AIChE National Capital Section News for February 2004 ---------------------------------------------------- In this issue: 1) February meeting - U.S. Naval Observatory 2) Volunteers needed - National Engineers Week 1) Subject: February meeting - Tour of the U.S. Naval Observatory Contributed by: Erica Hansen, Vice Chair, National Capital Section AIChE February 26, 2004 Tour Starts at 6:30 pm The U.S. Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the country. Established in 1830 as the Depot of Charts and Instruments, its primary mission was to care for the U.S. Navy's chronometers, charts and other navigational equipment. Today, the U.S. Naval Observatory is the preeminent authority in the areas of Precise Time and Astrometry, and distributes Earth Orientation parameters and other Astronomical Data required for accurate navigation and fundamental astronomy. The tour will include a presentation of the Mission and History of the Naval Observatory, a view of the development of USNO's timekeeping responsibilities with a member of the Observatory's Time Service Department staff, and (weather permitting) viewing of celestial objects with the 12-inch Alvan Clark refractor with an Astronomer. The tour will be partially outside, partially inside, so wear lots of layers to keep warm. RSVP by Feb 20 (to Erica Hansen EHansen@Anteon.com) with Name and Birth date. Due to security issues (this is where the Vice President lives, too), this information is required 5 days prior to the tour. Following the tour, dinner will be held at Austin Grill 2404 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington DC 20007 $30 Nacho Bar Station Quesadilla & Taquito Grill Station Combination Fajita Buffet Ibarra Chocolate Brownies For maps and additional directions, please visit the NCS website at http://www.ench.umd.edu/NatCapAIChE 2) Subject: Request for Volunteers - National Engineers Week Contributed by: Jill Clauss Help support the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and help children gain awareness of what we do. We are once again looking for volunteers to staff the National Engineers Week Family Day Event at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The event will be from 8 am until 5 pm on Saturday, February 21. We need volunteers to help staff our booth, where we will be making slime. You can volunteer for a half day, the whole day, or just a couple of hours. Aprons will be provided. This year, they are expecting five thousand attendees, so the more volunteers we have, the more quickly we can let the kids make their slime. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Jill Clauss at jclauss@alum.rpi.edu , or call her at (703) 590-9536.