Compass_Nov 2006 - PSPE - Pennsylvania Society of

VALLEY FORGE CHAPTER
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 585 WORCESTER, PA 19490-0585
THE COMPASS
Volume 41, Number 3 - November 2006
(Read the COMPASS on-line at www.pspe-vfc.org)
MEETING SCHEDULE
Nov. 30, 2006 (Thur)
PSPE Southeast Regional Meeting, hosted by the Chester County Chapter, at The
Inn at Chester Springs Hotel Conference Center. Presentation by Harve Hnatiuk,
PE, President PSPE. RSVP by November 22, 2006 to Russ Daniels, PE at 610692-9836, or Frank Stanton, PE at 215-497-1231 or fjstanton@cs.com.
For more information go to www.pspe.org/pdfs/se_meeting_113006.pdf.
Dec. 3, 2006 (Sun)
Day at the Races, Philadelphia Park, Bensalem, PA. 12:30 PM on the 3rd floor in
the Terrace Dining Room. The 5th race of the day will be the "14th Annual
Valley Forge PSPE Classic".
Dec. 12, 2006 (Tue)
Board of Directors Meeting, McMahon, Fort Washington, PA; 6:00 PM
Jan. 2007
Presentation on Historic Preservation, Green Building and Conservation. Details to
follow!
Feb. 2007
MathCounts 2007!!! More information to come.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
By Paul Dugan, P.E., VFC President
Welcome to our November issue of the Compass. The VFC Board of Directors is busy lining up our spring
schedule of events and we hope to put together on-going programs of interest to the majority of our membership.
Details of upcoming events will be posted on the Compass, our VFC web site (www.pspe-vfc.org), and postcards
to those without email as details become available.
In October, members of several southeast chapters came out to our joint October meeting at Drexel University’s
Bossone Center for our dinner and a presentation by Jonathan Spanier on the applications of nanotechnology,
followed by a tour of the Drexel Nanotechnology Institute.
Please plan on attending our PSPE Southeast Regional Meeting on November 30, 2006, hosted by the Chester
County Chapter, at The Inn at Chester Springs Hotel Conference Center. Presentation to be given by Harve
Hnatiuk, PE, President PSPE on the future direction of our society and a review of our PSPE Strategic Plan.
December 3rd marks the “Day at the Races”, Philadelphia Park, Bensalem, PA. 12:30 PM on the 3rd floor in the
Terrace Dining Room. The 5th race of the day will be the "14th Annual Valley Forge PSPE Classic". We are
extending invitations to all new licensees in the Bucks County area to join us for this fun filled event and to
encourage them to join our society.
We are still looking for candidates to fill the VP slot on our BOD and any other potential board members should
one of our existing board members wish to step up to the VP slot. On behalf of the VFC-BOD, we wish you a safe
and enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday!
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
2006-07 Chapter Officers and Board of Directors
President
President-Elect
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
State Director
Past-President
Chapter Director
Chapter Director
Chapter Director
Chapter Director
Chapter Director
Chapter Director
SE Region PSPE
Vice President
Paul Dugan, PE
Anthony Dougherty, PE
(Vacant)
Kurt Leininger, PE
Lindsay Musselman, EIT
Mike Moore, PE
Rod Plourde, Ph.D, PE
Karen O’Connell, EIT
Mike Fischer, EIT
Anthony Handley, EIT
S. Rao Chitikela, Ph.D, PE
Keith Bergman, PE
Layne Blavier, PE
303 Valley Hunt Dr., Phoenixville, PA 19460 610-220-3820 dugan@fast.net
2500 E. High St., Ste 650, Pottstown, PA 19464 610-326-3100 Adougherty@trafficpd.com
920 Germantown Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA
PO Box 4, WP20-206, West Point, PA 19401
1680 Deerfield Rd. Norristown, PA 19403
425 Commerce Dr, Ft Washington, PA 19034
425 Commerce Dr, Ft Washington, PA 19034
303 Valley Hunt Dr., Phoenixville, PA 19460
303 Valley Hunt Dr., Phoenixville, PA 19460
550 Pinetown Rd, Ft Washington, PA 19034
550 Pinetown Rd, Ft Washington, PA 19034
804 Division Ave, Willow Grove, PA 19090
610-313-3100
610-279-3015
610-539-6251
215-283-9444
215-283-9444
215-205-2130
610-585-5889
215-643-5466
215-641-1114
215-357-5500
Frank Stanton, PE
50 Fir Drive, Richboro PA 18954
215-497-1231 fjstanton@cs.com
Kurt.leininger@atcassociates.com
lindsay_musselman@merck.com
mikewmoore@comcast.net
rod.plourde@mcmtrans.com
karen.oconnell@mcmtrans.com
fischer@fast.net
handley@fast.net
rchitikela@pscnow.com
KBergman@fleisherforensics.com
layne@layneengineering.com
2006-07 VFC Committees
Committee
Audit
Awards
By-Laws
Engineers Week
Ethics
Legislative/Gov’t
Mathcounts
Membership
Nominating
Programs
Publications
Scholarship
Science Fair
VFC Website
Primary Contact
Frank Stanton, PE
Lindsay Musselman, EIT
Kurt Leininger, PE
Anthony Handley, EIT
Paul Dugan, PE
Paul Dugan, PE
Karen O’Connell, EIT
Lindsay Musselman, EIT
Rod Plourde, PhD, PE
Tony Dougherty, PE
Kurt Leininger, PE
Lindsey Musselman, EIT
Tony Dougherty, PE
Mike Fischer, EIT
Practice Division
PEPP
PEC
PEG
PEI
PEE
Contact
Paul Dugan, PE
Keith Bergman, PE
Rod Plourde, PhD, PE
Lindsay Musselman, EIT
Kurt Leininger, PE
Secondary Contact
Rao Chitikela, PhD, PE
Mike Moore, PE
Frank Stanton, PE
Joe Habboush, PE
Layne Blavier, PE
Frank Stanton, PE
Keith Bergman, PE
Mike Fischer, EIT
Tony Dougherty, PE
Layne Blavier, PE
Anthony Handley, EIT
Karen O’Connell, EIT
Frank Stanton, PE
Anthony Handley, EIT
(Note – The above committee positions were determined by those who attended the September Board of Directors
meeting.)
