arkansas academy of mechanical engineering...the 2015 aame banquet is scheduled for friday, april...

A R K A N S A S A C A D E M Y

O F M E C H A N I C A L

E N G I N E E R I N G

A University of Arkansas Alumni Association

ARKANSAS ACADEMY OF

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

PROSPECTIVE MEMBER

INFORMATION PACKET





About Us Mission:

To promote and support the Mechanical Engineering profession, to honor the Mechanical

Engineer and to work with the University of Arkansas Department of Mechanical

Engineering , to increase the appeal of Mechanical Engineering and further the educational

development of future engineers.

Requirements for Membership:

Must be a University of Arkansas Mechanical Engineering graduate of at least 15 years

nominated by an AAME member. (There are a small number of non University of Arkansas

graduates who have made contributions to engineering in the state of Arkansas who are

members of AAME)

AAME Facts:

Formed in 1982 with 30 original members

150 current members

Since the inception of AAME, $500,000 has been donated to the University of Arkansas

Mechanical Engineering Department for scholarships, student support, and other

improvements.

Past AAME Projects:

Renovations to the UA ME Building including: eight classrooms upgrades, student lounge

upgrades, computer room upgrades and upgrades to the administration offices.

Purchasing misc. equipment to include: computers, printers, furniture, carpeting, tools, and

display cases.

Financial assistance to increase student retention to retain teaching assistants.

Assist in UA ME career day and in judging UA ME student projects.

Assist in ME student projects & competitions, such as SAE Baja car and Solar boat

AAME Commitment:

It is requested, but not mandatory, that you attend the annual induction banquet & business

meeting held in April in the Fayetteville area and make a minimum annual donation of $250 for

AAME projects and scholarships. If you are willing and available, there are numerous projects

that need volunteers.





2016 Induction Banquet &

Business Meeting

New Members are Required to Attend

the Annual Induction and Awards Banquet.

Details are:

Banquet:

Date: April 8, 2016

Location: UARK Bowl, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Time: 6:30 P.M. (New Inductees are asked to arrive at

5:30 for photos and brief introductory session.)

Hotel: TBA

Annual Business Meeting:

Date: April 9, 2016

Location: Mechanical Engineering Building, University of

Arkansas

Time: 8:30 A.M.—12:00 P.M.

The initiation of the Student Mentoring Program is the final piece of our overall plan. It should be ready to present to the membership for approval at the Annual meeting. Although it is being born and nurtured under the Student Liaison Committee, the breadth and depth of its potential impact to the students and AAME members are such that it will eventually be spun off on its own. I am sure you will all be pleased with what is being proposed. Russ Rasnic will have the successful launch of the Mentoring Program as one of the initial goals of his Presidency. With my final words, I would like to thank you all for honoring me and trusting me with the Presidency of AAME. My goal was always to increase involvement and energy amongst our membership, and we seem to have given this a good start. Let’s continue down this path by supporting Russ and his plans for the continued growth and success of the Academy. Thank you! ~ Bob Harrison

Fellow AAME Members, This will be my final article to the newsletter as your President. The two years that I have held this honor have been amongst the most rewarding and enjoyable times of my career. I highly recommend that each and every one of you get involved with AAME activities, make yourself available to the students and student activities, take a position on the board, or pick up and carry the mantle of AAME leadership. I promise that you will be richly rewarded. It is my pleasure to once again report that the state of the Arkansa s Academy o f Mechanical Engineering is very good, and that the impact and influence of AAME within the department and the state is growing. These truly are exciting times for AAME. The January Board meeting was held at the Nucor–Yamato Steel facility, located near Blytheville, Arkansas and was attended by several board members and Dr. Jim Leylek, ME Department Head. The Nucor folks could not have been more gracious and welcoming. We were provided with a tour of the p r o d u c t i o n f a c i l i t y , accompanied by several members of their technical and operating staff. Nucor provided us with a barbecue lunch that was attended by a

