Talking Points: March 2010

Advocacy and Outreach

More than 6,000 people turned out for the Discover Engineering Family Day at the NationalBuildingMuseum in Washington, D.C., on February 20, as part of Engineers Week. At the NSPE booth, kids learned the “Zip Line.” The challenge: Design and build something that can carry a Ping-Pong ball from the top of a zip line string to the bottom in four seconds or less.

NSPE has established an engineering club at the CoraKellySchool for Math, Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA. The club has about 20 members. It meets once a week and teaches kids about engineering through hands-on activities. NSPE is pursuing a $100,000 U.S. Department of Transportation grant that would help expand the club.

In February, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle joined to introduce the Engineering Education (E2) for Innovation Act (H.R. 4709 and S. 3043). The legislation would improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in K–12 schools by creating competitive grant programs to fund the implementation of engineering curricula to increase student achievement and interest in the engineering field. The bill would also provide grants to research and evaluate the schools’ efforts. Senator Ted Kaufman (D-DE), who has practiced as a mechanical engineer, recognized NSPE as a supporter of the bill in a press release on his Web site.

Along with the Society of Women Engineers, NSPE will cosponsor anevent on Capitol Hill, called “Diversity and Inclusion Fuels Innovation in STEM.”The grassroots event, March 23–24, will include a congressional reception and the opportunity to meet with legislators to discuss diversity in STEM fields. President Sam Grossman, P.E., F.NSPE, andVice President Chris Stone, P.E., F.NSPE, will be among the NSPE attendees.

The Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee approved a white paper on Engineering Education Outcomes Required for Professional Practice for consideration by the NSPE Board of Directors.

The Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee approved a recommendation that the NSPE Board approve the February 4, 2010,recommendations of the NCEES Faculty Licensure Task Force and to make appropriate amendments to the NCEES Model Law.

Participated in the American Association of Engineering Societies’ International Activities Committee and provided a full report on NSPE’s international activities. This includes leadership liaison with the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and the Union of Pan American Engineering Organizations (UPADI) and other activities.

Education

Recent NSPE Web seminars have covered topics such as ethics (see details under “Promoting Ethical Practice”), how to start your own firm, digital signatures, project management, presentation skills, and how to prepare for your next job.

The Society continues to expand its online resources for volunteer leaders. All of these can be accessed through the Leadership Toolbox at (your user name and password will be required for access):

  • Introduction to the PeopleMap System
  • Membership Recruitment and Retention for State and Chapters
  • Social Media Smarts
  • Selling for Introverts—Tips for Member-to-Member Recruitment and General Sales
  • NSPE Billing/Collections Program (March 25)
  • Continuity Task Force(April 13), noon–1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)—presentation of the task force’s recommendations
  • Financially Alert (May 12), noon–1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)—NSPE Treasurer Leanne Panduren, P.E., F.NSPE, provides guidance to NSPE volunteer leadership on financial controls needed to oversee your societies vendors and employees in order to avoid financial troubles.
  • House of Delegates Orientation (June17), 3:00–4:00 p.m. (E.D.T.)
  • Web Seminar Replay: Enterprise Program 101—Originally held on March 11, 2010. Led by Enterprise Task Force, Michael Fink, P.E., Chair. The Enterprise Task Force discusses NSPE’s Enterprise program.
  • A Web seminar on qualifications-based selection will launch shortly.

NSPE continues to provide members with free, online continuing education opportunities. The four courses that now qualify for free PDHs are Engineering Ethics & Fair Trade: Employment Practices (ONL-019), Engineering Ethics & Fair Trade: Ethics of Agreements(ONL-020), Ethics Forum: Access to Client Information and Public Safety (ONL-037), and Engineer’s Duty to Report (ONL-039).

On May 5–7, NSPE will host “Synergy,”theannual education and networking event for HR professionals and CFOs who work for engineering organizations.The event is sponsored by the Professional Engineers in Private Practice and will be held in Alexandria, VA.

Communications

NSPE’s social networking efforts continue to expand and provide the Society with new channels for communicating its messages.

  • Twitter ( We have over 335 followers and we gain new followers daily. NSPE’s Twitter feed was mentioned as one of the Top 100 Twitter feeds for engineering students, and ranksas the 17thmost influential on “Wefollow.com” for the keyword “engineer.”
  • Facebook ( NSPE’s number of “fans” has grown to more than 750 from 284 in October 2009.
  • You Tube ( Thirteen videos are now available and NSPE’s “channel” has been visited nearly 3,000 times since it began in July 2009.

Promoting Ethical Practice

Finalized 12 new NSPE Board of Ethical Review cases. Once the cases have been approved, they will be available with all NSPE BER cases dating back to 1958 at

Launched the 2010 NSPE Milton F. Lunch Ethics Essay Contest.

NSPE Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel Art Schwartz moderated the three-part Spring 2010 Ethics Forum.The Web seminars included “Engineering Ethics At Work: Balancing the Interests of Peers” on February 17 and “Balancing the Interests of Employers and Clients” onMarch 17. The final Web seminar on “Balancing the Interests of the Public”is scheduled for April 7.

The Society has expand its engineering ethics training services, which are now being marketed to engineering firms, government agencies, and other institutions.Upcoming events include North Dakota conference (April), Construct 2010 in Philadelphia(May), Southern Association of State Highway Transportation Officials in Little Rock, AR(August), and the Virginia Engineering Conference in Williamsburg(September).

Honors & Awards

The Federal Engineer of Year Award was present to Lisa Fotherby, P.E., of the Bureau of Reclamation. Video of the ceremony and interviews will be available on NSPE’s YouTube channel.

Young Engineers of the Year from around the country were highlighted in the December 2009 issue of PE. North Dakota Young Engineer of the Year Debbie Jacklich-Kuiken, P.E., was featured on the cover.

Kacey Fetcho-Phillips, P.E., a Leaders for Global Operations Fellow at MIT was named NSPE’s representative for EWeek’s New Faces of Engineering campaign.

Other Notables

NSPE is working with the Center for International Disaster Information to deploy PEs interested in helping with reconstruction efforts in Haiti and Chile.

NSPE has entered a partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. Energy Star is a voluntary partnership between business, government, and others united to protect our environment by changing to energy-efficient practices.

To emphasize the importance of membership recruitment, NSPE has been holding March Membership Madness Month. NSPE has been promoting a back-to-the-basics approach to recruiting that focuses on word-of-mouth advertising and member referrals.Activities include a three-part Web seminar series, recruitment advertising on the NSPE Web site and in PE magazine, and Special incentives for randomly selected prospects who join online and members who renew by phone.

NSPE worked with the American Institute of Architects and the American Council of Engineering Companies to publish the annual survey of professional liability insurance providers and the related directory of insurance companies.

Details:

NSPE and a growing number of other organizations and companies will be taking part in the U.S.A. Science and Engineering Festival, October 23–24 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The event is being called the country’s first national science festival.

Details: