www.roceng.org
January 2021
A History of Leading-Edge Work in Renewables and Utilites has Fisher Looking to 2021 With Promise | 10 Photo credit: GreenSpark Solar
Bergmann earns spot on Building Design+ Construction’s Top 100 Architecture Engineering
Also in this issue:
Call for Nominations EXTENDED:
2020 Engineer of the Year, Young Engineer of the Year, and Engineers of Distinction Deadline for Preliminary Nominations is Friday, January 15, 2021 | 7
A History of Leading-Edge Work in Renewables and Utilites has Fisher Looking to 2021 With Promise
The Rochester Engineer Published since 1922 by
ROCHESTER ENGINEERING SOCIETY, INC. Founded March 18, 1897
(cover) 10-12
Volume 99, Number 7, JANUARY 2021 (Electronic Copies Only) You can purchase individual printed copies directly from ISSUU.
2,500+ Monthly Circulation (11 issues electronically) ISSN 0035-7405
RES Mission Statement: The RES will become the lead organization for improving the image and influence of the engineering community in the greater Rochester area by: Demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge of the region’s engineering and technical capabilities; Providing the best clerical support and public relations assistance to our affiliates; Continually communicating the engineering and technical accomplishments to both the engineering and technical community and the public; Providing regular forums and networking opportunities for the exchange of ideas and discussion of issues; and, Providing programs that identify career opportunities to the region’s youth and develop the skills of the practicing engineer. News items and articles are invited. Materials should be submitted to the administrative director at the society’s office, 657 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14607; Phone number (585) 254-2350, e-mail: therochesterengineer@gmail.com.
The web site for the RES is: www.roceng.org. The deadline is the 10th day of the month prior to the issue. Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed in this publication are those of contributors, not of the Rochester Engineering Society, Inc. Advertising information may be obtained by contacting the office of the Rochester Engineering Society or going to the website at www.roceng.org.
contents
4 • RES History - March - April 1973 5 • RES Technical Corner by Brett Eliasz
6 • We continue to thank those who stayed commited to being a sponsor of the 118th RES Annual Gala which was cancelled because of COVID19 7 • Call for Nominations - EXTENDED - 2020 EOY, YEOY, and EOD 8 • Education at Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, during the Pandemic... 9 • Get To The Point - Keeping Track of Your Performance
10-12 • A History of Leading-Edge Work in Renewables and Utilities had Fisher Looking to 2021 With Promise (cover) 13 • Get IT Done - Barking Dogs, Laughing Children and Survivor 14-17, 22 • News From Professional Firms 15 • Professional Firms - Employee News 18 • FE Civil Exam Review Course Offered by CET at RIT 18-19 • Position Openings
Published every month but July. You can purchase individual copies directly from ISSUU.
20 • Continuing Education Opportunities (PDHs)
Go to www.roceng.org to join the Rochester Engineering Society. Click on the individual membership and you can submit your application on-line.
23 • Campus News
Board of Directors:
OFFICERS: President GREG GDOWSKI, PhD University of Rochsester / Greg_Gdowski@urmc.rochester.edu First Vice President MICHELLE SOMMERMAN, PE Bergmann Associates / msommerman@bergmannpc.com Second Vice President DENNIS ROOTE, PE CDE Engineering & Environment, PLLC / dennis.roote@cde-pllc.com Treasurer ANDREW C. HIRSCH Retired / andrewcharleshirsch@gmail.com Past President JOSEPH DOMBROWSKI, PE Retired from M/E Engineering / jdombrowski3@rochester.rr.com EIGHT DIRECTORS: CORNELIUS (NEAL) ILLENBERG PE Rail Safety Consulting / nillenberg@aol.com RICHARD E. RICE Erdman Anthony / rriceaquash@gmail.com BRETT ELIASZ, PE Bergmann Associates / beliasz@bergmannpc.com KENTON G. HINES Merrill Lynch / kenton.hines@ml.com MIKE KURDZIEL, PhD (Director on Executive Committee) Harris Corporation / mike.kurdziel@L3harris.com STEVEN W. DAY, PhD Rochester Institute of Technology / swdeme@rit.edu NANCY CRAWFORD Optimation Technology, Inc. / nancy.crawford@optimation.us DANIEL WEAVER Optimation Technology, Inc. / dweaver87@gmail.com Administrative Director LYNNE M. IRWIN Rochester Engineering Society / e-mail: res@frontiernet.net or therochesterengineer@gmail.com
20-21 • Engineers’ Calendar 35-36 • Directory of Professional Services 36 • Directory of Business Services 37 • Affiliated Societies and Corporate Members of the RES
news of the...
2 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
H m t t o o t e i e t h f k w e l a
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Membership Application and Advertising Rates are also on the website: www.roceng.org.
• ABCD Association for Bridge Construction and Design.....................29 • ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.....................................................34 • ASPE American Society of Plumbing Engineers....................................24 • EA Electrical Association.......................................................................28 • IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers........................30 • IES Illuminating Engineering Society....................................................27
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• INCOSE International Council on Systems Engineering..........................31 • IS&T Society for Imaging Science and Technology..............................32 • MPES Monroe Professional Engineers Society......................................26 • RES Rochester Engineering Society.................................................... 2-8 • SWE Society of Women Engineers.........................................................25 • TERRA TERRA Science & Engineering Fair...............................................33
index
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President’s Message
Greg Gdowski, PhD University of Rochester RES President June 1, 2020 - May 31, 2022 Dear Fellow Engineers,
Happy New Year! I am sure all of us are happy to move beyond 2020. I would like to begin by saying thank you. Thank you to all of the healthcare workers that have worked tirelessly over the last year to keep our community safe and healthy. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the ER staff at Strong over the last year on Covid-19 related projects. The stress endured by the staff in keeping our community healthy is often under-appreciated. Please know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I would also like to thank all of the educators in our community that have worked to keep our educational system moving forward. The accommodations that were made to keep classrooms open or to deliver education remotely was a monumental task. I am confident that we will emerge from this crisis in 2021. All of us at the RES look forward to delivering more in person content and activities in the upcoming months.
Things to read in this issue of the Rochester Engineer! RES tutoring and the Dr. Walter Cooper Academy Food Pantry (page 8). We are working towards providing tutors in mathematics once the students are back in the building. In the meantime, please consider providing either food or clothing donations to the Academy! Edward Kostowniak provided a great article on renewables and utilities and the scope of Fisher Associates within this space on pages 10-12. Take a look at this cover story to gain insight on wind and solar
res news - president’s message
power initiatives being carried out in our area! Rochester-based SWBR acquired 3tarchitects located in the Troy, New York region (page 16). This acquisition will allow the company to geographically expand across New York State! Congratulation to RES member, Optimation for winning the Manufacturing Innovation Award from the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing awards (page 17)! Are you looking for PDH credit or for interesting things to do virtually in Rochester? Check out the Engineers’ Calendar on pages 20 and 21! Make sure you pencil in the Casino Night presented by the Electrical Association of Western New York on May 7th (page 28). Proceeds will benefit the Kessler Burn
Center at the URMC!
Finally, don’t forget that the first person to identify the page with 1920s artwork will receive a gift from the RES! All my best, Greg Gdowski RES President
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 3
Rochester History 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” (March 1973)
The March 14th RES luncheon meeting featured a presentation “What It Took to Win ‘Le Mouse 5000’ " by Dr. William Kinsman of Monroe Community College. He had recently won the annual competition at the 1972 Design Engineering Show for distance traveled by an MPV (mousetrap-powered-vehicle). These are vehicles of various designs and sizes, powered only by the spring mechanism of a Victor - Four-Way Mousetrap. Editor’s note: I remember attending this event, at which Dr. Kinsman demonstrated the operation of his championship vehicle, in the second-floor, long hallway at the Chamber of Commerce, as it traveled over 200’ to the amazement of the audience. An additional March luncheon presentation, “Engineering in Stamps”, by Gordon C. Morison, a former Rochester newspaperman and Stromberg-Carlson Public Relations Manager, now the Director of the Office of Philatelic Affairs at the US Postal Service, described how postage stamps have honored engineers and the engineering profession.
April 4, 1973 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)
The Board approved applications for two Regular Members, one Associate Member and two Student Members. A report from the RES representatives to the Rochester Council of Scientific Societies (RCSS) included a request for continued funding from the RES. Programs of continued career guidance and support to local schools were also described, and the Board indicated a willingness to provide future support, once these programs became active. RES Director John Schickler announced that the final RES luncheon for this year would be held at the Strasenburgh Planetarium, and that the RES would be participating in a two-day career guidance conference at St. John Fisher College. RES President Ed Anthony reported that the Monroe County Public Works Commissioner had requested that the Society review a proposed County ordinance on drainage. It was announced RES Publications Committee chair, Milton Gross, would be presenting a paper at the ASME Design Engineering Conference, in Philadelphia, on
4 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1973 by Lee M. Loomis Operation RESOURCE.