President’s Corner number of key technical, production, and management personnel. Then, we were offered the use of one of their rooms for our Board Meeting. All of those who attended reported being very impressed by the facility, and the warmth and openness of the people. Dr . Ley lek had very productive discussions about cooperative efforts with interns, co-ops, hiring of engineers, and CDIO type projects. In addition, their Senior VP and General Manager, Mr. Leon Topalian, has agreed to be our speaker at the Annual Banquet in April. Also, he asked if he could come early to see first-hand the Col lege o f E n g i n ee r i n g , a nd t h e Mechan ica l Eng ineer ing department in particular. Holding Board meetings at an industry location continues to be a unique and direct way for the Academy to help support the department and the University. During my Presidential tenure, we have initiated a number of programs, activities and work groups. I am most proud of the Student Liaison Group as it has evolved into our multi-level, multi-focused arm that works directly with and for the Students. It continues to grow with activities such as resume rev iew, mock interviews, guest speakers, a n d s t u d e n t p r o j e c t consultants. Will Myers and Keith Bradshaw are to be congratulated for all of their hard work with this.

F R O M T H E

E D I T O R :

We would appreciate your input and contribution to this publication to make it more interesting for all, so please submit articles/topics for inclusion. Authors of articles will be given proper accolades. We also would love to publicize what our members are doing for the profession. Please e-mail these to [email protected]. The newsletter is published quarterly. - Russ Rasnic



E N G I N E E R I N G A University of Arkansas

Alumni Association AAME Headlines Promoting & Supporting the Mechanical Engineer

A P R I L 2 0 1 5

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

President’s

Update

Nucor/Yamato

Steel Plant

Visit

AAME

Scholarship

Award

Guidelines

SHPE Report

for National

Conference

2014

P A G E 2

Board Member Spotlight

AAME member Bill Green was inducted into the Academy in 1989. Green, a resident of Rogers, AR, worked for Oklahoma Gas & Electric for forty years. While employed there he worked in 5 different plants. His titles included Results Engineer, Sr. Results Engineer, and finally Superintendent of Engineering. Green’s last eighteen years with Oklahoma Gas & Electric were spent as Plant Manager of Gas and coal fired plants. Green also worked for two years at Dierks Forest Inc. as an Assistant Plant Engineer at the Craig Woodfiber Plant. ME asked Mr. Green to tell us a little bit about his life, education, and career and this is what he told us: ME: Tell us about your educational background. Green: I grew up in Pine Bluff, AR, graduated from Pine Bluff High School (Go Zebras!!!), attended Arkansas Tech for two years, and then transferred to the UofA to obtain my BSME. ME: Where do you consider “home?” Green: We moved to Rogers, AR in November of 2013 after spending fifty years in four different Oklahoma towns. ME: What’s the one thing that would surprise others about you? Green: I have played with sail boats for thirty-five years, but never lost my interest in cars.

In 2001, I purchased a new Thunderbird and since then I have had the car in forty-eight states and seven Canadian Provinces. ME: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment or achievement? Green: Being married for over fifty-three years—and being manager of the lowest cost power plant in the US in 1995. ME: How did you meet your spouse? Green: Through her brother who I met at Arkansas Tech. ME: What’s been your biggest challenge as an engineer? Green: As a manager, the biggest challenge is dealing with people. You can tell what your equipment will do, but you’re never sure about people. ME: What did you tell your parents you were going to be when you grew up? Green: An Engineer. My brother is a Civil Engineer—he was going to build the roads and I was going to build the cars to drive on them. ME: If you could invite anyone in the world (living or dead) to dinner, who would it be and why? Mann: My dad. Just to thank him for everything he did for me and the directions he gave me. ME: What do you do in your spare time? Green: Travel and golf. ME: What do you find yourself doing that you said you would “never” do? Green: Watching too much TV. ME: How did the UA ME program help you succeed in your career? Green: Without the degree there would not be a career!!!

