Southern New Jersey Professional Societies
Meeting Archive 2006 - 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Speaker: Mike McNeil, FAA Surveillance Team Manager
As the manager for FAA WJHTC Surveillance Systems, Mike is responsible for overseeing the local activities for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) program. The ADS-B program recently received the Collier Trophy -a notable distinction- as outstanding US aeronautical program.
Mike hails from right here in Pomona, NJ. He earned his BS in Electrical/Electronics Engineering from Drexel University in 1982. His engineering career with the FAA has included testing surveillance systems such as Mode S. In 1998, he began working on the ADS-B and Safe Flight 21 programs. He has guided the FAA WJHTC ADS-B activities including test beds, software simulations, deployment of East Coast Broadcast system, RTCA avionics standards work and testing.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Speaker: Lee Spanier
Developing airport passenger checkpoint and cargo inspection systems is a high dollar, monumentally complex task with results that impact all of us. Mr. Spanier has been deeply involved in the formulation, development and testing of these systems and has managed $25M per year development efforts with a team of 20. He currently serves as the Team Lead for Independent Test and Evaluation and directs teams conducting lab assessment & qualification testing for the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration (TSA). His efforts provide counsel to the TSA's Chief Technology Officer responsible for inspection systems valued at $250M+ and located at over 2000 checkpoints at nearly 500 airports. Mr. Spanier's presentation will enlighten us on some of the engineering challenges which Homeland Security faces and will provide selected examples of engineering solutions. Mr. Spanier is also a USAF Lt. Col reservist based at the Electronic systems Center in Boston, MA.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
STUDENT NIGHT 2008
We will be honoring three separate groups of students
The winners of the Jersey Shore Science Fair AIAA and IEEE prizes who will tell about their projects and their experiences at the regional science fair in Philadelphia. TIME: 5 minutes each, includes and question/answer period.
Rowan University's Engineers Without Borders who will explain what they do to improve life for less fortunate folks at home and abroad. The students from Rowan will 'show and tell' the past successes and future plans. Both IEEE and AIAA have agreed to provide a donation to EWB in the amount of $50.00 per organization. [NOTE: All donations are tax deductable so why not follow the Section’s good example?] TIME: 30 minutes includes question/answer period.
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey IEEE Student Award winners from the 2007 banquet will be discussing the research projects that they are persuing, lessons learned, and future plans for research in their areas of expertise. TIME: 20 minutes includes question/answer period.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
TOPIC: Complex Systems: Concepts, Concerns, and Pitfalls
Speaker: Dana Whicker, Computer Scientist, Engility Corporation / Target Generation Facility
Please join us for Dana Whicker's interesting and thought provoking presentation on Complex Systems. The new and rapidly-developing science of complex systems theory seeks to understand and manage systems whose properties and behavior can not be determined by just looking at their subsystems. Examples include: the NextGen Air Traffic Control system, the environment, and educational and political systems. This presentation will explore some of the latest concepts of complex systems theory, ways the subsystems can interact, and issues in managing and predicting the behavior of complex systems.
Thursday,
February 21, 2008
TOPIC: ERIDS (EnRoute Information Display System)
Speaker: Catherine A Jaggard, 2007 Engineer of the Year Award Recipient, and Azanda Laboy-Vogt , Apptis Corp.
Azanda and Cathy will discuss the ERIDS (Enroute Information Display System) and its capabilities. ERIDS, one of several FAA initiatives to bring the agency into a paperless environment, supplies en route air traffic controllers with static information, such as procedures, approach plates, maps and charts. Automating the display of this data has been widely acknowledged as a positive step in the continuing evolution of the air traffic control
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
TOPIC: Verification and Validation (V&V) Protocol of Operations
Speaker:
John Frederick, 2007 Technical Leadership Award Recipient
This presentation on the new Verification
and
Validation (V&V)
Protocol of Operations will provide an overview of the
concepts, drivers, benefits, plans, and objectives for
implementing improved T&E processes and practices that adopt
industry best practices and the CMMI verification and
validation model.
The
presentation will also focus on strategies for implementing
improvements and changes to the role of testing as well as
how testing is planned, conducted, and reported in the FAA
Air Traffic Organization (
Wednesday October 17, 2007
TOPIC:
Flying into the 21st Century:
The Federal Aviation Administration's Quest for Modernization, 1977-2007
Speaker: Dr. Terry Kraus, Research and Development Office Analyst
Dr. Terry Kraus has served in a variety of federal government positions for over 20 years.
