ECEs Networking at IMECE 2007

Left to Right: Kalan & Jennie Guiley, Mandy Brogdon, Jamie Waters, Jen Jewers, and Aaron Ryan, freezing outside after being evacuated from dinner at the Seattle Space Needle.



Justin and Tara Young (Justin is the VP, ASME Affinity Communities).



Meredith Caldwell and Julie Bachmann, the YEC Vice Chair and Chair, respectively.

Recap from IMECE 2007

As usual with ASME events, the 2007 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) was a fun and successful conference. This year, the program agenda included many events and programs specifically targeted at early career engineers. ECE events started with the Innovation Showcase (I-Show) on Friday, November 9th. Ten teams participated, and the winning team, Greensulate, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was announced at the I-Show Reception that evening. The Young Engineer Correspondents had their networking meeting that evening as well, followed by dinner and a night on the town in Seattle.

Saturday kicked off with the Invention to Venture workshop, and the Committee on Early Career Development (CECD). If you’re unfamiliar with the I2V (I2V) concept, in brief, it’s an 8-hour mini-MBA boot camp workshop. The CECD (CECD) deals with ECE programming, and their meeting focused on ECE events and services such as early career forums, early career technical conferences, ME Today, and early career development series.

Sunday events included the Early Career Forum and Career Fair (Seattle ECF). The ECF theme was “How to Manage and Advance Your Career,” and included the following sessions:
- Effective Communication in the Workplace,
- What Path is Right For You...Technical or Management?
- Essential Conversations: Using Conversations with Your Manager to Jumpstart Your Career.
Following the ECF was the Career Fair. The Career Fair included companies such as Boeing, Toyota, FM Global, NCEES, Haskell Corporation, Schlumberger, Bechtel, Soloy Aviation Solutions, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Targeted Learning, among many others. Sunday also featured the Members and Students Luncheon, where several student and early career engineers were honored. Two of the honorees include Candice Bauer, the 2007 Old Guard Early Career Engineer Award Recipient, and Dan Hanna, the 2007 Charles T. Main Award Recipient.

Monday was the Early Career Development Series (ECP). The ECDS was a five-session technical track featuring topics of interest to ECEs. The 2007 ECDS sessions were:
- Aerospace Design
- Engineering Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- The Federal R&D Budget and How it Affects the Engineering Profession
- Patents and Technology Licensing
- Utilization of Biomass Resources and Biofuel Technology

If you missed IMECE, many of the presentations will be posted on the affiliated website linked above.

And for your future planning, similar ECE programming will occur at the 2008 ASME Annual Meeting (2008 AM) in Orlando, FL from June 7-11, 2008, and at the 2008 ASME IMECE (2008 IMECE) in Boston, MA from November 2-6, 2008.

Codes and Standards Volunteer Opportunity

This just came in my inbox today, and I thought I'd pass along the information in case someone is interested:


Codes & Standards is reaching out to engage volunteers that have not traditionally been involved in their activities.

Request: Would appreciate suggested names (volunteer and staff) for potential C&S project team members by July 20, 2007. Names, email address, and phone numbers only - no need for contact.

Background: C&S Board of Directors commenced a strategic outlook and planning process in January of this calendar year. Progressed from there to formation of eight strategy teams and a Committee on Strategic Planning and Performance (CSPP). The strategy teams presented their preliminary recommended actions to the C&S Board of Directors at SAM; and they were generally accepted. The strategy team leaders and CSPP met yesterday - July 9th - and moved to the next phase: honing and sorting of the recommendations, formation of four project teams, and sunset of strategy teams.

The four project teams are: 1- New Product Development; 2-Conformity Assessment; 3- Volunteers and Contractors; and 4-Process Improvements. The recommended actions that each project team will be asked to take on are contained as the first attachment in the attached notes of yesterday's meeting. Please do take a read when you have the opportunity before July 20; my apologies for throwing this at you cold like this. Thought I would send some background material now and follow-up with some discussion in Halifax or after our return.

It would be great to supplement the project teams (and possibly sub-tier task teams as the project teams move forward) with knowledgeable folks that have not worked within C&S. Some cited possibilities included IPTI, greater global participation, PVP, Power, early career engineers/Eclipse intern, et al.

Business will be conducted electronically; should an in-person meeting become necessary, C&S will handle related travel expenses.

If you are interested, please let me know. The intent of C&S is to email all potential members (from multiple sources), advise them they have been recommended as potential C&S project team members, request that they complete a simple form (also contained in the attached notes - email if you'd like a copy) and go from there.


Sorry for the short turnaround on this - I just got the info today - but if you're interested, please send me an email with your name, email address, and phone number and I'll pass them along.

Looking to Volunteer?

Are you looking for ways to volunteer in ASME? If you haven't heard, the ASME Volunteer Opportunities Bulletin Board, or VOBB for short, is up and running here: http://volunteer.asme.org/vobb/Volunteer.cfm. Check it out, and you just might find something that fits your interests.

On the flip side, if you're looking for volunteers, here's the link to post your job description to the VOBB for ASME members to view: http://volunteer.asme.org/vobb/Post_Volunteer_Opportunity.cfm.

5th Annual Engineering R&D Symposium

ASME members Monica Moman-Saunders, Howard Berkof, Jen Jewers and Kalan Guiley smile for the camera after getting a tour of the Capitol Building after the 5th Annual Engineering R&D Symposium on May 7, 2007. Members from 20 engineering organizations assembled at the Rayburn House Building to learn about current and future federal funding for research and developmemnt, and its impact on engineering research. The evening before the Symposium, engineers gathered at the National Academy of Engineering to celebrate achievers across the engineering field. For more information on the Symposium, see http://www.engineeringpolicy.org/RD_Symposium.cfm.

And in proof that you never know when or where you'll meet up with a fellow early career engineer, Howard, Kalan and I met up with Justin Young for dinner after the R&D Symposium. Justin was in D.C. for an ASME water conference the next day, and we all managed to get together to catch up.

Volunteer Opportunity: VOBB Coordination

The ASME Volunteer Orientation Leadership and Training (VOLT) Academy is looking for two early career engineers interested in joining a team to coordinate the development of the Volunteer Opportunity Bulletin Board (VOBB). The time commitment is a few hours a week. The VOBB is a job board that hosts all committee position openings for ASME members to apply. You can check the website at www.volunteer.asme.org. Please let Ramin (raminws43@hotmail.com) know if you're interested in the position.

Volunteer Opportunity: ECE Surveys

The Services Sector of ASME has requested our help in completing one of their duties from the Early Career Initiative Report. They are looking for YECs who are willing to make at least five phone calls to other Early Career Engineers in your area and your industry. A script for the call and the survey questions will be provided by Services (see the YEC COP http://cop.asme.org/COP/YECorrespondent/ for draft versions in the community's resources). Services will also provide a list of ECEs to call, and they ask that calls be made between 6:00 and 9:30 in the evening.

Aside from helping ASME improve its offerings to early career engineers, what's in it for you? Well, you will be put in touch with engineers working in the same industry and live in your area, allowing you to make connections with these other engineers and develop your network. You will also have the opportunity to learn from other engineers, finding out about their interests and gaining different perspectives for the profession. If you are willing to support this effort by making at least five calls, please send Kalan a message, or email him at guileyk@asme.org. Please include the industry you work in, and where you live. If interested, please respond by May 15th. Thanks!!