Falcon's gift energizes ASME Planned Giving Program

Maxine Rosen
ASME Operations

Joseph A. Falcon, the 111th president of ASME, has been a tireless and effective volunteer leader for the Society. In keeping with his years of dedicated service, he has responded to the ASME Foundation Planned Giving Program by naming the Foundation in his will.

In recognition of this largesse, he and his wife Shirley were recently inducted into the Archimedes Club as founding members, together with 31 of their colleagues who have made similar financial commitments. Falcon's life work helps to explain his latest action.

"It was inevitable that I would become an engineer," said Falcon, who was ASME president in 1992-93. "My dad was with the shipping company, U.S. Lines, for his entire 40-year career. I was in and around ships during my entire childhood. That interest led into all things mechanical."

Falcon's career has been primarily in the energy field. He lived and worked in 10 different countries while working for the large multinational firm, Bechtel Corp. A good portion of the work was on nuclear power, both domestically and globally. He also worked on coal and oil- or gas-fired plants as well as geothermal facilities. As the market developed, he worked actively in the cogeneration field.

Former ASME President Joseph Falcon and his wife, Shirley, were recently inducted into the Archi-medes Club.

His industrial career was complemented by a parallel academic career. For 32 years, Falcon taught part-time at the University of California, Los Angeles. He helped develop a professional certificate program in Power Engineering, the first of its kind in the country. He was chair of this activity, which since its inception has expanded to cover six multidisciplinary courses.

In 1987, Falcon established J.A. Falcon & Associates, a consulting firm in energy systems. The firm has been a principal in the design of several cogeneration facilities for both industrial plants and for enhanced oil recovery in the Kern River oil fields. Currently, the major portion of the work is in forensic engineering in the energy field.

Falcon has been involved in professional activities during his entire career. He has been a continuous ASME member for six decades, starting as a student member. As president of ASME, Falcon was a signator to international agreements with Spain, Mexico, Portugal and Turkey. While in Spain, he had a private audience with King Juan Carlos because of his role with ASME and his Spanish background.

Falcon was the recipient of the Edwin F. Church Medal for his many contributions to engineering education. He also received ASME's Dedicated Service Award for his continued role as an outstanding champion of young people, women, and underrepresented minorities, among other contributions. He is a Fellow of ASME as well as a fellow of the Institute for the Advancement of Engineering.

Over the years, Falcon has served on the board of directors of a number of organizations. These groups include the Newport Foundation, which is a think tank on U.S. national and economic issues; Americans For Energy Independence; the Geothermal Resources Council; the American Nuclear Society and the Los Angeles Power Association. While living in Mexico, he was a member of the board of directors of the Association of Professional Engineering Societies of North, Central and South America.

He also served a four-year appointment to the Advisory Committee of the Energy Training Program of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

When asked why he was taking part in the Foundation's Planned Giving Initiative, Falcon turned the question on its head. "I think the question we have to address personally is: What has ASME done for me?" he said. "How has it helped me to develop professionally? Has it enriched my life with friends, networking, education and personal satisfaction? Has it broadened the scope of my outlook? To me, the answers to all those questions are strongly affirmative. I feel that over the years, I have received many times the benefits of being part of ASME than the humongous amount of time devoted to the organization."

Falcon said he had always considered leaving a portion of his estate to the two entities that he believed had contributed the most to his professional life — ASME and Polytechnic University, where he did his undergraduate studies.

"The question was how much, and when?" he continued. "I reviewed this closely with the family. I had several annuities, and we decided that one of them would be split between ASME and Polytechnic. The family feels that the donation, in time, will be a way of showing appreciation to those organizations for helping me to develop as an individual and as an engineer."

The annuity, which is invested in mutual funds, has been growing over the years and puts the gift, to be known as the Falcon Family Trust, in the Bronze category. "I have been trading the funds regularly, selecting those that seem most favorable at the time," Falcon said. "I would expect that the annuity will increase in value in the coming years."
While the exact amount of the gift will be known in time, the aggregate of Joseph Falcon's contributions to ASME and the engineering profession is truly beyond measure.

If you are considering a gift, the Foundation can help choose your best options.

To learn more about the program, visit the Foundation on the Web at foundation.asme.org, or contact Warren Leonard, director of development, at (212) 591-7846 or at leonardw@asme.org.

 

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