July/August 2001

Chanute Centennial Series

The 2001 Chicagoland Engineering Forum Luncheon Program will be dedicated to celebrating the centennial of the Octave Chanute Award. Luncheon topics will feature his life, work, and interests (such as aviation) and updates of Award-winning papers from the last 15 years. The programs will be identified as part of the Chanute Centennial Series. Check the calendar in upcoming issues of Midwest Engineer for details of the series.

WSE�s 24th invitational golf outing

Mark your calendars for July 23, 2001, to participate in WSE�s 24th annual invitational golf outing. Itasca Country Club will host the outing; registration and luncheon at noon, tee time 1:30 pm.; regular fee $125 per person, $500.00 per foursome. This is a sellout event, so get your reservation in early. Contact the WSE office at 312/913-1730 or [email protected].

Annual meeting and awards banquet

This year the annual meeting and awards banquet will be on September 6 at Hyatt at University Village, 625 S. Ashland Ave., Chicago, 5:30 pm reception, 6:30 pm dinner, $45.00. At that time the membership will elect officers and trustees and present awards to honorees. This year�s keynote speaker is Paul O�Connor, Executive Director, World Business Chicago, who will discuss how his organization is luring world class businesses like Boeing to move their corporate headquarters to Chicago. For more information and reservations, please contact the WSE office at 312/913-1730 or [email protected].

Online education courses through WSE

WSE�s technology partner, MyAssociation.com now publishes online education courses for engineers and other technological specialists. For more information, go to http://www.click2learn.com/myassociation.

HNTB announces new project manager

HNTB Corporation announces that Mousa Abbasi, Ph.D., P.E., has joined the firm as project manager in the Chicago office. Abbasi will provide project management, ITS planning and design, ITS system engineering, and staff development. Formerly Transportation Applications Group Leader at the Arlington Heights office for National Engineering Technology Corporation, Abbasi earned his doctorate in transportation engineering from Michigan State University and a MS in Construction Management and Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.

HNTB also announces that Charles H. Quandel, P.E., has joined the firm as vice president in the Chicago office. With more than 25 years of transportation design management experience, Quandel will lead the firm�s high speed rail initiatives and is responsible for HNTB�s Great Lakes Division Rail Services, specifically the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative.

Raymond Professional Group announces appointment

Raymond Professional Group has named Clarence Passons, AIA, managing agent for architecture. A licensed architect, Passons will serve on the boards for the Raymond contracting entities that offer architectural services. Currently Raymond�s Director of Architecture, Passons is lead designer for the 3-Point Shot Entertainment Center in Chicago as well as master planner and designer for the Gateway Park brownfield redevelopment project.

Passons earned his bachelor�s degree in architecture from Tulane University in New Orleans and his master�s in architecture from the University of Melbourne in Australia. He also completed advanced studies in design management at the Harvard School of Design.

Japanese woodblock prints from Van Zelst Collection on exhibit

The September/October 1996 cover story of Midwest Engineer featured engineering structures as subject matter of famed Japanese woodblock print artist Un�ichi Hiratsuka from the collection of WSE Life Member Ted Van Zelst.

Now the largest exhibition of the work of Hiratsuka ever to be mounted in the United States is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition, �Hiratsuka�Modern Master,� includes 160 woodblock prints from the Van Zelst Collection and the Art Institute. The collection will be shown in two separate groups: the first will go on display June 16 to July 29 and the second group from August 4 to September 16, 2001.

While abroad seeking civil engineering business projects, Ted Van Zelst developed an interest in contemporary Japanese prints. The work of Hiratsuka first came to his attention through the Japanese custom of exchanging gifts with business associates. He was intrigued by the artist�s depictions of bridges, parks, and other important structures, an interest that comprised a theme in the early years of his collection of Hiratsuka�s work.

Museum curators in the United States and Japan have found the Van Zelst Family Collection to be a unique compilation. The collection, carefully assembled for more than 40 years, includes the best and rarest examples of all phases of the artist�s development. It is believed to be the largest assemblage of Hiratsuka�s work to be found anywhere.

Northwestern University receives $10 million donation

Ford Motor Company has donated $10 million to Northwestern University and the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science for construction of a new engineering design center on the Evanston campus. The donation will create Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center, a 63,000-square-foot facility located at the gateway to Northwestern�s science and engineering corridor south of the Technological Institute building. Construction is scheduled to start in late 2002 with occupancy in fall 2004.

ACEC changes name

The American Consulting Engineers Council (ACEC) has voted to change its name to the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC). The new name, which retains the well-recognized acronym, reflects the organization�s continuing commitment to represent the business interests of is members and to clearly communicate those interests among key audiences, including legislators, prospective members (private engineering firms), and purchasers of engineering services. Research conducted on behalf of ACEC found that those outside of the engineering industry, including legislators, did not readily understand the term �consulting engineer.� The new name tested well among target audiences as an accurate and clearer title.

First U.S. chair for women in engineering

The Margaret F. Donovan Chair for Women in Engineering has been established at the University of Akron through a $1 million gift from Margaret Donovan. Donovan, whose daughter earned a bachelor�s degree from University of Akron, chose University of Akron because the university already has an excellent Women in Engineering Program (WIEP), an engineering college with a strong reputation, and reasonable tuition. Criteria for the Donovan chair are currently being developed, and later this year a national search committee will begin the process of soliciting and evaluating potential candidates for the position.

This is Donovan�s second gift to the university. In 1996 she established the Robert E. Donovan Scholarship Fund in memory of her husband who, along with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and other business leaders, died in a plane crash over Croatia on April 3, 1996. These scholarships are given annually to deserving undergraduate and graduate women pursuing degrees in engineering, law, or business at the University of Akron.

Fulbright Scholar Program

The Fulbright Scholar Program is offering 99 lecturing/research awards in engineering for the 2002-2003 academic year. Awards for both faculty and professionals range from two months to an academic year or longer. While foreign language skills are needed in some countries, most Fulbright lecturing assignments are in English.

The program is administered by the Institute of International Education in association with the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a private, not-for-profit organization. The application deadline for 2002-2003 awards is August 1, 2001. For more information, contact the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 3007 Tilden Street, NW, Suite 5-L, Washington DC 20008, 202/686-7877, [email protected]. You can also click on www.cies.org.

Research support for engineering

The National Institutes of Health has created a Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology to support research in computer science, engineering, mathematics, and physics. For more information, go to http://www.nigms.nih.gov/news/releases.

For your information...

NASA is working with Deere & Co. to demonstrate a new global positioning system (GPS) to be used by farmers. Deere will equip their tractors with receivers providing instant location information, which is vital for precision farming. The technology will allow farmers to navigate fields at night and when the visibility is poor. Furthermore, with soil sensors and other monitors, the GPS will let farmers calculate and map out precisely where their fields may need more water, fertilizer, or weed control, saving both time and money. For more information, click on ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2001/01-062.txt.

Archived Society News

• May/June 2001
• March/April 2001