Washington Beat 6-8-98

June 8, 1998

4 Min Read
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June 8, 1998 Design News

WASHINGTON BEAT Technical news from the nation's capital

Find out how much money your engineer peers make

by Walter Wingo, Washington Editor


For $25 you can now get a "personal salary profile," showing how much engineers with education and experience similar to yours make. It's a new service of the Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association Of Engineering Societies (AAES) based in Washington, DC. Here's how it works. You fill out a form describing your background, your location, and the industry you are in. The Commission sends you back your salary profile. For Design News, the commission did part of a sample profile for a non-supervisory engineer with a bachelors degree and five years experience in the auto industry. Results show that the mean salary for such an engineer across the nation is $50,650. A tenth of the engineers makes above $56,850, a fourth makes above $53,950, and the median is $50,500. The lower fourth makes below $47,700, and the lower tenth below $44,750. You can order a profile form by phoning AAES at (888) 400-2237 ext. 209 or 210.


Energy Department adds steam to its list of 'challenges'

First it was the Motor Challenge, then the Compressed Air Challenge, and now comes the Steam Challenge. Like its predecessors, the Steam Challenge is an initiative by the Department of Energy (DOE) to promote efficiency in industrial power systems. This one aims to help industry adopt system approaches to designing, purchasing, installing, and managing boilers, distribution systems, and steam applications. The Alliance to Save Energy and DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies are working with more than 50 steam-related organizations on the venture. Included are the American Boiler Manufacturers Association, the Association of Energy Engineers, Babcock Wilcox, DuPont, and the Energy Center of Wisconsin. Among plans are information campaigns, establishment of a network for training and certifying those who operate steam systems, and expansion of the market for steam efficiency equipment and services. Officials hope for an overall improvement of 20% in steam efficiency by 2010.


Ford emission-control team wins Distinguished Inventor award

Four Ford Motors engineers were named Distinguished Inventors in the 25th Inventor of the Year competition held by Intellectual Property Owners headquartered in Washington, DC. Jeff Hepburn, Bob McCabe, Bela Povinger, and Ray Willey were honored for developing an ultra-efficient catalyst system and engine control strategy. Their creation enables the production of natural gas versions of Ford's F-250 pickup and Econoline van. These trucks are the world's first vehicles to be certified to California's Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standards. The engineers placed a small conditioning catalyst before the oxygen sensor so that it reacts with the hydrogen before it reaches the sensor, allowing optimum performance of the sensor and the catalytic converter.


Panel proposes widening PNGV to cover SUVs, light trucks

The highly touted government-industry program to design a "supercar" may be concentrating on something few drivers will be able to afford or even want. So warns a committee of the National Research Council in its latest annual review of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Last year PNGV officials picked their best candidate for an affordable, mid-size vehicle that can get up to 80 mpg, yet meet prevailing emission standards. Their selection for a concept vehicle to be built in the year 2000 is an electric car that also has a small diesel engine. The committee's report, however, doubts that the proposed design will meet either the affordability or the emissions goal. It suggests lowering the target to 60 mpg. Hybrid-electric vehicles, it adds, would require complex and costly battery, power-conversion, and electronic-control systems. The panel further notes that nearly half the sales in the U.S. automotive market today is in sport utility vehicles, minivans, and light trucks. It proposes that PNGV also evaluate these vehicles.


Implementation of fastener act delayed again--until July 26

"Critical" fasteners made after July 26, 1998 must be tested by an accredited laboratory or produced by an approved manufacturing plant. The deadline represents a 60-day extension of previous delays in implementing the Fastener Quality Act (FQA) of 1990. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has required extra time to complete its approval of some 450 testing labs needed to carry out the act. FQA sets up a national program to ensure that certain nuts, bolts, and other fasteners used in "critical situations"--such as the attachment of aircraft engines to fuselages--conform to specifications. The government, meanwhile, also has defined the in-process quality inspection systems that fastener manufacturers can use to test their lots for FQA compliance. Operators of such lines can be provisionally certified, but they must complete official certification by May 25, 1999.

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