Lynden Davis joins Archimedes Club

In Lynden Davis's eyes, active student sections are the key to expanding ASME membership.

But serving as student section advisor "is all too often considered a thankless job," Davis said. Through the ASME Foundation's Archimedes Club, however, the ASME Fellow found a way to make a contribution that he believes will grow the membership.

Davis's contribution of $150,000 will provide support to annually fund thirteen $500 honorariums and plaques. An honorarium and plaque will be awarded to the best student section advisor in each ASME region as a way to ensure that more student section advisors get the recognition they deserve. Currently, ASME has 465 student sections in 13 regions, and each student section has an advisor.

The Regional Student Section Advisor Award will be an addition to the already established Student Section Advisor Award. The medal and $1,000 honorarium for that award is given annually to one advisor.

Davis, who is vice president of Region IX, is serving as the Archimedes Club liaison to the ASME Foundation Board of Directors.

Davis has been an ASME member since 1980, when he joined during the Centennial membership drive, and has been active ever since. He started volunteering with the San Francisco Section, serving as section secretary, section vice chair, chair, Honors and Awards chair, and unemployment coordinator.

In 1990, he joined the ASME staff, serving as the Western Regional director until 2002, when he retired. Immediately thereafter, Davis became vice president of Region IX. One of his primary goals was to improve the quality of the student sections in his region. Through this expanded award program, that goal will be supported in every ASME region.

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, Davis has worked with multiple employers, including the equipment maker PACECO Corp., where he designed dockside container cranes for ports around the world. One of those ports, now located in China, is an ASME historical landmark.

After leaving PACECO, he joined American Tractor Equipment Co. as an assistant chief engineer, and in 1984, worked for Bechtel National Co. as a senior mechanical engineer until joining ASME.

Davis's dedication to education at all levels has been evident throughout his career with ASME. Willard Nott, vice president for Pre-College Education and a member since 1983, said when nominating Davis for vice president of Region IX that he has been "very helpful on pre-college activities in the Western Region." Davis's gift only furthers his commitment to the next generation of engineers by giving them a dedicated team of advisors.

If you are considering a gift, the Foundation can help you choose your best options. To learn more about the Foundation and its gift recognition unit, the Archimedes Club, visit www.foundation.asme.org, or contact Warren Leonard, director of development, at (212) 591-7846 or at leonardw@asme.org.

 

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