“The Rochester Engineer” (April 1973)
It was announced that, likely as the result of a recent comprehensive report by the Monroe Professional Engineers Society (MPES) on the strict fire codes and requirements for storage and handling of fuel oil (grades #2, #4, and #6) published in the Democrat & Chronicle, the County had abandoned plans for constructing a storage tank farm at the Port of Charlotte. The 1972-73 RES luncheon series concluded with, “a spectacular star show “Space Puzzles”, a technical description and explanation of the world’s only computerized planetarium, and a tasty box lunch.” Presented by John Paris, Technical Director of the Science Center, it featured a discussion of eight unanswered questions about the universe, among them, “Planet X, where are you?” and “Why do galaxies have arms?”, followed by a description of the unique devices, optical elements and computerized controls, by which this very unusual show was produced. Editor’s note: Mr. Paris was widely acknowledged as one of the outstanding planetarium experts in the world, and many of the special effects at the Strasenburgh Planetarium, as well as the equipment for producing them, were designed by him. An article in this issue by Joseph W. Barnes, Assistant City Historian, described the origin of Rochester’s Pure Waters Program, 1904-17. It described sewage protocols of the late nineteenth Century wherein the City’s sewage, from both sides of the Genesee River, were deliberately discharged into the river, through openings in the rockface of the gorge walls. It also discussed Mayor James G. Cutler’s commissioning eminent sanitary engineer, Emil Kuichling, in 1904, to develop recommendations for relief of this problem, and the ensuing years-long opposition to this plan, in favor of one which would instead irrigate regional farmland with the effluent. It wasn’t until 1910 that the NY State Commissioner of Health would enter the controversy and hold public hearings that would result in the adoption of the “Kuichling Plan” which would ultimately remove about 95% of the organic solids from Rochester’s sewage. As per the RES By-Laws, this month’s issue presented a slate of officers for the coming year, 1973-74, including President - Mark H. Sluis, General Railway Signal Corporation, First VP - John F. Schickler, Rochester Products Division of General Motors, Second VP - Dr. Richard A. Kenyon, RIT, Secretary - M. John (Jack) Corson, RG&E, Treasurer Howard R. Jacquith, Taylor Instrument Companies, Director – Ludwig C. (Lou) Boehringer, Jr., Eastman Kodak Company, Director – John M. Robertson, Rochester Telephone Corporation. 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 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.
res news - history
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Technical Corner For the article this month there is a scenario which occurs quite a bit in the electrical field. Instances such as mounting electrical equipment above an acoustical drop ceiling, specifically a bus duct. Below, courtesy of the NEC 2017 handbook you will see an illustration of a bus duct mounted above a suspended ceiling with lift out panels. Under section 368.10 (B) Behind access panels-permits mounting above a ceiling as long as there is access to it. By reading definitions under Article 100 of the 2017 NEC you will find the verbiage: Accessible: admitting close approach; not guarded by locked doors, elevation, or other effective means. Readily Accessible: capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections without requiring the use of tools or portable ladders. Obviously, this scenario would require a portable ladder to go up and remove the ceiling grid so I wouldn’t think this is readily accessible. However, the code section seems to allow just an “Accessible” situation, which ultimately leads to our answer that a busduct can be mounted above a suspended ceiling. Another step further, if we pick on this illustration some more, you will see ceiling supports which drop down in front of the busduct. Do you think there needs to be frontal clearance from the face of the actual bus as well as from the face of the busplug? Some of you may tend to disagree with me, but my stance, which is conservative, is that we need to maintain the clearances listed in table 110.26(A)(1). In our scenario we would fall under condition #2 as I would consider the ceiling supports grounded metallic objects. This clearance would apply to both the busduct face as well as the actual bus plug face. Reasoning: Usually there is a reason why a structural support is in a certain location. Can you imagine if we didn’t follow the clearances of the actual bus and then added a bus plug down the road? Now what. Just move the ceiling support…? Sounds expensive…lets be proactive!! Many times, the busduct has already claimed the real estate and in comes a new ceiling below it. Maintenance and operation will be more of a concern when a ceiling is added below, so many owners are opting to just relocate the busduct to somewhere nearby where “better accessibility” can be established. During design it does need to be brought to the owner’s attention if existing and considered during the design if everything is a new installation. Hopefully this article finds you well and can be used as a reference for your project needs. If anyone would like to contribute to the RES magazine and add an article or would like to request information on a specific topic (not limited to Electrical) just email me at beliasz@bergmannpc.com. As always, any comments are appreciated…! Thank you for reading. Brett Eliasz, P.E., LEED AP BD+C , RES Director res - technical corner
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 5
We continue to thank those who stayed committed to being a sponsor of the 118th RES Annual Gala which was cancelled because of COVID19! DIAMOND
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
PROGRAM ADVERTISERS
6 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
res - thank you gala sponsors
RES CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Call for Nominations - EXTENDED 2020 Engineer of the Year Susan Houde-Walter, PhD 2019 EOY
Past Engineers of the Year 12 years...(first awarded 1963) Susan Houde-Walter, PhD Donald P. Nims, PE Martin E. Gordon, PE Diane M. Trentini Robert L. Clark, Jr., PhD Lalit Mestha, PhD Maureen S. Valentine, PE Sergio Esteban, PE Brian J. Thompson, PhD Gary W. Passero, PE Kevin J. Parker, PhD Satish G. Kandlikar, PhD
2020 Kate Gleason Young Engineer of the Year and 2020 Engineers of Distinction
Nick Vamivakas, PhD 2019 YEOY
Past Young Engineers of the Year -12 years... (first awarded 2007) Nick Vamivakas, PhD Brett Eliasz, PE Emily M. Smith, PE Matthew T. Sidley Danielle Benoit, PhD John Papponetti, PE Courtney E. Reich, PE Clement Chung, PE Sherwin Damdar Michael J. Walker, EIT Nathan Gnanasambandam, PhD Venkatesh G. Rao, PhD
The RES Board of Directors introduced a streamlined nomination form. A simple initial form allows an individual or organization to nominate a candidate. The RES committee will then contact the nominator if the candidate progresses to the next phase. At that point, a final form will be used to gather essential details from the nominator and candidate which will be used to determine our award recipients. The RES will select and recognize the 2020 Engineer of the Year, Young Engineer of the Year (and Finalists for Young Engineer of the Year), and Engineers of Distinction Awards in a variety of public venues and media during the weeks before the Gala. The Award recipients will be introduced on Saturday, April 17, 2021 during the Gala at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
Visit our website at www.roceng.org and click on Engineering Awards (Under What We Do), or call 585-254-2350 (res@frontiernet.net) to request a nomination form. The following information is described: Eligibility for Nomination Awards Criteria
Deadline for Preliminary Nominations - Friday, January 15, 2021 Deadline for Final Nominations - Friday, January 29, 2021
res news - call for nomonations
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 7
RES News - Tutoring Team Education at Dr. Walter Cooper Academy, during the Pandemic… The “No Visitors” policy in place at all Rochester City Schools, has prevented the RES Tutoring Team from resuming its work at Dr. Walter Cooper Academy (RCSD School #10) (DWCA). However, with the recent availability of a Covid-19 vaccine, there is now some “light at the end of the tunnel”. In anticipation of this, the Rochester City School District (RCSD) has announced the beginning of “hybrid learning” for a specific group of Special Education Students, beginning on January 4th, 2021. However, DWCA will not be impacted by this return date, as there are currently no students at our school that meet these very special criteria. The RCSD has recently surveyed the families of all students as to their preference for a hybrid learning vs. a continued remote learning protocol, during the pandemic. Our Cooper Scholars, whose families have chosen a hybrid program for their children are scheduled to return to begin a hybrid learning program, in February at the start of the 3rd quarter…more “light at the end of the tunnel.” A recently approved program of increased focus on mathematics teaching, for an identified group of AfricanAmerican students in Our School may provide an opportunity for the RES Tutoring Team to become part of this special effort to bring additional academic support to our Cooper Scholars. Once we have students back in the building, there may be some creative ways to engage the RES Tutors in this program. Dr. Walter Cooper Academy – Food Pantry As previously mentioned, a “Food Pantry” has been established at our school to help meet the needs of our students and their families. The Browncroft Community Church has recently donated shelving and the refrigerator needed for the food bank. Our School now has a safe, sanitary space for storage and distribution of food. RES Members have provided generous donations to the DWCA Food Pantry. There is a continuing need for shelf-stable foods; boxed pasta and pasta sauces, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, pancake mix, canned fruits and vegetables, as well as hygiene products: soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. Food donations can be delivered to the 353 Congress Avenue building (Post Avenue entrance), or by mailing a grocery gift card, in $25 denominations (no $$$ please) to “DWCA Food Bank” Attn: Camaron Clyburn, 353 Congress Ave., Rochester, NY 14619. Please call first @ (585) 324-2010. Dr. Walter Cooper Academy – Clothing Cupboard The recently established DWCA Clothing Cupboard has been very successful, given that we are in a pandemic setting! The Love Fellowship Worship Center has donated a large quantity of clothing, and the RES Membership has also provided similar support, some of it solicited from their own families and their neighbors. New (or gently-used) clothing, especially children’s winter garments, can also be delivered to the school (Mon – Fri, 9:00AM – 2:00PM). Please call first @ (585) 324-2010. Meanwhile, if you have questions, please reach out to RES Past-President, Lee Loomis (leeloomis46@gmail.com) or (585) 738-3079 (mobile & text). 8 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
res news - tutoring team
Get to the Point!
Keeping Track of Your Performance It’s that time of the year again. Once a year I offer this article as an encouragement to document what you do. We all are evaluated on our performance an often our pay and promotions are linked to our accomplishments. Every year— or half-year for some people—managers and supervisors write performance appraisals to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the staff who work for them. (Performance appraisals are written about them, too, by someone further up in the organization.) This article describes a simple personal evaluation technique that can become a catalyst at performance review time. Write a Progress Report Many of us, as part of our work, have to write regular progress or status reports describing how a project or task is progressing. We suggest using this progress report technique to describe what you, personally, have accomplished during a specific period. This is an excellent time management tool too, because it helps you understand what you are spending your time on and what may be slipping off the agenda. Set Aside 30 Minutes On the last working day of every month, open up a new file and list particular accomplishments you had during the month, plus other factors that either enhanced or constrained your work. Include projects you worked on, courses you attended, committees you are involved in and any issues you helped resolve. Also include ideas you have about future projects and training or conferences that will improve your performance or help you become a more effective staff member. The plan is to capture this information while it’s fresh in your mind. Create a Template The ideal way to do this is to create a format for entering information each month. The template should have brief headings followed by a space for entering information. We suggest headings like these:
Personal Progress Report Month:______________ 1. Accomplishments: Planned Unplanned 2. Problems/Difficulties: Impact Steps Taken Effect Achieved 3. Objectives: Next month Balance of year get to the point
Your goal should be to record details about the key events that transpired during the month. Rather than describe what was expected of you, identify what you accomplished. As the template shows, divide your information into three compartments: 1. What you accomplished, separating your information into the work you planned to do and work that was unexpected. 2. Problems that arose and how you coped with them. Divide this information into three subcompartments: What impact the problem had on your work. What steps you took to overcome or avert the problem. What effect these steps had. 3. What you plan to achieve during the next month and, if practicable, the balance of the year. Summarize the Key Points When performance evaluation time approaches, read through your 12 personal reports for the past year to help remind you of your activities. This is so much more effective than trying to remember it all, and you’ll be amazed at how much you accomplished. Extract key factors to show your manager or supervisor during the performance review meeting. Write them as a summary report, using the same topic headings you used for the monthly reports. You will be surprised at the positive impact this has, when your manager sees that you have prepared for the interview and have been doing some self-evaluation. As the year winds to an end why not start fresh by writing monthly personal progress reports. Work on finding 30 minutes on the last Friday of every month and plan to write a personal progress report. If you include this in your monthly routine, you’ll find that if all is running smoothly, you will only need to focus on your Objectives. If it isn’t working this way, you have valuable scheduling and time management information to discuss with your manager.
