February 2008 Mathcounts – Countdown at Robert Morris...

The Pittsburgh Professional Engineer February 2008

February 2008

Mathcounts – Countdown at Robert Morris University

This year the Mathcounts competition moved to a new venue. It was held at the Sewall Center at RMU. The construction

being done at the University of Pittsburgh’s Benedum Auditorium made it impossible to continue the competition there.

The new location and the staff at RMU provided excellent support for the Chapter Mathcounts Committee.

This year a total of 31 schools registered for the competition, 30 schools, and 173 total students competed. Pictures of the

overall competition, the top team winners and the top six individual winners can be viewed on the Pittsburgh Chapter web

site, courtesy of great picture taking by Tom Schwartzmier and his daughter Alex.

The schools began arriving at the Sewall Center at 7:20am on Saturday morning. As the competition was not scheduled to

start until 8:15, they seemed excited and anxious. As Joe Boward, the morning moderator, began the morning

announcements and instructions, the scene changed to one of concentration and a readiness to start with the Sprint Round,

30 intense questions to be answered in 40 minutes. The proctors picked up the answer sheets from the Sprint Round and

began distributing the first set of questions for the Target Round. The competition continued. The proctors for Mathcounts

this year were primarily volunteer faculty from the engineering staff at RMU, headed by Dr. Winston Erevelles, Dean of the

School of Engineering, Math and Science. They did a wonderful job in keeping the distribution, collection and monitoring

of the activity moving on time.

After the completion of the Sprint, Target and Team rounds, lunch was provided for all in attendance. Thanks to Tom and

JoAnn Weber for their work in getting the food ready for 173 hungry teenagers.

The Countdown Round began with a hitch, the power point presentation “disappeared” – but thanks to the hard work of Dr.

Erevelles and members of his staff, a new presentation was created from paper copies and the Countdown Round could

continue. The delivery of the questions to the arena provided some suspense in the ongoing competition between the top

ten individuals for the top four positions.

From the feedback from students and coaches alike, the Mathcounts

competition this year was a GREAT SUCCESS. The Mathcounts

Committee and its chair,

Virginia Dailey, are looking

forward to successive years

and activities at RMU. There

is even talk of an RMU

scholarship being offered for

the top individual.

The Pittsburgh Professional Engineer http://www.PittsburghPE.Org

E-mail [email protected] Published by: The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers 337 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

P. 412-391-0615 F. 412-261-1606

First Place Team

Winchester Thurston School


U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Celebrates National Engineers Week

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, invites you to participate in their activities in

honor of National Engineers Week, which is being celebrated February 17 – 23. 2008. The purpose of the week-

long event is to increase awareness and appreciation of the engineering profession. During the week, engineers

will be participating in a variety of activities to help create an interest in engineering, math and science. The

focus is on sharing the importance of engineering with young people to encourage them to consider engineering

as a viable career option. All the high schools in Allegheny County have been invited to participate, and we have

been invited as well.

On Wednesday, February 20, the Pittsburgh District is offering a workshop at the Pittsburgh Engineer

Warehouse and Repair Station on Neville Island. There will be an overview of water resource engineering in the

Pittsburgh region, the Army and Corps of Engineers missions around the world with emphasis on Iraq, and a

presentation on one of the more challenging construction projects within the District, the Emsworth Dams

Rehabilitation Project. A tour of the Emsworth Locks and Dam will follow.

On Thursday, February 21, a workshop will take place at the Charleroi Locks and Dam at Monessen. A

tour of the site will follow.

To participate, please email your name and affirmation of U.S. citizenship to Reyman R. Branting, P.E.

([email protected]) or call 412/486-0530 with that information no later than Monday, February 11. Non-

citizens should contact Mr. Branting as soon as possible to apply for a waiver. Please specify which events you

wish to attend – Neville Island workshop, Emsworth Tour, Charleroi Workshop and Charleroi Tour. You are

welcome to attend one or all. Directions and/or maps will be provided.

To wind up the week, plan to attend the Pittsburgh Chapter, PSPE, annual banquet at The Club at

Nevillewood on Saturday. A reservation form for the event is enclosed.

2007-2008 Chapter Officers President – Virginia Dailey, P.E. President Elect – Tom Weber, P.E. Vice President – Dave Samek, P.E. State Director - David Briskey, P.E. 2005-2008

Executive Secretary - Kevin Wiley, P.E. Treasurer - John A. Broscious, P.E. Financial Secretary - Reyman Branting, P.E. Immediate Past President – Darryl Brogan, P.E.

