From Cale Yates:

I am planning an inside tour of the Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant Complex for the IEEE Kansas City Section. This is to occur some time in February, 2009. However, before I formally approach the Wolf Creek Administration with my tour request, I need a firm headcount of those who want to attend. For security reasons, I must limit those attending this function to current IEEE members. If you would like to attend, please e-mail me the following information by Friday, 30 January 2009:

• Full Name
• Complete Home Address
• Social Security Number
• Date of Birth
• Driver's License Number
• US Citizenship Status

I apologize for asking for rather personal information, but Wolf Creek does a background check on each potential attendee prior to approving them for the tour. Wolf Creek takes about two weeks to complete the process.

If you have any questions at all about the proposed tour, call or e-mail me anytime.

Cale Yates
C: (816) 809-3014
H: (816) 795-5682
E: cbyates3 @comcast.net"
 

The IEEE, Kansas City Section has agreed to sponsor the 2011 IEEE Radar Conference, to be held at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, MO the week of May 23-27, 2011.

As will be established in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU):

As a co-sponsor with the Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society of IEEE, the Kansas City Section will be entitled to a percentage of the monetary surplus of the conference as determined by the respective party’s sponsorship contribution.  The IEEE Radar Conference is the preeminent conference in the field of radar held annually in the US and is attended by world-renowned experts in radar systems and advanced radar technology.

Details and contact information are coming soon. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact radarconf @ieee.kc.org (paste into your e-mail client and remove the spaces; we don't do live e-mail links due to spambots).

From our 2008 Section Secretary, Debby Dilks:

If you were at the G.O.L.D. meeting earlier this month, you're aware of something very special.

Dean Kamen (founder of the Segway, portable dialysis machine, and many other inventions) wanted to get high school students excited about math, science, and engineering the way they were excited about football and basketball. In 1989, he started FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology).

Over sixty high school teams (from all over the metro area and beyond) converge upon Hale Arena to pit their robot's skills against each other. I compare the competition to a mix of an invitational basketball tournament and a rock concert. Last year we almost filled Hale Arena with parents, siblings, teachers, high school administrators, sports coaches (to check out the competition, I am sure), school groups, volunteers, and general spectators.

Fast Facts about the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition

• 1,686 teams (as of 1/02/09)
• 42,150 high-school students
• Teams From the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Turkey, and the U.K.
• 40 Regional events in the U.S., Canada, and Israel; seven District competitions and one State Championship in Michigan
• FIRST Robotics Competition Championship at the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, GA, April 16-18, 2009
• Robots are built in 6 weeks from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST, and weigh up to 120 lbs. (excluding battery and bumpers)

As I mentioned at that recent meeting, I am on the Regional Planning Committee for KC FIRST (www.kcfirst.org) to get volunteers for the high school Robotics competition to be held February 26-28 at Hale Arena - Kemper, in Kansas City. The event starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 4 or 5 p.m., but volunteers don't need to be there all three days or even all eight hours. If you can give me just two or four hours, that will help.

Admission is free/Parking is $7, if you just want to come down and see what it is about. But if you want to join in the fun, I am in-charge of the Practice Field and I would like to get eight or more volunteers to work either Friday or Saturday.

Other volunteer positions include:

• Ambassador
• Ambassador Coordinator
• Assign As Needed
• AutoDesk Attendant
• Awards Assistant
• Crowd Control
• Field Assembly/Disassembly
• Field Repair/Reset
• Field Supervisor
• Game Announcer
• Head Referee
• Judge
• Judge Advisor
• Judge Assistant
• Lead Robot Inspector
• Lead Safety Advisor
• Lead Safety Glasses Attendant
• Lead Team Queuer
• Lead Website Evaluator
• Machine Shop Attendant
• Machine Shop Shuttle Driver
• Machine Shop Staff
• Master of Ceremonies (Emcee)
• Official Scorer
• Pit Administration Supervisor
• Pit Administration Support
• Pit Announcer
• Practice Field Attendant
• Referee
• Registration System Assistant
• Registration System Supervisor
• Replacement Parts Attendant
• Robot Inspector
• Safety Advisor
• Safety Exit Monitor - Championship
• Safety Glasses Attendant
• Scholarship Attendant
• Scorekeeper/Field Power Controller
• Team Queuing
• Team Social Attendant
• VIP/Media Check-in Table
• Volunteer Lounge Monitor
• Volunteer Registration/Information Table Website Evaluator Website Evaluator Advisor

Please visit https://my.usfirst.org/vims/

If you have any questions, please send email to volunteer @ usfirst.org (remove the spaces)

Thank You for volunteering for FIRST.

Austin Nichols, a technical search firm that specializes in engineering and manufacturing positions in the Kansas City area, is seeking candidates for the following positions:


MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEER. This position will provide program and engineering assistance for the assembly processes.

Requirements:

• Demonstrated knowledge of basic manufacturing and assembly processes together with work measurement and work standards.
• Proficient in technical writing and documentation; ability to read and interpret engineering drawings is required.
• Prior experience with an ISO-9000 AS-9000 environment.
• Understanding of Six-Sigma, Lean Manufacturing.
• 4 year technical degree BSEE, BSEET or BSME is preferred – appropriate 2 year degree may be considered.
• 0 – 4 years experience in maintaining production and inventory control standards in a manufacturing setting.

Please send resumes to: RESEARCH@austintec.com
 

MECHANICAL DESIGN ENGINEER. This position will provide engineering technical support and design input for military and commercial electro-mechanical assemblies and boxes as well as wire harness and cabling programs.

Requirements:

• Broad knowledge of military or commercial harness or cable design.
• Working knowledge of quality workmanship standards (Six Sima, DOE, FMEA).
• Computer proficiency in AutoCad, 3D CAD (SolidWorks or Pro-E helpful).
• 4 year technical degree, BSME, BSEE, BSMET, BSEET or equivalent.
• Minimum 2 years experience in a manufacturing facility in an engineering function.

Please send resumes to: RESEARCH@austintec.com

 

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER. This position will work with other systems engineers on fuel cell systems engineering, sizing and design of various control layouts and software development.

Requirements:
BSEE

• 3 – 7 years experience in design of power conversion AC-DC inverters/DC-DC converters with some experience in printed circuit board architecture and design also preferred.
• Experience in PLC programming and systems control logic and design.
• Proficient in CAD, ProEngineer WildFire 2.0/3.0 preferred.

Please send resumes to: RESEARCH@austintec.com



CORROSION SPECIALIST

Requirements:

• High school or equivalent.
• 5 – 10 years of relevant cathodic protection experience.
• Certified NACE Corrosion Specialist.
• ASNT Level II Certification.
• Prefer formal electrical training.
• Knowledge of underground and aboveground fuel storage systems.

Please send resumes to: RESEARCH@austintec.com