© 2020, RGI Learning Lisa Moretto, President, RGI International, Inc. For 25 years she has helped engineers improve their oral and written communication skills. Visit www.rgilearning.com or call 866-744-3032 to learn about RGI's courses. JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 9
A History of Leading-Edge Work in Renewables and Utilities has Fisher Looking to 2021 With Promise By Edward Kostowniak, P.E. It’s a new year — what’s on the horizon for renewables and utilities?
Renewables and utilities are always hot topics, even during a pandemic. In fact, with the pandemic set to reduce this year’s carbon emissions by up to 8% globally, more focus has been centered on the demand for significant and ongoing investment in cleaner and more reliable energy sources aimed at lessening continued impact of conventional energy on our environmental footprint. The term “green energy” is a relatively recent buzzword, but Fisher Associates has been behind the scenes developing renewables for over two decades. The firm has been instrumental in the evolvement of renewable energy and has helped hone the processes to develop and deliver it nationwide. Fisher isn’t just a preeminent provider of services in the wind, solar, and utility sectors in the northeast, they work throughout the nation providing expertise to public and private clients searching for better alternatives for their consumers.
Next Generation of Wind and Solar FISHER FACTS
20 Years in Renewable Energy 3 GW of Generation 240 Wind Projects/70 Solar Energy Projects Projects Developed to Date in 31 States Fisher has provided full-scale services for renewables for over two decades, so it’s only natural that they are integrally involved in the next generation of wind and solar projects. In fact, the firm has had their hand in over 90% of the wind energy projects in New York and has worked on the first commercial-scale projects in Ohio and North Carolina as well as the largest commercial scale project in Maine. With a singular understanding of the unique permitting requirements, design, and construction constraints associated with projects of this type, Fisher’s wind energy experience includes utility-scale projects, standalone turbines for farms and businesses, and repowering existing wind farms. As the seasoned pros in this space, they are fully immersed in the lifecycle development of these facilities from planning and preliminary studies to engineering, as-builts, and construction, and continuing through commissioning. They are currently repowering an existing wind project that they worked on 20 years ago that has reached end of life. To keep this essential project up and running for future generations, Fisher is working with Vestas, the largest wind turbine supplier in the nation, to repower the facility, one of the first wind farms ever constructed in New York state. On the solar front, Fisher provides professional services for commercial to utility scale solar energy projects across the country, completing 60 solar 10 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
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projects within the last five years. The immense value the firm’s experience and expertise bring to the table for clients includes the following top considerations for renewables projects: Site Selection: Critical Issues Analysis to identify potential concerns with the project area Preliminary Design: Initial layouts taking into account any constraints identified during the Site Selection process as well as any local setbacks or other constraints Final Design: Final project design for handoff to contractor including grading, hydrology, creation of the SWPPP, DOT permits, and final placement of project improvements Construction: Owner support by answering contractor questions, assisting with design changes during construction, SWPPP inspections, and creating as-built plans Operations: Owner support with operational issues including SPCCs, SWPPP O&M maintenance items, civil support, and decommissioning plans “In 2021, we anticipate seeing an increase in the number and size of renewable projects including wind, solar, storage, and combinations of those throughout NY and the country. At Fisher we pride ourselves in being able to help our clients achieve their goals through innovative approaches to problem solving to bring projects online,” said Lisa Oliver, P.E., Renewables Group Manager.
Utilities and the Future FISHER FACTS
30+ Recent Gas Compressor Stations Data Management Projects in NY and PA 20+ Recent Electrical Substation Projects in Northeast 200+ Recent Electrical Transmission Lines in Northeast 40+ Miles of Recent Waterline Design and inspection Fisher’s work on electrical transmission projects contributes to expanding power delivery systems and enhancing tie-ins to the nationwide highvoltage power grid. With the firm’s extensive understanding of standards, regulations, and common practices, they are able to apply innovation along the way to develop these resources in the most efficient and economical way. As utilities continue to have more renewable energy generation project interconnections to the grid, due both to clean energy goals as well as consumer demand, Fisher has stayed at the forefront of that growing trend. Harvesting renewables such as methane gas reclaimed out of a landfill cover article
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 11
is an exciting development, and Fisher has plugged into this by building a pipeline transmission line to deliver this resource to a hungry world demanding cleaner energy alternatives. In the electric transmission arena they work directly with utilities and engineering partners to prepare drawings; facilitate environmental, highway, and civil permits; provide stormwater planning; and conduct surveys to get these projects online. With many years in this space, Fisher has been working with clients to provide professional services for continued infrastructure expansion and development across the country. Most notably they have identified a rapidly changing landscape affecting the development of these resources including: Renewable Natural Gas: More applications for this type of renewable energy in the forms of landfill gas, animal wastes, and other types of agricultural or biological energy sources are surging. Fiber Optic Infrastructure: Expansion and upgrade of the existing fiber market continues to quickly expand with companies scrambling to support communication clients. Regulated Electrical Utilities: The industry continues to seek ways to expand and create reliable redundancy with aging infrastructure requiring constant maintenance and upgrades, as more renewable generation projects enter the grid to meet state driven goals. Oil and Gas: The natural gas boom has slowed with a glut of supply. Downstream uses are expanding to use this extracted resource along with the continued growth of exportation of the commodity overseas.
Looking Forward As 2021 looms, there will be challenges ahead, but those challenges will bring opportunities as increased demand for renewable energy sources continues. “Our Energy Sector philosophy heading into 2021 is similar to past years, but with an even greater focus on our clients’ experience. We are making substantial investments in new resources and innovative technologies to meet the challenges that lie ahead,“ said Roseann B. Schmid, P.E., Chief Executive Officer of Fisher Associates. The trend of reduction in electric demand is countered by the decreasing costs of renewables and rising capacity. In a concerted effort to dramatically speed up the siting and construction of clean energy projects to combat climate change and help jumpstart the state’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 health crisis, under Executive Law 94-C (informally referred to as “Article 94C), New York State passed the Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act and created the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) in April 2020. A primary focus of the ORES will be to improve and streamline the process for environmentally responsible and cost-effective siting of large-scale renewable energy projects across New York while delivering significant benefits to local communities. The act will accelerate progress toward clean energy goals -- including the mandate to obtain 70 percent of the state's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Further, the investment in clean energy worldwide and a new US administration keenly eyeing this industry are harbingers that the energy industry is alive and well and transitioning to a bright future. q
by Edward Kostowniak, P.E. Vice President / Director of Energy Edward Kostowniak, P.E. is the Director of Engineering for the Energy Sector at Fisher Associates and oversees all aspects of project delivery for our energy clients. He has been with Fisher for over nine years and has performed engineering design, permitting, and construction oversight for over 2,000 miles of linear utility rights-of-way, ancillary facilities, and renewable generation projects conducted on behalf of energy sector clients in the northeastern United States. Ed is a licensed professional engineer in New York and Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the State University of New York College at Utica/Rome. 12 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
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get IT done
Barking Dogs, Laughing Children and Survivor by André Godfrey
In a rare fit of Pollyanna, I thought I would look at the past year, 2020, and try to see the positives that may have come from it. There is a theory of history that states that during periods of bad weather, innovation is at its highest. The theory is based on the crucible of people staying indoors during bad weather coupled with the human need simply to ‘make things better’. The author of ‘Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave’ noted economic anthropologist Adam Alter suggested as much: “Sunshine dulls the mind to risk and thoughtfulness….. humans are biologically predisposed to avoid sadness, and they respond to sad moods by seeking opportunities for mood repair and vigilantly protecting themselves against whatever might be making them sad.” In terms of weather the 365 days of 2020 was one big cold and windy storm with sleet, hail, tornadoes, and the occasional double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble. The business community was particularly hard hit by Covid-19 and the response was predictably innovative. Faced with working remotely some people got more done. Without the restrictions of ‘office hours’, people worked when they wanted and when they could, many times into the wee hours. We Team-ed, we Zoomed, we Slack-ed. We may not have been able to get together as co-workers, but we saw each other in our pajamas, heard our dogs barking in the background, heard children crying and laughing in the next room and visited each other’s homes – virtually. In some ways we became closer by being farther apart. We never would have done so without the challenges of Covid-19. We are not sitting in rush hour traffic. There is no rush. We are saving on gas and auto maintenance. But mostly we are savings ourselves from the anxiety of sitting in your car, waiting for the car in front of you to move ‘damn it’ and daily waste of real time in simply commuting.