2007-2008 Chapter Directors Jeff Mazza, P.E. 2005-2008 Moe Rayan, E.I.T. 2005-2008 Vacant Position 2006 - 2009

Brian Schull, P.E. 2006 - 2009 Kirk Thompson, P.E. 2007 – 2010 Joe Garlicki, P.E. 2007 - 2010

Mathcounts Competition 1

Corps of Engineers 2

Engineers’ Banquet 3

Apprenticeship Program 4

Past Presidents

Recogniation 5

Apprenticeship Site Visit 6

Mathcounts Pictures 7

INSIDE THIS ISSUE


PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

PITTSBURGH CHAPTER

Invites ALL Engineers and their guests to the Annual

NATIONAL ENGINEER’S WEEK BANQUET

On Saturday, February 23, 2008 At The Club at Nevillewood, 1000 Nevillewood Drive, Presto, Pa. 15142

Please join us for a wonderful evening of fellowship, great food

and the presentation of the 2008 Engineer’s Week Awards

Cocktails: 6:00 p.m. (Cash bar)

Welcome & Presentation of Mathcounts Awards: 7:00pm

Dinner: 7:30 pm

Presentation of Awards: 8:30pm

You may make your reservation by filling in the form below and mailing or faxing it to the Chapter office. You

may also phone in all of this information to us. If you opt to make your reservation via e-mail, do not e-mail your

credit card info. Payment may be made by calling in your credit card info, faxing this filled in form, or mailing

this form with credit card info or enclosing a check. Cost of Dinner is $60.00 per person.

Office Phone number (412) 391-0615 e-mail: [email protected]

Office fax (412-261-1606) Mailing Address: PSPE, 337 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15222

Dinner Choice : Choose one of the following:

___ Chicken Romano, All White Meat Chicken Breast Battered in Egg and Imported Romano Cheese

___ Baked Stuffed Lemon Sole, with Canadian Snow Crab stuffing

___ Roast Tenderloin of Beef, with peppercorn sauce

Name : ________________________________ Dinner Choice: _______________________________

Name : ________________________________ Dinner Choice: _______________________________

Payment Options:

Credit Card: __ MASTERCARD __ VISA Card Number:____________________ Exp. Date________

Name (as it appears on the credit card):_____________________________________________

___ Check enclosed payable to PSPE Pittsburgh Chapter & mailed to 337 Fourth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Directions: On Mapquest.com, enter this address: The Club at Nevillewood, 1000 Nevillewood Dr., Presto, PA 15142


Engineering Apprenticeship Passes Halfway Mark

The Engineering Apprenticeship, a joint venture of the Pittsburgh Chapter, PSPE, and the Allegheny

Intermediate Unit, has passed the halfway mark for the 2007 -2008 academic year.

The Engineering Apprenticeship accepted 41 high school students into the program last fall. They were

divided into groups of about eight students each, and assigned visits to various firms. The object of the

Apprenticeships is not to “sell” the students on engineering, but to give them some base knowledge of the

profession. Too many high school students are making career choices with little knowledge of what their chosen

field really consists of and the demands it will make. Visiting working engineers on the job is the best way we

have to help them learn about our profession.

Visits have been made to Medrad, Inc., Pittsburgh Material Technology, Inc., Bombardier, Astorino,

Michael Baker Corporation, Maglev, Inc., the Pittsburgh Water and Sanitary Authority Water Treatment Plant

and to the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Student reports on two of these visits are

elsewhere in the Newsletter.

Hosts yet to be visited include a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center construction site, HDR, Inc,

GAI Consultants, Inc., DMJM Harris and the Engineering and Construction Department of the Allegheny County

Department of Public Works.

Pittsburgh Materials Technology, Inc. Visit Report

Engineering Apprenticeship – Group 2

Zack Krieger, Matthew Kaminski

Thursday, November 8, 2007

After visiting Astorino, our apprenticeship at Pittsburgh Materials Technology Inc gave us a different

view of the work in an engineering career. We were greeted by Mrs. Joann Giglio who organized our stay and

made our visit comfortable. She started the visit out by providing articles about engineering and material

technology while we waited for an engineer. Tim Delahanty was the Material Technology Engineer who gave us

an explanation of the company’s business, history, and gave us a tour of the facility.

The tour started out with an explanation of PMTI’s development of a lighter, stronger aluminum. He

explained the procedure they used to make it which included liquid nitrogen, aluminum powder, and steel ball

bearings. We then saw how the technicians at PMTI join metal pieces together with a huge arch welder. Harry

Grubich, a technician, explained the machine to us and let us observe the arc melting the material. A while later

Darryl Lohr showed us how the company labels the small samples of materials. This is done with a precise laser

and we all got to operate it to mark our names in key chain tags. Next we got to see how materials are cleaned of

oxidation and dirt from their surfaces before being tested. Jeremy Lohr, a technician showed us the different tests

that materials are put through to be evaluated.

In the end we all learned how engineers and technicians work together to complete material technology

and development work. The entire trip was not only extremely informative, but enjoyable and interesting. Most

of all, the employees of PMTI gave us great welcoming and gave us a great idea of what it would be like working

as an engineer in a material technology field.


Past Presidents Meeting a Great

Success

On January 17, 2008, there was a “Gathering of

the Clan” as Past Presidents of the Pittsburgh Chapter,

PSPE, gathered to renew acquaintances and swap

stories. Missing were some municipal engineers who

had night meetings with their clients, but an

unprecedented number of “grey beards” (and some not

so grey) were present. They all enjoyed the

presentation of Board of Direction member Kirk Thompson, who just happens to be with the Port Authority and

is intimately acquainted with their new tunnel project.

