Feb 2010

 

Greetings from the Executive committee. 

 

Looking for a job? We had a meeting to connect Mechanical engineers looking for jobs with those offering jobs. It was held at Digital Dimensions Inc. (DDI) on Murphy Canyon Rd. All the people there are very helpful especially Dave Stanton. 

 

They are reselling agents for SolidWorks. They offered us a room at free of charge. During the meeting they have offered free use of their computer facilities for Engineers looking for employment and need to keep their skill level. They also offered a student package free for 90 days and a free exam to qualify as a SolidWorks user. This was very generous of them and would encourage members to take advantage of it. Please check with Dave before making your booking.

 

The meeting itself was a little disappointing. There were not many people actually there looking for work. We in fact had a couple of jobs that no one took up. We had tried our best to publish the event. Does that mean that there are not many mechanical engineers looking for work? Let us know if you have any suggestions.

 

Don’t forget the National Engineers Week Banquet on Friday, Feb 19, 2010. For tickets and more information, contact Phil Young, youngp@asme.org. 

 

We have planned a Happy Hour social event on Thursday, March 4, 2010, at McGregor’s near Qualcomm Stadium.  See the newsletter or the website for more details.

 

We need new helpers and new ideas for our little section. Again, please contact me if you can get involved.

 

For more information, check out:  http://sections.asme.org/sandiego/. York Lew is putting in a lot of effort to keep it current.

 

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Jan 2010

 

The Executive committee wishes you a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

 

Here we are, 2010 already. Our focus for this year is to help engineers find Jobs. Our first meeting was in October. It was well attended. The next one is this Thursday, January 14th. More details are in the January newsletter. Please let your friends know if they are looking for jobs or know people who might be hiring.

 

ASME, San Diego has been a leader in hosting the Human Powered Submarine Contest on the West Coast. Unfortunately, the facility we used to use is not available anymore. We had 10 teams ready to come to San Diego. If anyone is aware of any alternative facility, please contact me. For now we were very sad to cancel the contest.

 

The Off Shore Model Basin is a casualty of the economic times. It is one of a kind on the whole of west coast. It has a 300’ by 50’ and 15’ deep tank. It also has a portion that is 20’ deep. It can generate almost any shape of wave form. In the past is has been used for a lot of simulation studies for the oil platform rigs, ships and submarines. Yes, CFD is very useful, but there is still a lot to learn from actual test studies.  We’ll be very sad to let this facility be destroyed. If you know anyone in your field that may be looking for such a facility, please contact me.

 

The Engineering dinner is one of a kind event held every year in San Diego. It brings in engineers in all fields together. It is also an opportunity to recognize the people who do great things in our city. Please support it by attending this Banquet Dinner. More details in the January newsletter or contact Phil Young.

 

We are continuing our efforts to contact as many members in San Diego as possible. Don’t be surprised if you get a call. We are making sure that we have your current email. Now that we are sending the newsletter by email, we would like to make sure you are getting full advantage of your membership.

 

We need new helpers and new ideas for our little section. Again, please contact me if you can get involved.

 

For more information, check out:  http://sections.asme.org/sandiego/. York Lew is putting in a lot of effort to keep it current.

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Dec 2009

 

As the new year approaches, I wish all of you a Happy Holiday season and I wish that 2010 will be a better year for all. 

Nov 2009

A newsletter is the only active instrument that the local section communicates its activities to its members. ASME San Diego Section switched to electronic newsletters a couple of years back. I support this change. However there is a fundamental assumption that the email addresses we use in our data base are current. People change their email addresses more often than their residence addresses.

We have more than 850 registered members in San Diego Section. Recently I sent a personal email to everyone asking them if they get our emails. The result was as follows:

1)    238 people replied that they get the newsletter (28%)

2)    25 emails were rejected by the system (3%)

3)    13 people responded that they got my email, but do not get the section email (1.6%)

4)    Almost 67% either did not bother to reply or did not get my email

I think this is a huge chunk of people that the local section needs to make an effort to connect with. In the next few weeks, we are going to phone some of our membership who did not respond and see if we can correct our database.

Ultimately it is the member’s responsibility to update their email address if they change. We request that you update it at least once a year when you renew your membership. ASME San Diego Section wants to make sure that you are getting the most out of your membership. Please update your email address.

We had our first “Get Connected” meeting to help people looking for work. Look for the report in the Newsletter. Our next one will be held soon. For more information, check out:  http://sections.asme.org/sandiego/

 

In the Newsletter is also the report on the tour of the Encina Power Plant.

Oct 2009

Well we have just started our new term.  Many of you know me because I’ve been actively involved with ASME--San Diego Section since 1990.

This year is particularly tough for Mechanical Engineers in San Diego.  I was the Chair back in 1994 when General Dynamics left town.  I would like to focus this year strongly on connecting people.  I know this is very important for people looking for jobs.  It is equally important for potential employer looking for the right candidate.

Here is a short list of how ASME--San Diego Section can get involved for the membership:

   1.  We realize that searching for jobs on the web can be very time consuming and frustrating.  On the other hand, the employers get too many lengthy résumés and have very little time to study each one of them.  So as a first step we have set up a special page on our web site.  Starting on the home page http://sections.asme.org/sandiego and click on Jobs and Training on the left.  It is an easy to use platform for both people looking for jobs and people looking for help.  We welcome any suggestions of how we can improve it for the membership.

   2.  We would like to help new entrepreneurs.  If you are trying to set up a company and looking for customers, ASME—San Deigo can help you put your services/products out to 900 memberships within San Diego.  We are planning to send out a newsletter.  We encourage you to contact any of the Executive Committee members.  The cost may be just the mailing cost of the newsletter, shared among people who are interested.  The newsletter will also be posted on the web.

   3.  We are planning a series of face-to-face meetings.  Mechanical Engineering is a vast field of disciplines.  These meetings would be specific for each discipline so that we can connect people with similar interests.  The first one is planned for Thursday, October 22, 2009.  Please see the newsletter or the web site for more details.

We would like to do a lot more.  Any new ideas are welcome.  Let us support our fellow Mechanical Engineers get through these tough times.

Our Section always welcome any volunteer who would like to help.  If you can devote a few hours each month or even a few hours each year, please contact me ( nip.shah@hs.utc.com or 858-627-6251).