ASME Section Minutes 12-18-03
At Charlie Brown’s restaurant,
Carlstadt, NJ
Attendance: Attendees noted by *
Anold Pristernik - Honors and Awards & Treasur
Art Vasky*
Beal Moore - Chair, History and Heritage*
Bill Koehler*
Boris Khusid - Essex/Hudson Chair
David Greenhut
Doug Longo
Hugh Huntzinger
Iggy D’Agati*
Jim O’Toole*
Karen Ohland - Section Chair & Vice Chair, Bergen/Passaic*
Keith Olasin - past Section Chair
Larry Schmerzler
Lisa Grenier
Lisa Laplante - Industry relations*
Bud Foster*
Pablo Ospina - Webmaster
Peter Barry*
Peter Hauser - Director, Northeast Region Office
Ramesh Gulrajani - Morris/Sussex Chair*
Richard Dolinsky - Bergen /Passaic Chair with Marie Dolinsky*
Richard Straussman, Patent Attorney
Richard F. Tax, American Engineering Assoc.*
Richard Touma*
Sid Goodman - Section Secretary*
Steve Liss - Past Section Chair
Vikey Suwanprutsachati
Karen called the meeting to order at 7:45 pm
We dined splendidly before discussing Society business
Next Section Meeting
January 15, Thursday – 7:30pm
Kraft Headquarters
7 Campus Drive, Parsippany, NJ
Directions:
Route 287 to route 10 west, Exit 39B (if coming south).
Merge onto NJ 10 west. Take Dryden Way ramp toward Ridgedale Ave/Cedar Knolls.
Turn left onto Campus Drive.
Turn left onto Hilton Court. Parking lot for Kraft is there.
If coming east on NJ 10, turn left onto route 202.
at light (corner of Wendys).
Turn right onto Campus Drive and then right onto Hilton Court.
Program on Patent Law
Richard Straussman, a patent attorney from the Morgan & Finnegan firm offers
to provide an introductory presentation.
He submitted a list of items to cover in one or perhaps more meetings.
The list was distributed at the Dec. 18th meeting. He would like to know our preferences.
Karen will send an E-mail inquiry to our Section. Following is a brief summary of his list.
- Overview of the types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyright and
trade secrets – similarities and differences.
- Patents: Utility and Design protection
- Are you an inventor? How to know and what to do about it.
- Patent Basics: What is a patent and requirements for
patentabilty.
- Patent protection around the world.
One patent does not fit all.
- The patent process – from ideas to issuance.
- Patent pitfalls: What most engineers rarely if ever do and
why.
- Opportunities for engineers in the world of patents.
- Trade secrets: what they are and how to protect them.
- Patent infringement issues.
Transmit preferences to Karen Ohland (Karen.ohland@metmuseum.org).
A patent program may be in March or April. Karen will contact Stevens to ascertain their willingness
to host this program.
Richard Straussman may be reached at (212) 415-8500 –direct dial. His E-mail address is
rstraussman@morganfinnegan.com.
The website for Morgan & Finnegan is www.morganfinnegan.com.
Engineering Week Dinner and Keynote Speaker confirmed February 12
Gregory T. Lenteris PhD. will be our keynote speaker.
His lecture “Fire in Space” is based on his experience in space missions.
His talk covers what happened when fires occurred.
Richard Dolinsky was asked to finalize arrangements at the Hanover Manor,
16 Eagle Rock Road, East Hanover, NJ.
Lisa will check with Richard on the availability of equipment that Dr. Lenteris needs for his talk.
This equipment is a 35 mm slide projector, a wireless microphone, a laptop or a video projector, and a laser pointer.
If necessary, Beal Moore said he can rent items which are not available.
If one of our members can provide equipment items, contact Richard Dolinsky (dolinskyr@asme.org)
or Karen Ohland (Karen.ohland@metmuseum.org).
Karen asked Lisa to contact companies for their nomination of engineers to receive
awards at the dinner for their excellent performance.
