March Meeting

Wednesday, March17^th at 7:30 AM

The meeting will be held at

McLaren Engineering

100 Snake Hill Road
West Nyack, NY  10994

Climate Change and the 

Engineering Profession

presented by

Marc Karell, PE, CEM

of Climate Change and 

Environmental Services, LLC.

This lecture has been approved for 1 PDH.

Rockland Chapter Member fee is $12, and

non-Rockland Chapter Member fee is $25. 

Advanced registration is not needed. 

All registrations will be accepted at the door.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

UPCOMING MEETING SCHEDULE

NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS

NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING

Do you have paid or unpaid internships available for high school or college 

students interested in pursuing a career in engineering?

Please let us know! We are contacted each year regarding 

any such opportunities, and would love to send them your way!

Upcoming Meeting Schedule

Save the date!

When:        Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 7:30 AM

Where:       McLaren Engineering

100 Snake Hill Road, West Nyack, NY

What: Underwater Bridge and Structural Inspections (to be approved for 1 PDH)

by Mal McLaren, McLaren Engineering

When:        Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 7:30 AM

Where:       McLaren Engineering

100 Snake Hill Road, West Nyack, NY

What: Electric Heat Trace Design for Pipes and Vessels (to be approved for 1 PDH)

by Rod Crosby, ACI Controls

When:        June, 2010 (time & date to be confirmed)

Where:       To be determined

What:         Installation of Officers & Awards Dinner

Nominations for Awards

Nominations for Chapter Engineer of the Year,

Young Engineer of the Year, and

Chapter Member of the Year

awards are being accepted now! 

Don't miss this opportunity

to nominate your deserving fellow colleagues! 

You may submit your nominations via

e-mail to info@RocklandNSPE.com or

by leaving a voicemail at (845) 634-5307. 

Nominations should include the name of the individual being submitted (and note that self-nominations are also encouraged!), phone number/e-mail contact information for both the nominee and the individual submitting the nomination, the reason(s) you believe the nominee should be considered, and which of the three award categories the nominee should be considered for. 

Note that Young Engineer of the Year candidates must be 35 years of age or younger as of January 1, 2011 (yes - next year!).  Good luck to all the nominees!

Nominations and Elections

The Rockland County Chapter of NYSSPE

is now accepting nominations for

the 2010 - 2011 Board of Directors.

If you would like to nominate a

chapter member for a position,

and/or run for office yourself,

please forward your nominations

to info@RocklandNSPE.com.

Self-nominations are welcome!

The election ballot for the

2010 - 2011 Slate of Officers

will be published in an upcoming

newsletter.

State and National News

'Foolish' Trend in New York Municipalities

NSPE Update (February 2010)

The New York State Society of Professional Engineers is standing in opposition to actions by two local jurisdictions that are moving away from the PE license as a requirement for critical government positions. NYSSPE President James Yarmus, P.E., believes that recent efforts in Colonie and Syracuse to reduce spending by replacing a PE with an unlicensed political appointee will jeopardize the public safety, health, and welfare. Colonie, north of Albany, replaced Public Works Commissioner Robert Mitchell, P.E., with Jack Cunningham, a former town supervisor in Bethlehem, New York. Cunningham holds a degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts. The commissioner's job description states that the person in the position must hold a New York professional engineering license. In Syracuse, officials have proposed amending the city charter to remove the PE license requirement for the commissioner of water.

Yarmus sent letters in January to both the supervisor of Colonie and Syracuse's mayor, expressing NYSSPE's opposition to their actions and warning that it is a violation of state law for individuals to practice engineering if they are not licensed engineers. In a January 28 op-ed in the Buffalo News, Yarmus called the actions "pennywise and pound foolish." He wrote: "Removing the professional engineer requirement from positions that are so immersed in technical decision-making is not a prudent way to streamline operations. Giving an unlicensed individual the authority over the operations and maintenance of critical public infrastructure not only jeopardizes public safety, it also burdens the municipality from a liability standpoint."

NYSSPE plans to continue monitoring and compiling lists of localities where they are ignoring or eliminating PE requirements for critical positions, particularly for budgetary reasons. "The public is being told that these moves are made to achieve economies," Yarmus wrote. "However, when the safety shortcuts invariably endanger the public—through infrastructure failures, the need for new capital projects, or harm to our citizens—don't be surprised when the blame for resulting tragedies falls not on the appointees but on the licensed professional engineers unfairly removed from their jobs."