Restaurateurs were forced to play a daily episode of Survivor. Some will survive, others will not but there was no lack of ingenuity by the business owners. They weaved the way through government restrictions that changed repeatedly. They embraced Grubhub, they masked their employees, they separated the tables, they embraced outdoor dining and installed table heaters, and drive-up takeout orders. Some of these innovations will become de rigeur in 2021 and beyond such as menu-less ordering (no touching paper), and touchless food delivery. 2020 also gave us a better appreciation of the medical community. Those nurses, doctors and staff who bravely showed up to work every day to confront Covid-19 while those of us in other industries aggressively avoided the same. Perhaps some of us also became more sensitive to the vulnerable and underprivileged members of our society. We recognized just how lucky we are and make renewed commitments to help those who are less lucky. I would like to believe that is true. Home schooling took on a whole different appearance. Instead of shuttling our offspring off to strangers to educate, much of that responsibility fell back to the parents. Restaurant owners may have had to play Survivor but parents had to play Do You Know As Much As A Fifth-Grader. Children and parents spent more time together and I believe good came from that as well. 2020 was a year of deep sadness. So many deaths, so much divisiveness, so much isolation. But I cannot help but be proud of the human instinct to ‘make things better’ and that so many of you stepped up and made it better. Here is to 2021! Think About IT.
André Godfrey is President, Entré Computer Services, www.entrecs.com
The restaurant industry may never fully recover. get IT done
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 13
News From Professional Firms MRB Group News
Greater Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council Launches Economic Recovery Effort The Greater Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council (GFLRPC) recently announced the launch of an economic development initiative to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will allow GFLRPC to enhance the economic resiliency of the region, which includes Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates Counties, with a combined population of approximately 1.2 million people in 90 cities, towns and villages. According to GFLRPC Executive Director Jay Gsell, the initiative is funded by the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) and will focus on supporting economic recovery at the community level. It will enhance GFLRPC’s existing work and involvement with state and federal officials in coordinating the response to the evolving pandemic and its extensive impacts throughout the Finger Lakes region. “In our role to support regional economic development planning, we serve as the region’s EDA Economic Development District, and have actively pursued state and federal support for economic development initiatives since 1974,” Gsell stated. “Unlike any challenge that has come before, the COVID-19 crisis has stretched resources, including those supporting economic development,” he said. However, a recent infusion of funding through the CARES Act has allowed GFLRPC to engage help from the local municipal service team at MRB Group, led by its Economic Development Director, Michael N’dolo. N’dolo will represent GFLRPC as the Economic Recovery Coordinator to the entire region and help GFLRPC’s constituent communities in their adaptive response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The goal,” said Gsell, “is to create a path towards recovery and to help our communities find the resources they need to move forward on that path. It is our hope that, with effective research, planning and communication, we can strengthen our region 14 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
by sharing information on best practices for recovery, resiliency and growth. We also want to make sure our communities are fully aware of all the resources that are available to them to aid in the recovery effort.” To lead the project, Gsell and the staff at GFLRPC looked for an experienced economic development consultant that would provide the critical outreach, technical assistance and economic planning services necessary to help the region pivot in the face of COVID-19. “We are pleased to work with MRB Group and Michael N’dolo,” said Gsell. “He is a respected economic development professional who is known throughout the state for his expertise and thought leadership. His engagement with local leaders will bring the benefits of economic development planning directly into the communities we serve,” Gsell said. “We are proud to play a significant role in such an important endeavor,” said N’dolo. “Not only is this an opportunity to work closely with the GFLRPC’s team and develop strategies that make sense,” he continued, “but also to directly help our local governments adapt and meet this challenge in ways that will truly make a difference for people. Economic recovery will take time and will require engagement with local government, businesses, non-profit organizations, and community residents,” he said. According to Gsell, the economic recovery work under this program is funded for at least the next 18 months and will evolve as local and national conditions change. “Ideas for how to program the consultant’s time are already flowing in from our stakeholders,” he said. “There have been issues raised about many topics, including childcare, broadband quality, supply chain disruptions and workforce training, just to name a few. We will identify the top priorities and get MRB Group working on those right away, but knowing that priorities may shift in the future to other areas.” q
news from professional firms
Professional Firms Employee News M/E Engineering News
Anthony V. Thomas, PE, LEED AP, Promoted to Vice President M/E Engineering, PC announced that Anthony V. Thomas, PE, LEED AP, has been promoted to Vice President. With his promotion, Tony will oversee the day-to-day responsibilities and strategic direction of the Buffalo office.
commercial facilities. He has a thorough knowledge of technical criteria, standard codes, and contractual procedures. As a specialty, he has been responsible for numerous energy management and energy retrofit projects.
In his nearly 25 years with the firm, Tony has played an active role in project management and HVAC systems design for a wide variety of healthcare, institutional, industrial, educational and
Tony's experience, engineering expertise and professional leadership are invaluable assets that will continue to benefit our firm and the clients that we serve. q
News From Professional Firms Bergmann News
Bergmann Ranks Among Building Design+Construction Top 100 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2020 National architecture, engineering and planning firm Bergmann has earned the 47th spot on Building Design+Construction’s Top 100 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2020 list, up from its 60th place ranking in 2019. The list is part of the publication’s 2020 Giants 400 Report, the 44th edition of this prestigious industry ranking. “It is an honor to appear in this well-respected report among our industry peers. To Bergmann, it is a symbol of the strides we have made so far in our 40-year history and our continued emphasis on growth and innovation,” said Pietro V. Giovenco, PE, Bergmann president and CEO. “We are proud of the work that brought us to this point and look forward to the exciting projects currently on our roster across many of our specialty practice areas.” Building Design+Construction's annual Giants 400 Report ranks the top U.S. architecture, engineering, and construction firms across 44 building sectors and specialty categories by revenue. In addition to its position on the Top 100 list, Bergmann also ranks highly on several sector and specialty lists, including: • #15 on the Top 70 Industrial Sector Architecture & AE Firms, up from #28 in 2019 • #18 on the Top 125 Retail Architecture and AE firms, up from #20 in 2019 • #33 on the Top 60 Laboratory Sector Architecture and AE Firms • #65 on the Top 120 Hotel Sector Architecture & AE Firms This year, Bergmann launched its Science, Technology & Industry (STI) practice, providing an indemand offering to companies in complex technical industries, including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. The firm also formed a multi-disciplinary resilient design team to assist organizations across multiple vertical markets, including corporate and office, education, hospitality, and retail, with creating safe and flexible spaces. q professional firms employee news | news from professional firms
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 15
News From Professional Firms SWBR News
SWBR Expands into Capital Region with 3tarchitects Acquisition Two well-established architecture firms have come together. Rochester, New York-based SWBR acquired Troy, New York-based 3tarchitects. The acquisition will allow SWBR to expand geographically into the growing Capital Region and will allow 3tarchitects to deepen their impact by expanding the size and scope of their projects. “Over the past 50 years, we have maintained a proud heritage of designing memorable places and buildings while establishing trusted relationships with our clients,” SWBR President Tom Gears said. “From day one, we have kept partnership, trust and innovative problem solving at the forefront for our clients, and we will continue this philosophy into the future with the acquisition of 3tarchitects.” “This union is a natural fit—our businesses truly complement each other, allowing our firm to use our design talents to pursue larger projects while allowing SWBR to expand geographically into a growing market,” 3tarchitects Partner Scott Townsend said. “We are confident that this acquisition will be a success for both companies, and we look forward to seeing all of the growth and opportunity that lies ahead.” 3tarchitects is a deep-rooted, eight-person firm known for higher education, multi-unit residential, retail and hospitality, offices, mixed-use and planning. The firm has a strong foothold in the Capital Region and has completed significant projects throughout New York, including work in Syracuse and Canton, as well as in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. This summer, 3tarchitects completed Mosaic Village, an affordable, supportive complex created to provide safe, communally focused housing for families and individuals. The firm recently completed Troy’s Riverfront North Park and initiated and was instrumental in creating the Franklin Alley improvement project. For more than five decades, SWBR has created environments that positively impact lives through meaningful design. The firm has become nationally known for consistently providing award-winning design, market expertise, innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. As a design firm, SWBR offers a range of services, including architecture, interior design, structural engineering, landscape architecture and graphic design. Its portfolio continues to grow with education, housing, industrial, corporate and municipal projects locally, regionally and nationally that have earned nearly 150 industry awards. Over the years, SWBR has had successful projects in the Capital Region. Some of the firm’s more recent projects include the DePaul Joseph L. Allen Apartments, DePaul Amsterdam Apartments and the renovations at the Troy City Court/Police Department. Additionally, SWBR has worked on the Nixon Peabody offices in Albany, Liberty Ashfield Apartments in Latham and Baptist Health in Schenectady. These projects whetted the firm’s appetite and, upon completion, the firm saw an opportunity for its team to expand into a region they really enjoyed. The first year will be a transition year; 3tarchitects will become 3tarchitects, an SWBR Company. 3tarchitects partners Geoff McDonald and Scott Townsend will become principals of SWBR and President Tom Gears will remain in his role. q 16 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
news from professional firms
n
Optimation Technology News
Optimation Technology Wins BIG at the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Awards Optimation won the Manufacturing Innovation award from the Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Awards recently with our co-winner H.P.Hood! It takes an entire company to win an award of this caliber, we owe a huge congratulations to all our 200 employees that are the heart of Optimation. We also want to thank our clients for bringing innovative ideas to us and continue to trust us to get the job done. Sean DeNeef, an Optimation Pipefitter Apprentice, won the Apprenticeship of the year award. DeNeef began the program in October 2018. He is a veteran of the United States Army, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Korea as a Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic. He attained an Auto Mechanical Technical Certificate from the Wayne Technical Career Center in High School and has worked as a mechanic in a variety of jobs. We have found that a background in auto mechanics is a good precursor for any of our construction trades. It encompasses elements of mechanical, electrical, hydraulics, pneumatics, welding, troubleshooting, precise measurements, and integration of systems. DeNeef chose to pursue the NYS sponsored Apprenticeship Program with Optimation to expand his trade knowledge and skills, and to broaden his horizons with a dynamic company that works within a wide variety of industries. Given the amount of uncertainty that 2020 has brought our world, we are feeling incredibly thankful for the opportunities we have had. We also would like to thank the RTMA for giving us the opportunity to win these awards. q news from professional firms
2020
WINNER
Optimation Technology, Inc
Manufacturing Innovation, large company ithin its 100,000-square-foot fabrication facility in Rush, Optimation Technology Inc. fulfills not only projects of large-scale, international importance, but those of small startups with little more than an idea. “In some cases, the inventor has nothing more than a patent and a dream when they come to Optimation,” said Meghan Hayes, the company’s director of marketing. “Our passion at Optimation is to grow the manufacturing base in the United States.” Two hundred employees complete over 1,000 innovative projects annually, designing and fabricating manufacturing lines — such as a one for biofuels company Byogy Renewables. For Byogy, Optimation created a system of reactors and stills that converted farm waste to ethanol, and then the ethanol to jet fuel for a project for the upcoming summer Olympics in Tokyo. In 2019, the company designed, fabricated and installed a pressure test system for SubCom, the leading supplier of undersea communication equipment (SubCom is currently building Google’s new subsea cable). And, recently, Apeel Sciences, which developed a plant-derived technology that maintains produce quality and extends shelf life, hired
W
Optimation to design and build its first commercial application systems. “We ran a process with several EPC firms throughout the U.S. and ultimately chose Optimation due their strengths in design, workmanship, software, and project management,” said Dr. Louis Perez, Apeel Sciences’ vice president of technology. “It is difficult to find EPC firms that have all of those capabilities in-house, let alone expertise.” Optimation also showed innovative spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic by working on many projects and products for clients, including being part of the engineering team that developed the grant proposal which helped Eastman Kodak win a $765 million government loan under the Defense Production Act (that project is currently on hold). —Caurie Putnam
Reprinted with permission of RBJ. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.