Bill

Gre

en, B

.S.M

.E. 1

963

Bill Green (le ) at the Biggadike Recep on

Arkansas manufacturers is something that AAME will continue to do, and we would like to encourage all members and ME alumni to participate in these plant visits in the future. ~ Russ Rasnic

steel, barge loads of it, in fact, most of which is procured from within a 500 mile radius of the plant. The scrap is melted in an electric arc furnace at temperatures approaching 3,000 F, and the process takes approximately 35 minutes to produce 120 tons of molten steel. This is then dumped into molds in a continuous casting process, where it is rolled into primarily heavy structural shapes. As noted, the process is continuous, and sections are cut to the desired length with a running torch that moves with the profile shapes out of the caster. The facility was quite impressive, containing approximately 45 acres under roof, and the tour was very well done. Forging (no pun intended) relationships with

P A G E 3 P R O M O T I N G & S U P P O R T I N G T H E M E C H A N I C A L E N G I N E E R

The Academy continues to highlight the capabilities of the UA mechanical engineering department, as well as the quality of new graduates it turns out. One of the ways that this has been implemented, and very successfully, is allying with Arkansas manufacturers through dialog and visits to their facilities. This is the brainchild of our current President, Bob Harrison, and has resulted in quite positive results thus far. Representatives from AAME, ME staff and alumni visited the NUCOR/YAMATO steel plant in Blytheville for our winter board meeting, and the tour was exceptional. NUCOR is the largest steel producer in the Western hemisphere and has produced an estimated 48 million tons of structural steel since it opened in 1988. NUCOR creates old from new, producing all of its products from scrap/recycled

The 2015 AAME Banquet is scheduled for Friday, April 24, at the Fayetteville Town Center in Fayettev i l le , Arkansas. The reception begins at 6:30 P.M. followed by the dinner and program at 7:30 P.M. The 2015 class of inductees inc ludes 6 except iona l mechanical engineers and

featured keynote speaker is Mr. Leon Topalian, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor-Yamato Steel Corp. To find registration and hotel information, go to http://www.meeg.uark.edu/6114.php. Contact Morgan Smith with questions: [email protected] 479-575-3153

2015 AAME Induction & Awards Banquet

Nucor/Yamato Steel Plant Visit

Rolling I Beams Enroute to Final Cu ng

P A G E 4

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following story from yesteryear was told to Frank Porbeck by Phil Marak. It has been edited due to space constraints. There are cars being built in India that use compressed air and have a driving range of about twice that of Tesla Battery operated cars—at a much lower cost. That sort of jumped out at me and reminded me of Engineers Day at the U of A on March 17,1949 (St. Patrick's Day) when I was in college there. The ME department had most of the lab machinery operating for visitors to come through and watch. About six or eight of us students got permission from Prof. Paddok, head of the department, to "re-pipe" one of the two steam engines to run on compressed air versus steam. We ran the exhaust pipe up through the floor grate about three feet high and pointed it up toward the reinforced glass sky light in the roof. Our objective was to have the engine exhaust ice flakes into the air of the lab. I was designated to operate the Prony brake on the flat belt pulley on the left flywheel of the engine. I would load the engine down so that the expansion cooled it enough to freeze the moisture in the air into ice flakes that flew up and scattered out into the shop. One of the other guys watching the exhaust pipe told me to loosen up on the brake because the exhaust pipe was icing up inside, so I eased off the brake. When I did this, the exhaust air warmed up and a tubular chunk of ice about 4" OD by 2" ID by

18” long, shot out of the pipe like a cannon! It hit the overhead sky light and scattered chunks of ice around pretty good! The wire reinforced sky light later had to be repaired! So thinking back, that 100 HP steam engine ran well on compressed air and should have easily been able to power a lightweight car. The cooling effect of the exhaust air would only require an expansion valve with a thermostatic electric valve to air condition the inside. No other equipment would be needed! However, about 95% of the visitors did not understand what we were doing, and were more impressed with a "Rube Goldberg" Peanut Smasher and a ping pong ball balancing act. For the ping pong ball balancing act, an absent-minded professor balanced a ping pong ball on a coat hanger wire! It was accomplished by a 1/4" diameter copper air tube hidden behind a table and stapled to it so the tube pointed vertically. With a foot valve he would "float” the ping pong ball in the air about 18" above the table and then hold the wire just below the ball like it was balanced on the wire! People just couldn't believe he could balance the ball on that wire. He kept a very straight face while giving them a big line of technical sounding B.S. about how this was done, while moving the wire to either

