Engineers Australia eNews contains the latest news from Engineers Australia and
a calendar of events.

2008 – Year of the Engineering Team

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Daily engineering news

Potent shooting wins medal for Australia



PHOTO: Warren Potent clutches the bronze medal he won in last week's 50m prone rifle event at the Beijing Olympics.

Australia's only medal in shooting at the Beijing Summer Olympics has been won by production engineer Warren Potent, who took the bronze for the 50m prone rifle event.
The 46-year-old has a production engineering diploma from Granville TAFE in NSW and works in customer support for a diesel engine manufacturer.
This is Potent's third Olympic Games. He took a break from the sport between 1990 and 1997 to concentrate on a car detailing business he purchased at the time and only shot at state championships level during those years. He returned to the sport in 1997.
He came first in two qualification events in Sydney and Bangkok for the 2007 International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup. He began shooting when he was 16.

Younger generations clueless about engineering

Most children do not have a clear idea of what engineering is and what engineers do. Most of them believed engineers were like mechanics, which gave them the impression that engineering careers are unattractive.
These were findings from a study affiliated with Engineers Australia called "Engineering choices: Engineering futures"�. The study surveyed primary school students, high school students studying science subjects, engineering students at universities and professional engineers.
The project which began in 2005 is almost complete, with the report currently being written. The researchers received over $200,000 in funding from the Australian Research Council, with support from Engineers Australia and electrical product company Ampcontrol.
To increase the number of engineers, children have to find out about engineering very early, said the centre's director Associate Professor Allyson Holbrook. She also recommended that maths in school be"enriched"�.
"Engineering remains an invisible profession," she said.
The study found that those who decide to do engineering typically have a parent or a relative who is an engineer. The family exerts a lot of influence on career choices, particularly at a young age, Holbrook said.
In a side project by the university, researchers looked at 4700 children's books which were likely to be found in libraries. Only one of them mentioned an engineer.

Students get into gear for car design competition

The Re-Engineering Australia Forum (REA) will be running the national final of the F1in Schools design competition for school students in the Great Hall of Parliament House on 24-26 November. Engineers Australia members will be part of the judging panel.
The competition requires high school students to design, build and race a car made from balsa wood while sticking to design and budgetary constraints, solving engineering problems, and marketing and presenting their work.
The competition aims to recreate a project-oriented setting for students. CAD licenses and training are provided, as well as access to routers, smoke and wind tunnels to build and test the model cars.
The quality of the research and testing undertaken before the build stage continues to astound REA founder Michael Myers.
"oeI have seen 13 and 14-year-olds using computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis on their projects. Not only are they using this information and technology confidently, they have a true understanding of these processes and are able to speak about their research with aplomb,"� he said.
The state finals will take place in the locations below. Those wanting to attend the national final should email contact@rea.org.au or phone 1300 554 503.

• Adelaide – 16 September
• Perth – 19 September
• Launceston – 2-3 October
• Melbourne – 9-10 October
• Sydney – 20-21 October
• Brisbane – 23-24 October
• Canberra – 30-31 October
• National Finals Canberra – 24 -26 November

Notices

Notice of annual general meeting 2008

Peter Godfrey will be installed as national president at the 88th annual general meeting of Engineers Australia which will be held in the Members Dining Room 2 of the Old Parliament House in Parkes on 20 November. The Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal will also be presented.

Fee changes from October onwards

Engineers Australia has announced changes to the services and fees for chartered status assessment and membership admission which come into effect 1 October. All prices listed exclude GST.
The fee for a chartered status assessment has increased from $400 to $500. This is the first fee increase since 2001 and reflects increased administration and support costs.
The membership admission fee will increase from $40 to $50. First year graduates are exempt from this fee.
Members seeking readmission after a lapse in membership must pay a readmission fee of $50.
A member seeking chartered status reinstatement after a period of more than six months but less than five years, will require a desk-top assessment of competency, equivalent to a CPD audit which will cost $200.
For a full list of conditions, visit the Engineers Australia website.

Witness an ancient ship's last voyage

The College of Mechanical Engineers will run a technical presentation and tour of the ship MV Doulos.
The ship is coming to Australia for the last time before its retirement. At 94 years old, only two years younger than the Titantic, the US-built ship is one of the world's oldest ocean-going passenger vessels.
It also contains one of the world's largest floating bookshops and the chief engineer is an Australian. 
Engineers Australia will hold technical tours when the ship visits Australian ports on the following dates:

• Sydney – 4 September
• Geelong – 16 September
• Albany – early October to be confirmed
• Fremantle – 16 October

Publications

Calendar

Engineering Education Australia will run the following short courses:

• Process piping design (4 days) Perth 1 Sep
• Writing winning technical documents (2 days) Melbourne 1 Sep, Adelaide 4 Sep, Brisbane 10 Sep
  
• Project management (2 days) Adelaide 4 Sep, Sydney 11 Sep, Melbourne 18 Sep
• Fundamentals of project management (1 day) Perth 5 Sep, Adelaide 11 Sep
• Financial management (2 days) Brisbane 8 Sep
• Contract management (2 days) Sydney 8 Sep, Melbourne 15 Sep
• Earthworks (2 days) Perth 11 Sep
• Stormwater management (2 days) Melbourne 11 Sep
• Negotiation skills (2 days) Perth 16 Sep
• Risk and liability management (2 days) Perth 17 Sep
• Managing self and others (2 days) Hobart 22 Sep
• International trends in managing power quality and voltage dips (2 days) Sydney 24 Sep
• Electrical engineering practice module 3 – protection systems, motor starters and power quality (2 days) Sydney 25 Sep

• Melbourne 2 September
• Campbell Town, Tasmania 4 September
• Newcastle 9 September
• Brisbane 11 September