RES History - June - August 1974

RES News - Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society. 1897 - 1974 by Lee M. Loomis

Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, focus 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.

June 26, 1974 (Board Meeting, University Club)

The Board approved two Regular and one Student Membership applications. In response to a question from the Illuminating Engineering Society, of why should engineering organizations consider belonging to the RES, incoming President, Dr. Richard A. Kenyon succinctly replied, “Communication, Participation and Information.” On the matter of what constitutes a quorum and who can vote at a Board meeting, the following was quoted from Article VIII of the RES Constitution, “A quorum of the Board shall be at least seven of the Officers and Directors. In all meetings, each Officer and Director shall be entitled to one vote. Each Director representing an (Affiliate) Group Member shall be entitled to one-third vote, provided he (or she) is a Member of the RES.” The Board approved a proposal by President Kenyon that James D. Row, RES Director responsible for Civic Affairs and Engineers' Week, be made a member of the RES Executive Committee. The Board also approved a motion to make a $35 contribution to the Rochester Council of Scientific Societies, a group that sponsors scientific activities in the Rochester area. The Board approved a request to renew the lease for office space at the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, 55 St. Paul Street, recently increased to $1,900 per year, as the result of doubling our assigned space. President Kenyon also made several important announcements: An evening tour of the Kodak Riverwood Marketing Education Center had been arranged for late September; the MIT Club of Rochester and the RES would be sponsoring a joint meeting featuring an MIT speaker on the topic of energy; Dr. Kenyon and RES Executive Director Ed Stevens had a productive meeting with Rochester City Manager Elisha Freedman, a more active role in public affairs was to be anticipated; advertising rates in The Rochester Engineer will be increasing by 25%; and the RES Officers and Directors would be meeting in early August to complete a slate of Committee Chairs and to chart a course for the coming year.

“The Rochester Engineer” (June 1974)

An article, “What if You Don’t Work for Kodak or Xerox?” described some of the rewards for working for small companies, with closer connections to product development, production and marketing. In an article, “Automobile Engine Alternatives”, Robert E. Lee, RIT Professor Electrical Engineering, compares the performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact of spark-ignition, diesel, Wankel and stratified-charge engines. He also describes the function of the soon-to-be-introduced (1975) catalytic converters. Another article, “Myth Versus Reality in Corporate Affairs…How Business’ Public Image Lost its Luster”, by Donald A. Gaudion, Chairman of the Board at Sybron Corporation, guest contributor, discusses the public image conflicts faced by American corporations in trying to balance their traditional focus on maintaining profits, while at the same time adopting the newer tenants of social, and environmental responsibility. “Engineering the Stock Market”, by Edwin H. Hall, Jr. of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, was announced as the featured presentation at the RES Annual Meeting, at the $7/person U of R Faculty Club dinner meeting. This issue also included a spirited exchange of ideas, between Alexander M. Beebe, Jr. GM/Rochester Products Plant Engineer and Xerox Vice President, Dr. Myron Trybus, on Dr. Trybus’ recent article (May 1974) recommending changes to the promulgation of national energy policy. In keeping with events of the current time, an article, “Nixon Could Always…”, by Art Buchwald, American humorist at the LA Times, was reprinted (with permission), describing a humorous option for President Nixon for escaping the controversy around the (then current) Watergate scandal.

August 28, 1974 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce)

The Board approved six Regular Membership applications and two Junior Membership applications. A date of Tuesday, February 18, 1975, was approved for the Engineers’ Joint Dinner. Board recommendations for an appropriate speaker for the dinner included Art Buchwald, Richard O. Simpson (Chair of the recently established Consumer Product Safety Commission), Dixie Lee Ray (Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission) and Gloria Steinem (Editor of Ms magazine). RES Director, John Robertson announced that the Society now had 495 paid-up Members. President Kenyon presented an outline of RES Secretary George Landberg’s long-range planning report, focusing on the need for better public, legislative, professional, and educational links between the RES and the Rochester Community, the need for more RES Members and greater participation in Society affairs.

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.