications. ROBOT-Rx assures that the right medication is dispensed for the right patient, frees pharmacists and technicians from mundane, repetitive tasks so that they may support more productive clinical activities, and streamlines inventory management. The only proven robotic inpatient pharmacy system based on more than a decade of pharmacy automation expertise, ROBOT-Rx operates successfully in over three hundred hospital pharmacies.

For more information, visit www.mckessonautomation.com.

 

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October Newsletter

Read the latest ASME Pittsburgh Newsletter here (in .pdf - may take a moment to load - please be patient)

This month's featured articles include:
* Happy Anniversary to Local ASME Members
* Local ASME Landmark
* Future City Press Release
*ASME Proxy and Ballot
* 2005 IMECE
*ASME Partners with ThomasNet

Download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader to view PDF files.

The newsletter is currently published well ahead of the e-mail notice here on this website. All you have to do is browse our website at your convenience and you can find it here anytime. Previous newsletters will still be available via the Archives page.

**If you would like to have the newsletter in printed form, you can simply open the above link and use the print option on your browser. **

In addition to the newsletter, this website will continue to have the latest information on monthly events, tours, news, contact information, job postings, resources, archives, and a host of other information to keep you informed.


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A Message from the Chair

Dear members,

We have some exciting programs lined up for this year. On September 27, we are privileged to have Mr. Ken Balkey and Mr. Mike Comiskey update us on Homeland Security. Ken is a Consulting Engineer for Westinghouse Electric Company, Senior Technical Advisor ASME Innovative Technologies Institute, LLC and Vice President of ASME Nuclear Codes and Standards. Mike is the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Regional Business Coalition for Homeland Security. This is a follow-up to the presentation at the 2003 Awards Banquet.

Our annual Joint professional/student meeting will be on October 5 at Carnegie Mellon University. We welcome Senior Section members from various fields of employment: design, sales, education, management, from small start-ups and large companies, to attend and interact with the students. The students have the opportunity to ask lots of questions and we provide the pizza.

In November, McKesson Automation will host a Tour of their Cranberry facility. They manufacture and install robotic dispensing systems in hospitals for prescription medication.

Moving into next year, we plan to support the Rube Goldberg Contest in December, the Future Cities Competition in January, National Engineers Week in February and the Pittsburgh Regional Science Fair. All of these events need volunteers, so I would encourage you to become involved. The students put forth a terrific effort and your individual profit is immeasurable.

We are part of a new ASME. Local sections were affected by the recent reorganization of the ASME structure. Starting this year, our funding from NY has been reduced by 25%. However, next year we are required to be a self-sustaining organization. Starting in July 2006, no percentage of the membership dues will be distributed to the local sections.

Throughout the year, we will be inviting you to get more involved with your local section. We welcome your participation in activities as well as your feedback and hope that you find this a rewarding year.

Sincerely,

Lori Rankin, Chair
larankin@switch.com

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Mentors for Future City Competition Wanted

The National Engineers Week Future City CompetitionTM seeks engineers from every field to volunteer this fall and winter to introduce middle school students across the nation to a career in engineering. Since its founding in 1992, the educational program has made engineering come alive for hundreds of thousands of students. For information on becoming a volunteer mentor or to volunteer on event day, Jan., 21 2006 contact Future City Pittsburgh Coordinator Janet Henke at 412.237.1640, Volunteer Coordinator Bill Pruss at 412.273.7100 or visit our web page at http://futurecitypittsburgh.org

For additional information, please see this press release. (MS Word)

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Future City Pittsburgh Volunteers Needed

The Pittsburgh Region is beginning its seventh year in the National Future City Competition. The number of Middle Schools that have registered in the Pittsburgh Regional Competition has grown each year. The Competition's growth is testimony to the program's unique capacity to challenge students to learn and test new concepts related to engineering and city planning, to apply the mathematics and science they have already learned, to explore their imaginations about what our Cities will be like in the future, and to build an example of the result using ingenuity and their own hands. However, another important facet of the Pittsburgh Regional Future City Competition that has allowed it to expand is the associated growth of a cadre of dedicated volunteers. Without volunteers, there would be no competition.

Please, volunteer as a Presentation Aide or Judge. During November and December, judges will review the SimCity files and essays. On Saturday, January 21, 2006 the Pittsburgh Regional Competition will be held at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. Based on past experience we anticipate that we will need more than 120 volunteers to fill the positions of Essay Judges, Disk Judges, Registrars, Model Movers, Room Manager/Timers, Score Keepers, Special Awards Judges, Presentation Judges, Exhibit Area Control Volunteers, Still and Video Camera Operators, and Public Relations Coordinators. Orientation Meetings for Presentation Aides and Judges will be held as needed in early January, with the goal of identifying all volunteers and making assignments by January 3, 2006.