Prior to joining the FAA in 1991, she worked for the U.S. Army Center of Military History where she co-authored and edited the official history of Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. She holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Maryland, has numerous historical publications in military and aviation magazines and journals, and has authored several books and book chapters.
In celebration of the FAA's 2008 50th anniversary celebration, Dr. Kraus has been asked to write volume 6 in the FAA's history series. This monograph will focus on the FAA's efforts to modernize - technology, organization, policy - as it works to enhance safety, security, and efficiency of the national airspace system in the thirty years spanning 1977-2007.Wednesday September 19, 2007
TOPIC:
Building Your Team
and Education in the Workplace
Speaker: Dr. Dianne Dorland, Dean of Engineering, Rowan University
Dr. Dorland received her B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1969 and 1970. A licensed professional engineer, she has worked with DuPont, Union Carbide and the Department of Energy, with expertise in the areas of pollution prevention and hazardous waste management for a variety of industries. Her presentation will prove beneficial to all team, project and program managers. She is an enjoyable, dynamic presenter with a great sense of humor.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
TOPIC: History of Naval Air Station Wildwood and the NAS Aviation Museum
Speaker: Dr. Joseph Salvatore, Chair & Co-Founder, NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and informative presentation on aviation history and growth of the Wildwood Aviation Museum located in Cape May. Dr. Salvatore loves his job, loves story telling and has a great sense of humor. Since the Naval Air Station Wildwood was commissioned in April 1943 as a divebomber training facility, the facility has contributed to the rich aviation history of southern New Jersey. Dr. Salvatore is a member of the NJ Historical Commission and serves as Chair for the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
TOPIC: Problem Solving and Multi Robot Coordination
Speaker: Vincent Cicirello PhD, Stockton College
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and a thought-provoking presentation on problem solving and application to robotics. Dr. Vincent Cicirello is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. He received his Ph.D. in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003 where his research focused on heuristic search, multi-agent coordination, and scheduling. Dr. Cicirello's research interests are primarily in applied artificial intelligence, multi-agent systems, evolutionary computation, and metaheuristics.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
TOPIC: World Trade Center Issues, Facts and Misconceptions
Speaker: Jim Quintiere PhD, University of Maryland
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and a thought-provoking presentation on World Trade Center issues, facts and misconceptions. Dr. Jim Quintiere from the University of Maryland will be our speaker.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
TOPIC: Aviation Industry Forecasts for Growth and Factors Affecting Growth
Speaker: Manager, MITRE/CAASD
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and a thought - provoking presentation about forecasts for growth and factors affecting the growth of the aviation industry. The manager is from the MITRE team that created the ATO forecasts for Russ Chew. This is an expansion on the forecasts that Russ Chew shared with managers at the ATO Management Summit.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
TOPIC: Airspace & Airport Modeling & Simulation – Answering “What If”
Questions for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS)
Speaker: Jennifer Morris, Manager, Capacity Modeling & Analysis
Please join us for this interesting and informative presentation. Ms. Morris will brief on the fast-time computer simulation modeling being performed at the FAA’s Wm J Hughes Technical Center. As the airports become more congested, FAA's Capacity Modeling & Analysis Group provides the technical expertise to help the nation make decisions about building new runways and taxiways, preparing for the introduction of the huge Airbus A380 at U.S. airports, and modifying airspace to meet the needs of the Next Generation Air Transportation System. She has over 19 years of fast-time modeling experience to support airport and airspace capacity and will demonstrate two of the simulation models which FAA uses to plan improvements and make data driven decisions.
Wednesday October 18, 2006
TOPIC: FAA Research in Airport Lighting and Signage for Safer Landings and Pilot Operations
Speaker: Holly Cyrus, FAA Project Manager, Aircraft Safety and Airport R&D
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and thought provoking presentation on research conducted at the Wm J Hughes Technical Center to improve terminal operations flight safety. Our nation has seen numerous aviation fatalities occur while aircraft are taxiing on the airport surface, departing, or arriving to the runways. In poor visibility conditions, pilots depend heavily on airport lighting and signage systems. The Aircraft Safety and Airport R&D Team is conducting research that will result in safer landings, departures, and operational use of runways. Ms. Cyrus will discuss leading edge research that will improve airport signage, lighting, and pavement marking. Additionally, she will discuss lighting research relative to technologies such a wind turbines and LEDs. She will address issues such as:
September 20, 2006
TOPIC: Considerations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the National Air Space
Speaker: Butch Sneade, NAVMAR
Mr. Butch Sneade and his team will brief their real life experiences with UAVs as well as the development process. Mr. Sneade brings a real life perspective to this subject area since he has long followed the development of UAVs and has a strong sense for future development and potential impact.
