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Philadelphia Section Newsletter March 2004 www.asme.org/sections/philadelphia |
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Chair’s Letter National Engineer’s Week is upon us once again (Feb 22-28). The purpose of Engineer’s Week is to recognize the accomplishments of engineers in improving the quality of life for people around the world. Numerous events are planned in conjunction with Engineer’s Week. More information can be found at http://www.asme.org/eng_week/ and http://www.eweek.org/ A large part of the Engineer’s Week activities involves approaching students and introducing them to the engineering profession. FROM FICTION, TO SCIENCE, TO ENGINEERING There is a new technology on the horizon, which some claim will change the world at least as much as the electronics revolution has done over the past few decades. Nanotechnology is the science of building physical systems at the atomic level. It is already possible to build bearings, gears, and motors one atom at a time. It is only a matter of time before these components are joined together into nanomachines. The federal government is pouring millions of dollars into nanotechnology research. Companies are starting up to pursue research and manufacturing in nanotechnology. You can find more information at http://nano.asme.org/ and http://nano.gov . Until next time, Jim Tully Upcoming Section Meetings Thursday March 18 Meeting Aerodynamics of the Curve Ball Tuesday, April 20 Meeting Franklin Institute Wright Brothers's Collection See page 4 for details Spring is Coming Come to our March 18th meeting to learn what makes a baseball curve and then to the ball game see the principles in action. The Philadelphia section of The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is holding its April meeting at Citizens Bank Park! This is a joint social meeting with other Professional Societies in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 17TH, at 1:05pm to see the Phillies play Montreal in their new ballpark. The tickets are in sections 236 and 237 along the third base line and are available on a first come, first served basis. Tickets cost $20 each for ASHRAE members and $25 each for |
non-members. Reservations must be made and full payment received in the ASHRAE office by March 4th. Tickets will be available at the game at the pick-up window. For this reason, the Society would appreciate if those requesting multiple tickets (such as large groups from the same office) could coordinate their reservation and payment with one representative (ex: 10 tickets for Joe Smith with payment of $250). Reservations may be made by replying to hope@multiservicemgmt.coml (The ASHRAE Administrator) with your name, company, phone number, and number of tickets requested, including how many for ASHRAE members and how many for non-members. Payment may be mailed to: Philadelphia Chapter ASHRAE, 994 Old Eagle School Road, Suite 1019, Wayne, PA 19087-1866. (It must be received by March 4th). If you have any questions, please E mail Hope at hope@multiservicemgmt.com Directions for March 18 and April 20 Meeting The March 18 meeting will be at the University of Pennsylvania’s Towne Building in Room 100 (Heilmeier Hall). The Towne Building is at 220 S. 33 Street and can be accessed from 33rd Street, between Spruce and Walnut Streets. There is un-metered parking along that block after 6pm. There is also un-metered (after 6:00) parking along Walnut Street, between 33rd and 34th. Additionally, there are pay garages in the vicinity. The following link is a map showing all the public parking facilities in the Towne Building area: Ihttp://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_map.php3?id=419 The April 20 meeting will be held at the Doubletree Guest Quarters in Plymouth Meeting, located on the west side of the Plymouth Meeting Mall. From Philadelphia and the Schuylkill Expressway take Route 476 (Blue Route) to Exit 20 -Germantown Pike West. At the third light, turn right onto Hickory Road. Go to first light and make a left onto Fountain Road. Hotel is at the first stop sign on your right. From the Pennsylvania Turnpike, take Exit 333 -- Norristown. Following signs to Plymouth Road, turn left at the first light onto Plymouth Road. Turn right onto Germantown Pike at the next light. Proceed on Germantown Pike and turn right onto Hickory Road at the second light. Go to first light and make a left onto Fountain Road. Hotel is at the first stop sign on your right. FUTURE CITIES COMPETITION – by Pallavi Lal The Future Cities Competition was held at Widener University on Saturday January 24. Dean Cave and Jim Tully represented the ASME Philadelphia Section and judged the entries in the category of ‘Best Moving Part’.