She also asked the group to contact any companies and engineering societies we know.
We need to send out invitations to companies and societies, and “Engineer of the Year” letters.
We need to send out a mailing for the Dinner and post the event on our web site. This mailing
will also include the February 21st Meadowlands program.
ASME Program on the Meadowlands -
Feb 21
A program on the Meadowlands is set for February 21 (Sat.) between 10:00am to 11:30 am.
Hugh Carola, program director of the Hackensack Riverkeeper will make a presentation on how
a conspicuously inappropriate development plan for the Meadowlands was replaced by
an appropriate plan.
He is a very dynamic and entertaining speaker. The saga he unfolds is the story like that of Don Quixote beating the windmill.
A speaker from the Meadowlands Commission (possibly an engineer) will also address attendees.
If possible, the talks will be followed, by a tour of the Meadowlands laboratory.
The event will take place at the Environmental Education Center where there are interactive exhibits.
Attendees will be welcome to interact as desired. Details will be posted on our web site.
Section Picnic for next summer
Richard Dolinsky has obtained information about.
The park offers swimming, boating, and fishing. It has a concession stand.
Richard found out that the park cannot provide a catered meal.
A reserved pavilion can accommodate 80 people. As of now, all weekends in July are available for reservation except the July 4th weekend.
The July 10th weekend is also a no no, because of conflict with some important matters.
Karen said she will select a remaining weekend and make the reservation.
Planned Date for Honors and Awards Dinner
The June 10, 2004 date needs to be reconsidered
Protecting Engineering Jobs in New Jersey
Richard F. Tax, Vice President of the American Engineering Association (AEA), reiterated that
statements proclaiming a shortage of engineers were false. They resulted in encouraging
the enrollment of students to study engineering when there are no jobs for them, He submitted
an editorial by the editor of Machine Design magazine. This editorial is copied at the end of these minutes.
Peter Barry’s statement
The present trend of manufacturing overseas destroys engineering design jobs in the US.
Unless our national manufacturing infrastructure is restored, there will even fewer engineering
design jobs here. Engineering Societies have done a very poor job of addressing this crisis over the years.
They must do much more than merely disseminate engineering knowledge that won’t be used if there are no jobs.
ASME Reorganization – ASME Change and Continuity Initiative
The ASME has engaged consultants who have proposed plans for revising the organization.
Iggy reported that our ASME president devoted many hours towards developing an organizational structure
that will greatly increase our membership and effectiveness. The plans deal with
structure of our society. Hopefully, with an improved structure, neglected issues will be dealt with.
Iggy D’Agati and Dick Touma stressed that we should refer to the ASME web site which defines structural proposals
and submit recommendations. Karen said she will represent us at the review meetings and asked for our
comments.
Please refer to the ASME web site to see what is being proposed. The web site is
http://www.asme.org/change/
Send comments to Karen
at her E-mail address listed previously.
Change and Continuity Initiative Meeting
General Assembly 1-4 on January 24th at University of Connecticut, Storrs CT.
ROB meeting January 24th
At University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Possible future programs
- Management/Consulting/Starting a business – Dick Touma will coordinate a
discussion. Brian Boden (a manager at Kraft) and Iggy D’Agati (established a successful
business) agreed to serve as panelists.
- Picatinny Arsenal - We have asked Bud Foster to find out if people at the
Arsenal are willing to present a program. If and when a willingness is actualized remains
undetermined. Karen said she will follow up with Bud. There has been no response yet.
- Visit to Sterling Mine and wine tasting event. Lisa Laplante will look into planning this.
- Tour of Kodalux in Fair Lawn, NJ – Arnold Pristernik will make inquiries, targeting
the months of either April, May, or June.
- Presentation by Glenn Corbett, revised construction specifications for high rise buildings.
- Aviation museum in Teterboro.