FUTURE CITY 2007 – MENTORS NEEDED!
Less than two weeks until registration closes and schools continue to sign up. Out of 31 schools registered, 10 still
need mentors. Here is the current list:
Barkalow Middle School
CCA Baldi Middle School
GA Stetson Middle School
St. Bernard School
St. Joseph the Worker
St. Paul School
St. Thomas School
Sulzberger Middle School
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
Freehold, NJ
Philadelphia (Far Northeast)
West Chester, PA
Philadelphia (Mayfair)
Orefield, PA
Wilmington, DE
Wilmington, DE
Philadelphia (West Phila)
Rockaway, NJ
Philadelphia (Olney)
How much has your ability to ask the right question helped you in your career? Just imagine how much someone
with your experience can help a team of students ask the right questions and build a better city! Just 1 or 2 hours a
week can make a huge difference in both the learning process and the team’s finished product. Please let me know
if you are interesting in working with any of the schools above.
Please visit our website at www.futurecityphilly.org for more information. There you can see all the schools
registered and also sign up to be a preliminary or essay judge or a general volunteer for the 2007 competition
(which has been confirmed for Saturday, January 27 at Villanova University). Also, I could use a few volunteers
to help get the word out about Future City and hopefully find some potential mentors. If you think you can help
out please let me know.
If you’ve already volunteered this year, thank you. You will continue to receive these volunteer e-mails in hopes
that you can spread the word about this great program.
Jennifer
Philadelphia Regional Volunteer Coordinator
jwetzel@futurecityphilly.org
SCIENTISTS CREATE CLOAK OF INVISIBILITY
By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer, October 2006
Scientists are boldly going where only fiction has gone before — to develop a Cloak of Invisibility. It isn't quite
ready to hide a Romulan space ship from Capt. James T. Kirk or to disguise Harry Potter, but it is a significant start
and could show the way to more sophisticated designs.
In this first successful experiment, researchers from the United States and England were able to cloak a copper
cylinder. It's like a mirage, where heat causes the bending of light rays and cloaks the road ahead behind an image
of the sky.
"We have built an artificial mirage that can hide something from would-be observers in any direction," said cloak
designer David Schurig, a research associate in Duke University's electrical and computer engineering department.
For their first attempt, the researchers designed a cloak that prevents microwaves from detecting objects. Like light
and radar waves, microwaves usually bounce off objects, making them visible to instruments and creating a
shadow that can be detected.
Cloaking used special materials to deflect radar or light or
other waves around an object, like water flowing around a
smooth rock in a stream. It differs from stealth technology,
which does not make an aircraft invisible but reduces the
cross-section available to radar, making it hard to track. The
new work points the way for an improved version that could
hide people and objects from visible light.
Conceptually, the chance of adapting the concept to visible
light is good, Schurig said in a telephone interview. But, he
added, "From an engineering point of view it is very
challenging."
Reuters Photo: A photo of the 'metamaterial' cloak,
released to Reuters on October 19, 2006.
The cloaking of a cylinder from microwaves comes just five months after Schurig and colleagues published their
theory that it should be possible. Their work is reported in a paper in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
"We did this work very quickly ... and that led to a cloak that is not optimal," said co-author David R. Smith, also
of Duke. "We know how to make a much better one."
The first working cloak was in only two dimensions and did cast a small shadow, Smith said. The next step is to go
for three dimensions and to eliminate any shadow. Viewers can see things because objects scatter the light that
strikes them, reflecting some of it back to the eye.
"The cloak reduces both an object's reflection and its shadow, either of which would enable its detection," Smith
said.
