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November/December 2002

WSE welcomes Sustaining Members

The Western Society of Engineers is pleased to welcome two new Sustaining Members: Packer Engineering, represented by Dr. Kenneth Packer, and Weldy-Lamont Associates, represented by Dennis Lamont.

Chicagoland Engineering Forum luncheons

On November 13 the Chicagoland Engineering Forum luncheon will feature a tour of McDonald�s Hamburger University in Oak Brook. The will be a presentation about menu management and nutrition information, and a speaker from the food engineering department will discuss engineering application in food preparation and food service for this fast food giant. The 90-minute tour will take place during the lunch hour.

The December luncheon, December 4, will focus on the completion of the Wacker Drive reconstruction, which will be discussed by city officials involved in the project. On January 29, 2003, the Engineering Forum luncheon will feature a chemical engineer from Abbott Laboratories who will discuss an engineer�s role in pharmaceuticals as well as the latest information about Abbott�s projects, including a new drug for rheumatoid arthritis. These luncheons will take place at the Union League Club, 65 West Jackson Blvd., 11:30 am/social; noon/lunch. Cost: $25.00 for members, $30.00 for nonmembers. For more information, contact WSE office, [email protected], 312/913-1730, 913-1731 fax.


WSE Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet

The Western Society of Engineers� Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, featuring awards and recognitions, installation of 2002-2003 officers and directors, and a keynote address took place on September 12, 2002, at the Hyatt University Village Hotel. Following a reception and dinner, 2001-2002 President James Lindell welcomed members and guests to the Society�s 133rd Annual Meeting and Year in Review.

Outgoing President Lindell called the meeting to order and, after a brief recap of the Society�s activities during the past year, honored a number of members for their commitment to Western Society of Engineers.

Lindell thanked and presented certificates to outgoing Board of Direction members Dick Shea, Alvord, Burdick & Howson; and immediate past president Margaret Vignocchi, Prinmar Corporation.

Special Service Awards

Lindell then presented two Special Service Awards to recognize individuals who, through their efforts, advanced the Society in some way:

  • Kepler Associates, represented by Ann, James, and Tom Kepler, who have written, edited, and designed the Society�s award-winning magazine, Midwest Engineer, for the past 10 years.
  • Myra Burgess, who, as treasurer of the organization, has provided top-quality financial analysis and has led the Board in developing long-range strategies to create and maintain financial stability.

Life member

John LaPlante, TY Lin BASCOR, joins the group of WSE members who have maintained continuous membership for 30 years and who, as long-term supporters of the Society, have helped turn WSE into a 134-year institution. LaPlante joined Western Society in 1972 and was an Ellet Award winner and a past president.

Charles Ellet Cup recipient

The Charles Ellet Award recognizes a younger professional who has made great professional development early in his or her career. To be eligible for the award a person must be a WSE member and be under 35 years of age. The award was established in 1929 as a memorial to Charles Ellet, a Civil War hero and an engineer, who was considered to be the father of the modern suspension bridge. The recipient of this prestigious award receives a certificate, an honorarium of $100, and possession of a silver loving cup for one year. The cup is engraved with the names of each winner dating back to 1930.

This year�s award winner, Don Wittmer, HNTB Corporation, has been able to combine outstanding community and social involvement with technical expertise and project management skills. Wittmer serves on WSE�s Young Engineers Forum Committee as well as the Board of Direction. In the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Wittmer has served as the chair of the Young Member Group, director, and is currently the section�s secretary. He is scheduled to become president-elect this fall and president next year. For the past five years, he has led the Future City Competition for the Chicagoland region. The success and participation of that program has grown each year thanks to Wittmer�s leadership and efforts. In addition to the aforementioned duties, Wittmer took on the challenge of chairing the 2002 Chicagoland Engineers Week activities.

Wittmer received a B.S.C.E. from the University of Iowa in 1990. When he is not lending support to a professional or civic organization, Wittmer manages to log a few hours as project engineer on a variety of transportation projects, such as the Shermer Road Reconstruction, the I-190 Collector-Distribution Roadway Study, I-59 in Plainfield, and Algonquin Road in McHenry County, to name a few.

Octave Chanute Award

Octave Chanute was a charter member and the 23rd president of the Society. He was a civil engineer who worked in the railroads for several years. His work included the design and construction of a bridge over the Missouri River, Union Stock Yards in Chicago and Kansas City, and elevated steam railroads in New York. During his time in Chicago, he began building and flying gliders, making more than 200 flights between 1889 and 1896, in Dunes Park, Indiana. His biplane glider experiments were the basis for the Wright Brothers� airplane.