Events in other Sections
- 2nd Fuel Cell Science, Engineering & Technology Conference, 6/14-16, 20004, Rochester, NY
- 2nd International Microchannels & Minichannels Coanference 6/17-19, 2004, Rochester,NY
Habitat for Humanity
The Habitat is seeking volunteers for Paterson construction. They need volunteers for
December 27, and every Saturday in January. Contact Lisa Laplante if you are interested
(phone: 973-872-2182) or llaplant@nji.com)
Website and Webmaster:
Submissions to the Website by members or student chapters should be in Front Page or a Microsoft Word document.
Before items are posted on the site, they must be proof read. Submit e-mail articles
to:
Lisa Laplante llaplant@nji.com
Richard Dolinsky dolinskyr@asme.org
Sid Goodman goodmans1@asme.org
Final approval of submissions will be made by
Karen Ohland Karen.ohland@metmuseum.org.
Special articles for the website are welcome.
See the website for other special events
Our website address is http://sections.asme.org/northjersey
EDITORIAL Ronald Khol, Editor- Machine Design, February 12, 1993
MANY PEOPLE DON'T FEEL LIKE CELEBRATING ENGINEERS'WEEK
Two recent pieces of mail have made a strong impression on me. Both concern engineering, but their tone
and tenor are almost diametrically opposed. One is a press release about National Engineers Week, to be held
in February. It comes from the public relations department of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
the "lead sponsor" of the event. There are numerous other organizations involved, and they form a long list
of prestigious technical societies, influential government organizations, and large corporations.
The group represents the closest thing we have to an engineering establishment.
The other piece of mail is the most recent copy of a newsletter called American Engineer, published by a nonprofit group
called The American Engineering Association. The guiding lights of this organization are a small group of engineers,
some working and some unemployed, whose names and affiliations do not exactly place them at the epicenter of industrial,
governmental, or academic power.
The IEEE press release tells how National Engineers Week will celebrate the contributions engineering makes to American life.
"Our future depends upon the minds and hands of engineers," it proclaims. The pronouncement then goes on to describe "a series
of major events designed both to highlight the achievements of engineers' minds and hands, and to enlist them in
furthering the education of tomorrow's technological pioneers."
The message continues in this vein, sounding rather bombastic and out of touch with the real world, especially the one
portrayed by articles in American Engineer. Reading that publication on a regular basis suggests that a lot of engineers,
rather than "celebrating their contributions" to national well-being, are more inclined to be thinking of immediate and
less lofty wolf-at-the-door concerns.
The dose of reality in issue after issue of the newsletter makes it clear that many engineers represent a
beleaguered force suffering from any number of adversities. These include the collapse of formerly blue-chip
corporations, bone-and-muscle cuts in defense spending, all topped off by what looks like subtle or even blatant age discrimination.
Maybe National Engineers Week is fundamentally a good thing. But somewhere in the celebration there
should be room to talk about engineering as well as manufacturing jobs being sent offshore.
And it should at least mention what hollow victories automotive transplants represent because they don't do much to help
engineering employment. Sponsors might even ponder whether or not youngsters should be encouraged to
seek technical careers. Perhaps a shortage of engineers would be good for the profession overall.
Instead of conducting a Pollyanna-type event, the establishment ought to consider taking a cold look at what has happened
to engineering as a career in the past 20 years. The sense of travail portrayed in American Engineer seems to reflect reality
more accurately than the call for celebration from the IEEE public relations department.
Section Officers:
- Chair – Karen Ohland
- Treasurer – Arnold Pristernik
- Secretary – Sid Goodman
- Bergen/Passaic Subsection Chair – Richard Dolinsky
- Morris/Sussex Subsection Chair – Ramesh Gulrajani
- Essex/Hudson Subsection Chair – Boris Khusid
Future Section Meetings (Unless otherwise notified)
Please mark your calendar
Dates at Kraft January 15
February TBD
March 18
April 15
May TBD
June 17
Time of meeting will be at 7:30pm unless otherwise noted
Submitted by Sid Goodman, Secretary
E-mail address: goodmans1@asme.org
Phone no. (201)327-5158
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