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2018 Hampton Roads Coastal Virginia Regional Conference – Registration is Open

Dear SAWE Members,

As the President of the Hampton Roads Chapter, it is my pleasure to announce that our 2018 Hampton Roads Coastal Virginia Regional Conference and Planning Meeting on Mass Properties Engineering is officially open for registration through the SAWE website here.  The deadline for registering is September 6th, to ensure that we plan accordingly with the hotel for all those in attendance.

The conference is being held Thursday, Sept. 13th – Saturday, Sept. 15th at the Hilton Norfolk, “The Main”, in downtown Norfolk, VA.  The reduced rate for the hotel is guaranteed through August 22nd and reservations can be made either through a link provided at the end of your registration or via the conference website here.  I encourage you to visit the conference website to learn about the latest information for the conference.  “The Main” is downtown Norfolk’s newest and most modern hotel and we look forward to you all taking advantage of all that it has to offer and for enjoying all the local attractions that Norfolk and the surrounding area has to offer outside of the conference.

We have scheduled three training opportunities for the conference to include a class on Developing Basic Parametric Methods, which pertains to all of our industries, a new class titled Introduction to Marine Weight Engineering for Non-Naval Architects, and finally, Marine Systems Weight Estimating Methods based on SAWE RP-14.  Registration for training is available through the registration process.

We are actively seeking Authors and Presenters to continue to fill up our technical session and are working to secure a speaker for the technical lunch on Friday, Sept. 14th through the local Mariner’s Museum, dubbed America’s Maritime Museum by Congress, on the subject of the America’s Cup AC50 Wing Sail Racing Yachts.  The museum has an exhibit on display and we believe the topic speaks to all of our industries on the importance of mass properties in vehicle design.

We are also actively seeking Exhibitors and Sponsors for the event through the conference website to provide support for the conference and to showcase your products and services to others in the mass properties engineering industry.  Registration as a sponsor and/or exhibitor is available through the registration process.

As always, these conferences are a great opportunity to continue our involvement with the SAWE, stay connected on mass properties engineering related topics, exhibit our products and services, provide support through sponsorship, attend training, and visit a new location to take advantage of all the area has to offer.

I sincerely hope to see you all there and the Hampton Roads Chapter Host Committee is standing by to support you however we can as we invite you to our Regional Conference!

David S. Cash – Hampton Roads Chapter President

Message from new Honorary Fellow

Our SAWE Constitution classifies different levels of membership (Honorary Fellow, Fellow and Benefactor) and assigns the responsibility of presenting nominations and coordinating other awards distributed by other SAWE Offices and committees to the SAWE Awards Committee.  It is one way that we as mass properties professionals and service providers recognize individuals who have materially contributed to the advancement of mass properties and our society. During the Awards Banquet at the International Conference, the Awards Committee Chair presented this year’s award recipients.  One of the recipients was Robert Hundl from Fluor, who was unable to attend the conference due to conflicts. Following the conference, Robert sent the SAWE President, Executive Vice President, and Executive Director an email thanking SAWE for bestowing the title of Honorary Fellow. But his message said more, which I (Bill Boze) as President found inspiring.  So with Robert’s permission, I share his message with all of you in the hopes it will inspire you as well, and relay Roberts’s appreciation to the society.

SAWE,

I would like to thank you for bestowing the Honorary Fellow title upon me.  As many of you know, I have been involved in SAWE for many years (since 1992).  I have had the pleasure to know many of the great SAWE Fellows and Honorary Fellows that have become before me.  Sadly some are no longer with us.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Texas conference this year due to timing issues, but Clint met me before I flew back to England and presented the award to me.  Thanks Clint.

Some SAWE members may look upon achieving Fellow or Honorary Fellow as completing a goal – they check the box, and then disappear only rarely to be seen or heard.  However, many of the greats have continued to offer support and guidance to the society well past receiving any honor or award.  I hope to someday belong to this latter group.  I feel that with the honor, comes responsibility and duty to the organization, no less then when pursuing the honor. While no one can guarantee what the future may bring, we can step out the door and take the journey together to see where it takes us.

Once again, thank you very much for this honor.

My humble regards,

Robert Hundl

SAWE Honorary Fellow

 

SAWE Executive Director Job Opportunity

The Society of Allied Weight Engineers is encouraging our members to step forward and be considered for the appointment as our next Executive Director. Our current Executive Director, Ron Fox is in his fourteenth year in this capacity and has announced his intention to resign, effective at close of business following the Board of Directors meeting on May 18, 2019.

If you are interested in this opportunity or would like to learn more about what the job would entail, please go to https://www.sawe.org/jobs/sawe to learn more.  You will find a timeline of events, job criteria, and more.

Technical Input on In Service Weight Control

I thought I would start a thread on a topic of conversation, In Service Weight Control, from recent SAWE events. After a platform is put into operation, configuration changes take place throughout operation.  This must be kept track of for safe and successful operation.

What related experiences can you share?

I’ll start.  I perform Integrated Mass Properties analysis on the International Space Station (ISS).   I gather inputs from the International partners on Visiting Vehicles coming and going.  I gather inputs from our International partners on modules.  I gather inputs from our Configuration team as changes are made, for example moving Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) from their storage location on ISS to their new location to support continued operation.  I verify the inputs make sense and question everything that doesn’t.

