ASME Restructures Membership Dues to Expand its Global Outreach (4/26/04)

NEW YORK — In step with its strategic globalization initiatives, ASME announced plans to reduce membership dues in countries classified with lower or middle income economies, thus making ASME membership and its associated benefits more affordable to a greater number of engineers and technical professionals worldwide. ASME will roll out its new, tiered membership dues structure on July 1, 2004.

ASME will offer a 50 percent discount on membership dues to engineers and technical professionals in economies classified as lower-income. Those in middle-income economies will receive a 25 percent discount. The criteria for classifying economies are based on the yearly World Bank World Development Indicators report, which assesses a nation's per capita, gross national income. The ASME discounts will apply to all grades of membership.

"In addition to making ASME membership more affordable, the change in our dues structure will help to expand the scope of ASME's global outreach while creating a stronger knowledge base for the engineering, technology and scientific workforce," said ASME President Reginald I. Vachon.

Effective July 1, the new dues discounts will apply to over one-third of ASME's current non-U.S. membership residing in lower or middle-income economies. Under the new dues structure, ASME expects to increase its membership in those regions, while becoming more responsive to rapidly changing global markets.

For more information about ASME membership contact Maureen Mandel, director, Membership Services at (212) 591-7745 or email at mandelm@asme.org. For a complete listing of countries classified as lower and middle-income economies, visit the ASME Web site at http://www.asme.org/member/countries.html.

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Chair of ASME Turbo Expo 2004 Assesses the State of Gas Turbine Technology (4/26/04)

NEW YORK — Jet engines and other types of gas turbines entering the marketplace in the next two to five years will be lighter, quieter, and more efficient than today's models, says the chair of the forthcoming ASME Turbo Expo 2004.

According to Sigmar Wittig, a leading authority and expert in gas turbine technology, engine manufacturers will also strive to reduce production costs as well as maintenance requirements on new designs.

Sigmar Wittig

"Users of gas turbines are driving some of these changes in the industry," observes Wittig. "Airline companies and military users have become increasingly concerned about fuel consumption and other cost factors, and are pushing for lighter designs, less frequent maintenance, and longer life in systems."

"The aim of Turbo Expo is to bring together gas turbine users and developers for high-quality dialogue and information exchange," said Wittig.

The 2004 ASME Turbo Expo — Power for Land, Sea & Air is set for June 14-17, at the Austria Center Vienna in Vienna, Austria.

Many of the more than 725 technical papers at Turbo Expo will discuss the new experimental tools and engineering processes that are enabling gas turbine manufacturers to meet the demands of customers. According to Wittig, engineers, with the aid of advanced analytical tools, have achieved significant progress in engine development. These efforts are contributing to longer operating life of systems.

A greater understanding of fluid mechanics, said Wittig, has paved the way for designing environmentally friendly gas turbines featuring reduced noise characteristics. And higher efficiencies are due partly to the extensive work in cooling and regeneration and advanced research in thermodynamics. Net power plant efficiencies are currently near 60 percent for combined gas and steam cycle systems.

"The gas turbine industry has achieved strong gains in the area of energy efficiency, however I believe engineering resources exist to go beyond current levels in the near future," said Wittig.

He envisions an increasing role for microturbines, particularly in distributed generation and selected applications in the automotive industry. He also sees further improvements and refinements in the technology of ceramics, which have demonstrated a strong ability to withstand the high inlet temperatures in the gas turbine system. Ceramics technology, in addition to microturbines, will be featured in the technical sessions at Turbo Expo, noted Wittig.

Sigmar Wittig is the chair of the executive board of the German Aerospace Center. He has published more than 250 scholarly papers in the areas of gas turbine combustions, heat transfer, instrumentation, and component development. He is the recipient of numerous achievement awards and recognitions, including the 2003 ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award for significant contributions to gas turbine technology and dedicated service to the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute (IGTI).

The gas turbine industry has experienced significant growth over the last few years and many experts believe that future growth will continue at a rate of nearly five percent a year.

Top European industry leaders will discuss the future of gas turbine technology during the keynote session, on June 14, at Turbo Expo. Speakers include Klaus Steffens, president and chief executive officer at MTU Aero Engines GmbH, August W. Henningsen, chairman of the executive board at Lufthansa Technik AG, and Hans-O. Jeske, member of the executive board at MAN Turbomaschinen AG. The keynote theme will be New Benchmarks for Gas Turbine and Jet Engine Advancements.

Turbo Expo, the premier event for the international gas turbine community, will also showcase a major equipment exposition with over 100 gas turbine industry manufacturers, suppliers, users and researchers.

Turbo Expo is sponsored by the International Gas Turbine Institute of ASME, dedicated to supporting the international exchange and development of information to improve the design, application, manufacture, operation and maintenance, and environmental impact of all types of gas turbines, turbomachinery and related equipment. For more information visit http://www.asme.org/igti/events/te2004.




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