Calling All Student Members!

The Society of Allied Weight Engineers (SAWE) would like to extend a special conference invitation to our student members.  The SAWE organization, invested in encouraging and mentoring the next generation of mass properties engineers, is excited to host our student attendees in Norfolk, Virginia, May 18th – 23rd, with either free (for student presenters) or reduced cost (for non-presenting student attendees) registration for the entire conference, including the welcome reception; admittance to all paper sessions; standards and practices meetings and luncheon; a 90% reduced rate on the automotive lateral stability class; and the awards banquet at the conclusion of the conference.  In addition, our student attendees are invited to try their reasoning skills in the Escape Room, where you’re tasked to observe your surroundings, search for clues, and solve complex puzzles to find that special item in your room and escape in a defined amount of time – as challenging (but more fun) than a final exam! There are 1st Place ($1,000), 2nd Place ($750), and 3rd Place ($500) awards for the top three student papers. You do not have to attend the conference and present your paper to win, but you need to submit your abstract on or before March 1st.  We hope you can attend the 78th International SAWE Conference – with or without having written a paper – and find it a wonderful opportunity to talk to and interact with our professional members, vendors, and industry sponsors.  We are happy to answer your questions and share our professional journeys with you!

Dr. Donna Gerren

Vice-President, Academic Affairs

University of Colorado Boulder

Additional SAWE Awards and Recognition

This is the fourth installment of SAWE awards. Having covered the Ed Payne Outstanding Engineer, Fellow, Honorary Fellow, and Richard Boynton Lifetime Achievement Awards, we now turn attention to the other prestigious awards and recognition within the SAWE.
Still within the purview of the Awards Committee are the Benefactor and Student Awards. The Benefactor Award is bestowed upon an individual who “because of their interest in the advancement of SAWE, has contributed substantial sums of money from their own resources.” The student award (separate from the Scholarship Fund) is bestowed upon a student who “demonstrates knowledge of discipline via papers, seminars, or makes significant contributions to the advancement of SAWE.”
Awarded by the VP Technical Director are the Mike Hackney Best Paper Award and the Best Student Paper Award, which are determined by the Technical Awards Committee.
Awards presented by the VP Publications are the Best Chapter Newsletter and the Best Chapter Website. The VP Publications is responsible for the review, selection, and presentation of these awards.
Appreciation awards are presented at the discretion of the SAWE President or VP Technical Director for “individuals who contribute significantly to the goals of the International President” or who have expended an “effort beyond the call of duty or office”

Social Media Committee

Over the last year+ we have worked to grow our social media presence as a Society. We believe this has been an important step forward and has greatly helped keep members connected.

The two main items that we have put our focus on is the SAWE Blog and the Monthly Bulletin. I believe we are at a good place and routine with both of these items and it is time to start growing and focusing on other platforms we can have a presence.

We, as a Society, need to grow our LinkedIn presence. We want members to be able to attach SAWE to their resumes on the site. We also believe this will be a great way to reach potential members.

If you are interested in helping us grow our Social Media presence, please contact me, Melissa Gray (melissa.gray@sawe.org). I am hoping to add multiple members to the Social Media committee. Anyone that has experience with LinkedIn or is looking to get more involved in the Society, this is a great opportunity!

Melissa Gray

Social Media Committee Chair

Criteria for Richard Boynton Award

This is the fourth in a series of articles from the SAWE Awards Committee.
The Richard Boynton Lifetime Achievement Award is the most prestigious SAWE award. The candidate for this award “shall have demonstrated extraordinarily strong and sustained support of the Society over a significant number of years”. The nomination form is attached.
The awards defined thus far fall under the purview of the SAWE Awards Committee. A future article will address other recognition awarded by SAWE Executive Committee members.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter January ’19 Adventure

It is winter here in the Rocky Mountains.  Snow falls almost every day, and finally our property looks like what one would expect for a home in the mountains in the winter.  Gone are the swaths of brown grass with occasional patches of snow, the roof of the house and shop are covered in white just like the trees and ground.  The driveway is bordered by snow cliffs where the snowblower hasn’t touched, and despite repeated runs of the snowblower, the driveway itself is snowpacked as the sun has failed to melt the last little bit.  Exercise means using the treadmill and shoveling the porch and boardwalk, as the trail system is obliterated under a carpet of white.

My driveway is snowpacked!

Rather than be snowbound, the SAWE Rocky Mountain Chapter scheduled a fun day and we headed southwest down US 285 towards the ski town of Breckenridge.  The objective – the annual International Snow Sculpting Festival.

20 ton cubes of packed snow

They start with 20 ton cubes of packed snow for each entry.  The artists then use saws, chisels, planes, shovels, and other implements to create works of art in the town square.  We had been there in 2015, and really enjoyed it, so a repeat trip sounded like fun.

The drive to Breckenridge was an adventure on its own.  We had kept our eye the weather report, and supposedly it would be clear but cold and windy in Breckenridge.  The weather cleared as our driver, Ric Roy, started up the north slope of Kenosha Pass.  Claire and I were passengers in the car with Ric and his wife Lisa.    The road was snowpacked but obviously plowed which eventually became dry pavement near the 9997 foot MSL summit.  For the only time on the trip is was prudent to drive anywhere approaching the speed limit.  From the top, South Park (yep THAT South Park, just like the TV show) beckoned below, covered in blowing snow.  Rounding the turn towards the west, we were hit by strong, gusty winds that blew snow across the road, which only got stronger as we descended into South Park.  At times, the visibility was only a few dozen or so feet with a wind reaching 50 mph.  We drove into Fairplay, where the wind finally died down.

Here we are entering the town of Alma, the highest incorporated town in North America at 10,361 feet MSL, at the base of Hoosier Pass

The drive over Hoosier Pass (11,542’ MSL) was relatively benign.  Coming into Breckenridge we hit ski traffic 5 miles out of town, and crept into town, where we found a parking space a couple of blocks away from the town square.  We walked down to see the sculpturing taking place.

The customary Breckenridge Brewery Bar
The view from the southern entrance
The Chinese showing off their Taikonauts
Dancing Hippos reminiscent of Fantasia taking shape
The finished Hippo sculpture
The local (Breckenridge) team’s entry, featuring the Snow God Ullr (pronounced Ooler) and his sack of snowballs with which he blesses the town of Breckenridge and the surrounding mountains with plentiful snowfall
1st place went to Team Mexico and their depiction of the mythical Cenote Monster (sorry, it was very cold and my gloved hand got in the picture)
And as a finale, Ric freezes his hands trying to get a picture
We had a meandering path from the car to the exhibits and to lunch before heading back home

After lunch at Moe’s Original Barbecue, we drove back to Pine, where Ric and Lisa dropped us off and we went our separate ways – although both Ric and Lisa and I were ultimately headed into central Denver!

As a final picture, this is looking Northwest from my house (elevation 8463 MSL) towards the 13,575 foot MSL Mount Rosalie and that triangular bump to her right is 14,246 foot MSL Mount Evans.

Robert Zimmerman

Rocky Mountain Chapter President