2020
HONOREE
Sean DeNeef
OPTIMATION TECHNOLOGY
S
Apprenticeship
ean DeNeef was ready for a career change when a family member who was a pipefitter for Eastman Kodak Co. recommended pipefitting because of DeNeef ’s mechanical background. A family friend also recommended DeNeef try the apprenticeship program at Optimation, and DeNeef jumped at the opportunity. “I hope that the rest of my time in the apprenticeship and throughout my career I can absorb as much knowledge from the older generation of pipefitters to help me appropriately handle situations,” says DeNeef, an Army veteran in the second year of the program. “I am fortunate enough to work with several very knowledgeable journeymen who share as much information as you ask for and always look to help me strive to be a step above others. I hope further in my career I can be someone new apprentices look at as a good role model and that can help them achieve their goals.” DeNeef was a wheeled vehicle mechanic in the Army in Afghanistan and South Korea and is licensed to operate everything from forklifts and heavy machinery to tractor-trailers, says Steve Alvito, apprentice pro-
gram manager with Optimation, a mechanical and process engineering and design company based in Rush. “Sean is an enthusiastic employee who is forward-thinking and inquisitive,” Alvito says. He added that the journeymen have praised DeNeef, saying he asks many questions and shares ideas. Scott Osher, DeNeef ’s supervisor and the pipe and mechanical trade manager, says DeNeef will do whatever it takes to get a job done, including driving a tractor-trailer when Optimation needs drivers. “Sean has progressed through the apprenticeship program at a high level, and I see a bright future for him at Optimation.” —Brian Pappalardo
Reprinted with permission of RBJ. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 17
Position Openings...Pages 18-19
JOIN A TOP 100 TEAM! MRB Group Engineering, Architecture & Surveying, D.P.C. , a Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Firm, is currently recruiting for several positions to join our growing firm in Rochester New York including: Civil Engineers: to plan, design, direct, oversee and execute civil engineering projects in our water/wastewater group. Planner/Civil Engineer: to provide support on subdivision and site plan reviews, planning board activities, general planning services, and SWPPP/ Site Inspections. Construction Observers: to oversee construction of various projects in Western and Central New York. Visit our website (www.mrbgroup.com) for additional information. Resumes can be sent directly to: resume@mrbgroup.com or mailed to: MRB Group, The Culver Road Armory, 145 Culver Road, Suite 160, Rochester, NY 14620.
FE Civil Exam Review Course offered by Civil Engineering Technology at RIT Spring Course Offering RIT’s Civil Engineering Technology program, within the College of Engineering Technology is now offering a Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Civil Exam Review Course for the civil engineering professionals. Passing the FE exam is the first step in the process leading to the Professional Engineers (PE) license. All fourteen (14) different exam topics will be covered. Class Delivery Method: Flex Mode
The course will be delivered in-person and online synchronous (zoom) simultaneously. Enrolled students can attend class online at the specified days/times and engage in course activities together with in-person attendees. Starts on January 12th with last day of class is on 23rd of April 2021. Hands-on Problem solving in every class with some theory but mostly based on FE Reference Handbook from NCEES. Over 100 hours of intensive teaching and practicing to ensure that the attendees fully grasp all the topics. A very fast-paced course with 15 weeks of evening classes. Extra materials similar to class problems will be provided for individual practice to build confidence. Fee for the review is set to be $1250. Group discount: For a group of 5 or more will receive a discount of $200 per person. Guarantee of passing: Students will sit for four full scale 6 hours mock tests during weekends at the end of 15 weeks of
classes (24th and 25th of April 2021, 1st and 2nd of May 2021, from 10 am to 4 pm). If the student receives 85% or more in mock tests but does not pass the FE, will be allowed to attend the next course absolutely free. Class meeting time: Tuesday from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm and Friday from 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. Registration deadlines are 10 days before the start of the course. All in-person classes will be held in RIT campus.
For additional information or to register, please contact: Greg Evershed, Director of Corporate Engagement RIT College of Applied Science and Technology, gmeast@rit.edu.
18 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
position openings | civil exam review course
A Look at the Past...
Support Your Affiliate Attend a Meeting
position openings | RES news
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 19
Go to the RES Web Site for Updated Details On All Meetings - www.roceng.org
Continuing
Education Opportunities
BE SURE TO CHECK IF A MEETING IS STILL SCHEDULED BECAUSE OF COVID-19
Monday, January 11
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Monday, February 8
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Airp 34 Conditioning Engineers Using Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization to Create Healthy (ASHRAE) p 34 Indoor Environments
1 PDH Credit Approved Speaker: David Schurk, Global Plasma Solutions Place: Virtual Time: 12:00 Noon
How the Internet of Things (IOT) is Changing BMS 1 PDH Credit Pending Speaker: Joe Klotz, Johnson Controls
Registration: Visit our web page at http://rochester.ashraechapters.org Place: TBD (most likely Virtual) Time: 12:00 Noon for registration information and more speaker/topic details this fiscal year. Registration: Visit our web page at
Wednesday, January 20
http://rochester.ashraechapters.org for registration information and more speaker/
American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) p 24 topic details this fiscal year. Kitchen Gas Design
1 PDH Credit Pending Speaker: Chris May, American Gas Safety Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm (check in 11:50 am) Place: Wherever you can access the internet! Cost: Free Reservations: Reservations to Dave Jereckos (585-341-3168), or djereckos@ibceng.com which is important for tracking attendance and issuing certificates.
Support Your Affiliate Attend a Meeting
To post continuing education opportunities on this page please contact the Rochester Engineering Society, 585-254-2350, or email: admin@roceng.org
Engineers’ Calendar The engineering societies are encouraged to submit their meeting notices for publication in this section. The deadline for submitting copy is the 10th of the month prior to the month of publication. Please email to: admin@roceng.org. The meetings offering PDHs are highlighted in blue. Details about the meeting and affiliate (if in this issue) are on the corresponding page listed next to the affiliate name.
Tuesday, January 5
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) EXCOM Meeting
p 30
Place: On-line: via webex conferencing. Time: 11:50 am to 1:00 pm Registration links for our events are at: http://sites.ieee.org/rochester/. 20 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
continuing education calendar | engineers' calendar
e d
Monday, January 11
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Thursday, January 21 p 34
Using Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization to Create Healthy Indoor Environments 1 PDH Credit Approved
Speaker: David Schurk, Global Plasma Solutions Place: TBD (most likely Virtual) Time: 12:00 Noon Registration: Visit our web page at http://rochester. ashraechapters.org for registration information and more speaker/topic details this fiscal year.
Thursday, January 14
Society for Imaging Science and Technology (IS&T)
p 32
Lifting restrictions on fluorescence microscopy through machine learning based super resolution and spectral unmixing. Speaker: Yurong Gao, PhD, Technical Director of the Multiphoton and Analytical Imaging Center (MAGIC) at URMC. Place: Zoom Meeting. Please email to rochesterist@gmail.com to get the details to join this program. Time: 6:00 pm
Function Space Data Representation of Temporal Signals for Machine Learning
Monday, February 8
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
p 34
How the Internet of Things (IOT) is Changing BMS - 1 PDH Credit Approval Pending
Speaker: Joe Klotz, Johnson Controls Place: TBD (most likely Virtual) Time: 12:00 Noon Registration: Visit our web page at http://rochester. ashraechapters.org for registration information and more speaker/topic details this fiscal year.
