Celebrating 125 years of Society history, planning underway

Emily M. Smith
ASME NEWS

ASME will start celebrating its birthday early. And the party is expected to last 12 months or longer. That's not a long time when you consider the 125 years of accomplishments ASME can list.

It's been almost 125 years since the idea of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was first conceived during a meeting on Feb. 16, 1880 of some 30 men in New York City. It's been almost 125 years since the idea of that group formally gave birth to ASME at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., almost two months later on April 7.

On the list of celebratory events that appear on www.asme.org/anniversary, those days are known as Founders Day, Feb. 16; and Heritage Day, April 7.

Although the actual birthday is still six months off, ASME members and friends are already being invited to participate in planning events to commemorate ASME's birth through local events and opportunities that will occur during ASME meetings and conferences in 2005. Many opportunities to organize local events will occur throughout 2005 at the ASME Section and Division levels.

So far, the calendar of events has three days in particular highlighted: Founders Day; Boiler Code Day (March 12); and Heritage Day. Several landmark designation ceremonies will be highlighted throughout the year as well.

During the month of February, Founders Day will be the focus of celebrations worldwide. On Feb. 16th, more than a century ago, about 80 engineers — industrialists, educators, technical journalists, designers, shipbuilders, military engineers and inventors — gathered at Stevens Institute of Technology to establish ASME.

To celebrate, ASME units can invite local members and guests to an open house or reception sponsored by the ASME entity. Those events can be supported by special anniversary resources, such as a video and ASME memorabilia. Members who are looking for planning ideas should regularly visit www.asme.org/anniversary/involved.shtml.

Engineers Week will be co-hosted by ASME in 2005 and its corporate sponsor BP. During EWeek celebrations, from Feb. 20-26, participants in Engineers Without Borders activities who complete projects prior to EWeek dates will be highlighted.

In March, ASME will encourage the celebration of March 12 as Boiler Code Day in recognition of the day in 1915 that the Boiler Code became an official document of ASME.
April will be the month of Heritage Day celebrations. April 7 is celebrated as the day that the first formal organizational meeting was held at Stevens Institute of Technology.

Celebrations during that month will include special ASME Heritage Day events, including a black-tie dinner on April 7 and an April 8 performance by members of the Orchestra Inginerilor din Bucuresti (Bucharest Orchestra of Engineers), all of whose members are engineers. The Board of Governors meeting also will be held at Stevens on April 8, and Regional Student Design Contests will be held on April 9.

The month of June will feature the opening reception of ASME's Summer Annual Meeting, which will be held at the recently renovated Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. ASME's heritage is entwined with Benjamin Franklin's early development of standards and leadership in mechanical arts.

Throughout October, ASME will host World Standards Day activities in recognition of the collaborative and voluntary efforts worldwide, as well as to raise awareness of the importance of global standardization to the world economy and to promote its role in helping to meet the needs of business, industry, government and consumers.

In November, ASME will hold its anniversary finale at the ASME Congress in Orlando, Fla.
As more details on specific events unfold, they will be posted on www.asme.org/anniversary.

In the meantime, pictures that highlight ASME events from the last few decades are being sought for ASME's online scrapbook. The photographs should be provided in jpg, gif, or tif formats. Submissions must provide copyright permission, captions — date, place, event, description, comments — and contact information. E-mails must not exceed 4MB. Contact: scrapbook@asme.org.

 

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