The cloak is made of metamaterials, which are mixtures of metal and circuit board materials such as ceramic,
Teflon or fiber composite. In an ideal situation, the cloak and the item it is hiding would be invisible. An observer
would see whatever is beyond them, with no evidence the cloaked item exists.
"Since we do not have a perfect cloak at this point, there is some reflection and some shadow, meaning that the
background would still be visible just darkened somewhat. ... We now just need to improve the performance of
cloaking structures."
In a very speculative application, he added, "one could imagine 'cloaking' acoustic waves, so as to shield a region
from vibration or seismic activity."
Natalia M. Litchinitser, a researcher at the University of Michigan department of electrical engineering and
computer science who was not part of the research team, said the ideas raised by the work "represent a first step
toward the development of functional materials for a wide spectrum of civil and military applications."
Joining Schurig and Smith in the project were researchers at Imperial College in London and SensorMetrix, a
materials and technology company in San Diego.
The research was supported by the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program and the
United Kingdom Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061019/ap_on_sc/cloak_of_invisibility_5
MILLENNIUM ENGINEERING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD CERTIFICATIONS
By Mike Fischer, VFC Chapter Director
On October 17, Paul Dugan (VFC President) and Mike Fischer
(VFC Chapter Director) of Millennium Engineering, P.C. visited a
500’ smokestack which contains a FM broadcast antenna to certify
compliance with the FCC exposure limits and guidelines.
Measurements were performed at ground level and on three
occupational worker platforms to document electromagnetic field
exposure and craft a RF (radiofrequency) safety plan for plant
employees.
Escorted by a plant employee, Mike rode the stack elevator to each
of the stack’s three platforms (243’, 349’, 469’) and performed
exposure measurements with a Narda meter/probe instrument to
formulate a safety plan for the workers who occasionally visit the
stack platforms for routine maintenance of the smokestack. The
Narda meter and probe measures the percentage of the FCC
allowable maximum permissible exposure in the location the
measurement is taken. Close to 500 whole body spatial average
measurements were taken at 500 random locations for a thorough
mapping of existing RF exposure levels in all accessible areas.
Shown to the left is a picture of Mike on the top stack platform
performing one of these measurements. Due to height phobia,
Paul bravely volunteered for the ground level measurements while
Mike performed the elevated field work in heavy wind and rain.
For the second straight year, the PSPE Foursome (Harry Garman, PE, PLS; Frank Stanton, PE;
Harve Hnatiuk, PE, FNSPE; and Paul Dugan, PE) participated in the Delaware Valley Engineers
Week Council's Golf Outing. The foursome reports that their score at Island Green Golf Club
on October 13th did not endanger the course record.
BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING MINUTES
Meeting Date
¾ November 7, 2006
Those in Attendance:
Anthony Handley, E.I.T.
Kurt Leininger, P.E.
Mike Fischer, E.I.T.
Lindsay Musselman, E.I.T.
Paul Dugan, P.E.
Rod Plourde, P.E.
Tony Dougherty, P.E.
Meeting Called to Order
¾ 5:42 PM
Minutes from May Meeting
¾ Accepted.
Reports of Officers
President’s report:
¾ Web site has been updated with new revisions including pictures of historic VF Park and VFC banner.
President-Elect’s report:
¾ PEPP Professional Seminars being offered – Ft. Washington, Nov 7 – PennDOT Permitting.
Vice President’s report:
¾ Vacant.
Treasure’s report:
¾ $3389 checking, $1000 removed from CD, $90 from dues.
Secretary’s Report:
¾ Nothing to report.
State Director’s Report:
¾ Not present.
SE Regional VP:
¾ Not present.
Committee Reports:
¾ Communications
ƒ Compass: Distribution by end of week.
ƒ Notifications: Postcards needed announcing November and December meetings.
ƒ Webmaster: Photos of Valley Forge Park and VFC banner added.
MathCounts:
¾ Not present.
Membership:
¾ 1 new member – Michelle Eve, 5 delinquent members, 1 moved member.
Programs:
¾ November – SE Regional Meeting – Inn at Chester Springs.
¾ December – Day at the Races.
¾ January – Historic Preservation/Green Building with Chester County. Possibly at Baxter's in Great Valley.
¾ February – Need ideas.
¾ March – MathCounts banquet. Need ideas. Possibly at William Penn Inn.
Unfinished Business:
¾
None.
New Business:
¾ VP vacancy since Layne Blavier stepped down.
¾ Director vacancy filled – Layne Blavier.
A.O.B
¾ Future Cities Competition – board approved $200 to sponsor special award.
Adjournment:
¾ 6:23 PM
Next meeting December 12, 6:00pm, McMahon.
VALLEY FORGE CHAPTER
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 585 WORCESTER, PA 19490-0585
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
VALLEY FORGE CHAPTER
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 585 WORCESTER, PA 19490-0585
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
VALLEY FORGE CHAPTER
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
P.O. BOX 585 WORCESTER,
PA 19490-0585
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Reading, PA 19607
610-603-0500
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