2015 Issue

41 C. Public Opinion The public believes that there is an insatiable need for engineers and a perpetual shortage of “talent”. There is no real differentia- tion between engineering fields of engineers and technicians. This confusion is evident in the STEMpromotion ongoing in every com- munity today[12][13]. Furthermore, the idea that engineers are smart nerds who work the lab persists from the 19th century. Medical doctors’ and attorneys’ images are benefited greatly by massive lobbying efforts. The American Medical Association alone spends approximately twenty million dollars per year on lobbying. Utah attorneys are exempted from being regulated by the Depart- ment of Professional Licensing (DOPL) by the state constitution. The perception is further reinforced by movies of people with high functioning autism such as the classic Jimmy Stewart film of an introverted action-oriented engineer in “No Highway in the Sky” (1951) or the manic engineer in “Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) or the laid-off aerospace engineer played by Michael Douglas in the film “Falling Down” (1993) or the spoiled son in “Iron Man “ (2008). Without active professional societies to recast this image, the image persists. V. POITICAL SITUATION FOR PROFESSIONS The text describes the congruence of the above ideas as in the introduction; Figure 3 describes these forces in terms of a political balance of power. Figure 3 There is a court case in the legal system of special note at the time this article is being drafted. It is a suit against a set of “high tech” companies alleging that they conspired to hold down wages of employees [14], thus the second bullet in the right box. VI. COMORADORE AND AWARDS Themost valuable aspect of membership in a professional society is the friendship of extraordinary professionals, individuals whomight otherwise remain outside our own social sphere. Professional societ- ies provide an opportunity to meet these people, an opportunity that may not arise otherwise. Management schools teach that political power, the ability to influ- ence, has five bases: legitimate power, referent power, expert power, reward power, and coercive power. Professional societies have special ability to influence through reward power. Reward power in professional societies must be used cautiously, because rewards only bring lasting influence if used judiciously. The community must see the reward as earned for contribution rather than an insider’s nod. An example is the public view of the Nobel Peace Prize vs. the Nobel Prize for Physics. Few doubt that the laureates earned the Prize for physics. That said, professional societies have the ability to offer layers of awards to differentiate levels of contribution. The US military provides another example of a layered approach to awards in a complex hierarchy of service medals [21]. Each of the engineering societies has its own existing procedures. IV. CONCLUSION As leadership and professional society leadership discuss member- ship development, remember the engineers’ “union home” inNew York City and emulate that leadership from110 years ago. By going back to the future, societies might renew our profession again and again. A dedicated meeting hall for engineering might serve as a beginning of rejuvenation of society membership. In addition to meeting places, the use of the professional awards system is a vehicle for maintaining membership by recognizing contributions of individuals and businesses. UEC does this now, and all societies should use the power of granting awards. Most importantly, professional societies must becomemuch stron- ger advocates for working engineers rather than their employers. The name “engineer”must be reserved only for ABET degreed and licensed engineers. Without even a meaningful name, the profes- sionwill blend into thewallpaper of the trades fromwhich it arose. . REFERENCES [1] Traditions, http://www.purduesports.com/trads/what-is-boilermaker.htm [2] History of Mechaical Engineering, http://www.me.umn.edu/about_us/history.shtml [3] Wilson to Presidnet AIEE, 19 Jan 1916, . IEEE History Center, [4] The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure, 1874-1929, p 132. [5] A Union Home for Engineering Socieities, IEEE History Center [6] Stephen Moore and Julian L. Simon, The Greatest Century That Ever Was No 364, Cato Institute, December 15, 1999. [7] Janssen, J., The History of Ventillation and Temperature Control, ASHRAE Journal, Sept 1999, pp 47-52. [8] The History of ASME’s Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, March 2011. [9] McMahon, A. The Making of a Profession: A Century of Electrical Engnineeing in America, IEEE Press, 1984. [10] Nelson, J., Protecting the Public: A Brief Overview of the History of Engineering Licensure and the Process of Regulation in the United States, 16 May 2012. [11] Use of the Title Engineer http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/Engineertitle0213.pdf [12] “The Definition of STEM? “ Today’s Engineer, IEEE-USA, December 2013. [13] “Reversing the Loss of STEM Careers”, Today’s Engineer, IEEE-USA, 12 March 12, 2012. [14] U.S. v. Adobe Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:10-cv-01629, 24 Sept 2010. [15] Innovation Deficit, http://www.innovationdeficit.org/about/ [16] An Abridged History of SAE, http://www.sae.org/about/general/history/ [17] Lorenzo Pellegrini and Luca Tasciotti, Rural Electrification Now and Then: Comparing Contemporary Challenges in Developing Countries to the USA’s Experience in Retrospect, Forum for Development Studies, 2012. [18] “The History of the Houston Engineering and Scientific Society Club”, internal document provided 3 Nov 2014 by J. Bernal GM at HESS. [19] History, http://meche.mit.edu/about/history/ [20] MIT EECS Department Facts, http://www.eecs.mit.edu/about-us/mit-eecs-department-facts. [21] Manual of Military Decorations and Awards: DoD-Wide Performance and Valor Awards; Foreign Awards; Military Awards to Foreign Personnel and U.S. Public Health Service Officers; and Miscellaneous Information DoDM 1348.33-V3, November 23, 2010, Change 1, 10/31/2013.