Please join us for this interesting presentation since UAVs will be in our airspace and in our future, and forecasters tell us that, in the next 50 years, they expect that UAVs will be commonplace in the NAS. Mr. Sneade's insight regarding their impact on the NAS will be informative and thought provoking.
June 28, 2006
TOPIC: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Speaker: Dr. Seth Shostak, SETI Institute Senior Astronomer
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and thought provoking presentation.
Dr. Seth Shostak is an astronomer with a BA in physics from Princeton and a PhD in astronomy from Caltech, and his life's work is involved with the Institute's Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence research. Dr. Shostak is also responsible for much of the outreach activities of the Institute. He is science editor for "The Explorer", gives more than 50 talks annually for both academic and general audiences, and writes magazine articles (and books) about SETI. He also teaches informal education classes on astronomy and other topics in the Bay Area, and is the inventor of the electrical banana, a circumstance he claims has had little positive effect on his life. He is the host for the SETI Institute's weekly radio program Are We Alone?
Before coming to SETI, Seth did research work on galaxies using radio telescopes at observatories and universities in America and Europe. His avocations include photography, filmmaking, and electronics.
Wednesday April 19, 2006
TOPIC: Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM)
Speaker: Brian Colamosca, FAA
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and thought provoking presentation about Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum, RVSM. Mr. Colamosca with be discussing the RVSM program that reduces the vertical separation between flight level (FL) 290-410 from 2000 ft to 1000 ft and makes six additional FLs available for operation. The additional FLs enable more aircraft to fly more time/fuel efficient profiles and provides the potential for enhanced airspace capacity. RVSM operators must receive authorization from the appropriate civil aviation authority and the aircraft must meet required equipage and altitude-keeping performance standards.
Wednesday March 22, 2006
TOPIC: Recent Advances in Aircraft Fire Safety R&D
Speaker: Constantine (Gus)Sarkos, WJHTC
Please join the Southern New Jersey Professional Societies for a delicious dinner and thought provoking presentation about the Recent Advances in Aircraft Fire Safety R&D.
SPEAKER: Constantine P. (Gus) Sarkos
Gus Sarkos manages the Fire Safety Branch at the Federal Aviation Administration’s William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Fire Safety Branch conducts the FAA’s Aircraft Fire Safety R&D Program and operates the most extensive civil aircraft fire test facilities in the world. He is the author of over 50 technical papers and reports related to aircraft fire safety.
The Fire Safety Branch conducts the FAA's Aircraft Fire Safety R&D Program.The majority of the work is done in-house in the extensive and unique fire test facilities in the R&D area. Over the past five or so years, two important safety improvements were developed that are being implemented in large commercial transport aircraft. The first development was improved fire test standards for thermal acoustic insulation, designed to both prevent in-flight fires and improve postcrash fire survivability. On September 2, 2005 any newly manufactured large transport or any in-service airplane having insulation blankets being replaced, must employ insulation materials compliant with the new in-flight fire test standard. The second development was a relatively simple and cost effective fuel tank inerting system, designed to prevent fuel tank explosions. On November 18, 2005 the FAA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require operators and manufacturers of large transport aircraft to "greatly reduce the chances of catastrophic fuel tank explosions" through flammability reduction means such as fuel tank inerting. The proposed rule would apply to more than 3200 aircraft in the existing fleet as well as newly manufactured aircraft. Boeing has already adapted the FAA inerting system design and has begun installing these systems on new 747's. This presentation will describe the background and testing leading to these fire safety improvements.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
TOPIC: Aircraft Icing
Speaker: Christopher Dumont, FAA Icing Project Lead, Aircraft Safety and Airport R&D Division
Christopher Dumont is an Aviation Safety Counselor and FAA's Propulsion Icing Project Lead in the Flight Safety Branch of the Aircraft Safety and Airport R&D Division, Office of Operations Planning. He has been performing research on aircraft icing for 16 years. In addition to his research expertise, Chris is also a Certificated Instrument Flight Instructor and has bee flying for more than 20 years. He is an active Aviation Safety Counselor and regularly educates the pilot community at FAA sponsored Aviation Safety Seminars on various topics including the dangers or aircraft icing and best practices to identify, avoid, and cope with inadvertent flight into icing conditions.
Airframe ice is hazardous to safe flying; even small accumulations of ice adhering to critical aircraft surfaces can severely impair aircraft performance. This presentation will cover the basic concepts of aircraft icing including how and why it forms, and how it negatively affects aircraft performance. This is done through animated slides that help the audience learn these concepts through visualization.