President’s Message

Greg Gdowski, PhD University of Rochester Incoming RES President June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2022

Dear Fellow Engineers,

One of the small pleasures that I have had since being given the keys to the office has been the unique opportunity to look through the RES archives that date back to 1897. The RES has survived many crises including the economic recession of WW1, the Great Depression, WW2, Vietnam, and 911. The Covid-19 crisis of 2020 has significantly impacted the RES in ways that we thought were unimaginable just a year ago. This year we have had to cancel the RES Gala. More recently, it was announced that the Rochester Engineering Symposium will also be changing due to the Covid-19 crisis. These changes have caused us to refocus on the magazine and website which function to bring the latest information to all engineers within the Rochester area.

The Rochester Engineer

In the future, we will be only delivering the magazine electronically. We will no longer be providing a service for receiving a printed copy of the magazine. That said, there is good news! The magazine will be delivered using ISSUU.com. This service allows us to archive many issues of the magazine. You can now find links

to nearly the last 5yrs of issues on our webpages.

ISSUU also provides a printing service. You may acquire a printed copy of any issue using their services. We will also highlight articles and member notices directly to our Facebook and LinkedIn sites in the near future! This means that your submissions will reach even farther within our community than ever before! A picture containing text, book Description automatically

One of the more fascinating things I have encountered in the RES archives has been some remarkable artwork

res news - incoming president’s message for monthly luncheons dating back to the 1920s. I will be placing a different piece of artwork in each of the upcoming magazine issues. The first person to locate the artwork in the magazine and email Lynne the page number will receive a small gift from the RES! We have placed a copy of the artwork dated May 10, 1921, deep in the August issue!

Within this issue you will also find an exciting article that details a number of large solar projects happening in our area (pg 10)! News about Bergmann Associates launching a new Science, Technology, and Industry Practice, and news about LaBella Associates acquiring Harmony Architectural Associates. I would also like to personally congratulate Wendy Smith for being promoted as the new Chief Operating Officer at Optimation Technology! Wendy served as the 2009 RES President and has a long history of helping with the RES Scholarship Committee. Finally, we also welcome Casmic Reid and Dwight Cooke as new RES members.

Other RES news!

At our last Board meeting, we decided to keep the membership dues levels the same for the upcoming year. We felt this was in the best interests of the members. Your contributions to the RES allows us to maintain the infrastructure needed to create the magazine, support community scholarships, and deliver STEM programs that reach numerous students in the Rochester area. Please remember that your membership is highly valued and your support is what keeps our mission alive.

All my best, Greg Gdowski

AUGUST 2020 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 3