Kirk gave a power point presentation on the construction of the twin tunnels beneath the Allegheny for

the Light Rail Transit System. A new “mole” was brought in for the job. It will begin digging on the North Side,

dip below the river bed and resurface near Stanwix Street. The return journey will be a few feet from the

original. While this is not a small project, it pales in comparison with several European projects.

The tunnel bore will be lined with precast concrete segments as the “mole” advances. The tailings from

the cutting head will be carried away from the face with bentonite slurry. The solids will be separated out and

trucked away. The bentonite will be recycled.

In excavating for the retaining walls at each end, the bentonite slurry will be used in the narrow trench

excavated to act as a form for the permanent concrete walls. Rebar will be placed in the trench and concrete

placed via tremmie. This displaces the slurry from the bottom up. When the concrete has set, the earth between

the new concrete walls will be excavated.

It was an interesting presentation and an interesting evening. Our thanks to Kirk for enlightening us and

to all the past presidents whose presence made the evening a social success as well.


Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh

Engineering Apprenticeship - Group 1

Kyle Bradshaw

Visit on November 28, 2007

The Engineering Apprenticeship, co-sponsored by the Pittsburgh Chapter, Pennsylvania Society of

Engineers and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, visit to the School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh

started in room B-80 in Benedum Hall. The room contains the Engineering Student Service Center. The center

contains a Career Services office and maintains offices for engineering academic advisors. One of those advisors,

Ms. Lauren Byland was our contact at the university. At the start of the visit the group was taken to an adjoining

room where a thirty minute slideshow presented the history and growth of the college. Pitt engineering started in

1846 with petroleum, civil, chemical and mechanical branches. Today it stands with an undergraduate population

of 2500 with a 17:1 student to professor ratio. The college has also branched out into bioengineering, industrial

engineering, and electrical engineering along with several interdisciplinary groupings. The college has been

mentioned in U.S. News & World Report as the 30th among public institutions.

Another point of emphasis discovered during the presentation was the focus of providing international

and interdisciplinary experience. The Freshman Engineering seminar is designed to create opportunities for

students to experience different departments within the engineering college. International experience is provided

through the Plus 3 program along with the Innovate Symposium. Plus 3 encompasses a three credit addition to

mandatory freshman engineering courses finishing with a two week research trip aboard. Innovate Symposium

comprises of the same experience with the targeted group being upperclassmen.

During the presentation two Pitt engineering student ambassadors Mr. Shea Betz and Ms. Kelly

McCormick were able to answer questions about the overseas experiences and any generic questions. After the

presentation they took us on a tour of the Benedum Engineering Labs. The first lab visited was the Radio

Frequency Shielded Laboratory was where tests are performed to perfect RFID technology. The lab’s

construction shields the radio experiments inside from outside radiation. The next facility visited was the John A.

Jurenko Computer Architecture Lab. It is an undergraduate lab that facilitates the creation of circuits to allow

students to experience the physical aspects of computer science. The John A. Swanson Center is a manufacturing

lab which gives students to reverse engineer samples, and create products from CADD drawings using plastic and

injection molding. Next, the SAE Formula Racing Lab consists of a large automotive center in which students

design, create and maintain a vehicle. This vehicle competes in various trials at Formula SAE competitions

including gas mileage, braking distance and stability.

Overall the visit showed the research potential of the University of Pittsburgh. The guides were extremely

polite and helpful. Each lab was geared toward a different discipline and helped the group establish what kind of

labs each college uses. Unlike previous visits by my Apprenticeship group this visit showed facilities that I could

potentially use in only a few years. It provided a window into the reality of a public research university.


MATHCOUNTS PICTURES OF THE DAY

Second Place Team – Sewickley Academy

Graders working hard at the Sprint Round

Third Place Team – Andrew Mellon Middle School

5th Place Individual Winner

Ray Li of Sewickley Academy

First Place Individual Winner

Isabel Arjmand of Sewickley Academy


The Pittsburgh Professional Engineer Published by

Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers Pittsburgh Chapter 337 Fourth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (Return Service Requested)

2007-2008 CALENDAR

PSPE, Pittsburgh chapter – http://www.PittsburghPE.Org

MEMBERSHIP EVENTS & MEETINGS Date Time Description Location

February 23, 2008 6:00pm Engineer’s Week Banquet Club at Nevillewood March, 2008 7:30pm March Chapter Meeting Engineers Building April, 2008 TBD April Chapter Meeting – Tunnel Site Visit TBD May, 2008 TBD TBD June, 2008 TBD Installation of Chapter Officers, TBD

Recognition of Apprenticeship Participants BOARD OF DIRECTION MEETINGS WILL BE HELD ON: Feb. 21, 2008, Mar. 13, 2008, Apr. 10, 2008, May 8, 2008 and June 12, 2008 All BOD meeting are to held @ 5:30PM @ the ESWP Building pending further notice.

February 2008 Mathcounts – Countdown at Robert Morris...

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