Chanute endowed the award in 1901, during his presidency. Today the award annually recognizes up to three papers of excellence in any area of engineering by a WSE member. This year�s award was presented to Bob Ivarson for his paper entitled �Performance Based Design of Erosion and Sediment Controls for Construction� (see page 6 for reprint of paper). His paper presents quantifiable methods and procedures for the analysis and design of commonly applied erosion and sediment control best management practices for the purpose of designing to goal, standard, or performance criteria. Ivarson directs water resources and coastal engineering services for Teng & Associates. This is his third Chanute Award.

Officers and trustees

At the end of the award presentations, outgoing president James Lindell presented the gavel to the new president, Stephen Palac of Greeley and Hansen who introduced the new year�s officers and trustees:

Officers

  • President
    Stephen Palac
    Partner
    Greeley and Hansen
  • Vice President
    Dennis Lamont
    President
    Weldy-Lamont Associates
  • Treasurer
    Myra Burgess
  • Trustees
    Christopher Burke
    Dennis DeMoss
    Larry Feder
    Gene Gemperline
    Larry Kirchner
    Mark Rauckhorst
    Steve Susina
    Donald Wittmer

Keynote address

Dr. Kenneth Packer and Mr. John Nowicki from Packer Engineering, Inc. were the keynote speakers for the annual meeting, discussing their role in producing a replica of the Wright brothers� airplane engine. In their remarks they described the fellowship and the collaboration of many entities, including the Western Society of Engineers and one of its charter members Octave Chanute, in the Chicagoland area that led to manned flight.

Packer Engineering is currently building a prototype of the original Wright engine and plane that will be flown on the front lawn of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry on December 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the original flight. Midwest Engineer will be reporting on the progress of this project and will feature a complete description of the Wright prototype in the March/April 2003 issue that will be focused on transportation.

Dr. Packer is the founder and principal engineer and serves as chairman of the board of the Packer Group. He has been instrumental in the development of this multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary engineering organization since 1962. Packer is a licensed Professional Engineer, an ASM Fellow and Trustee, and an active consultant on advisory councils to several universities.

John Nowicki, Business Development Manager for Packer Aerospace, has more than 30 years of experience within the general aviation industry. He is an FAA licensed private pilot and an aerobatic competition pilot and has been involved with the manufacturing, flight testing, restoration, and maintenance of aircraft components, aircraft kits, and complete aircraft.


Washington Award recipient

Eugene Cernan, Captain, USN, Retired; and chairman and CEO of The Cernan Corporation, is the 2003 Washington Award recipient.

Born in Chicago, Cernan earned his B.S.E.E. from Purdue University and his M.S. in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School before attending Wharton School of Finance and Northwestern University.

Selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1963, Cernan has walked in space; flown to the moon; commanded a spacecraft; and assisted in the planning, development, and evaluation of the joint U.S./Soviet Union Apollo-Soyuz mission and test project. After retiring from the Navy in 1976, he formed the Cernan Corporation, a management consultant firm in energy, aerospace, and related industries.

Cernan�s achievements in engineering, space science, and administration fields are numerous. During the Gemini 9 mission, Cernan stepped into space after moving to an equipment bay in the rear of the spacecraft where he put on a rocket-powered astronaut moving unit (AMU), which he tested at the end of a 125-foot tether. There, he set a record two-hour, nine-minute flight walk.

On his second space flight, he was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 10, the first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification flight test of an Apollo lunar module. In accomplishing all of the assigned objectives of this mission, Apollo 10 confirmed the operations performance, stability, and reliability of the command /service module and lunar module configuration during trans-lunar coast, lunar orbit insertion, and lunar module separation and descent to within eight nautical miles of the lunar surface.

He made his third space flight as spacecraft commander of Apollo 17, the last scheduled manned mission to the moon for the United States and the first manned nighttime launch. During this mission, Cernan and his team made the moon their home for three days and launched the lunar module �Challenger,� which activated a base of operations for three highly successful excursions to the nearby craters and the Taurus mountains. The last mission to the moon established several new records for manned space flight that include: longest manned lunar landing flight (301 hours, 51 minutes); longest lunar surface extra-vehicular activities (22 hours, 6 minutes); largest lunar sample return (249 pounds); and longest time in orbit (147 hours, 48 minutes).

In keeping with the purpose of the Washington Award�recognition of devoted, unselfish, and pre-eminent service in advancing human progress�the Western Society of Engineers acknowledges Captain Cernan�s role in space exploration and travel. Cernan has logged 566 hours and 15 minutes in space, of which more than 73 hours were spent on the surface of the moon. He was the second American to have walked in space, having spanned the circumference of the world twice in a little more than 21�2 hours. He was one of two men to have flown to the moon on two occasions and, as commander of the last mission to the moon, Apollo 17, had the privilege and distinction of being the last man to have left his footprints on the surface of the moon. His work with NASA�s Gemini and Apollo programs demonstrated a human�s capacity for space flight and performance on the moon. In addition, he performed invaluable research while on the lunar surface, contributing to mankind�s knowledge of the moon.

