2017 Issue

9 I t has been my honor to serve as Chair of the Utah Engineers Council for the year 2016 - 2017. I have recently retired from a 25 year career as a systems engineer and rocket scientist on ICBMs. This is a weapon system com- prised of aircraft, missiles, mainte- nance facilities, ground systems, automated test systems, comput- ers, roads, factories, and every other kind of device, machine, and system. Thus, I have always had an appreciation for the wide variety of engineers needed to create, deploy, sustain, and retire a modern complex system. My appreciation has doubled in this job as Chair of the Utah Engi- neers Council. It is a pure pleasure to share the company of so many smart people here in Utah working hard on both military and civilian systems. Our massive transpor- tation systems, large commercial structures, and modern aero- space vehicles are only one chal- lenge our engineering societies help support. We have societies dedicated to advancing wom- en in engineering and helping underdeveloped countries. Some help their members, and society at large, by advancing the state of the art in specialized fields such as surveying, environmental engineering or advanced mate- rials. Others are supporting Utah as consortiums of cities or com- panies. All are hard-working and dedicated to making life better for Utahns by realizing the prom- ise and benefits of 21st century technology. Who wouldn’t love that as a career choice!? For all of that, our UEC is a mod- est organization — with a corre- spondingly modest budget — but a generous heart. We focus main- ly on the celebration of Engineers Week by honoring our engineers and handing out scholarships. This year, we were challenged by the growing number of Utah universities with accredited engi- neering programs and by guest speaker, Martin Frey, who pushed us to "up our game" on scholar- ships awarded. Our organization and our generous donors came through like superheroes. In addition to our usual projects, many in the UEC, and member societies, participate in the plan- ning and execution of “Hill AFB Engineer’s Week”. This event, less than a decade old, garners sup- port from Logan to Cedar City. Several of us are also starting to plan for our first annual partici- pation in a STEM booth at SLC ComicCon. Both have a focus on the young. Which is fitting, because in Utah we have scores of young people eager to finish their engineering degrees and march out almost like comic-book costumed crusaders to change the world -- much like the rest of us have been doing so far in our careers. We “mature” engineers have knowl- edge and skill. And we have a wealth of experience and the con- fidence that comes from it. But these students, besides newly ac- quired knowledge and skill, have a boundless energy that mar- velously jumps from them to us by sheer proximity. Meeting and chatting with student participants at Hill AFB and our scholarship winners at our UEC banquet is all that it takes to energize us to start thinking about and preparing for next year’s Engineers Week. Come join us. Invest time and en- ergy in your favorite engineering society. And then encourage your engineering society to join our ranks and make 2018 even bigger and better. Charles Vono Chairman's Message By: Charles Vono, Chair of the Utah Engineers Council.