New Life MembersWSE members who have maintained continuous membership for 30 years have the opportunity to become Life Membaers of the Society. The names of five new Life Members were announced at the January 2004 Chicagoland Engineering Forum luncheon. The new Life Members are Allen G. Behring, C. James Dahn, Walter D. Linzing, James J. Powers, and Daniel Biank. Nominations for awardsThe 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 www.wsechicago.org or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 1, 2004. 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 Awards shall be given, annually for up to three outstanding papers as judged by:
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; however, only the WSE member is eligible to receive the award. Nomination forms are available at www.wsechicago.org or in the WSE office. Papers must be received by June 1, 2004. 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:
Nomination forms are available at www.wsechicago.org or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 1, 2004. 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 www.wsechicgo.org or in the WSE office. Nominations must be received by June 1, 2004. Continuing education requirements: the Illinois Department of Professional RegulationIn 2002 the �Rules for the Administration of the Illinois Structural Engineering Practice Act of 1989�(�Rules�) were modified to include continuing education requirements. At the time of the November 30, 2002, structural engineering license renewal, all Illinois licensed S.E.s were notified that, beginning with the November 30, 2004, renewal, the continuing education requirements contained in the Rules are a condition of license renewal. A synopsis of the Illinois Rules for continuing education follows. It is recommended that all Illinois S.E.s read the full text of the Rules, which can be found at the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation website: www.dpr.state.il.us. ILLINOIS CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTSBeginning with the November 30, 2004 renewals, all applicants must complete 30 hours of continuing education (CE) relevant to the practice of structural engineering during each prerenewal period. The prerenewal period is the 24-month-period preceding the expiration date of the license. CE credit may be earned by:
WSE dinner meetings, trade shows, seminars, and committee work may qualify for CE credit hours. Other acceptable providers for programs include technical or professional organizations and accredited educational institutions. To qualify, all programs must contribute to the advancement of professional skills and scientific knowledge in the practice of structural engineering. The minimum length of the technical portion of any CE activity is 1 hour. Non-technical portions of a program, such as dinners, do not qualify for credit as CE. Each renewal applicant must certify, on the renewal application, full compliance with the CE requirements as defined in the Rules. It is the responsibility of the licensee to maintain a record of his or her CE for five years. The record will need to include:
The Department may require additional documentation and may conduct random audits, to verify compliance with CE requirements. It shall be the responsibility of each applicant to retain or otherwise produce evidence of compliance. Wind energy topic of Engineering Forum luncheonAt the January 2004 Chicagoland Engineering Forum luncheon, Mark Jantze, Manager of Wholesale Contracts, Energy Acquisition Group, ComEd, presented an overview of currents developments in harnessing wind as a renewable energy source. Jantze pointed out that a successful wind project combines three elements: good technical characteristics, positive economics, and political/stakeholders� goals fulfillment. An important technical characteristic is site quality, which is measured by wind class. There are seven classes of wind, the best of which is Class 7. Illinois has a few Class 4 sites but mostly Class 3 sites. To clarify the differences, Jantze stated that the power output for Class 7 is almost three times that of Class 3. In order to verify the site quality and its wind class, developers collect a full year of wind speed and direction data. If the site in question is satisfactory based on these criteria, the developer must still ascertain access to transmission lines and negotiate land leases for turbine installation with the farmers or ranchers who own the land. The transmission system faces potential challenges from wind energy, depending on the amount of wind connected to the system and the impact on operations because of the variability of wind. And the site lease arrangement can be tricky: the tower hub height is 230 feet (wind speech increases at higher elevations), the rotor diameters are 269 feet (longer blades sweep out more area), and the box containing all of the equipment on the top of the tower is the size of a semi trailer. The size and arrangement of the equipment, therefore, has an important impact on the lease arrangement. The economics of wind energy are extremely important. In general, as the size of the equipment increases, the cost of producing the energy decreases. Thus, sites with a higher class of wind can come close to being competitive with natural gas. However, a wind project costs more to develop and build than a natural gas fired power plant. On the other hand, the wind �fuel� is free. In addition, wind is an intermittent resource, in that it does not blow steadily and varies by time of day and season. This drawback is somewhat set off by the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy. The PTC for wind energy is $18/MWh for ten years. The PTC has its origins in the Energy Crisis and the search for alternative fuels. The PTC is the sweetener in the current Energy Bll before Congress, but the bill is stalled because of provision for the PTC extension. Future projects are on hold until the bill passes and the PTC extensions have been approved. Wind energy value alone will not make the project work economically. Wind�s �green value� must be included in the deal to make a project work economically. Wind�s green value occurs when wind produces an environmental benefit relative to the fossil fuel power it displaces. This reduces air emissions and land and water impacts as well as concerns expressed by some energy consumers who are interested in the environment. Renewable Energy Credits (REC) represent the �green value� of the energy. Marketers combine the REC with commodity power to �assemble� green power. For example, ComEd sells EcoPower� RECs at wholesale to marketers who assemble green power. A portion of the EcoPower sale is directed into a fund for renewable energy development. The political/stakeholder issues include environmentalists� concerns, conservation of finite fossil fuel resources, economic benefits (construction jobs, tax revenue), and objections to wind energy. Those who object cite noise, visual impact, flicker, and harm to birds and other animals. For example, there was a concern at Crest Ridge Wind Farm in Bureau Count, one of four wind farms under development in Illinois, that there might be an increase in West Nile disease because the turbines kills bats that eat mosquitos that carry West Nile disease. Some interesting facts about wind power:
For more information, check out the following websites on renewable energy:
CECI announces Engineering Excellence AwardsThe Consulting Engineers Council of Illinois (CECI) has bestowed the Engineering Excellence Awards to WSE Sustaining Members in the following categories:
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