The Western Society of Engineers will present the Washington Award to Captain Cernan at the Chicagoland Engineering Awards Benefit on February 21, 2003, during National Engineers Week.

New Members

The WSE Board of Direction and the Admissions Committee welcome the following members into the Western Society of Engineers:

  • Matthew Filippini
    Cone, Kalb, Wonderlick Architects
  • Paul Roth
    Roth, Gleason & Associates
  • Steven Schultz
    Writing at Work
    (affiliate member)
  • Roderick Berthold
    Gus Berthold Electric Co.
  • Wanda K. Reder
    ComEd
  • Tony Kresic
    Municipal Marking
  • Patrick Hennelly
    Weldy-Lamont Associates

The following new members joined after the Young Engineers Forum:

  • Lara Sup
    Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.
  • Fareed Pittalwala
    Chicago Bridge & Iron
  • Andrew Schwarz
    CTE Engineers
  • James Jennings
    HNTB Corp.
  • Arun Eapen
    Sargent & Lundy
  • John Farsatis
    CTE Engineers
  • Michael Gryn
    CTE Engineers
  • Anthony Murphy
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Christine Marsh
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Steve Lynch
    Patrick Engineering
  • Chen Zhou
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Adam Redd
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Diego Negro
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Jason Xi
    Patrick Engineering
  • (Ms.) Yan Kong
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Kevin Huberty
    Sargent & Lundy
  • Rebecca Smith
    Patrick Engineering
  • Jerome Santoyo
    Patrick Engineering
  • (Mr.) Karel Vlasek
    Sargent & Lundy

Update

One year after the events of September 11, 2001, a $16 million study into the collapse of the World Trade Center has been initiated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The 24-month federal building and fire safety investigation will study the structural failure and subsequent progressive collapse of the World Trade Center, focusing on the building construction, the materials used, and all of the technical conditions that contributed to the disaster. For more information, go to http://wtc.nist.gov.

� � �

In recognition of the one-year anniversary of September 11, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), participating with the Center for Collaboration and Education in Design, presents American Engineers Respond, an Internet-based public service announcement. The announcement highlights immediate reactions of engineers at Ground Zero to the tragedies of September 11 and details how engineers continue to play a major role in homeland security initiatives. To view this free presentation go to www.nspe.org or to www.e2ed.com/engineers911.html.

Demographic forecast

If you have a new baby or grandchild, he or she will probably never attend overcrowded schools; the children born around 2000 make the up the smallest segment of today�s population in the United States, behind even senior citizens in their 70s. So structural engineers will not be building new schools ten years from now.

On the other hand, today�s preteens are part of the birth rate increase of the early 1990s, and they face overcrowded schools and stretched resources. This means demand for secondary schools will peak around 2004 and university/post-secondary around 2008.

Baby boomers born around 1955 are expected to live longer than ever, and soon for the first time in U.S. history there will be more seniors than children. This translates into need for medical facilities, retirement living centers, and recreational services.

Add to these changing needs one more trend: a possible shortage of engineers. Declining numbers of engineering school graduates, which dropped 25 percent from 1985 to 2000, will collide with boomers� retirement plans and with growth in engineering opportunities. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts 138,000 additional engineering jobs in the next decade.

Yet, according to Engineering & Technology Enrollments, published by the Engineering Workforce Commission, the number of foreign nationals enrolling in engineering bachelor�s degree programs is increasing significantly. In the fall of 2001 the enrollment level of foreign national students rose 18.6 percent at the freshman level and 14.7 at the graduate level.

To prepare for the future, engineering firms need to be aware of how demographics affect employee recruitment and retention.

2002 salary survey

The median total annual income for engineers rose 3.8 percent in the past year to $81,964, exceeding the 1.1 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index, according to the 2002 National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Income & Salary Survey Report. The report also revealed that professional engineers earned, on average, $15,000 more than engineers with no professional license or certification in 2001. For more information on the survey, go to www.nspe.org under �Shop NSPE.�

Milestones

WSE member James D. Buckler, 40, died in September 2002. He was the sustaining member representative for Edwards & Kelcey.

Life Member Valentine McGowan, a member since 1952, died in April 2002.

WSE member James D. Buckler, 40, died in September 2002. He was the sustaining member representative for Edwards & Kelcey.

Life member Ralph Michael, a member since 1953, died in October 2002.


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