Tuesday, February 9
p 30
Place: On-line: via webex conferencing. Time: 18:00 to 19:00. Registration links for our events are at: http://sites.ieee.org/rochester/. Vtools#249914
The RES website (www.roceng.org) has a calendar of events for this p 24
Speaker: Chris May, American Gas Safety Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm (check in 11:50 am) Place: Wherever you can access the internet! Cost: Free Reservations: Reservations to Dave Jereckos (585-3413168), or djereckos@ibceng.com which is important for tracking attendance and issuing certificates. engineers' calendar
Time: 6:00 to approximately 7:30 pm Reservations. All meetings are held virtually until further notice. We use Globalmeet2 for the monthly meetings. GlobalMeet Join Details – Join as a GUEST Meeting Details Web Address: https://incose.pgimeet.com/INCOSE_GMTwo Access number: 1-719-457-6209 Guest Passcode: 519 731 6920
Data
Wednesday, January 20 Kitchen Gas Design 1 PDH Credit Pending
p 31
p 30 Adapting Deep Neural Networks to Point CIoud
Place: On-line: via webex conferencing. Time: 17:30 to 18:30. Registration links for our events are at: http://sites.ieee.org/rochester/. Vtools#250165
American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE)
TBD
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
Monday, January 18
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE)
month's meetings and meetings that are received or updated after print deadline. Please refer to the website for updated information. If you wish to be listed in the calendar please send details to res@frontiernet.net JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 21
News From Professional Firms MRB Group News
MRB Group Among Rochester Chamber’s 2020 Top 100 Businesses MRB Group was recently named 34th among the Top 100 Businesses in the Greater Rochester area. President Ryan Colvin, PE, announced the ranking to his staff with a message of gratitude. “In keeping with the season of Thanksgiving, I want to express my thanks to each and every team member here at MRB Group,” said Colvin. “The Rochester Chamber of Commerce identifies businesses that continuously experience growth, hiring, expansion, and contribute to the economy in a significant way,” he said. “Because of you, we’ve been included among the Top 100 again this year!” MRB Group was also among last year’s Top 100 list. Colvin says he is extremely proud of his team for their significant role in keeping the firm in a growth and expansion mode. In his message to staff, he credited this year’s achievement to their hard work. “This achievement is further recognition of the business you have all helped to build and continue to do so,” Colvin stated. Founded in 1927, MRB Group has provided municipal engineering, architecture and local government planning and operational support to many of the communities in the Finger Lakes. Currently working with more than 150 local governments, the firm has developed a reputation for serving as the “go-to” resource for municipal support. MRB Group and its SmarterLocalGov team further expanded in 2018 to include economic development services, and recently were selected to assist the Greater Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council with development of an economic recovery plan in response to the impacts of the current pandemic. The firm and its many multidisciplined teams currently assist communities across New York State in five regional satellite offices which include Syracuse and the Capital region, as well as in three cities in Texas. Most recently, MRB Group opened an office in Charleston, South Carolina. Its headquarters, however, is firmly based in Rochester. According to the Rochester Chamber’s website, the Top 100 Businesses Award is inspired by the “strong entrepreneurial spirit” that is evident throughout the Greater Rochester region. The award brings a focus to the fastest growing privately owned companies, measured by both their dollar and percentage of revenue growth over the past three years. To be eligible, businesses must be privately held, headquartered in the nine-county Rochester region, and have earned at least $1 million in revenue in each of the three most recent fiscal years. “We are very pleased to be recognized for our work in Rochester, and I am especially proud of the team’s accomplishment,” said Colvin. “It is the dedication of each and every team member – especially to the needs of our clients, that have put us on our current trajectory,” he continued. He explained that every decision to expand the firm, whether through staff increases or new offices and geography, has been in direct response to client needs. “Our clients drive our timing and the pattern of MRB Group’s growth,” he stated. “Building the best and strongest business begins very simply – by answering a need,” Colvin stated. “We stay focused on our clients, and the rest has followed,” he said. For more information about the Rochester Chamber’s Top 100 Award program, contact Susan.George@GreaterRochesterChamber.com. To find the Chamber of Commerce’s complete listing of Top 100 Businesses for 2020, visit https://greaterrochesterchamber.com . q
22 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
news from professional firms
Campus News RIT receives NIST grant to develop standards modules for Environmental Management and Safety curricula
Collaboration between RIT and FLCC will address risk, resilience, and business continuity during crisis situations Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) recently received a grant to develop course modules that will provide students with guidelines and best practices in standards information toward helping organizations manage crisis situations. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded RIT funding to design standards educational modules that will be incorporated into graduate and undergraduate coursework at both RIT and Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC). Content will include topics on risk, resiliency, and business continuity, said Lisa Greenwood, principal investigator for the major project.
practice into the curriculum at RIT and FLCC. It is an example of incorporating real-world experience into curricula as students will have been through a pandemic and can compare theory with practice,” said Dawn Hess, director of Enterprise Risk Management and EHS at FLCC.
Lisa Greenwood and Jennifer Schneider, faculty in RIT’s Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety, and Dawn Hess, director of Enterprise Risk Management and EHS at FLCC, will work together on a grant to develop standards modules for university students. Credit: Michelle Cometa
“We are seeing our environmental health and safety professionals playing a critical role in helping organizations to prepare for, and respond to, the global pandemic,” said Greenwood, assistant professor in the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety, in RIT’s College of Engineering Technology (CET). “Through this curricular content, we will introduce our students to a range of national and international standards that deal with risk, disruption, and continuity. Our aim is to help students understand how to find the right information and use the right standards to integrate relevant pieces of those standards in their professional work as appropriate given particular crisis or disruption.” Greenwood led several earlier projects at RIT, also funded by NIST, to incorporate standards education into current courses at the university. NIST, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, advances measurement science and quality standards to improve industrial competitiveness and to also improve quality of life. Content developed as part of this new grant is important to students who will work in professions where risk management and organizational and operational continuity are key to success. These strategies and guidelines are central to how organizations are managing the current pandemic and other disruptions.
“The new award exemplifies the growth of the standards campus news
“We are creating modules for graduate and undergraduate students, and those audiences are very different in what they bring to the learning environment,” Hess said. “When we look at just the beginning phases of the curricula, FEMA guidelines, for example, are straight-forward and start with an introduction of basic emergency management as well as risk concepts. They allow the user to gain operational definitions of the terms that will be used through the remainder of the course, and into their career.”
Modules will have the relevant elements applied at all levels of courses at CET and FLCC, including specialized courses at the graduate level. Work is underway and pilot programming is expected in the 2021 academic year, with full implementation expected by Fall 2022. “Of the three projects funded in fiscal year 2020, this project is the only one focused on addressing the breadth of this critical subject matter. RIT and FLCC have a unique team with academic and organizational experience to deliver this,” said Jennifer Schneider, the Eugene H. Fram Chair of Applied Critical Thinking at RIT, professor in CET and principal of RIT’s Collaboratory for Resiliency & Recovery. She has worked with Greenwood on previous RIT standards curricula initiatives and, along with Hess, is co-PIs on the project team. Schneider and Hess have been instrumental in pandemic planning and response this year at their respective colleges. All three have industry experience in environmental management and safety. Editor’s note: RIT and FLCC’s grant for “Capacity Building for Organizational Resilience: Standards-based Curriculum on Risk, Disruption and Continuity” also includes participation from Sam Samanta, FLCC professor, and Yewande Abraham, CET assistant professor. JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 23
President/Education Chair: JENNIFER WENGENDER, P.E., CPD CPL 205 St Paul Blvd Rochester, NY 14604 585-454-7600 Vice President Technical: DAVE JERECKOS IBC Engineering, PC 3445 Winton Place Suite 219 Rochester, NY 14623 585-292-1590 Vice President Legislative: DAVID MYERS LaBella Associates, PC 300 State Street Suite 201 Rochester, NY 14614 585-454-6110 Vice President Membership/AYP: TRAVIS JESSICK Dave Gooding Inc 173 Spark Street Brockton MA 02302 585-794-8845 Treasurer: ALAN SMITH, P.E. IBC Engineering, PC 3445 Winton Place Suite 219 Rochester, NY 14623 585-292-1590 Administrative Secretary: ADAM KRAMER IBC Engineering, PC 3445 Winton Place Suite 219 Rochester, NY 14623 585-292-1590 Newsletter Editor: CHRIS WOLAK Victaulic Fairport, NY 14450 484-350-1954 Affiliate Liaison: REBECCA KOLSTAD Kolstad Associates
President's Message Please keep us penciled in for the 3rd Wednesday of each month at noon, thru May. Hopefully one of these months we can see each other in person and share a good meal again. Till then, thank goodness for the internet! ASPE had an on-line learning event in December, which was free for ASPE members. There are several presentations available and most should have availability for learning credits for ASPE CPDs as well as NYS PEs. Even though the live portions of the event are over, the material is available for viewing and PDH credit through January 30. Visit ASPE.org to find out more. Stay safe but stay in touch! Happy 2021?!! � Jennifer Wengender, P.E., CPD Rochester Chapter President
Meeting Notice – Save the Date Topic:
Kitchen Gas Design
Speaker:
Chris May, American Gas Safety
Date:
Wednesday, January 20, 2020
Time:
12:00 noon – 1:00 p.m. (check in 11:50 am)
Place:
Wherever you can access the internet!!
Credits:
1 PDH – Pending approval
Cost:
Free. �
RSVP:
To Dave Jereckos (341-3168), or djereckos@ibceng.com which is important for tracking attendance and issuing certificates.
(Chapters are not authorized to speak for the Society)
24 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
aspe news
The Society of Women Engineers stimulates women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expands the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrates the value of diversity.
swerochester.org Find us on Facebook at SWE Rochester c/o Rochester Engineering Society at RMSC 657 EastAve Rochester, NY 14607
Meet our SWEet Engineer: Audrey Clignett
Name: Audrey Clignett Role in SWE-Roc: Vice President
Education: BS Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University Company: Hunt EAS Job Title: Civil Engineer Job Description: Site and civil design work for local municipalities and schools in western NY, with an emphasis in water treatment. # Years in this position: 4 months (previously worked as a civil engineer for a city in Colorado)
Stephanie White Secretary
Why my job is so SWEet: I get to feel like I am helping improve people’s lives by improving their community, and the work is diverse so every project is a learning opportunity. Words of Wisdom for someone starting in my field: Don’t be afraid to change jobs or move around to find a job you like. Every job is a learning opportunity, but it is also important to explore the different aspects of your field before falling into one specific domain. By having worked for a construction company and a public municipality, I now have a better idea of what those entities look at from a design.
Amy Blackmon
How has your work experience prepared you for your position in SWE (or other professional society)? I’ve learned to be a better communicator and project manager. Treasurer Do you have any hobbies? Hiking, swimming, and hanging out with my husband and toddler. Name three things that other SWE members probably don’t know about you: I’m originally from France and speak French fluently, I like to scuba dive, in the past 3 years I’ve lived in 3 different states (and am hopefully done moving around!) WE NEED YOUR HELP What would you like from SWE Roc? Do you have any new ideas? We’d love for you to join us, so join us at our upcoming planning meeting! CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND JOIN OUR MEETINGS Executive Meetings are open!
Join or Renew with SWE Roc Today Benefit from a network of women engineers, get involved in outreach activities, and gain access to professional and personal development resources!