When you put it all together, you have analysis of the ISS at any given point in time needed to operate the ISS as it orbits our Earth every 90 minutes.

Consider sharing your experiences here, at a local chapter meeting, in a presentation / paper, and/or at a conference.

I am hoping this will be a catalyst to increased technical discussion.

Thanks.

Clint.

SAWE 2018 Awards

Early every calendar year, the SAWE Awards Committee emails chapter Directors in search of nominations for the Richard Boynton Lifetime Achievement, Honorary Fellow, Fellow, and Ed Payne Outstanding Young Engineer awards. The awards recognize exceptional young engineers as well as those who have contributed to the advancement of the society. The Awards Committee announces the winners at the yearly Awards Banquet held at the end of the International Conference. The winners announced at the Irving, Texas conference that just concluded include : Robert W. Ridenour (Saint Louis) – Richard Boynton Lifetime Achievement award, Clint Bower (United Kingdom) – Honorary Fellow award, Robert Hundl (Houston) – Honorary Fellow award, Ian David Bennett (Canada) – Fellow award, Claudia Rosenberger (Central European) – Fellow award, Dan Rowley (Los Angeles) – Fellow award, Clint Stephenson (Houston) – Fellow award, Brian Huber (Texas) – Ed Payne Outstanding Young Engineer award, Lori Sandberg (Houston) – Ed Payne Outstanding Young Engineer award, and Simone Umbach (Central European) – Ed Payne Outstanding Young Engineer award. Congratulations!

Scholarship Award, SAWE Texas 2018 International Conference

Congratulations to Matthew Knickerbocker of the University of Colorado Boulder for winning the scholarship awarded by the SAWE Texas 2018 International Conference. As a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering, some of his accomplishments to date include attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant with the United States Air Force, interning as an Engineer with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, making the Deans list since 2016, and being inducted into Sigma Gamma Tau, the national aerospace engineering society. Matthew intends to continue his studies to earn his BS and MS degrees. He aspires to specialize in aerodynamics and aircraft design to become an aerodynamicist on a modern aircraft program. Kudos Matthew. You are highly deserving of this award. The SAWE looks forward to your continued high level of success.

hotel room nights for the International conference, reserve ASAP, SAWE block

Please reserve your room for the SAWE Texas 2018 International Conference by the April 13, 2018 at 5 PM Central time cutoff time to get the SAWE rate and help us meet our contract requirement with the Sheraton DFW. Navigate to https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/events/start.action?id=1708024280&key=21B77EF2 and book your room today. T-4 weeks until ignition!

Dues Collection Policy 2018-2019

Attention Members

We will once again have a membership drive for the last quarter of the 2017-2018 fiscal year beginning February 1. The reinstatement fee of $20 to renew membership for the remainder of the year will be waived. In addition, the reinstated member and new or renewing members will have their membership end date extended to April 30, 2019.

SAWE is going to try a new policy to help curb the workload of the Executive Director, Ron Fox, and the Secretary of Finance, Kim Brown. Beginning February 1, 2018 membership renewal and new or reinstated membership should be done online from our website (https://www.sawe.org/about/membership/application).

If the Chapter Treasurer or his designee wishes to collect fees, it becomes the responsibility of the chapter to compile the records for means of collection and for the distribution of the funds either to or from the Secretary of Finance.

Ron Fox, Executive Director

Kim Brown, Secretary of Finance

Clint Stephenson, Individual Membership Chairman

2018 Southwest Regional Conference – Temecula, California

The Los Angeles, San Diego and Mojave Desert chapters cordially invite you to Temecula in sunny California for the 2018 Southwest Regional Conference. The dates of the Conference are Thursday March 8 through Saturday March 10. In-Person Registration will begin Thursday night (along with the Hospitality Room). On-line Registration will be available soon through Reg Online at the Conference website listed below. Technical presentations will be on Friday (including a luncheon).

SAWE Training will be available on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, AWBS (Automated Weight and Balance System) will be taught by Harold Smoot (full day class). We are excited to offer two new classes on Saturday: Designing the Aircraft of the Future, taught by Andy Walker (full day) and Materials and Mass Properties, taught by Victor Hillyard (half day class). Both Designing the Aircraft of the Future and Materials and Mass Properties will be offered at special, reduced rates. A ShipWeight Users meeting is also scheduled for Saturday.

The Southwest Regional Conference will also be a great opportunity to meet and learn more about Exhibitors in the Weight Engineering discipline, representing various industries.

The Conference will take place at the Temecula Creek Inn, located in beautiful Temecula California. The deadline to receive the SAWE Room rate is February 16. Please use the link on the Conference website below for hotel room reservations and not the hotel’s website. Thank you.

Temecula is well known for the Temecula Valley Wine Country, many championship golf courses, and the Pechanga Resort and Casino. Temecula is a scenic location which many southern California residents go to for vacation or weekend getaways. Temecula can be accessed from Los Angeles (LAX), Orange County (John Wayne), San Diego (SAN), and Ontario (ONT) airports.

More details can be found at https://www.sawe.org/los-angeles/southwest-regional-conference

The hotel website is https://temeculacreekinn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TCI-Group-Brochure-update-2017.pdf

Respectfully submitted

Dan Rowley

Los Angeles chapter Vice President