ANNOUNCEMENTS

IEEE Day

November 16, 2017
Article submitted by Derik Pack, Coastal South Carolina Section
2017 IEEE Day R3 Regional Lead

IEEE Day is officially celebrated on the first Tuesday in October. In 2017 it was celebrated on October 3rd. It is a commemoration of the first time engineers met to discuss their technical ideas in 1884. The day is used to celebrate our membership across the world collaborating on ideas that leverage technology for a better tomorrow. In 2017 IEEE celebrations were conducted around the world between October 1st and 17th.

The IEEE Day event we advertised
For our IEEE Day event this year, we met at the Academy of Arts Science and Technology (AAST) in Myrtle Beach to watch a NOVA documentary on the Building of the Megatomb on October 7th. The Megatomb is the new containment vessel surrounding the Chernobyl reactor which was completed in 2016. The new structure has a 100 year lifespan and will be used to deconstruct the destroyed reactor.
Our attendance at the event included IEEE members, AAST’s teachers and administrators and high school students attending AAST. We ended the event by discussing the multidisciplinary team required to create the Megatomb and provide an additional 100 years of safety for the world. For the students we reminded them that in the next hundred years, their generation would be challenged to find a permanent solution to containment at the Chernobyl site.

The IEEE Day event we did not advertise
You may wonder why students and teachers attended IEEE Day with us this year. The answer is simple: they were invited. Specifically, I went to AAST on October 6th and met with the teachers, administrators and students. While there I was able to see their engineering lab with both VEX and FIRST robots, look at the CAD drawings students were making, and take a quick tour through their computer science lab to answer questions. I heard stories of students touring airport control tours, and upcoming projects requiring 3D printing so students could build their own drones.
I ended my tour in the school auditorium. I gave a brief on IEEE, IEEE Day and a history lesson on the Chernobyl accident and its immediate impact. I tried to make the discussion more than numbers and statistics. One realization that still shocks me is that the Exclusionary Zone is over 1000 square miles. If the Chernobyl accident had taken place in Horry County where AAST is located, over 80% of the county would be uninhabitable.

Once I finished my discussion and invited the students to attend our IEEE Day event to learn how the site is being contained, the questions began. There were questions about how to find more information, on the effects of radiation and on how the Exclusionary Zone is managed. There was interest and a great zeal to learn more. That interest led several students to give up a portion of their Saturday to learn more about the Megatomb. I am very thankful for that. I am also thankful for a school and administrators who allowed me to interact with 80 of their students, to talk about engineering, to challenge those students to look forward and strive to solve some of the most complex problems of our time.

Getting involved next year
If this sounds like something you want to participate in, there are lots of ways to get involved. Go to www.ieeeday.org and contact the IEEE Day committee. They are always looking for volunteers to be Regional Leads to share information about IEEE Day. If that does not fit your interest, volunteer to be a Section ambassador. Section ambassadors are the point people who plan and coordinate events for IEEE Day. Find a cool STEM opportunity, technical event or community outreach and start planning for your Section’s next IEEE Day activity. I look forward to the new opportunities you find for IEEE Day events in the coming years. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your events and share ideas. The IEEE Day Committee, other section ambassadors and I are always looking for new ideas, and we want to help you make your event a success.

Derik Pack
Coastal South Carolina Section
2017 IEEE Day R3 Regional Lead
dpack@ieee.org

SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies is Requesting Applications for Two Seats on SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors

Application Deadline Friday, November 10, 2017

Governor Henry McMaster has the opportunity to appoint one qualified Professional Engineer and one qualified Professional Land Surveyor to the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors with terms beginning January 1, 2018.

Each engineering and surveying member of the Registration Board must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of South Carolina, must be licensed in this state, must have been engaged in the practice of engineering or surveying in this state for at least twelve (12) years, and must have been in responsible charge of important engineering or surveying work for at least  five (5) years. Responsible charge of teaching engineering or surveying may be construed as responsible charge of engineering work. The primary responsibility of board members is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public of South Carolina.

The SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies is charged, by law, to make recommendations to the Governor from which he must appoint engineers and surveyors to the Registration Board.

The SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies is accepting letters of application from Professional Engineers who meet the state’s minimum requirements that wish to be considered for the Registration Board position.

 The deadline for submitting applications with the SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Society on Friday, November 10, 2017 in Columbia, SC.

 The term for this appointment is for a five-year term which extends through January 1, 2023.

The following information should accompany the letter of interest in the form of a resume: education and collegiate achievements, engineering/surveying achievements, professional and technical society activities, civic and humanitarian activities, continuing competence, professional experience, general personal data, and references.

You may wish to visit the SC State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers & Surveyors website for insight in Board members’ responsibilities: http://www.llr.state.sc.us/POL/Engineers/

Applications with the above information may be submitted by hardcopy or electronically. Applications should be submitted to the SC Council of Engineering and Surveying Societies, c/o Jones, McAden & Associates, P.O. Box 11937, Columbia, SC 29211-1937 or [email protected] associations.com  . Questions call 803-771-4271.

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