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Future Cities is a competition among 7th and 8th graders, in which teams design their city of the future. The competition consists of several steps, including designing the city using computer simulation, building a model of the city, and presenting their city to the judges. Philadelphia Section Officers 2003/04 Chair – Jim Tully (215) 513 4538 jtull5@aol.com Vice Chair – Pallavi Lal (215) 641 8882 plal@ltk.com Secretary – John Chen (856) 256 5345 jchen@rowan.edu Treasurer – Lou Fendo (610) 595 2369 louis.fendo@exeloncorp.com Senior Director – Kevin Keenan (215) 674 9000 kkeenan@burnsinc.com Junior Director – George Silvestri (215) 703 0689 geosilpapa@aol.com News Letter Editor - John Wolf (856) 795 1379 john.j.wolf@villanova.edu Please send letters and comments to the Editor. Letters will be published unless otherwise requested depending on space limitations. Each of the 35 schools in the competition presented their unique view of their city. Real problems were considered, including power generation and storage, transportation, and environmental concerns. Some cities were situated in the desert, some under or on the ocean, and some in space. There was certainly no shortage of imagination! Energy sources for the cities ranged from solar, to wind, to anti-matter.
Members of the J.R. Fugett Middle School team discuss their project with visitors to the Future Cities Competition Congratulations to J.R. Fugett Middle School for winning the award for ‘Best Moving Part’! The moving parts consisted of an array of satellite antennas that all moved in synchronization with each other. Great job! It was not easy to choose the winner for this. Many of the exhibits showed tremendous creativity. It was truly rewarding to be a part of this experience. Perhaps |
you would be interested in judging next year? Contact one of the section officers for more information. March 18 Section Meeting Spring is coming and, in keeping with the season, our March meeting will discuss the aerodynamics of the curve ball. Our speaker, LeRoy Alaways, will present the history of the study of curve balls. Serious discussions on the curve ball in the 1940s. Many writers of the time considered the curve ball to be an optical illusion. They couldn’t understand how the rotation of a round object could change its path from straight to curved. The application of aerodynamic theory to the rotation baseball shows that lift forces are generated which can change the trajectory to a curved path. Dr. Alaways, wrote his PhD thesis on the aerodynamics of baseballs, will discuss the history as well as the science of how to throw a curve ball. Dr. Alaways is currently employed as a senior engineer at Exponent Failure Analysis Associates in Philadelphia. April 20 Section Meeting As we all know, this past year was the 200th anniversary of the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers. The section has held a number of meetings with presentations on various aspects of the event. On April 20, we will present a talk by John Alviti, Senior Curator at the Franklin Institute, on the Institute’s Wright Brothers Collection. Mr. Alviti will discuss the history and events which led to Orville Wright giving the collection to the Institute. He will also discuss the most interesting items in the collection as well as the Institute’s plans for preserving and displaying the collection. The web site, www.fi.edu/wright/collection/index.html, contains much information as well as images of many of the items in the collection. Come to the April 20 meeting and learn more about this unique collection. MATHCOUNTS Volunteers Wanted Middle school students throughout the country will have the opportunity to participate during the month of February in local competitions for MATHCOUNTS, a nationwide math coaching and competition program. MATHCOUNTS promotes math achievement with all the challenge of a school sports event. Student “Mathletes” from 6th, 7th and 8th grade train individually and in teams. They have the opportunity to compete in local, state and national competitions. Prizes are awarded at all levels. State winners receive a free trip for the national competition. National winners receive scholarships, trips, and trophies. MATHCOUNTS helps to develop future engineers by focusing on middle school students who are at a crucial age in developing their interest in mathematics. More than 500,000 students across the nation participate annually. For more details about MATHCOUNTS in your area, visit the MATHCOUNTS web site at www.mathcounts.org. These volunteering events are self rewarding. The students need your help for few hours a week. Adopt a school/student and make a difference in the life of atleast one student and help him/her carve his future. This could be your own child who might be bright enough but needs direction or assistance in the early stage of his/her life. Please contact Pallavi Lal (plal@ltk.com) if you would like to be a volunteer for the MATHCOUNTS event in our area. The local event is on February 21, 2004, Saturday. The 2004-2005 volunteer participation begins in August. |
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2004 ASME Spring Golf Outing Manufacturers’ Golf and Country Club Oreland, PA. Monday, 10 May 2004
Check-in for golf is 9:30 AM: shotgun start at 10:30 AM. Social hour starts at 5:00 PM: buffet dinner at 6:30 PM. Non-golfers are welcome.
Price (per person): Golf only - $145.00 Dinner only - $70.00 Golf and dinner - $185.00
Golf payment includes lunch box, cart and gratuities for the day. No caddies available. Deadline for golf and dinner reservations is 28 April 2004. No refunds after deadline. No reservations accepted without payment.
Limited to the first 160 golfers.
Golf format: four-player scramble. Locker room facilities available after golf. All dinner attendees are eligible for door prizes: must be present to win. Directions to the Club will be sent with confirmation. _________________________________________________________________________________________
Complete and send, with check, to: ASME Entertainment Committee C/o John Jorgensen 528 Daventry Road Berwyn, PA 19312 phone: 610-647-0246, fax: 610-647-0237 e-mail: johnjorg@hubbardco.com Enclosed is my check for $ __________for ___ golf and dinner tickets @ $185.00 each for ___ golf (only) tickets @ $145.00 each for ___ dinner (only) tickets @ $70.00 each for ___ hole sponsorship @ $350.00 each, or for ___ hole sponsorship @ $100.00 each in addition to foursome for ___ morning coffee & bagels sponsorship @ $100.00 each
Make check payable to “ASME Entertainment Committee, Phila. Section”.
Specify contact for confirmation and further correspondence. Indicate contribution: Name_________________________________________________ balls: ____ no. _____ Company______________________________________________ hats: ____ no. _____ Address_______________________________________________ shirts: ____ no. _____ ______________________________________________________ other: _________________ Phone__________________ Fax____________________ e-mail ______________________________
PLEASE PASS THIS FORM ON TO OTHERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE |
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ASME Philadelphia Section Meetings Aerodynamics of the Curve Ball LeRoy Alaways Exponent Failure Analysis Associates 6:30 pm, Thursday March 18, 2004 Towne Building, University of Pennsylvania Dr. Alaways will discuss the development and history of fluid mechanics from Newton to the present day and how certain principles and effects can cause a baseball to curve. As recently as 1940, the curve ball was thought to be an optical illusion. But the principle of lift on a rotating body explains how and why a baseball will curve. Dr. Alaways will also show the interesting experimental and photographic methods used to measure and study the effect of rotation. Contact Lana Vernati at the Villanova ME Offices to place your reservation by March 16 at: 610-519-4980 Cost: $10 members and quests, no charge for students. Location: University of Pennsylvania, Towne Building, Room 100 – See page 1 for directions. Time: 6:30 PM Reception and pizza, 6:45 PM Presentation
Franklin Institute's Wright Brothers' Collection John Alviti, Senior Curator, Franklin Institute 6:00 PM Tuesday April 20, 2004 Doubletree Guest Quarters, Plymouth Meeting, PA In 1948, Orville Wright gave the Franklin Institute a collection of papers and artifacts which he and his brother, Wilbur, had used when developing the Wright Flyers, early in the 20th Century. The collection includes logs and journals with data from the original flyer. Among other items in the collection is the original wind tunnel balance which the brothers used to update and verify the aeronautical performance data of the time. Mr. Alviti will present the history of the Institute's acquisition of the collection. He will also discuss the most interesting items in the collection as well as the Institute's plans for preservation and display of the collection. Contact Lana Vernati at the Villanova ME Offices to place your reservation by April 16 at: 610-519-4980 Cost: $25 for members and guests, $15 for students Location: Doubletree Guest Quarters, Plymouth Meeting, PA – See page 1 for directions. Time: 5:45 PM Reception, 6:30 PM Diner, 7:30 Presentation |
