RES History - November 1972 - January 1973

Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1973

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.

“The Rochester Engineer” (November 1972)

In a joint effort to inform and enlighten members of both the legal and engineering professions on matters of “product reliability and liability,” the RES and the Monroe County Bar Association joined in a cooperative effort to develop a “Mock Trial” experience. Representing the Bar Association in this effort were Marvin J. Rosenthal and Angelo G. Faraci. Local attorneys for the plaintiff included Richard Bernstein and Norman Spindleman, and for the defendant, John B. McCrory and Stephen V. Lines. Providing “Expert Testimony” in the proceedings were M. John (Jack) Corson of RG&E and Charles O. Hancock of the Castle Company, Division of Sybron Corporation. Preceding the event, held at Valley Echo, was a $6 buffet dinner. Following the “trial” there was a panel discussion, with the participants and also including Roderick T. McFarlane of Castle Company and William J. Stolze of R.F. Communications. It was announced that the RES Luncheon Series for November would include “Our Environment – What We’re Doing About Preserving It” by Eric A. Seiffer, NYS Regional Engineer for Environmental Quality and Howard F. Christensen, recently appointed Monroe County Director of Solid Waste, “What Happened at the Polls?” by Howard Hosmer, WHEC News Director, “Slow-Scan Television Round the World” by William H. DeWitt, Eastman Kodak Company, Metrification” by Arthur R. Machell of Xerox Corporation.

December 7, 1972 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)

The Board approved two applications for Regular Membership and one application for Associate Membership. It was announced that Henry Diamond, NYS Commissioner of Environmental Conservation had agreed to be the keynote speaker at the upcoming 1973 Engineers’ Joint Dinner. It was announced that members of the Operation RESOURCE Committee would be meeting with representatives of the plastics industry. RES Director, Jack Schickler, reporting for the Education Committee, announced that the Society would be sponsoring ten-week, evening seminars on “Reviewing Engineering Mathematics” and “Effective Reading”, at RIT. Mr.

by Lee M. Loomis

Schickler, also reporting on the initial work of the RES’ Career Guidance Committee, proposed that the RES partially subsidize (@ 50%) the cost for members of the Explorer Post #523 to attend the Engineer’s Joint Dinner, with the hope that RES Affiliate Societies would pick up the remainder of the ticket cost. The Board also heard of the resounding success of the recent “Mock Trial”, and expressed hope that such cooperative meetings with the Bar Association would continue in the future.

“The Rochester Engineer” (December 1972)

The RES announced a five-day Organization Development workshop, conducted by William A. Boothe, former Manager of Education at Xerox Corporation, assisted by Dr. Thomas G. Cummings of Case Western Reserve. Conducted at the Notre Dame Retreat House on Canandaigua Lake, the targeted audience was organization specialists and persons interested in planned organizational change who share major responsibility for organization decision making. “Engineering Aspects of Corporate Planning”, by David S. Greenlaw, Assistant VP and Director of Corporate Planning at Eastman Kodak Company was announced as the December RES Luncheon presentation. “New Directions in Transportation”, by Bernard F. Perry, Regional Director, NYS Department of Transportation. In a small, yet portentously significant article, it was announced that U of R Professors Dr. Robert Wang, Electrical Engineering and Dr. Raymond Gramiak, Diagnostic Radiology, both members of the Biomedical Engineering Department, had received a $107,123 grant from the National Heart and Lung Institute to expand use of echo-ranging techniques in the diagnosis of heart abnormalities. Their statement about the project explained, “The use of ultrasonic energy as a non-invasive diagnostic tool by which doctors may examine the soft tissue of the body without harm to the patient has already shown considerable promise, and it is hoped that the U of R Team will be able to refine the technique, and develop improved readout methods for interpreting results.”

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

The Board approved applications for four Regular Membership and three Junior Memberships. On behalf of the RES Transportation Task Force, Dr. Richard Kenyon reported that it was NOT the mission of the group to develop a transportation plan, rather it was to establish guidelines for use by local, state or federal planning groups to help determine the most likely consequences resulting from the implementation of future transportation systems proposals in the greater Rochester area.

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. Noted also, 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 postwar 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.