December 8, 2003

ASME Spells Success

Mechanical and aerospace engineering students won first place in the 2003 ASME Regional Student Design Contest; (front row, left to right) Luke Davis, Joe Grappe, Ang Uy. (Back row, left to right) Dr. Hamid Davoodi, John Dyess, Dr. Mohammad Noori, Dr. Richard Johnson. (All photos: Kathi McBlief)

The North Carolina State University student section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering has become one of the largest and most active groups in the nation. Dr. Richard R. Johnson, professor of mechanical engineering, has been the section’s faculty advisor for 21 years. Under his guidance, the section has consistently maintained a large membership, placing in the top 10 in this regard among other ASME student sections across the U.S.

Like many student organizations on campus, the ASME student section participates in service projects, volunteer programs, competitions and other activities. Over the years ASME students have excelled in many areas. Recently they have especially excelled in competitions.

Last fall the ASME students took first place in the 2001-02 ASME Interrregional Student Section Contest, co-sponsored by ASME International and Ingersoll-Rand. This annual event, involving student sections from across the country, is a two-part, point-driven contest. In the intraregional part of the contest, which has a cap of 1,000 points, sections earn points based on year-long activities, including technical events and service projects. The NC State chapter was one of only six sections to receive a perfect score of 1,000.

	ASME students took first place in the 2001-02 Interregional Student Section Contest. (Left to right) Dr. Richard Johnson; 2002-03 officers Aryn Bergman, Elizabeth Baldwin, Nicole Kaufman, Nathan Block; and Dr. Mohammad Noori.

For the interregional part, with no point cap, sections compete against all other sections for first place. With a grand total of 4,535 points, NC State took first place.

Elizabeth Baldwin, chapter chair for 2001-02 and vice chair during 2002-03, said, “One reason our section has done so well is because of our unique technical sessions.” The NC State chapter was the first section to provide multiple-day workshops on industry software to students. Their advisor, Johnson, believes the section’s success is also due to their long tradition of sending large numbers of delegates to the ASME Regional Leadership Conference and the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition.

In March a team of students called the “Sonic Death Monkeys” brought more acclaim to the section by winning first place in the ASME Regional Student Design competition. The four students on the ASME student section team were Joe Grappe, John Dyess, Luke Davis and Ang Uy. Their project advisor was Dr. Hamid Davoodi, director of undergraduate administration in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

The theme of the design contest was the mining industry. All teams were required to simulate a system to harness energy stored in mountain streams in order to lift ore from the bottom of an open pit mine. Two liters of water served as the energy source, and approximately 3.2 kilograms of long-grain rice served as ore. There were three aspects to the project: transfer of water, rice and energy. The ultimate goal was to move the simulated ore to the top of a 50-centimeter-high ramp.

	Dr. Richard Johnson – a champion for ASME students
	Richard Johnson Mechanical engineering students at NC State and recent alumni have started the Dr. Richard R. Johnson Endowment Fund to create a scholarship for NC State mechanical engineering students and to provide support for the ASME student chapter. According to Saunders Campbell Smith (ME ’01), who is responsible for the initiative, “For years Dr. J. has championed the cause of ASME at NC State. His support, through time and donations, has been instrumental in keeping NC State’s section of this professional society at award-winning levels. Through this scholarship initiative, we strive to honor Dr. J. for all his support and to provide for his cherished ASME section for many years to come.” To make a donation to this fund, please make your check payable to the “NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc.” (with “Richard Johnson Fund” in the memo line) and mail it to the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc., Campus Box 7901, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7901, or visit www.engr.ncsu.edu/ncef.

Approximately 12 schools entered the contest, and 10 physically competed. Only four managed to propel the rice up the ramp. The Sonic Death Monkeys was the only team with two successful runs.

Although Johnson gives ASME student officers credit for the chapter’s success, excellent mentoring also deserves credit. According to Dr. Mohammad N. Noori, professor and head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, “the secret of the chapter’s success is the devotion of Dr. Johnson.”

Once, when Johnson was on leave to his native South Africa as a Fulbright scholar, he traveled back to the U.S. at his own expense just so that he could take a group of students to the annual ASME meeting as he does every year. Nicole Kaufman, 2002-03 treasurer and 2003-04 chair, noted that section membership dropped significantly during one of Johnson’s sabbaticals.

ASME International, the parent organization, has recognized the success of both Johnson and the ASME student section. In 1996 the organization gave Dr. Johnson the national Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award. Prior to that he had received the ASME Region IV Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award three times. More recently ASME International recognized the NC State ASME student section in a special way. For the section’s positive impact on the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, the organization gave the department a Clarke Scholarship in the amount of $6,000 for incoming freshmen in fall 2003.

As one professor said of the ASME student section, “They are a wonderful group!”

— mcblief —