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to renew your membership today at swe.org. If you don’t have a membership yet, please join us! swe news
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 25
657 East Avenue, Rochestter, New York 14607 Dedicated to Professionalism in Engineering in the Interest of Public Safety and Welfare 2020-21 Officers: President Michael O. Ritchie, PE, President-elect Vacant, Vice-President Bill Grove, PE, Secretary Martin E. Gordon, PE, Treasurer Christopher R. Devries, PE, Membership Chair Vacant Past Presidents: Christopher V. Kambar, PE , David C. Roberts, PE, Directors: Barry J. Dumbauld, PE, Robert K. Winans, PE, Joseph Dombrowski, PE, Jim Drago, PE, Neal Illenberg, PE, Douglas R. Strang Jr., PE
COVID-19 STATE ACTIONS
NSPE is tracking and identifying executive orders and legislation related to Covid-19 and has created one-page printable reports for the majority of the states. Click here for NEW YORK: https://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/files/c19/NewYork-C19.pdf These are all dynamic resources that NSPE continues to update on a daily basis, so please check back regularly for new/ additional information. Access the information for Licensure (https://www.quorum.us/spreadsheet/external/XzccVELfzzrFQYyqEmxn/) Access the information for Small Business Legislative https://www.quorum.us/spreadsheet/external/GQuvKPGmWdIYzQPSUkaO/ Click here for more Resources: https://www.nspe.org/resources/coronavirus-covid-19-resources Continuing Education/Examination/Regulations: http://www.op.nysed.gov/COVID-19.html
MPES SCHOLARSHIPS
MPES sponsors two annual scholarships for local college students to study Engineering. To ensure that this organization can continue to provide scholarships to deserving students for years to come, we are seeking donations from local engineering firms, RES and MPES members. For more information on how to make a donation please email mritchie@costich.com
AS ONLINE CONTINUING EDUCATION GROWS, NEW YORK REVISES REQUIREMENTS
Professional engineers land surveyors licensed in New York will gain more flexibility in fulfilling continuing education hours after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that revises requirements. The changes will become effective on January 1, 2022. The law was enacted due to the transformative growth of online educational opportunities since 2002, when continuing education became required for PEs and land surveyors. Currently, PEs in New York must complete 36 continuing education hours every three years to renew their license. Eighteen of the 36 hours must be obtained by live lecture, in-person classes, or live webinar. Land surveyors must complete 24 continuing education hours every three years. The new law eliminates the restriction on educational activity format, defines the courses and activities that are acceptable, and allows licensees to carry over six hours of continuing education into the next three-year renewal period. All online courses still must be approved for New York. As always, we encourage active membership in the Monroe Professional Engineers Society. We are constantly striving to improve your membership but we always need more help. If you are interested in becoming an active member or have any questions, please email me at mritchie@costich.com or contact MPES through our website at www.monroepes.org/contactus/. Mike Ritchie, PE, President, MPES
26 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
mpes news
Rochester, NY Section P.O. Box 23795 Rochester, NY 14692 www.iesrochester.org
Happy New Year From The IES Rochester Section We hope you had a pleasant holiday season !! Please join us in wishing 2020 a hearty farewell and welcoming 2021 with the hopes of a happy & healthy year ahead. The IES Rochester Section is pleased to announce that we are bringing back our annual Excellence in Lighting awards‌ And we want your submissions !!! Qualifying projects can be anything you have worked on in the past three years (2018-2020). Any sort of project qualifies. There will be an indoor and an outdoor category. Size & scope of projects are not the goal. The goal is excellent use of lighting in design and application. Anything goes. The judging process has been updated to create a fair and equitable outcome. Details will be posted on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any IES Rochester board member. Please remember to visit our website at www.iesrochester.org ies news
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 27
Presented by the Electrical Association of Western New York
to benefit the Kessler Burn Center at URMC Friday, May 7, 2021 from 6-10PM The Strathallan 550 East Avenue ~ Rochester, New York
AWESOME PRIZES AND 50/50 Receive $500 in Betting Chips to Play Craps, Texas Hold’em, Blackjack, Three Card Poker, Intersect Poker & Let It Ride Hors D’Oeuvres, Food Stations, Dessert & Coffee
$55/Ticket TICKETS ON-LINE AT WWW.EAWNY.COM
28 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
ea news
ABCD Spring Seminar Friday, April 16, 2021
CALL FOR PAPERS ABCD’s Spring Conference will be held on April 16, 2021, at Batavia Downs, Batavia, New York. This has proven to be a very popular event, where attendance has grown to over 100 professionals, from inspectors to engineers to contractors. We are interested in all aspects of bridge construction and design, from lessons learned to the latest research, codes and design parameters, constructibility and construction techniques. If you have an interesting topic that would benefit the Bridge Community, consider submitting a presentation for our Spring Seminar.
Contact either Rob Fleming or Jonathan Herman for further information: Rob Fleming, PE Bergmann (585) 498-7817 rfleming@bergmannpc.com abcd news
Jonathan Herman, PE GPI (716) 989-3318 jherman@gpinet.com JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 29
January 2021 Newsletter Section Officers Chair Eric Brown Vice Chair Treasurer Secretary Paul Lee
Chapters & Groups AES & COMSOC Cristiano Tapparello CS & CIS Bo Yuan EDS & CSS Sean Rommel EMBS Cristian Linte GRSS Emmett Ientilucci LIFE Mark Schrader APS & MTTS Danielle Walters Photonics Bruce Smith Parsian K. Mohseni PES & IAS Jean Kendrick SPS Alex Byrley Eric Zeise TEMS Paul Lee Young Professionals Eric Brown
Student Groups Univ. of Rochester Ming-Lun Lee RIT Jamison Heard
Committees Awards Jean Kendrick Communications Christine Frayda Howard Bussey Newsletter Howard Bussey PACE Bruce Rubin
Liaisons RES Harold Paschal RCSS William Brewer
Message from the Chair Dear Colleagues, The IEEE Rochester Section is hopeful for a prosperous new year. Although 2020 brought unprecedented challenges, a number of technological solutions emerged to enable broader event participation. The Rochester Section will continue to plan virtual events throughout 2021 and will begin hybrid-style events when it is safe to resume in-person meetings. Planning is already underway for two of the major IEEE Rochester Section events that were canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic: the GRSS-organized STRATUS Conference and the SPS-organized Western NY Image and Signal Processing Workshop (WNYISPW). Our section and I thank Harish Gupta for his service as Treasurer. Howard Bussey has been elected to the remainder of the term. Stay healthy, and best regards,
Recent Events Gene Tsudik discussed “Thermanator and AcuTherm: Thermal Residue Attacks on Keyboard Password Entry and Hybrid Attacks Combining Acoustic and Thermal Side-Channels” on November 6. Dr. Alex Byrley gave a talk on “Logarithmic Frequency Waveforms” on November 17. Howard Bussey discussed “The Mother of All Demos: Rediscovering the Birth of Modern Interactive Computing” on December 10.
Introducing Treasurer Howard Bussey Howard tutors dyslexic students, develops software for Paradigm of New York, LLC, and has worked for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Bell Laboratories, Bell Communications Research, Kodak, and the Rochester Institute of Technology. He has Bachelor’s degrees in psychology, mathematics, and electrical engineering and a Master’s degree in electrical engineering, and is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu.
IEEE Rochester Section Events These events are all virtual. Register using vTools Event
vTools #
When
EX-COM meeting
n/a
January 5th, 11:50 – 13:00
Function Space Data Representation of Temporal Signals for Machine Learning
250165
January 18th, 17:30 – 18:30
Adapting Deep Neural Networks to Point Cl oud Data
249914
February 9th, 18:00 – 19:00
30 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
ieee news
Finger Lakes Chapter of INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON SYSTEMS ENGINEERING http://www.incose.org/ChaptersGroups/Chapters/ChapterSites/finger-lakes/chapter-home
Upcoming Chapter Meeting Events •
Thursday, January 21, 2021: January Chapter Meeting Topic - TBD We are still working on getting a speaker for our January meeting.
•
Thursday, February 18, 2021: February Chapter Meeting Topic - TBD We are still working on getting a speaker for our February meeting.
•
Meetings begin at 6:00 pm and run to approximately 7:30 pm All meetings are being held virtually until further notice. We use Globalmeet2 for our monthly meetings. GlobalMeet Join Details - Join as GUEST Meeting Details Web Address: https://incose.pgimeet.com/INCOSE_GMTwo Access Number: 1-719-457-6209 Guest Passcode: 519 731 6920
incose news
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 31
Rochester Chapter
Society for Imaging Science ad Technology Website: https://roceng.org/ISandT
Our meetings are being held on zoom. Please email rochesterist@gmail.com to get the details to join this program.
Thursday, January 14, 2021 6:00PM Lifting restrictions on fluorescence microscopy through machine learning based super resolution and spectral unmixing Yurong Gao, PhD Abstract:
Biography:
In biomedical research, there is an increasing
Yurong Gao is the Technical Director of the
need for multi-channel fluorescence imaging
Multiphoton and Analytical Imaging Center
to simultaneously visualize multiple cellular
(MAGIC) at URMC. She is also a Research
and molecular structures, communications,
Assistant Professor at the Department of
and dynamic interplays in the native biological
Neuroscience. She received her Ph.D. in
environment. However, there is always a
Neuroscience from the Pennsylvania State
trade-off between the spatial resolution,
University and was a research fellow at the US
temporal resolution, and spectral resolution
Food and Drug administration before she joined
the microscope could obtain. To mitigate these
the URMC in 2017. Her lab has been working
hardware limitations in bioimaging, we combined
on combining multimodal functional imaging
fluorescence imaging with machine learning
and computational tools to innovate and expand
techniques to obtain microscopy images with
the technical and experimental capacities of
less ambiguity and more information. With
bioimaging.
these techniques, microscopy images with higher spatial resolution and more colors can be obtained without any hardware changes or sacrifices of temporal resolution. These improvements can significantly expand the capabilities of a fluorescence microscope.
