Rochester History Continuing with the historical sampling of the earlier writings on behalf of the Rochester Engineering Society, the years following "The Great War", into and through the “Great Depression”, continued to be a time of reaching out for the maturing Society, both locally and nationally. The meeting minutes describe a series of technical discussions and presentations intended to broaden the technical horizons of the membership (especially the CE's, ME's and EE's). The RES affiliated itself with a number of National technical societies, adopted local Affiliated Societies, frequently held joint meetings with them and continued taking action on a growing list of public matters. Certain issues of standardization, some crucial to public safety, became the responsibility of the RES and its affiliates. In the pervasive economic downturn of the “Great Depression”, the magazine offered classified advertising for unemployed engineers, technicians and draftsmen and took other steps to try to deal with the crisis. Still, it continued its effort to shape the function, purpose and infrastructure of the City of Rochester, and beyond. World War, again affected the Society, taking away many of its leaders while providing opportunities for others to step forward to fill these vacancies. In an effort to provide even greater perspective on the happenings and concerns of the day, a synopsis, featuring selected items from "The Rochester Engineer" has become an integral part of this series. The Second World War and the Korean Conflict are now history, and the Vietnam War has recently become a focal point. These experiences have changed the face and, no doubt, the future of the community. The Rochester municipal leadership and the industrial community have become immersed in the cold-war, growth economy.
“The Rochester Engineer” (May 1972) This issue featured a report on “Operation RESOURCE”, the recently announced RES report to the County of Monroe, recommending the creation of a position, Director of Solid Waste, reporting to the Public Works Commissioner, to oversee the conduct of a professional survey of the County’s solid waste potential, and the subsequent development of a program for, “maximum recovery of resources”, in our rapidly-growing County. County Executive, Lucien A. Morin, County Legislature President, Joseph N. Ferrari, each praised the RES and the Monroe County Environmental Management Council for the, “great time and effort put forth on behalf of this project of community benefit”. This was followed by the announcement that, “The County is now seeking a man to fill that new position.” Providing a historical view of Rochester in the early 20th Century, in an article, “Engineering in the Pre-Crash Period”, John Utz, Traffic Safety Engineer with NYSDOT, describes a 1927 RES-sponsored project, wherein Rochester area Boy Scouts were recruited to conduct a three-year survey of vehicular traffic conditions in the City. Their task included collecting data on illegal and overtime parking (1,600 of 2,800 cars observed were parked illegally) and traffic flow (vehicle occupancy at West Main and Broad Street was observed at only 1.6 passengers per vehicle; “Wasteful!”). The Scouts also observed that traffic congestion in Rochester was resulting in, “a decentralization of businesses, causing the growth of bank branches, theaters and stores in outlying districts.” The U of R’s College of Engineering and Applied Science announced the selection of eight undergraduates, directed by Dr. Edwin Carstensen, who would be working under an NSF grant in a biomedical engineering research program to apply ultrasonics in heart examinations, testing for circulatory disorders with electrical impedance plethysmography, and the digital processing of bat signals.
June 7, 1972 (Annual Meeting, Rochester Institute of Technology) – Attendance – 26 The RG&E Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Louis Ugino, led off the evening with an excellent half-hour musical program. Following the introduction of the new officers, RES President Edwin L. Anthony, 4 | The ROCHESTER ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2020
A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1972 by Lee M. Loomis introduced George S. Beinetti who gave the evening’s address, “The Renaissance of Engineering”.
June 21, 1972 (Board Meeting, University Club) President Edwin L. Anthony presented the organization chart, showing the distribution of responsibilities of the RES officers. Treasurer Howard Jaquith presented the 1972-73 budget, including an approximate $1,000 deficit, due mostly to shortfalls in revenue from “The Rochester Engineer”. Four Regular Members and one Junior Member applications were approved. The Board approved the granting of Honorary Membership to Mr. H.H. Sullivan for, “his long and faithful service to the Society.”
June 29, 1972 (Special Board Meeting, Society’s Offices) President Anthony announced the resignation of RES Secretary, John D. Cooper, for reasons of health. Representing the Nominations and Appointments Committee, Robert Leavitt moved that RES Director, Dr. Richard A. Kenyon be elected as RES Secretary, and that James D. Row be appointed to complete Dr. Kenyon’s term, as Director.
“The Rochester Engineer” (June 1972) This issue introduced two new RES Affiliates; the Rochester Conference of Standards Laboratories and the Association for Computing Machinery, and provided a history and description of the focus of each of these organizations. In a second historical article, “Engineering Under Roosevelt and the Blue Eagle”, John R. Utz describes new automotive innovation (the first automatic transmission), a tour of the new Rochester Main Post Office on Cumberland Street, and the 1937 local introduction of television sets (at $200 - $500 each, engineers’ starting salaries at $25 to $20 per week). It was announced that, due to the considerable cost of printing the comprehensive “Operation RESOURCE” final report, copies of the three-volume report would now be made available at $25. RIT announced that Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Douglas M. Marshall had been named Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering.
September 13, 1972 (Board Meeting, Chamber of Commerce) The Board approved six new Regular Members, one Associate Member, and three Junior Members. It was announced that fifteen RES Luncheon meetings would be scheduled for the coming year; to be held on alternating Wednesdays. The RES Engineers’ Joint Dinner would be held at the Great Hall of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, on February 22nd, with a ticket price of $7.50. Subsequent articles in this series will describe the RES' continuing outreach to other technical societies as it considered its role in this and the larger community, along with more of the activities of the RES as it moved to be of greater service to its membership, especially those suffering from current economic crises, and adopted a greater role in shaping the future of the City and its environs. Noted also, will be the contributions made by RES members in the struggle to meet the challenges coming out of World War II and the Korean Conflict, as well as a hoped-for period of postwar growth and prosperity. These articles will also feature an impressive array of RES activities in support of post-war re-emergence of Rochester area industry, and the ensuing prosperity of the second-half of the 20th Century. We welcome your questions and comments on this series.
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