Please add Your Name to Our 2005-2006 Volunteers List. We welcome the help of anyone who is interested in volunteering his or her time. To qualify as a Presentation Judge, you must have judged before or have attended a Judge Orientation Meeting. If you are interested in registering as a volunteer for the 2006 Future City Competition please take a minute and fill out the Volunteer Registration Form at: http://www.futurecitypittsburgh.org/futcityvolunteer_form.htm

If you have any questions, call Bill Pruss at (412) 273-7100
If you wish to learn more about the program, take a look at our website's homepage, http://www.futurecitypittsburgh.org/

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Your E-Mail Address - The Key to ASME International

Did you know that your e-mail address is the key to what's happening at ASME? By providing us with your current e-mail address, you can learn about events taking place in your local section, such as professional development courses, industry tours, section meetings, lectures, networking opportunities, and technical conferences.

Updating your e-mail address online only takes a few minutes. To access your membership information, go to www.asme.org. Click on the "Members Only" tab to log onto this site. Be sure to have your member number on hand. After logging on to Members Only, select the "Change of Address and Information" link, located on the upper right-hand side of your screen. From this screen, you will be able to update your primary contact information.

So don't miss out on all that ASME has to offer! If you have any questions about your membership information, contact InfoCentral at infocentral@asme.org.

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Announcements

New Health Benefit Available to Members

Through Life Line Screening, members can obtain preventive, noninvasive screenings that can quickly assess their risk for several common vascular diseases.
http://www.asmenews.org/archives/backissues/jan03/features/healthbe.html

Pittsburgh Specifics:

Where: South Avenue United Methodist in Pittsburgh
When: Friday, October 14, 2005 (Pre-Registration is required)
Call Life Line Screening toll free at 800-779-5474
www.lifelinescreening.com

 

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Notices

Our website address has changed! It is now http://sections.asme.org/PGH.
Please change your bookmark !!


Dear ASME Member,

ASME has a new focus. As many of you may already know, in recent years ASME has experienced stagnant sales of its products and services, a reduction of its financial reserves, decreasing participation by members and others in its programs and activities, declining corporate support and declining membership, particularly among engineers under age 40. These trends, which could no longer be ignored, led to the recent reorganization of ASME. The changes, approved by the Board of Governors in June, will improve ASME's viability and allow it to concentrate on its core assets: providing knowledge, community and advocacy to mechanical engineers.

Moving forward, leadership in all Sectors is in place and is working out the last organizational decisions that will enable us to direct our resources to the challenges ahead. With ASME's strategic focus on key market areas - young engineers, industrial companies, government entities - along with the determination to address the global practice of engineering and to generate new sources of revenue to support ASME's mission, I am confident that we have positioned the Society for long-term success.

I encourage your continued participation in ASME's mission through the channels familiar to you and through new opportunities such as our Communities of Practice. We will keep you informed, through ASME.org and through our publications, on how we are meeting the challenges we face. Thank you for your continued support in making ASME a premier organization for all engineers.

Sincerely,

Gene Feigel ASME President 2005-2006

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In the News

Happy Anniversary to Local ASME Members!

50 Years:
Daniel Barch, John Dougherty, James Foster, James Geiser, William Keown, Frederick Kramer, John Mcconnell, Robert Miller, Paul Pfennigwerth, George Saliba, John Schmidt, Ralph Spada

44 Years:
Joseph Freiland Robert Levine

43 Years:
Gerald Clark, Robert Harrill

40 Years:
Pranabesh Choudhury, Dennis Paluselli

39 Years:
Kenneth Scharding

38 Years:
David Krol

37 Years:
James Conklin, James Di Perna, John Lobritz, Larry Schneider

36 Years:
Kenneth Deddo, Ray Fasiczka, John Oleary, Edward Patula, Michael White

25 Years:
Keith Andrew, Manohar Badlani, Daniel Bartolomeo, William Bland, Michael Budden, David Capone, Thomas Damico, Daniel De Santo, Daniel Dolby, Darlene Filler, Jeffrey Hall, Richard Hawk, Martin Hochhauser, Ralph Kopacko, John Kuhn, Hermann Lagally, James Lansel, Karen Levin, Douglas McClaine, Michael McMillion, Kenneth McMullen, Russell Metzger, William Mills, Robert Powischill, Mark Ripepi, Stephen Ross, William Shuker, Paul Smith, William Spohn, James Szyslowski, Gerald Veltre

A special congratulations to our Executive Committee's own:
Jim DiPerna - 37 Years
Bill Spohn - 25 Years

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Upcoming Meetings

The next Executive Committee meeting will be on Friday, November 18, 2005 at 7:30 AM at Denny's Restaurant (map), 3980 Wm Penn Hwy, Monroeville,, and is open to anyone interested.

