RES History - May - September 1972

Rochester History

A Sampling from the Archives of the Rochester Engineering Society...1897 - 1972 by Lee M. Loomis

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 20 th 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,

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| The ROCHESTER ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2020 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 22 nd , 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 20 th Century.

We welcome your questions and comments on this series.

res news - history

Technical Corner

I’d like to introduce and thank Dan Rusnack, P.E., LC for contributing to the article this month.

This article will focus on NFPA 110: Standard for Emergency and Standby Power Systems. We’ll look at some of the requirements for locating Electrical related Life Safety Equipment within a building.

I’d like to start with a snip it of the Engineers Creed from the National Society of Professional Engineers as this portion of the Creed speaks to protecting the public welfare.

“As a Professional Engineer, I dedicate my professional knowledge and skill to the advancement and betterment of human welfare. I pledge: To place service before profit, the honorand standing ofthe profession before personal advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations."

Adopted by National Society of Professional Engineers, June 1954

Emergency power systems such as generators via Automatic Transfer switches (ATS) are utilized to provide power to building systems to protect the public welfare and human life if normal utility power fails in the case of an emergency. These building systems can range from Emergency Egress lighting, to fire alarm systems, smoke evac systems and the like.

Looking at section 7.2.3 of NFPA 110 it states: Level 1 EPSS equipment shall not be in the same room with the normal service equipment where the service equipment is rated over 150 volts to ground and equal to or greater than 1000 amps. Thus, this section is applicable to systems 480Y/277V but not for 208Y/120V systems. The commentary in blue states section 7.2.3 applies only to service equipment and to the load side of the transfer equipment, therefore life safety and normal panels can be grouped together at other locations (AHJ may say otherwise).

So, what is an EPSS categorized as?

Section NFPA 110 3.3.4 states an EPSS is: A complete functioning EPS system coupled to a system of conductors, disconnecting means and overcurrent protective devices, transfer switches, and all control, supervisory, and support devices up to and including the load terminals of the transfer equipment needed for the system to operate as a safe and reliable source of electric power.

That being said, the Life safety ATS and panelboard serving life safety loads can’t be located in the same room as the service equipment when there is an outdoor generator or (EPS). The reason for separating the life safety and normal equipment is to protect the emergency system in case the normal system has a catastrophic failure such as an arc fault or fire which may in turn, destroy or make the emergency power system not operate when it is needed.

In conclusion, when designing emergency electrical systems for buildings it is important to look at the codes and standards and hold the public welfare and safety to the highest paramount.

Hopefully this article finds you well and can be used as a reference for your project needs. If anyone would like to contribute to the Rochester Engineer publication and add an article or would like to request information on a specific topic (not limited to Electrical) just email me at beliasz@ bergmannpc.com. As always, any comments are appreciated…! Thank you for reading.

Brett Eliasz, P.E., LEED AP BD+C , RES Director Dan Rusnack, PE

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