2018 Issue

8 Chairman's Message I n preparation to write this short article, I went back through the journals on the Utah Engineers Council (UEC) website and read many of the messages written by past chairs of this organization. I was impressed that these remarkable engi- neering professionals had agreed to take on additional responsibilities to serve in a volunteer organization. I am humbled to find myself among their ranks. I am sure that many of them, like me, saw the significant part the UEC plays in the advancement and recognition of engineering in the State of Utah. Chief among the ways the UEC accomplishes this mission are the scholarships awarded to engineering students to assist them in their career goals. These students, by pursuing an engineering degree from an accredited program within the State of Utah, have placed themselves apart from their peers. They have chosen the harder path with its attendant differential equations, materials science and senior design projects; a path that surpasses in difficulty and real world applications most of those chosen by fellow undergraduate students in other majors. A remarkable thing happened in the run up to the previous year’s UEC Banquet. The speaker we had engaged as our keynote, Martin Frey, posed a challenge to the board: If we could increase the number of scholarships we awarded from four to nine, he would waive his customary speaker’s fee. That year we ended up presenting thirteen. More remarkable yet, is that the same number of scholar- ships, thirteen, were again presented at our banquet this year. The challenge offered by Mr. Frey, a Utah trained en- gineer, reflected the theme on which he spoke: doing hard things. It was this ethic that drove him as he ascended the world’s seven summits and navigated the seven seas. And it is the ethic that motivated the UEC to break new ground and increase, more than three-fold, the number of scholar- ships historically awarded during our annual banquets. This theme of doing hard things is a good fit for our profes- sion and those who aspire to enter it. It certainly describes the students who were our scholarship winners this year; each one was an impressive mix of academic acumen, cu- riosity and moral character (read how each of them, in the press of their schoolwork, still find time to volunteer, work… perform in symphonic orchestras and illustrate comic books). And it likewise describes the engineers and educa- tors who were our nominees – all of whom could serve as navigational stars for our young scholars as they prepare to embark on their professional journeys. Two of my own navigational stars to guide me in my en- gineering travels, were my father and his father. My dad, Gary, a BSEE graduate from the University of Utah, demon- strated an engineer’s steady disposition and deliberate and thoughtful approach to everything he undertook. His father, Lynn, while never formally trained, was the indis- pensable engineer for the city of Blanding, Utah where he lived out his days. His practical knowledge of power gener- ation, automotive design and refrigeration cycles had many townsfolk convinced he was the machine whisperer. Both his son and grandson, with their degrees and certificates, would be the first to admit being bested by this small town mechanic and technician in their engineering intuition. In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge and thank sev- eral individuals. This is an endeavor fraught with risk, since any such listing might fail to include the contributions of some of the key people who have added to the success of the UEC. I gratefully acknowledge those who founded this coun- cil and have perpetuated it over the years, including my immediate predecessor, Charles Vono, Col. (ret). It has been my good fortune to follow him through the executive committee and work in the clean-tilled earth and well-or- dered furrows he leaves behind (to paraphrase another grey-bearded wise man*). It was a pleasure to work with Max Gandy, who dutifully dis- charged the responsibilities of treasurer with much greater skill than I did the year before. Roberta Schlicher was a welcome addition to the executive committee and her work as the banquet committee chair was a model in organiza- tion; I want to thank her and her committee members for a very successful event this year. Jake Browning has expertly managed the finances of the UEC, as its current treasurer, while looking nothing like the accountants you see on TV. Brian Warner as our awards committee chair, David Cline as our scholarship committee chair; Angie Tymofichuk and Michael Smith as our membership and legislative chairs, re- spectively, together with their committee members: Thank- you. Sophie Hansen and Juli Burton with The newsLINK Group have provided invaluable support for the UEC and