RES History - January-February 1973

Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1973 by Lee M. Loomis

Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, purpose and infrastructure of the City of Rochester, and beyond. World War, again affected the Society, taking away many of its leaders while providing opportunities for others to step forward to fill these vacancies. In an effort to provide even greater perspective on the happenings and concerns of the day, a synopsis, featuring selected items from "The Rochester Engineer" has become an integral part of this series. The Second World War and the Korean Conflict are now history, and the Vietnam War has recently become a focal point. These experiences have changed the face and, no doubt, the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.

January 10, 1973 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce) (continued)

RES Director, Dr. Myron Trybus, reporting for the IEE Computer Society, stated that his group needed funding to expand their work of introducing high school students to computer science in additional school districts. The Board decided to refer this matter to the RES Education Committee. RES Director James Row reported that the Operation RESOURCE Committee would be meeting with a representative of the Hercules Corporation to brief him on the work of the Solid Waste Task Force and to view a film, “Things Worth Saving”, from the National Conference for Resource Recovery. He also reported that a local, public relations A/V presentation on “Operation RESOURCE” was being prepared for use by the Monroe County Environmental Management Council. The Membership Committee reported that 26 company representatives had been recruited to begin a concerted effort to expand RES membership enrollment.

“The Rochester Engineer” (January 1973)

It was announced that Henry L. Diamond, NY State Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, would be the keynote speaker at the February 22, 1973, RES Engineers Joint Dinner. RIT announced a new, four-year bachelor of science degree program in packaging, beginning in September 1973. RES luncheon programs were announced: “New Directions in Transportation” by Bernard F. Perry, Regional Director, NYS DOT, “Future Alternatives for Greater Rochester” by Edward P. Curtis, VP for Public Affairs, RIT, and, “Echo-Location Systems in Nature – Bats and Dolphins” by Dr. Edward L. Titlebaum, U of R Assoc. Professor of Electrical Engineering. The RES announced that its Explorer Post #523 programs, open to young men & women, this year have included tours and presentations at Erdman Anthony, Gleason Works, Pfaudler and RF Communications. Subsequent programs/tours for this year will include Bausch & Lomb, U of R, Rochester Telephone Corporation, Rochester City Water Bureau and Eastman Kodak Company. The U of R announced a new course, “Lakes, Rivers and Oceans”, focusing on “phenomena which directly affect or are affected by man’s activities”, will be offered next semester in the College of Engineering and Applied 4 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER DECEMBER 2020 Science. This course would be open to both technical and non-technical majors, as well as members of the Rochester community. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, and in conjunction with the RES’s “Operation RESOURCE”, the Rochester Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers published an article, “Solid Waste Disposal, 1912”, describing the early 20th Century, City of Rochester source-separation protocol, “Every householder must provide three separate receptacles for ashes, rubbish, garbage; and ashes, rubbish and garbage must not be mingled or placed together in one receptacle.” The article pointed out that, in 1912, Rochester collected 175,000 tons of ash and the City’s rubbish plant processed over 31,000 tons, annually, including nearly 12,000 dead animals, much of it being incinerated, and providing steam to Rochester Railway & Light Company (the forerunner of RG&E).

February 7, 1973 (Board Meeting, University Club)

The Board approved four Regular, two Associate and two Junior membership applications. It was announced that organizations supporting the RES Explorer Post #523 now included: MPES, the Rochester Chapters of American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Society of Lubrication Engineers, American Welding Society, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Construction Standards Institute and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In following up on the request, by Dr. Myron Tribus, for funding for the expansion of a high school program to introduce students to the use of computers, the RES Education Committee was advised by the Board to refer such funding needs to the school districts, as this was not considered an appropriate expenditure for the RES.

“The Rochester Engineer” (February 1973)

Evan A. Edwards, Assistant Director of the Film Technical Services Division of Eastman Kodak Company was named “1972 Rochester Engineer of the Year” and celebrated at the annual Engineers Joint Dinner, featuring Henry L. Diamond, NYS Commissioner of Environmental Conservation. RES luncheon programs for February included: “The New Technicians – Their Roles in Industry” by Martin Dvorin, MCC Chair and Professor of Optical Technology, and, “The Wankel Engine – Past, Present and Future” by Harry Pedersen, Project Engineer at Gleason Works. Funded by a $42,660 grant from the National Science Foundation, SUNY Brockport announced that 40 local high school mathematics teachers would participate in a five-week summer session focused on the use of the computer as an instructional tool in the teaching of mathematics.

Subsequent articles in this series will describe the RES' continuing outreach to other technical societies as it considered its role in this and the larger community, along with more of the activities of the RES as it moved to be of greater service to its membership, especially those suffering from current economic crises, and adopted a greater role in shaping the future of the City and its environs. Also noted will be the contributions made by RES members in the struggle to meet the challenges coming out of World War II and the Korean Conflict, as well as a hoped-for period of post-war growth and prosperity. These articles will also feature an impressive array of RES activities in support of post-war re-emergence of Rochester area industry, and the ensuing prosperity of the second-half of the 20th Century.

We welcome your questions and comments on this series.

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