If you wish to attend, please contact Lori Rankin at (412) 688-2093 or any member of the Executive Committee. (Meet some of the gang!)

See the Calendar page for the year's upcoming programs.

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Business Calendar

The Pittsburgh Business Calendar publishes a calendar of events for the Pittsburgh business community. Click on the link for the full calendar of events. (http://www.businesscalendar.org/)

You can also check out the ESWP techniCALENDAR for upcoming events at: http://www.eswp.com/techniCALENDAR/the_calendar.htm

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The Value of Your Membership Just Increased!!

Take advantage of the New Discounted Dues Structure. If you have earned a baccalaureate degree or an advanced degree and have been out of school 4 years or less you can can save up to 60% on Member Dues. Check out the current member dues rates available at http://www.asme.org/member/info.html.

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ASME International News

The Online Newspaper of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
http://www.asmenews.org/

Mechanical Engineering - the magazine of the ASME
http://www.memagazine.org/

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Articles of Interest

**ASME's Mechanical Engineering Magazine periodically contains the new supplement Engineering Management. Current and would-be managers can turn to this supplement to pick up some of those skills needed in today's work environment. Go to the links below:

July '04: http://www.memagazine.org/emjuly04/index.html

November '04: http://www.memagazine.org/emnov04/index.html

March '05: http://www.memagazine.org/emmar05/index.html

July '05 http://www.memagazine.org/emjuly05/index.html


If you missed our April tour of the Seward Power Plant tour, you missed a remarkable event. But you can still take the virtual tour here!!

www.reliant.com/files/450457_Seward_Tour_and_Dedication.pps


Learn to make really cool paper airplanes!! Visit ASME's Airplane Archive at:

http://www.asme.org/events/flight/paperarchive.shtml?URL=www.asme.org

"Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond - for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives." - Socrates


**Alternative fuels blocked by national policy?
A study by researchers at the Univ. of Missouri-Columbia has found that the U.S. tax structure and other non-technical barriers effectively prevent bringing alternative fuel technologies to market. Click HERE to learn more.


Brainteasers !

A monthly mechanical engineering problem to test your knowledge or try your luck. A new problem every month. The possibilities are endless - kinematics, fluid mechanics, physics......! You never know what we'll throw at you next!

This month's problem: (something easy)

A 2" length of steel bar is elongated to a length of 2.010" at which time the diameter changed from 0.5050" to 0.5042". Calculate Poisson's Ratio of this material.

Solution and a new problem next month. Have fun!

(Last month's solution)

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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 53 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, George Saxon Sr.,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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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, features some 200 engineers in 2-minute programs that explore and celebrate the world of engineering. The program began 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.

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

2004-2005 Member-Get-A-Member Campaign - Invest in the Future of Mechanical Engineering!

Recommend a paid new member during the 2004-2005 Member-Get-A-Member (MGAM) campaign and ASME will contribute 50% of their first year dues to scholarships for student members. Personally inviting a friend or colleague is straightforward and simple.

At the same time, you will receive a Recognition for Volunteerism certificate of appreciation for 2 or more paid new members signifying your support of the mechanical engineering profession and its future.

It's easy to recommend membership to your colleagues! New members will experience the benefits of ASME membership - technology transfer, access to a network of engineering experts, assistance with career advancement, leadership opportunities, and much more.

For complete program details including a downloadable membership application, log onto http://www.asme.org/membershipdrive

Your continued support of the Member-Get-A-Member Campaign is important to its success and we appreciate your time and dedication.

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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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Professional Development

Professional Education Courses:

Two new products are at the ASME PE and FE Exam Review Center. New FE Workbook and CD-Rom and the PE Exam Review on DVD
http://www.asme.org/education/disted/esamprep.htm.

ASME Online Short Courses:

New titles include Project Management and Advanced GD&T.
http://elearn.asme.org/courses/courselist.htm. Many new courses will be added for the fall. http://www.asme.org/education/disted/library.htm.

Prefer training on CD-Rom?

Go to http://www.asme.org/education/disted/computer.htm.

New ASME Corporate Online Training Library:

Meet all your mechanical engineering training needs in one economical package tailored to your company. Go to http://www.asme.org/education/disted/library.htm.


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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Public Affairs

What's going on in Washington D.C.? Visit Government Relations , a weekly review of the latest legislative,regulatory, pollicies, and issues from Washington.

 

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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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* SECTION *
CALENDAR


November 9, 2005:
McKesson Automation Tour

November 18, 2005:
Monthly EC Meeting

December 2, 2005:
Rube Goldberg Competition


**For more details on these and additional upcoming events, visit the Upcoming Events page**


Did You Remember To...

Renew your membership?

Add your program ideas for next year? Send them to Lori Rankin.

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 Lori Rankin.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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