At 2003 Congress, strands of ASME's past mingle with its present and future

Emily M. Smith
ASME NEWS

WASHINGTON — With ASME perched on the edge of its first major restructuring in 20 years, a record number of attendees turned out for the 2003 Congress here to participate in a variety of activities that wove the threads of ASME's past and present together with its future.

The past was celebrated by way of a special event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight. The present was highlighted by a keynote discussion on homeland security. The future was represented by an important general assembly that gave attendees a preview of what ASME may look like beginning next year and into the next decade and beyond. The "100 Years Of Flight," session, a Congress kickoff event sponsored by Mechanical Engineering magazine, featured three representatives from the aviation industry.

The extensive technical program and exhibit area at Congress 2003 helped propel the attendance numbers to historic highs, with total attendance reaching 5,000.

The anniversary ASME logo.

Dan Mooney, vice president of product development with Boeing Commercial Airplanes; Mal O'Neill, vice president and chief technical officer at Lockheed Martin; and Victor Lebacqz, who is the acting associate administrator for NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology, each offered their perspectives on how the Wright brothers' discoveries blazed a trail that led to current capabilities in defense, national security and the exploration of space for the United States and other countries. They also talked about how current capabilities are being expanded to enable future developments.

Before the presentations, ASME president Reginald I. Vachon presented an honorary Spirit of St. Louis award to Amanda Wright-Lane, who is the great-grandniece of Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Following the event, more than 500 copies of Mechanical Engineering's 100 Years of Flight supplement were given out to those in the audience. Copies of the magazine's special issue were later sent to ASME members along with the December issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine.

For details on the presentations, see the Nov. 16 posting in the archives of ASME NEWS Latebreaking at www.asmenews.org.

The following day, more than 500 people listened to Regis A. Matzie, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Westinghouse Electric Co.; Charles E. McQueary, Under Secretary for Science and Technology in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and Hugo Poza, vice president of Homeland Security at Raytheon Co., speak about their organizations' efforts to combat terrorism and the role of engineers in aiding those efforts.

John Voeller, an ASME member who had served as co-chair of ASME's Critical Assets Protection Initiative, had been scheduled as a speaker. However, his recent
appointment as the ASME Fellow to serve the Office of Science and Technology Policy in fiscal year 2003-04 precluded his appearance at Congress.

Voeller, who began his term at OSTP Oct. 27, was appointed as an ASME Fellow earlier in June. His primary responsibility is to help develop a national research and development policy for homeland security. In that role, Voeller will work closely with the National Science and Technology Council. He is now a CAPI advisor. An ASME Fellow has served in the Office of Science and Technology Policy since 1983.

For details on the keynote presentations, see the Nov. 17 posting in the archives of ASME NEWS Latebreaking at www.asmenews.org.

Harry Armen

Foreshadowing of the future appeared during a special General Assembly meeting where 148 members voted favorably on 24 questions concerning the preliminary plan for Continuity and Change accepted by the BOG. For details on that General Assembly meeting, see the Nov. 19 posting in the archives of the Latebreaking feature at www.asmenews.org.

As ASME looks toward the future and plans for additional events during the Congress week that will elevate the event's overall excitement, the 2003 Congress planners successfully experimented with holding committee and board meetings on Saturday. Attendance levels were high during the first-ever Saturday sessions.

As a result, Saturdays will be used in the future to give ASME units greater flexibility in taking care of business, while enabling their members to participate in special events held later during the Congress week.

Activity at the Congress technical track sessions on Sunday indicated a strong interest in microelectromechanical systems and electrical systems and photonic design. Sessions organized to address a broad segment of micro- and nano-electronic cooling problems and the fabrication of sensors and actuators averaged 40 attendees. The common thread of these sessions was state-of-the-art design and fabrication of systems that continue to get smaller. Plans are already under way for similar kinds of sessions that focus on manufacturing challenges at Congress '04.

Meanwhile, two traditionally well-attended Congress events were also a priority for 2003 Congress-attendees: the seats for both the Honors Assembly and the Student Design Competition were filled almost to capacity.

From left: Mechanical Engineering magazine Editor-In-Chief John Falcioni, Dan Mooney, Amanda Wright-Lane, Victor Lebacqz and Mal O'Neill.

At the Honors Assembly, the Society's top nine awards were presented at a gala event in which dignitaries of the engineering profession gathered to praise the accomplishments of their colleagues. A video show highlighted the contributions of each honoree. Honorees were featured in the Honors Assembly supplement mailed to ASME members with the November issue of ASME NEWS. (See the Nov. 20 posting of ASME NEWS Latebreaking.)

Winners of the 13 Regional Student Design Competitions, which were held throughout 2003 gathered at the Congress to see which one of them would be "Moving On Up" — as the challenge of the competition was dubbed — to the finalist position.

The goal of the entries was to employ the gravitational potential energy stored in two liters of water to lift as much long-grain rice — which simulated ore — as possible up a 1-meter-high ramp, and deposit it in a receiving bin at the top of the simulated mine. Top honors went to a two-member student team from Villanova University.

For more details and coverage, visit the Nov. 16 edition in the archives of ASME NEWS Latebreaking at www.asmenews.org.

Congress also featured the Research, Development and Design Exposition (RD&D Expo) and the Defense Research and Engineering Expo (DREX).

DREX presenters included ASME President-Elect Harry Armen and Dale Klein, an ASME member who is the assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs.

Armen, director of technology development at Northrop Grummann, discussed "The Synthesis of Military and Civilian Technology for Homeland Security." Klein addressed "Technologies to Win the Battle Against Global Terrorism."

Themes that mingled past and future were present throughout Congress, beginning early on Sunday when the Board of Governors heard and later accepted a preliminary plan for a new organization brought about through the Continuity and Change initiative. The "100 Years of Flight" event and reception took place at the end the day.

But the Wright brothers' aviation contributions were brought out again in the keynote session on Monday evening, during which the speakers linked the brothers to ongoing developments in homeland security efforts.

Following the keynote session, ASME President Vachon, Past-President Don Zwiep and Executive Director Virgil Carter gathered onstage to participate in a skit that led to the unveiling of a new anniversary logo. The logo was created as part of the beginning celebration of the Society's 125-year anniversary, which culminates in 2005.

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