Winter 2003
Vol 3 Issue 1
Central Pennsylvania Section http://www.psu.edu/dept/aerospace/aiaa/pro/
John Swihart to Speak at PSU
Mark your calendars! On Thursday, March 6, John Swihart will be giving a presentation entitled “A New Supersonic Transport: Some Design Considerations,” as part of the AIAA Distinguished Lecture Program. The presentation will take place in room 115 of the EE West Building on the Penn State campus, starting at 7:00 PM. Pizza and soda will be served. Mr. Swihart has led a varied and accomplished career. He started at NASA Langley as an Aeronautical Research Scientist and became Branch Chief of all Large Supersonic Tunnels. Later, he worked for the Boeing Company in positions including Chief Engineer of the Supersonic Transport Development Program, Director of the 767 Program, Commercial Group Vice President of US and Canadian Sales, and Corporate Vice President of the Technology Assessment for Defense Group. More recently, he has served as President of the National Center for Advanced Technologies, President of Swihart Consulting, Inc, and President of the International Society of Air Breathing Engines, among other positions. Mr. Swihart is also an Honorary Fellow and Past President of AIAA, and flew 35 combat missions as a B-29 pilot in WWII, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters. The AIAA Penn State Branch and Central PA Section are very pleased to welcome him to Penn State in March.
Students Hold Successful Aerospace Engineering Career Fair
The Penn State AIAA student branch, in collaboration with the Aerospace Engineering honors society, Sigma Gamma Tau, successfully held the First Annual Aerospace Engineering Career Fair on December 10, 2002. AIAA members Katy Fisher and Renee Zlobick led the effort, with a committee that began plans in the spring of 2002.
The career fair consisted of six companies as well as an information table for the PSU Aerospace Engineering Graduate Department and a recruiter for The Von Karman Institute. Many of the recruiters were Penn State alumni looking to hire other Penn Staters. The recruiters were also provided with interview rooms the following day at the new MBNA Career Services Center on the Penn State Campus.
A total of over eighty students attended the career fair, from four different majors, ranging from freshman to graduate students. One recruiter from SAIC said the major benefit of this career fair was “The personal one-on-one time with each Aerospace student, compared to a large, university-wide career fair.”
“We are very proud of the way the Career Fair turned out. Our goal was to create an intimate atmosphere for students to be able to talk to other engineers. At the larger career fairs, you often get human resources people taking resumes for non-specific jobs. The students who came to our career fair knew the companies were there to hire Aerospace Engineers and talk to them about the engineering aspects of the jobs available. We look forward to next year’s event, hopefully attracting a few more companies,” said Katy Fisher, Career Fair Co-chair.
Students talk with Piesecki Aircraft Corporation Recruiter, Andrew Greenjack
Public Policy Stays Involved
David Spencer, our section’s Public Policy officer, attended the quarterly AIAA Public Policy Committee meeting in November. At that meeting, he heard from House, Senate, and Committee staff members about topics ranging from the NASA authorization legislation, Aeronautics legislation, and upcoming activities and initiatives of the new Congress related to defense, aeronautics and astronautics.
Some upcoming legislation include the Senate’s Dodd/Allen bill (S. 2966) that would “…enable the U.S. to maintain its leadership in aeronautics and aviation by instituting an initiative to develop technologies that will significantly lower noise, emissions, and fuel consumption and to reinvigorate basic and applied research in aeronautics and aviation.” The current House version (The Larson Bill – H.R. 4653) has similar wording.
Other upcoming events include the annual Congressional Visits Day (April 8-9) in Washington, D.C. If you are interested in going, please contact Dr. Spencer ().
Mark Maughmer Newest AIAA Associate Fellow
Dr. Mark Maughmer, member of the Central PA section of AIAA has received the distinct honor of being upgraded to the rank of Associate Fellow. This year 192 new associate fellows were upgraded out of 222 candidates through a peer review process. This grade of membership in not easily attained; an associate fellow must be nominated by a fellow member of AIAA, and only one member may be upgraded annually for every 150 voting members. The nominee must be a senior AIAA member and have at least 12 years of work experience. The nominee must also be recommended by three members of associate fellow grade or higher. Dr. Maughmer is a professor of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State and remains active in AIAA after serving on the Aircraft Design Technical Committee (1987-1990).
Barnes McCormick Honored with F.E. Newbold Award
Dr. Barnes McCormick, Boeing professor emeritus of aerospace engineering, earned the AIAA F.E. Newbold V/STOL Award for 2002. The award is presented biennially to recognize outstanding creative contributions to the advancement and realization of powered lift flight. Dr. McCormick’s winning text, Aerodynamics of V/STOL Flight, addresses the design and function of aircraft with low takeoff and landing capabilities and presents overview of applied and analytical aspects of vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aerodynamics. Dr. McCormick was honored in November at the Virginia Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA.
Dr. McCormick is an AIAA fellow and has been quite an active member of AIAA. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Accrediting Board for Engineering Technology, representing AIAA. He was a member of the AIAA Technical Committee on V/STOL Aircraft. Dr. McCormick has served as both a vice-editor and reviewer of the AIAA Journal of Aircraft. Also, he was the vice president for education. Currently, Dr. McCormick is serving a one-year term on the AIAA Affairs Committee.
When asked what the Newbold V/STOL Award means to him, Dr. McCormick answered, “This award meant a lot to me because it was by my peers in a technical area in which I have worked for many years. It was gratifying to have my book written some 40 years ago recognized as the only ‘definitive’ text written on powered lift. When asked how many had ever used my book, almost every hand went up in the auditorium during the award ceremony in Williamsburg, VA.”
Section Officers
Silvio Chianese, Chair
Robert Melton, Vice Chair
Dave Stinebring, Treasurer
Vigor Yang, Technical Committee
David Spencer, Public Policy Committee
Ed Smith, Education Committee
Phillip Morris, Membership Committee
Kathryn Fisher, Newsletter Committee