32 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
is&t news
January – Time to register kids for The Science and Engineering Fair! As we head into the New Year, our resolutions can impact our local community. You can mentor a child you know (your own children or grandchildren, kids at the youth center, or even just students at a nearby school!). By helping them register for the TRFSEF, you encourage them to start a project that challenges their minds.
Harold Clark, Director Rochester Finger Lakes Fair trfsef@terraed.org
Sponsoring Adult and Student registration: http://ny-trfsef.zfairs.com/ Many people assume that science fair projects take a full school year in order to have a lasting impact on a student’s life. But don’t worry! There are many valuable project experiences that can easily be completed in just a month or less. Here are some resources that can make the process both simple and fun! TerraFairs.org > International Journal for High School Research > Webinar series and blog Have questions about the fair > Videos about the fair experience ScienceBuddies.org > Project ideas and how-to’s > Career videos > Ask an Expert > Teacher and parent resources Society for Science > Science News for Students > “Research at Home” videos NASA & Cornell Citizen Science > Data access useable for projects
or how to get kids started on their projects? Contact the fair today!
Terra Rochester Finger Lakes Science and Engineering Fair
TerraFairs.org/Rochester TRFSEF@terraed.org
Be sure to check out Terra’s GENIUS Olympiad! This international high school competition about the environment includes not only science, engineering, and robotics, but also writing, business, art, music and short film! Don’t miss this chance to JUDGE, too!
geniusolympiad.org
terra news
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 33
Rochester Chapter
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Rochester ASHRAE website: http://rochester.ashraechapters.org
President's Message
Congressman Morelle, ASHRAE President Gulledge, and E. Mitchell Swan, Designated Lecturer all shared some time at our November meeting. Congressman Morelle highlighted some energy and EPA items making their way through Congress as well as updates on PPP and local construction initiatives. President Gulledge shared his vision of paperless projects/coordination and the use of building twins for energy usage projections and tracking not as futuristic but as current tools. These have both been implemented and showcased at the new ASHRAE headquarters in Atlanta. Mr. Swan shared his presentation on Dispute Resolution in Construction.
JANUARY NEWSLETTER
ASHRAE 2020-2021 Meeting Schedule Date
Event
Theme
Location
Monday, 1/11/2021
Using Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization to Create Healthy Indoor Environments Presented by: David Schurk, Global Plasma Solutions
PDH Approved
TBD
How the Internet of Things (IOT) is Changing BMS
Membership Promotion
Presented by: Joe Klotz, Johnson Controls
(PDH Pending)
Friday, 2/12/2021
64th Annual ASHRAE Valentines Dinner Dance
---
Strathallan 9th Floor
Friday 2/19/2021
Joe Harding Memorial Ski Day (week of recess)
---
Hunt Hollow 9am-4pm
The Current and Future State: The Impact from COVID19
Resource Promotion
Presented by: Michelle Schleher, Rochester Regional Health
(PDH Pending)
Monday, 2/8/2021
Monday, 3/08/2021
Refrigeration Night
Monday, 4/12/2021 Refrigeration Tour (Location TBD) Monday, 5/17/2021
Annual ASHRAE Golf Outing and Picnic (Ravenwood Golf Course)
TBD
TBD
TBD
(PDH Pending)
---
9:30 AM Golf 4:30 - 8:00 Picnic
We are excited to finally present the Realto Cherne (ASHRAE’s Engineer of the Year) award. James L. Day of Day Automation Systems Inc. shared his gratitude for the recognition of 50 years in the HVAC industry. Jim founded Day Automation in 1976 where custom HVAC controls including full building automation and security packages are designed and implemented. Jim Day was joined by several of his original and long-time employees to share this special award. His guests included Eric Orban, Bob Ormsby, Jeff Day, Joe Haile, and Steve Maybeck. Both Alfred Rodgers (ASHRAE Rochester Awards Chair) and I were able to present this award to Jim Day. ASHRAE Rochester was thrilled to be able to recognize Jim and his career's work toward advancing the HVAC industry and Updated 12/3/2020 energy efficiency in the greater Rochester area. It was a busy November for ASHRAE as we are always striving to keep interesting and applicable topics for our members. As usual, keep our website bookmarked for the latest information.- rochester.ashraechapters.org
Michael Benedict 2020-2021 President ASHRAE Rochester 34 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
ashrae news
d
s
Directory of Professional Services
Advertising Rates and Membership Application is Available at www.roceng.org directory of professional services
JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 35
Directory of Professional Services
Solving soils problems for over 40 years. 46A Sager Drive, Rochester, NY 14607 Tel: 585-458-0824 • Fax: 585-458-3323 www.foundationdesignpc.com
Advertising Rates and Membership Application is Available at www.roceng.org
Save the Date: 118th RES Annual Gala Saturday, April 17, 2021
Rochester Riverside Convention Center Additional details will be posted on the RES website: www.roceng.org
Directory of Business Services Advisors
Philip J. Welch
First Vice President - Investments
Wells Fargo Advisors
Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC
Member SIPC
36 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER JANUARY 2021
400 Meridian Centre Blvd. Suite 210 Rochester, NY 14618 Direct: 585-241-7546 Fax: 585-241-3986 Toll Free: 877-237-6201 philip.welch@wellsfargoadvisors.com
directory of professional services | director of business services
s
Affiliated Societies of the Rochester Engineering Society American Consulting Engineering Companies of New York President, David J. Meyer, 585-218-0730 Email: dmeyer@pathfinderengineers.com American Public Works Association Monroe County/Genesee Valley Branch Chairman, Peter Vars, PE Email: PVars@bmepc.com American Society of Civil Engineers, Rochester Section President, Joshua T. Rodems, PE, Bergmann, Rochester, NY. 585-498-7944. Email: jrodems@bergmannpc.com American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Rochester Chapter President, Mike Benedict, mike@airsystemsbalancing.com. Email: ashraerocnews.com Website: rochester.ashraechapters.org American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Rochester Section Chairman, Joseph Lawson, joey@rocmarchforscience.org American Society of Plumbing Engineers, Rochester New York Chapter President, Jennifer Wengender, PE, CPD, Clark Patterson Lee, 205 St. Paul Blvd., Rochester, NY 14604. 585-454-7600. Email: jwengender@clarkpatterson.com Website: https://www.aspe.org
Association for Bridge Construction and Design President, Michael D. Davidson, PE JM Davidson Engineering, DPC Email: mdavidson@jmdavidsoneng.com
Association For Facilities Engineering, Rochester Chapter President, Matt Knights, Constellation Brands, Inc. Email: Matt.Knights@cbrands.com Electrical Association Executive Director, Karen Lynch Email: karen@eawny.com President, Russ Corcoran, Landmark Electric, 585-359-0800. Email: russc@landmarkelectric.net.
Monroe Professional Engineers Society President, Mike Ritchie, PE Email: mritchie@costich.com
Genesee Valley Land Surveyors Association President, Jared R. Ransom, LS 585-737-6881 Email: jaredransomls@gmail.com
New York Water Environment Association Inc., Genesee Valley Chapter (www.gvcnywea.org) President, Bill Davis, 585-381-9250 Email: william.davis@mrbgroup.com
Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Inc., Rochester Section President, Rob Gleason Email: rgleason@cscos.com Imaging Science & Technology, Rochester Chapter President, Bruce Pillman, 585-748-6006 Email: bruce.pillman@gmail.com Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Rochester Section Chairman, Eric Brown Email: eric.t.brown@ieee.org Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, Rochester Chapter President, Poojith Kalluru, Alstom Email: poojith.kalluru@alstomgroup.com International Council on Systems Engineering, Finger Lakes Chapter President, Teresa Fronk Email: bears04@frontiernet.net
New York State Association of Transportation Engineers, Section 4 President, Paul J. Spitzer, PE, NYS DOT Region 4, Genesee Valley, 1530 Jefferson Road, Rochester, NY 14623. 585-272-4890. Email: paul.spitzer@dot.ny.gov Website: www.nysate.org
Rochester Makerspace President, David M. Duckles 585-467-5565, president@rocmakers.org Website: www.RocMakers.org Sheet Metal & Air-Conditioning Contractor’s National Association-Rochester, Inc. Executive Director, Aaron Hilger 585-586-8030. Email: mzin@smacnaroc.org Society of Plastics Engineers, Rochester Section President, Brett Blaisdell Email: zippel@frontiernet.net Society of Women Engineers. Rochester Section President, Marca J. Lam, RIT Email: mjleme@rit.edu Terra Rochester Finger Lakes Science & Engineering Fair Director, Harold R. Clark, PhD Email: tasasef@terraed.org Website: TerraFairs@terraed.org.
Corporate Members of the Rochester Engineering Society Bergmann (Enterprise)
Pathfinder Engineers & Architects (Champion)
BME Associates
Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. Hunt Engineers, Architects & Land Surveyors, Inc.
CHA Consulting (Champion)
IBC Engineering, PC (Champion)
Rochester Institute of Technology, Kate Gleason College of Engineering
Clark Patterson Lee
Kistner Concrete Products Inc.
Erdman Anthony Associates
Stantec
M/E Engineering, PC (Enterprise)
TY-LIN International (Champion)
Fisher Associates, PE, LS, LA, DPC Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce (RBA) Champion)
MRB Group (Champion) Optimation Technology, Inc. Passero Associates
affiliated societies & corporate members of the rochester engineering society
IS YOUR COMPANY LISTED HERE? Call 585-254-2350 for information. JANUARY 2021 The ROCHESTER ENGINEER | 37
PUBLISHED BY ROCHESTER ENGINEERING SOCIETY 657 EAST AVENUE ROCHESTER, NEW YORK 14607
BE SURE YOU CONTACT YOUR AFFILIATE BEFORE ATTENDING ANY EVENTS. WITH THE COVID19 CRISIS MANY EVENTS ARE BEING CANCELLED, RE-SCHEDULED OR VIRTUAL! WE HOPE EVERYONE STAYS SAFE AND HEALTHY! ~ RES Board of Directors
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