International members living and working in the Americas are working in engineering sectors across the full range of disciplines represented by the Institution. Both the Americas’ Regional Chairman, Professor David Russell, and Young Member Representative, Stuart Hamilton have not been in their roles for long, so here they give us their first impressions of networking within the region. 
 

Americas Chairman Profile

David Russell emigrated to the USA in 1977 and was Vice President of a Manufacturing Systems Corporation. He joined Penn State in 1985 and is now a Professor of Engineering there, teaching postgraduate students in software and systems engineering, having previously been Head of the Engineering and Information Science department for 12 years. Professor Russell has worked with IMechE on the Mechatronics Forum for over 10 years and was elected Fellow in 2007. He is also a Fellow of the British Computer Society, and the IET, as well as a senior member of IEEE.

From an engineering perspective, give us an overview of your Forum

Professor Russell said: “The Americas region comprises a wide range of different engineering skills and expertise. The key ‘hubs’ of activities are: software; the service industry; telecommunications; aerospace and some manufacturing, such as autos and parts. Members are strongly represented in each of these sectors.”

The Forum has just started up; what will be your focus for the rest of 2009?

“At the moment, the Forum is relatively new and is still in its infancy. The focus for the Forum in 2009 is going to be based around activating university faculty members. On the whole, department members are British ex-pats who may have been members of the Institution while still based in the UK. There are many engineering schools in the Americas, some of which may prove to be good targets for hosting conferences and workshops for our members in this region. There is good potential and scope for making progress with the development of the Forum.”

What events are currently taking place within the Forum?

“Currently, the Institution does not have a significant presence in the Philadelphia area, where David is based, so member activity is limited. However, the list of events in the Near You section of the Institution’s website shows how active some groups are in other locations across America; especially in the Institution's two Branches in Canada. This is very heartening and we hope to mirror this activity in other parts of the Forum.”

How have members in your Forum been affected by the recession?

North America is one area where the manufacturing industry has been significantly affected due to the global economic downturn. Professor Russell picked out some key areas where engineers are unfortunately facing challenging times. “If you look at the aerospace industry, Boeing, Lockheed and L-3 are not really hiring right now, but we have not seen layoffs. In Delaware, the auto business is hurting. There are senior professional engineers among the Americas membership with experience of working in testing times like this, and I think we can really help the younger members with advice and support.”

To find out more about how you can get involved with the institution in your area, you can contact David at americaschair@imechenetwork.org

Americas Young Member Representative Profile

Stuart Hamilton is a Chartered Engineer who joined the Institution as an undergraduate student in 1999 and was elected as a Corporate Member last year. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas and works as an Operations Engineer in the oil and natural gas industry. In this role he manages projects and provides engineering expertise for natural gas plants and pipelines, and enhanced oil recovery facilities, with projects spread across Texas and into Louisiana.

From an engineering perspective, tell us about the key industries for Young Members

Speaking about the characteristics of the region, Stuart commented: “The Americas region is geographically vast, and as such has a wide range of industrial activity, with energy being prevalent throughout the region. In the US, key traditional hubs include the automotive industry in Michigan; oil and gas in Texas; and high tech in California.”

What are the opportunities for members who want to get involved in your Forum?

Stuart shared David’s view about the current opportunities for member networking in the region: “Presently, the Forum is very much a work in progress. Right now in our new roles David and I are trying to understand what is currently available in the region and what our members want.”

“To facilitate this, in the long term, we would like to offer a range of local and even regional events for members where appropriate. We also hope to have web-based tools and activities, and provide access to information or support that members back in the UK have,” he added.

To find out more about Young Member activities in your area, you can contact Stuart at americasym@imechenetwork.org