Geek-Chic Career for Barbie

NSPE Update (February 2010)

Barbie has pursued more than a hundred careers over her lifetime, but in this new decade, she is moving into a new career as a computer engineer. Computer Engineer Barbie was unveiled this month as the 126th career for the icon, most recognized for her fashion savvy. The career selection was made following months of research and a first-time online voting campaign conducted by Mattel. Mattel did not reveal whether Barbie has passed the PE exam in computer engineering or her thoughts on licensure.

Barbie designers collaborated with the Society of Women Engineers and the National Academy of Engineering to develop the wardrobe and accessories for Computer Engineer Barbie. She wears a binary code patterned tee and is equipped with a smart phone, Bluetooth headset, and a laptop travel bag. SWE President Nora Lin hopes that girls who imagine their futures through Barbie will learn that engineers are free to explore infinite possibilities. "As a computer engineer, Barbie will show girls that women can turn their ideas into realities that have a direct and positive impact on people's everyday lives in this exciting and rewarding career."

Obama Backs Loans for New Reactors
Washington Times (02/17/10) Rowland, Kara

President Obama on Feb. 16 announced the government will offer $8.3 billion loan guarantees to build the nation's first new nuclear reactors in three decades, endorsing a long-held Republican energy priority and making good on a bipartisan promise from his State of the Union address. The announcement of the loan guarantee - $8.3 billion to help the Southern Company and two partners build twin reactors in the state of Georgia - comes as the administration is courting Republican support for its climate and energy policies. With climate legislation stalled in the Senate and its prospects for success dim, Democrats are seeking new incentives to spur clean energy development and create jobs. The president’s embrace of nuclear energy has upset environmental groups that have long opposed any return to a reliance on nuclear power. Obama portrayed the decision as part of a broad strategy to increase the generation of clean power, but also made clear that the move was a bid to gain Republican support for a broader energy bill. David Ratcliffe, the chairman and chief executive of the Southern Company, said that a nuclear renaissance was in the wings and that “we will get on with that at a more rapid pace now that we’ve made this first step.” The Southern Company applied two years ago to the commission for permission to build and operate the reactors, adjacent to its Vogtle 1 and 2 reactors. Even with the financing, the reactors' design must still be fully approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under the loan guarantees' structure, if the reactors are built and operate profitably, the borrowers will repay the banks and pay a fee to the federal government in exchange for the guarantee; if the borrowers default, the federal government will repay the banks. Obama's announcement still leaves key questions unanswered about nuclear waste storage. Energy Department Secretary Steven Chu has established a bipartisan commission to study long-term options for managing nuclear waste and make recommendations in two years.

Web Link

Oregon is First U.S. Site for a Wave-Power Farm
USA Today (02/17/10) Loew, Tracy

Construction has begun near Oregon on the first commercial wave-energy farm in the United States, and the project is expected to generate electricity for about 400 homes. Wave power consists of a float on a buoy that moves with the waves, pushing a plunger up and down. The plunger is connected to a pump that converts the vertical movement into rotary motion, which operates an electrical generator. Electricity is sent to shore over a cable. The first buoy will be 150 feet tall by 40 feet wide, weigh 200 tons, and cost $4 million. Ocean Power Technologies, the company developing the project, plans to build nine more buoys by 2012, at a total cost of $60 million. However, some people are skeptical of wave energy. "A lot of people who are very experienced with the ocean harbor a lot of doubt that anyone can in a cost-effective way put buoys in the water, harvest the energy, and not have them end up on the beach," says Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association director Onno Husing. Many argue that capturing the power is difficult because if the waves are too big they can damage the equipment, and if they are too small, the project is not cost-effective. Oregon fishers and crabbers also are concerned that the wave power could harm the marine environment. However, wave power supporters feel that the technology will eventually be competitive with other renewable sources such as solar and wind.

Web Link

An Engineering Marvel Takes Shape Near Hoover Dam
Associated Press (02/07/10) Fonseca, Felicia

Less than a mile downstream of the Hoover Dam, a second engineering marvel is under construction. A bridge is being constructed across a 1,900 foot gap created by the Colorado River to connect the Arizona-Nevada boarder, and should be completed this fall, significantly improving driving times from Phoenix to Las Vegas. When completed, it will be the longest bridge of its kind in the western hemisphere, with towering concrete columns rising about a twin rib arch. While the dam will be visible from the bridge, but only to pedestrians, as the height of the bridge, 900 feet above the river, will obscure the dam from motorists. Initially, the opening of the bridge was expected to occur in 2007, but work was suspended at least twice when two 280-foot-tall steel construction cranes collapsed due to high winds in 2006, and a worker died in 2008. Nevada's workplace safety agency investigated the death and determined it was an accident. Project director Ken Hirschmugl and project manager Dave Zanetell of the Federal Highway Administration say safety has been a priority for workers, and more than 1 million work hours have been logged on the project. Some of the highlights of the bridge include the concrete arches that come out from the canyon walls. Unable to support the arches from the bottom, contractors had to hold the arches in place with cables from about. Zanetell says once the project is done, many workers will seek out bigger projects, saying it would be a disservice to the industry if workers did not take what they learned building the bridge and applying it to other projects.