Running Cars on Compressed Air side or top of the ball! Then he would “forget" and lay the wire on the table, while the ball stayed floating in the air stream, and watch as the expression on visitor's faces would change! He would then quickly pick up the wire and "balance” the ball on it again. Every so often, he would catch the ball, put it in his pocket and go to another room to laugh for a while, then get his face composed again and go back out and continue his show! He apologized to all of his classes for the next week or so saying that was the "the most fun he’d had in years, watching the expressions on people's faces and how gullible most were about his technical gobbledygook explanations!” This ping pong ball balancing act and the Peanut Smasher stole the show for the whole ME department lab and I think the only person that thought OUR project was worthwhile was Prof. Paddock! Three Japanese car companies have supposedly developed fuel cells that convert natural gas to electricity and then power the cars with that electricity. They seem to be the most promising, but the compressed air car uses current technology and may be the second best alternative to replace the internal combustion engines. Apparently, one Japanese company can "hand build" only about 700 cars per year now, with half kept in Japan and half sold in California for test purposes. Supposedly their cost is about the same cost as standard cars.

~ Phil Marak

A A M E H E A D L I N E S

Run

ning

Car

s on

Com

pres

sed

Air


The Arkansas Academy o f Mechanical Engineering (AAME) awards scholarships each year based on academic performance and financial need. The following guidelines apply to the selection and distribution of these scholarships: Eligible students are those whose

primary degree plan of study is t h rough the Mechan i c a l Engineering Department at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, or its affiliates.

Eligible students must be in good

academic standing with the

Preference of award given to students with higher financial need than GPA.

Award amounts should be

consistent among recipients with similar needs, with a minimum of $500 per academic year.

The Awards Committee of the Depa r tmen t o f Mech an i c a l Eng ineer ing admin i s ters the a pp l i c a t i on , s e l e c t i on , a nd distribution process, in accordance with the above guidelines. The department will notify AAME upon selection and ensure the recipients are present at AAME’s annual banquet the year of selection.

department and University of Arkansas, be of good moral character, and entering their junior or senior year the following semester to be considered for an AAME scholarship award. Graduate students in mechanical e n g i n e e r i n g m a y b e considered as well.

Eligible students must be

enrolled full-time for both fall and spring semesters of the academic year.

Eligible students must have a

minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at time of scholarship application.

Eligible students must have a

verifiable financial need to be considered.

AAME Scholarship Award Guidelines

Friday, February 27, 2015 the University of Arkansas College of Engineering held their annual Decision Day. This event allows an exciting venue for Freshmen Engineering students to declare their major and join their fellow students as they start their journey in their chosen discipline. As has been the case for the past 3 years, Mechanical Engineering received the largest number of freshmen - 121 freshmen (20% of the freshman class) choose the ME department as their new home! ME department head, Jim Leylek, said that “it was a fun-filled day for

students, staff, and faculty. Also, just as it was the case in the past three years, MEEG had the most original theme this year, as well. Special thanks go to Ms. Melynda Hart for single-handedly creating, yet again, our entire theme, marketing package, and overall set-up. It definitely was a quality day for our department, and I sure felt very, very proud!” ~ Laura Cochran

College of Engineering Decision Day 2015

P A G E 6

Senior Project Expo

A A M E H E A D L I N E S

Seni

or P

roje

ct E

xpo

On March 3, the Mechanical Engineering department held their first Senior Project Expo. AAME members and industry partners were invited to attend, provide some feedback on project designs, and get some one-on-one recruiting time with seniors involved in the department’s “Big 5” projects; Baja, Design-Build-Fly, NASA Rocket, NASA Robotic Mining, & Solar Boat. The teams and their advisors prepared presentations to showcase project designs and innovative ideas for the 2015 competition season and got some great practice in explaining their ideas to new audiences. This event was held in conjunction with the University STEM Career Week. The STEM Career Week and career fairs allow ME students access to employers from a variety of companies. Despite gloomy and impending icy weather, ME hosted an indoor picnic of southern-fried catfish and all the trimmings that was enjoyed by students and guests alike!


