MSM ALUMNUS - Missouri School of Mines anc{ Metallurgy ROLLA, MO:
NUMBER 3
PALL,1942
VOLUME 16
Bureau of Mines Establish Regional Headquarters at Rolla
Registration for Architects and Professional Engineers in Missouri By
The establishment of regional headquarters for the Central Region of the United States Bureau of Mines at R olla, recently announced in W ashington, will result in making R olla one of the outstanding centers of scientific industrial research in the United States, according to Dean Curtis L. Wilson, H ead of the School of Mines and M etallurgy. The reports from W ashington announced that R oll a had been selected as one of the three divisional headquarters for the war work of the United States Bureau of Mines; the other two being at College Park, M aryland and Salt Lake City, Utah. This wi ll greatl y enlarge and supplement the work that has been carried on for the past twenty- two years by the Mississippi Valley Experiment Station of the United States Bureau of Mines, established at R olla in 1920, working in cooperation with the Experiment Station of the School of Mines and M etallurgy. Th is station has made outstanding contributions to the mineral industries of the United States in general and the Mississippi Valley in particular, <.ccording to Dean Wilson. During the time it has been in operation, 16 1 scientific treatises have been written and released from this station, dealing with lead, zinc, fluorspar, steel metallurgy, recovery of minerals by flotation, refractories material and recentl y, the recovery of manganese from low grade ores. During the past year , with the stimulus given to this study by the war effort, a dozen scientific freatises have been released on the subject of manganese alone. Dean Wilson pointed out that one of these studies conducted in the Tri -S tate Lead and Zinc District was estimated by independent engi neers operating in the district to have resulted in savings amounting to as much as five million dollars a year. Another study in the lead district, resulted in savings amounting to as much as a half-million dollars a year in normal times. Similar savings were made in the fluorspar district of southern Illinois. In the manganese stud y, a mineral of strategic importance in the war effort, definite methods have been worked out for the recovery of this mi neral from low grade manganese ores. The scien tific work of the Burea u of Mines here will suppleme nt numerous other governmental agencies already operating in R olla. T wo years ago in a decentralization movement, the United States Geological Survey shifted the headquarters of the central division of the T opographic branch of that organization from W ashi ngton, D .C. to Rolla, where, under the direction of Captai n C . L. Sadler, the work of this division in sixteen states is sup ervised , with a total personnel of 11 8 trained engineers and draftsmen in addi tion to the ad ministrati ve and clerical force. In addition to the above, the United States Geological Survey also maintains in R olla regional headquarters for the W ater R eâ&#x20AC;˘sources branch of this organization. Under the direction of H enry C. Beckman, these headquarters supervise studies in the entire Mississippi Ri ver Basin including about forty per cent of the entire area of the United States, where twenty trained engineers are car rying on investigations. A great deal of the information collected by this branch of the government is for the use of the War Department in studies dealing with water power development, navigation and flood control. It is largely the work of Civil Engineers. Also, in R olla is the headquarters of the Missouri Geological Survey under the supervision of Dr. H. A. Buehler with his staff of trained research workers. The State Public H ealth Service and
Over a period of many years, architects and engineers have sought legisfation by the State of Missouri w hich would govern the practice of architecture and professional engineering in the State wi th provisions for registration and licensing, generally termed a Registration Law. M any other States have such laws, some of which have been in force for many years. Undismayed by the failure of favorable action by the 60th General A ssembly, The Missouri A ssociation of Architects and the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers, with renewed determination, began at once a program to have the matter presented to the 6 1st General A ssembly. Under the able leadership of the offi cers and members of these societies, enthusiastic cooperation was scured from architects and engineers throughout the State, and the Missouri registration act was passed. This legal regulation of architectural and engineering practice is a definite responsibility of the respective professions. If we want architecture and engineering to be respected by the public as a profession, we must see to it that it deserves such support. The two professions should continue to be active in the education and the administration of the law. The fund amental principle of legal registration is covered in an opinion by the United States Supreme Court as fo llows: "The power of the State to provide for the general welfare of its people authorize it to prescribe all such regulations as, in its judgment, will secure or tend to secure them against the consequence of ignorance and incapacity as well as deception and fr aud . A s one means to this end it has been the practice of different States, from time immemorial, to exact in many pursuits a certain degree of skill and learning upon w hich the community may confidently rely, their possession being generally ascertained upon an examination of parties by competent persons. The nature and extent of qualifications required must depend primarily upon the judgment of the State as to their necessity." The p urpose of the Missouri A ct is to safeguard life and property; to promote and protect the peace, health and safety of the people; and generally, to conserve the p ublic welfare. T o obtain a license to pratice the profession of Engineering in Missouri under this A ct , one must be at least twenty-one years of age and of good moral character, and come under anyone of the following classifications: (a) Graduate from an approved Engineering school or college plus a specific record of at least an additional four years of active expenence . (b) Specific record of eight yea rs of active experience and a written and oral exa mination in his particular field . (c) G randfather C lause : At any time wi thin five years after the A ct becomes effecti ve the applicant is qualified for registration if he can give a specific record of twelve years of lawful, active experience in the specific field in which he is applying for registration and has had responsible charge of important architectural or professional engineering work for at least five years. After this act shall have been in effect five years, certificate of registration shall be issued onl y to those who shall meet the requirements under (a) or (b) .
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PROF. C. H. BLACK, Assistant Profe ssor of Eng ineering Draw ing at MSM, and President, Missou ri Associat ion of Architects