Web Link

Wind Power for the East Said Attainable, at a Cost
New York Times -- Section B (01/21/10) P. 6; Wald, Matthew L.

A study conducted by the Energy Department has determined that a reorganization of the power grid and a significant increase in costs could allow wind to replace coal and natural gas for 20 percent to 30 percent of the electricity used in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. Such an expansion would cost around $93 billion -- an amount that Dave Corbus, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, calls "really, really small compared to other major costs". Adding wind energy gets progressively more challenging, and the lack of a better grid means large amounts of energy go to waste because the grid itself cannot handle the amount of power the turbines turn out. The amount of wasted wind energy and the amount of backup needed would both decrease with a more sufficient grid system. However, conflict exists between grids in the Great Plains and those in places like New York and New England. One main obstacle for a potential nationwide use of wind energy is the drastic difference between wind conditions in the Midwest, where winds are stronger and space for turbines is easier to come by; and wind conditions in the East, where wind is less constant and turbines would likely need to be built offshore. Governors in 10 eastern states sent a letter to Congress asking that no special provisions be given to bring Midwestern energy to the East because that would prevent wind farm development in their own states. Regardless of where the turbines are finally built, the improvements to global warming will be modest: the best estimate given is a drop of about 4.5 percent in emissions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/business/energy-environment/21wind.html

Smart Mud Could Be the New Plastic
New Scientist (01/20/10) Barras, Colin

A mixture of water and clay could potentially replace plastics, according to researchers at the University of Tokyo. Takuzo Aida and his team mixed a few grams of clay with 100 grams of water in the presence of a tiny amount of a thickening agent called sodium polyacrylate and an organic "molecular glue." The thickening agent teases the clay into thin sheets to increase its surface area and allow the glue to obtain a stronger hold. The result is a mixture that is almost 98 percent water but is able to form a transparent and elastic hydrogel with enough mechanical strength to make a 3.5-centimeter-wide self-standing bridge. The strength of the material hinges on the sum of the forces acting between the molecules in the clay nanosheets and the glue, according to Aida. These supramolecular forces, like hydrogen bonds, also help trap water molecules between the clay sheets. Aida says some other hydrogels use covalent chemical bonds instead of supramolecular forces, but when the covalent bonds break the material loses strength. The gel can form in only three minutes, and manufacturing the material requires no understanding of the chemical processes involved, according to Aida. Craig Hawker, from the University of California in Santa Barbara, says a major breakthrough of the material is the overall simplicity of the procedure and the exceptional physical properties of the material. "Toughness, self-healing and robustness are just some of the initial physical properties that will be found for this new class of materials," says Hawker. "I predict that this approach will lead to the design of even more impressive materials in the near future."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527445.600-smart-mud-could-be-the-new-plastic.html

Minnesota Twins Team Up With Pentair to Slash Water Use
Greener Buildings (01/13/10)

The Minnesota Twins, Pentair Inc., and the sports sponsorship agency GreenMark are installing a rainwater recycling system, custom designed for the Twins' home stadium Target Field, that promises to reduce the new ballpark's consumption of city water by more than half. "The Minnesota Twins are proud to introduce a new environmental standard in sports that moves beyond waste and clean energy solutions to address water scarcity and quality, some of the most pressing environmental concerns of our time," says Twins President Dave St. Peter. Project partners say the system is expected to save more than 2 million gallons of water each year, which would reduce the ballpark's draw from municipal sources by more than 50 percent. The water savings is expected to help the site achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The system, donated by Pentair, will capture rainwater that falls on the nearly 7-acre park, treat collected water using Pentair's filtration and pump technology, and use the water to irrigate the field and wash the lower decks of the ballpark. Pentair says the first-of-a-kind application of its system will purify the rainwater at Target Field so that it is at least as clean, if not cleaner, that the tap water that people drink. The system is being installed and integrated into the water system of the new park, and will be vetted before going live, which is expected to happen sometime during the inaugural season at Target Field this year.

http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2010/01/13/minnesota-twins-team-pentair-slash-water-use

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Do you have paid or unpaid internships available for high school or college students interested in pursuing a career in engineering? Please let us know! We are contacted each year regarding any such opportunities, and would love to send them your way!