On Friday, November, 21, 2014, the Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted a reception honoring Mr. Robert H. Biggadike (BSME 1958, MSME, 1961) for his gift to establish the Robert H. Biggadike Endowment for Teaching in the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. During the day’s events, Mr. Biggadike and his family met with College of Engineering representatives, University Advancement staff, and toured the ME building, meeting with students and faculty, and getting caught up on the new innovations and programs within the department. As part of the reception, Dean English presented Mr. Biggadike with an appreciation gift on behalf of the College of Engineering and Bob Harrison announced Mr. Biggadike’s honorary membership into AAME. Several AAME members were in attendance for the presentation, along with students and University faculty and staff.

Rocket Team

DBF in

Robert Biggadike, AAME Honorary Member

204 Mechanical Engineering Building

College of Engineering

University of Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201

Phone: 479.575.4153

Fax: 479.575.6982

E-mail: [email protected]

Mission of the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering To promote and support the mechanical engineering profession, to honor the Mechanical Engineer and to work with the University of Arkansas Department of Mechanical Engineering to increase the appeal of Mechanical Engineering and further the educational development of future engineers. 2013-2014 Board & Committee Chairs: Bob Harrison, President Russ Rasnic, President-Elect/Publicity Zane Boatright, Past President Cristine Wolf, Secretary Jeff Hayes, Treasurer Lamar Pettus, Honorary Advisor Keith Bradshaw Rick Couvillion, Awards Jim Evans Paul Ford Bill Green, Conduct/Bylaws Will Myers Bob Norwood, Membership Robert Porbeck, Finance Richard Royal Chris Weiser, Fundraising Larry Young

Arkansas Academy

of Mechanical Engineering

SHPE National Conference 2014

www.meeg.uark.edu/aame

Promoting & Supporting the Mechanical Engineer

On December 1, 2014, the University of Arkansas Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) attended the SHPE National Conference in Detroit, Mi. The purpose of the conference was to provide a venue for students to attend workshops and get one-on-one contact with recruiters. The students also received feedback on improving their resumes and using LinkedIn for networking. Out of the 36 students that attended, 11 received opportunities to interview. One Mechanical Engineering student had an interview with Ford Automotive.

SPHE Internal Vice President Claudia Chavez noted that, “This student chapter believes that the students we chose represented The University of Arkansas, College of Engineering and their specific department in the best way possible. These students also demonstrated leadership skills within our organization and we strongly believe that this conference developed this set of skills.

Once again, we thank the departments for the continuous support of this organization and generous funding from alumni and donors to have attended this renowned national conference.”

~ Claudia Chavez, SPHE Vice President





Your AAME Contributions

Mini Baja

Decision Day Straw Tower

Scholarship Recipients

Each year, annual gifts and contributions to the Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering

do so much more than fund the Induction and Awards Banquet!

Your membership gifts & generosity provide financial support to the programs, students,

faculty, and staff of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and ensure opportunities that

would simply not be possible

without your help. Solar Boat

Design, Build, Fly

Bridge Design Project

Robotics Camp (5-6 Grade)

In 2013, AAME donated over $30,000 to the Department of Mechanical Engineering to help support its

students, faculty, and staff.

$15,000 Undergraduate Student Scholarships

$3,000 Solar Splash Competition and Creative Project

$5,000 Mini-Baja Competition and Creative Project

$3,000 Independent Student Projects, such as:

Engineers Abroad

Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers

UA Rocket Team

NASA Robotics Mining Competition

$8,000 Departmental Support for Miscellaneous Projects

Arkansas Academy of Mechanical Engineering

www.meeg.uark.edu/aame

arkansas academy of mechanical engineering...the 2015 aame banquet is scheduled for friday, april...

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