May 2002
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Philadelphia Section
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| Chair’s
Letter |
Employee Technical Abilities in Montgomery County
The Montgomery County Industrial Development Corporation recently completed a
two year study of employee technical skills in the county. The study results were
presented on March 28 at three locations linked by Verizon Solutions Center in
Conshohocken by video conferencing. The study was compiled from a series of meetings
with local business leaders, people from education institutions and government.
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The study recommended a series of steps to improve worker training and
skills. It recommended a close cooperation between business and local education
institutions plus a series of programs at the county level to improve the
availability of worker training.
If you would like to have more information on the study or the report,
contact Carmen Italia at 610 272 5000.
March Meeting
Worthington Industries in Malvern is looking for Summer Interns who are working toward a Mechanical or Electrical Engineering degree. The position involves updating and maintaining existing mechanical and electrical system drawings using Anvil CAD. Training will be provided in Anvil CAD. If you are interested, contact Jennifer Schandelmeier at (610) 722 1207, Fax (610) 722 1247 or jschandelmeier@armstrong.com Are you looking for a summer job? Did you know you can find summer jobs on the Web? Monster.com and |
philly.com/careerbuilder both will do searches for Intern positions.
Either check the appropriate check box or enter Summer or Intern in the keyword field.
ASME Puzzler Last issue’s puzzler: Who is the only US President to obtain a patent? Answer: On May 22, 1849, Abraham Lincoln received Patent No. 6469 for a device to lift boats over shoals, an invention which was never manufactured. However, it did make him the only U.S. president to hold a patent. The correct answer was given by Barry Gottlieb of Blackwood, New Jersey. Congratulations. If you would like a copy of this patent, go the Patent Office web site www.uspto.gov and search the patent database. Use Quick Search and enter the patent number. If your browser has the proper software to display the image, you will be able to get a copy of the patent. The Philadelphia main branch also has a copy of the patent in the Government Publications room. This issue’s puzzler: The term horse power in one we use every day. Even non-engineers are familiar with the term. James Watt is usually credited with first using the term and defining a value (I HP = 33,000 ft-lbs/minute. How did Watt arrive at this value? If you know, send your answer to the newsletter editor. Regional Student Conference The Regional Student Conference was held at Rowan University on April 13. Eight students made presentations on a wide range of subjects. In addition, there was a poster contest and a design contest in the evening. The presentations were on a very high professional level and it was difficult for the judges to determine a winner. Each presenter had 15 minutes for the talk and an additional 5 minutes to answer questions from the student audience. Not only were the presentation very good but the audience asked many pointed questions, showing a very good understanding of a wide range of technical issues. And each presenter was able to answer even the most probing questions. Rowan University was the host of the conference. Amip Shah was the ASME student section coordinator for the conference and did an outstanding job of organizing. Jennifer Akers was the moderator of the presentations and kept things on schedule through the day. The following are the prize winners for each contest. Presentations First Dave Chapin of Union College Second Ben Gauthier of Union College Third Jennifer Demetrio of Rowan University |
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Fourth Bethany Baumbach of Penn State University Ben Gauthier’s talk won Best Technical Merit. Poster Contest First Jeremy Losaw of Union College Second Andrew Lapsa of Cornell Third Sharon Ang of Cornell Design Contest First Joe Plitz and Mike Resciniti of Rowan The following were tied for second. Steve Feddor, Drew Craig, Charlie Mello, George Loranger US Naval Accademy Brian Feldman Penn State Congratulations to all involved in the day. Internet Access If you have asked to have email notification for Internet access of the newsletter and are still receiving it by mail, contact the editor. Some records have been lost and some people may not be properly notified when a new issue in on the web. If you would like to read the section newsletter on the web, contact the editor. Postage rates are about to go up again. Now it costs about 20 cents to mail each newsletter and post card. It does not sound like much but with almost 2000 members in the section, it quickly mounts up.
May Meeting - Family Day
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our program development. Let us know what you like
and dislike and also what you would like to add to our program. The survey only
takes a few minutes to fill out.
Philadelphia Section Golf Outing The section Golf Outing will be held on May 13. Even though the deadline for applications has passed, there may be spaces available. If you would like to attend, contact John Jorgensen at 610-647-0246, fax: 610-647-0237 or e-mail: johnjorg@hubbardco.com. Early History of the Philadelphia Water Department In 1793, a series of yellow fever outbreaks began in the Philadelphia. Many people at the time decided that the epidemics were caused by contaminated water. Now, of course, we know that yellow fever is caused by mosquitoes, not contaminated water. But as the search for clean water started, it was also determined that some wells were contaminated by the nearby privies. There was also a shortage of water for fighting fires and for cleaning streets. But whatever the rational, the result was that a monumental effort began to supply city residents with water to replace the water from private wells. Even though well water was generally still acceptable, it was only a matter of time before the well water would become contaminated. By 1797 the situation had become critical. A study was proposed to bring water from a spring near Norristown by aqueduct to the city. Other proposals were made to pump water from either the Schuylkill or the Delaware. By 1798, plans firmed up when Benjamin Latrobe proposed building two steam engines and a piping system to distribute the water. On February 2, 1799 Philadelphia Common Council authorized a contract to Latrobe to supply two steam engines to the city. On March 2, 1799 in what is probably the first official engineering change notice in the United States, Council authorized increasing the water supplied from one million gallons per day to one and a half million gallons. On January 21, 1801 the engines began to pump water to the citizens of Philadelphia. This was a monumental accomplishment considering that no one involved in the project knew how to build a steam engine. Everyone learned as the project progressed. The entire story of this project will be told at the water department Interpretive Center which is now scheduled to open in the spring of 2003. The opening was delayed due to a fire in the main engine house at the Fairmount Water Works on New Years day. Hopefully by next May, the ASME landmark will be able to open and tell the story of the engineering accomplishments of these early pioneers. |
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Defending the Profession
Every one is aware of the misuse of the word "engineer" in our society. Service technicians are called field engineers. Computer programmers are called software engineers. Recently a projectionist at a movie theater was described as a booth engineer. A front page article in the April 12 issue of the Wall Street Journal quoted an analyst with Fahnestock & Co. on investor concern regarding the quality of reported corporate earnings and how "accounting engineering is involved in producing |
these earnings". The quote refers to the recent situation with Enron and the methods used to hide the business practices of executives at Enron. Engineering has been used to describe many methods and procedures but this is may be the first connection of the word with fraud. The state professional licensing agencies won’t let businesses use engineer or engineering in a business name or advertising unless a licensed engineer is a principal of the company. But only individual engineers by example and leadership can educate the general public as to the true meaning of engineering. |
Philadelphia Section May Family Day
Saturday, May 11, 2002
Tour of the Kimmel Center
Location: Philadelphia, PA - Broad and Spruce Streets
Time: 12:30 PM (There is a free to the public concert which starts at 10:30 AM
in the interior plaza of the center.
Members will be able to see all areas of this unique performing arts center.
The tour will include behind the scenes areas which include all building utilities
and support areas. Depending on performance schedules we also will see Verizon Hall and the Perlman theater
Call Lana Vernati at Villanova University (610 519 4980) by May 9 to make reservations.
Directions: The Kimmel Center is on South Broad Street at Spruce and is easily
reached by auto and public transportation. There are many parking lots in the area.
Septa trains from the suburbs stop at 17th and Kennedy and 12th and Market Streets
which are an easy walk to the Kimmel Center. Septa also provides special family
fares on the weekend.
Patco service from New Jersey stops at 15th and Locust which is a two block walk
from the center.
See page 3 for more information.