May/June 2002

Western Society is moving

As of May 1 the Western Society of Engineers is in its new headquarters: 28 E. Jackson, Suite 1320, Chicago, IL 60604. The telephone and fax numbers will remain the same.

WSE�s new staff member

Kristy Galgan has joined the Western Society of Engineers� staff as office manager effective immediately. WSE is pleased to welcome her to her new position.

WSE Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet

The Western Society of Engineers� Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, featuring a keynote address, awards and recognitions, and installation of 2002-2003 officers and directors, will take place on September 12, 2002. The meeting will be held at the Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 S. Michigan Ave., Joliet Room. Cocktails: 5:30, dinner 6:30. Speaker: TBA. Cost: $50.00. Reservations: WSE office, [email protected], 312/913-1730, 913-1731 fax.

WSE welcomes new sustaining member

Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. has joined the ranks of sustaining company members for the Society. WSE welcomes the firm and Christopher B. Burke, recent recipient of the President�s Lifetime Award of Purdue University�s Engineering Alumni association, as its representative. Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. provides municipal, civil, mechanical, environmental, and structural engineering services to public and private sector clients in Indiana and Illinois.

Midwest Engineer honored

Midwest Engineer received the Distinguished Award, the highest award in an individual category, from the 29th Annual Chicago Technical Publications, Art, and Online Communication Competition, sponsored by the Society for Technical Communication, at the society�s awards banquet March 21, 2002. The judges indicated that the magazine was �clearly superior in all criteria,� and one judge even commented that the magazine was so interesting that she would buy it if she saw it on the newsstand.

As a recipient of the Distinguished Award, Midwest Engineer is now entered into the International Technical Communication Competition (ITCC).

Nominations for awards

The Washington Award, established in 1916 by WSE president John Alvord, is conferred each year upon an engineer whose professional attainments have advanced the welfare of all peoples. The purpose of the award is to express recognition of devoted, unselfish, and pre-eminent service in advancing human progress. A list of rules governing the Washington Award and nomination forms are available at the end of this article or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 3, 2002.

The Octave Chanute Award is given annually to the Western Society member whose paper on an engineering topic is judged meritorious. In 1901, during his term as WSE president, Chanute, an aviation pioneer, funded the cost of awarding a commemorative medal to the Society member who presented the best research paper before the Society each year. The following year, as retiring president of the Society, he established an endowment to fund future awards.

Chanute Award Criteria/Rules
Papers may be co-authored by non-members, but awards are made only to the author(s) who are WSE member(s).

Awards shall be given, annually for up to three outstanding papers as judged by:

• Originality
• Applicability (practical or theoretical)
• Value as a contribution to the business or practice of engineering
• Logical development of contents, conclusiveness, completeness and conciseness.

The recipient will be selected by the WSE Awards Committee, and approved by the WSE Board of Trustees. Since WSE supports engineers working together, we do not require the WSE member to be the sole author of the paper. Nomination forms are available at www.wsechicago.org or in the WSE office. Papers must be received by June 3, 2002.

The Charles Ellet Award is presented annually to a member of Western Society of Engineers who is 35 years of age or younger and who has made outstanding progress in his or her professional development. 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, a small honorarium, and possession of a silver loving cup for one year. The cup is engraved with the names of each winner dating back to 1930. The recipient will be selected by the Awards Committee and approved by the Board of Trustees.

WSE members who are eligible for nomination for the Charles Ellet Award this year are:

• Jason Cole
• James K. Flisk
• R. Cliff Galitz
• Claudia Gherlan
• Lisa A. Harbert
• Jason E. Hedien
• John A. Kerrigan
• Douglas R. Larson
• Dan Martin
• Kevin G. Miller
• Aruch Poonsapaya
• Martin A. Rave
• Peter F. Ross
• Michael J. Sheehan
• Donald G. Wittmer
• Kenneth P. Zroka

Nomination forms are available at the end of this article or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 3, 2002.

The Landmark Award was established in 1992 to recognize an outstanding engineer�s body of work and contributions to the profession. WSE members, their coworkers, and clients are eligible for nomination. Applicants are judged on their technical and ethical insights; sharing of knowledge; promotion of engineering training; and participation in technical societies, publications, and seminar presentations. Nomination forms are available at the end of this article or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 3, 2002.

• 2002 Washington Award nomination form
• 2002 Ellet Award nomination form
• 2002 Landmark Award nomination form
• 2002 Octave Chanute Award nomination form

WSE�s 25th Invitational Golf Outing

Mark your calendars for July 22, 2002, to participate in WSE�s 25th annual Invitational Golf Outing at Itasca Country Club. Fee: $500.00 per foursome. This is a sellout event, so get your reservation in early. For more information, contact the WSE office at 312/913-1730 or [email protected].

May Engineering Forum luncheon

Lanny Feder, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, Office of Technology Management, University of Illinois at Chicago, will speak at the May 29 Engineering Forum luncheon on �Engineers and the Law: Intellectual Property Concerns.�

The value of a company used to be primarily based on tangible items such as real estate, inventory, and cash flow/profits. But increasingly intangible items, classified under the category of intellectual property, determine value. Feder will explain intellectual property�what it is, why it is important, and how to protect it.

Feder earned Bachelor�s and Master�s degrees in chemical engineering and has worked in research and development, engineering design, technology transfer, industrial liaison, and business and program development.

The Chicagoland Engineering Forum luncheon will be held at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., 11:30 am/social; noon/lunch. Cost: $25.00 members, $30.00 guests.

New noncredit short courses offered through IIT

A new series of courses is being offered to meet the continuing education needs of engineers and technical professionals. Through its new Center for Professional Development, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is offering more than 150 noncredit short courses (one to three days). Short courses are offered in areas such as engineering, leadership and management, computing, Internet, manufacturing, biotech, energy and environment, and other related topics. Intended to be of broad interest to professionals, short courses do not require application or admission to the University; most do not have prerequisites. They are offered at IIT s Rice Campus in Wheaton, Main Campus in Chicago, or onsite at a company.

The June through December schedule includes topics of interest to engineers, managers, scientists, and computer professionals. Examples in engineering and manufacturing include Introduction to Reliability Engineering, Advanced Techniques for Monitoring of Batch Processes, Quality Control and Fault Diagnosis, Fundamentals of Power Electronics, Engineering Economic Analysis, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Engineers, Introduction to the Finite Element Method, and many more.

Many of the courses are designed to improve management and leadership skills, including Introduction to Leadership Development, Change Management Assessing the Five Levels of All Technology and Applying Six Sigma, Forecasting, Inventory Replenishment and Supply Chain, Strategic Business Planning, and many more. In the areas of computer, Internet, and telecommunications, offerings include such courses as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, Applied Internet Security, Fast Track to .NET and C#, Introduction to SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), Introduction to UMTS 3GPP Architecture. Courses in energy, environment, and manufacturing are also on the schedule.

A complete schedule is available at www.cpd.iit.edu or enroll online at www.cpd.iit.edu/shortcourse/register.

The Center also responds to requests for suggested topics and courses. Most of the more than 150 topics listed on the CPD Short Course website can be offered at a company location.

For more information, contact Ruth Sweetser, Director, Professional Learning and Business Relations at 630-682-6020 or [email protected]. Or visit www.iit.edu for more information.

Archived Society News

• March/April 2002
• January/February 2002
• November/December 2001
• September/October 2001
• July/August 2001
• May/June 2001
• March/April 2001