AIChE National Capital Section News for January 2004 ---------------------------------------------------- In this issue: 1) NCS Elections 2) Volunteers needed 3) Obituary for Charles W. Perry 1) Subject: NCS Elections Contributed by: Basil C. "Bill" Doumas, Past Chair, National Capital Section AIChE The AIChE National Capital Section has elections coming up soon and I need to complete a slate of candidates for members to vote on. Positions that must be filled are: Vice Chair - A 3-year commitment. Serves as Program Chair during the first year of service, then as Chair during the second year, and as Past Chair during the third year. Past Chair serves as Chair of the Nominating Committee. Secretary - A 1-year commitment. Treasurer - A 1-year commitment. Director - A 3-year commitment. I need at least two candidates for each of the four positions. Should you be interested in standing for election for either of these four positions, please contact me at your earliest convenience so that I may obtain a brief bio/CV from you. Interested, dedicated leadership is the lifeblood of an active AIChE local section. Your leadership and commitment to the National Capital Section of AIChE will ensure that it will continue to be active and vibrant. 2) Subject: Request for Volunteers Contributed by: Bruce Cranford * Family Day, February 21, 2004, Saturday, National Building Museum, 4th St, NW, Washington, D.C. (Judiciary Square Metro Stop). The AIChE National Capital Section is participating in Engineers Week Family Day. Expected attendance is about 5000, based upon previous years. The AIChE activity will involve the children in making Slime, and explaining to them the chemistry associated with slime and careers in engineering. Learning this activity only involves a few minutes. Volunteers are needed for about 5 hours, 8-12 or 12-5. All of the materials and information are provided by AIChE. Please contact Jill Clauss (703) 590-9536 or cnjclauss@earthlink.net to reserve your time. Fun was had by one and all last year. * Future City Competition, Special Awards Judging February 23, 2004, Monday. The AIChE National Capital Section is sponsoring the Special Award 'Best use of Biotechnology in a Future City' in the National Future City Competition. We need two judges to join Bruce Cranford and participate in the Special Awards Judging on 2/23/2004, 8-12 Noon, Hyatt Regency, Capital Hill 400 New Jersey Ave, NW. Washington, D.C. (near Union Station Metro Stop). The judges will evaluate over 30 teams, using previously established evaluation criteria, and select the winner of the '€œBest Use of Biotechnology'. You will be impressed at the high level of thought and effort that went into the exhibits built by the teams. Views of the Massachusetts team that won the AIChE Special Award for Biotechnology use in a Future City and slime preparation can be found at http://www.ench.umd.edu/NatCapAIChE/photos/mass.jpg and at http://www.ench.umd.edu/NatCapAIChE/photos/slime.jpg , respectively. Please contact Bruce Cranford, 301-340-0052, Bruce-Cranford-PE@attglobal.net to volunteer as a judge. 3) Subject: Obituary for Dr. Charles W. Perry Contributed by: Irwin Frankel Dr. Charles W. Perry passed away at age 93 at his home in Montgomery Village, MD on December 24, 2003. His death was caused by circulatory complications associated with his advanced age. His is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, two children, four grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Perry was a graduate of Northeastern University and M.I.T. and he obtained his Doctor of Engineering degree from Johns Hopkins University. All degrees were in chemical engineering. Perry led an unusually long professional career, working up to age 89 for several industrial companies (including Witco, Olin, Phillips Petroleum, Merck, and Shell Oil) and several government agencies (U.S. Synthetic Rubber Program during WW II, D.O.E, E.P.A., and the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corp.). He worked as a process engineer and a production engineer, and in several instances served in intermediate and top management positions. Perry was a Fellow of the AIChE, a member of the National Capital Section, a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and of Tau Beta Pi, the honorary engineering society, and the Heritage Foundation. He was a licensed professional engineer in New York and Maryland, and he had 16 publications plus two patents.