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Kansas Professional Engineer eNews

April 2006, Issue 1

In this Issue:

• KSPE Newsletter goes to Electronic Format

• President's Message: Image Development Begins at Home

• 2006 KSPE Annual Conference: “Professional Engineers: Making America Safe”

• State MATHCOUNTS Competition

• Executive Director's Message: KSPE Leaders Working to Change NSPE

• KSPE Welcomes New Members

• ACEC Kansas Spring Conference on Design-Build

• Wichita Chapter Members Speak to Students about Engineering

• How to Pass the Professional Engineering Licensing Exams (FE and PE)

• Kansas Dam Safety Program

• Letter of Map Change Training Sponsored by Kansas Division of Water Resources
   

KSPE Newsletter goes to Electronic Format

You are receiving the first electronic newsletter from The Kansas Society of Professional Engineers.  The Kansas Professional Engineer eNews will be sent to your email at least bi-monthly.  The new format will allow members to access the newsletter anytime, from anywhere. Although we have changed our format, you will still receive the same great information regarding upcoming events and news relating to engineers.

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President's Message: Image Development Begins at Home

by Shawn O'Leary, P.E.

On our behalf, our local chapters along with KSPE and NSPE work every day to maintain and improve the image of the Professional Engineer in our respective communities.  This is accomplished mostly through legislative activities and public relations campaigns.  Each time the average person hears the word “engineer” associated with something positive, such as MATHCOUNTS, our professional image is enhanced.  But, like so many other things, the most effective method to elevate the image of the Professional Engineer is to have it done one member at a time within our own communities.  What are you doing in this regard?

The options are endless.  How about volunteering actively with your local chamber of commerce?  KSPE Past President Rick Ensz served in that capacity in the Johnson County area for years, eventually rising to the role of chairman.  Every time Rick was seen in that capacity the citizens of his community associated his engineering profession with the good work that he was doing for the chamber.  If the chamber is not your bag, there are numerous other volunteer leadership positions in our communities that may be more comfortable for engineers.  My friend Tim Austin in Wichita, another KSPE past president, found a niche with the Wichita (Mid-Continent) Airport Authority where he has received very high exposure due to the focus on air travel in that community.

If your family time is limiting your options for service to other community agencies, have you considered the reciprocal value of civic clubs or service to youth organizations to your family?  For instance, one of our KSPE members currently serves as Vice President of his local Lions Club.  In exchange, that club sponsors his children in their 4H activities including assisting him with several of their club projects such as gavel games and CO2 cars.  Another one of our members has a passion for little league baseball and has had the great pleasure of coaching his sons’ teams over the years.  Of course, those teams need to raise more than $1,000 each year to field the team.  That member has appealed to his local Rotary Club, of which he is an active member, for sponsorship of his baseball team.

If you are wanting to start small and work up, how about attending a local public forum on an upcoming infrastructure project?  Consider volunteering in your local schools to tutor students or to acquaint them with the benefits of an engineering career.  Or how about serving on some other local committee in which you may be the only Professional Engineer, providing you the opportunity to network with other professionals in your community?

Whichever option you choose, I strongly encourage you to ask yourself today, “What am I doing to elevate the image of Professional Engineers in my community?”  If you are currently doing all you can, thank you.  If you do not have a good answer, it is never too late to start.  Like most volunteer service, I trust you will get back tenfold what you put in.  And, in exchange, the image of our profession will be enhanced as well.

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2006 KSPE Annual Conference: “Professional Engineers: Making America Safe”

Outstanding speakers, continuing education, and networking opportunities make up the 2006 KSPE Annual Conference.  The meeting will take place June 28-30 at the Doubletree Hotel in Overland Park.

The Conference begins Wednesday, June 28^th with the annual KSPE Golf Tournament and Ice Breaker Reception at Deer Creek Golf Course in Overland Park.

On Thursday, June 29^th, speakers will address topics dealing with disaster experiences and solutions such as what we’ve learned from Katrina, how the threat of terrorism has changed the design of buildings and what local communities in Kansas are doing to prepare for natural disasters.  You won’t want to miss presentations by the Corps of Engineers, Department of Homeland Security and the National Weather Service.  In addition, the conference will also provide an update on I-35, the Sprint Arena and energy alternatives such as wind and fuel cells. 

Thursday’s program will also feature the Engineer of the Year Luncheon, President’s Reception and Order of the Engineer Ceremony.  Vendor exhibits will be on display during the day as well.

On Friday, June 30^th, the agenda will feature presentations on the Global Flyer and the Tuttle Creek Dam Project.  A special tour of the GM Fairfax Plant is also planned for the final day.

Registration for KSPE Members is $225 which includes all food functions, education sessions and all PDH documentation.  Participation in the golf tournament is a separate fee.  For additional information and to register online, please go to KSPE Annual Conference.

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State MATHCOUNTS Competition Winners Announced

The 23^rd annual Kansas MATHCOUNTS Competition was held on Saturday, March 11, 2006, at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kansas.  Students from across the state competed in a timed mathematics competition that emphasizes both individual and team skills.  Volunteers from the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers administered, proctored, and scored the competition.

The top four individuals will represent Kansas at the Lockheed Martin National MATHCOUNTS Competition in Washington, DC.  The coach of the top team is the coach of the Kansas team.

*click on photos to enlarge
First Place Individual - Jason Hoffman, Overland Trail Middle School, Overland Park and Coach Michelle Hoffman alongside KSPE President Shawn O'Leary, P.E. and Jay Freund	First Place team - Washburn Rural Middle School, Topeka. Team members: Teddy Christensen, Dylan Davis, Sam Ho, and Hyunjee Kwak; Coach, Betsy Wiens and Assistant Coach, Jo Marie Rozzelle	Competitors hard at work

The top four individuals were each awarded a scholarship to the Future Astronaut Training Program at the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson.  The scholarships were provided by the Raytheon Company and the Engineers’ Foundation of Kansas.

MATHCOUNTS is a national mathematics enrichment, coaching and competition program that increases enthusiasm and enhances achievement in middle schools throughout the United States. 

Founding Sponsors of MATHCOUNTS are: National Society of Professional Engineers; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and CNA Foundation.  National Sponsors are: ADC Foundation; General Motors Foundation; Lockheed Martin; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Raytheon Company; Shell Oil Company; Texas Instruments Incorporated; 3M Foundation; and Xerox Corporation.

MATHCOUNTS in Kansas is sponsored by the Engineers’ Foundation of Kansas.

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Executive Director's Message: KSPE Leaders Working to Change NSPE

by Ron Gaches

If you’re a national organization with a diverse membership in 50 states and three territories, nothing is more difficult to successfully implement than change.  It’s easy to keep doing the “same old same old.”  Keep keeping on.  Rerunning the same themes, programs and services.

What’s hard is to chart a new course, change the compass setting and head in a new direction.  First comes the imagination to see the new way.  Second comes the consensus building to support the new way.  Third comes the plan to show the new way.  Fourth, and most difficult, comes the work in the trenches to make the new way a reality.  No organization was ever transformed just because it wanted to be.  It had to be built, rebuilt, from the ground up.

There’s where NSPE is right now.  We’re rebuilding from the ground up.  National staff are moving in and out.  Resources are being realigned.  Old programs are being scrapped or reprioritized in favor of new programs.

As everyone who has ever taken on a major rebuilding project (any old Chevy, treehouse, barn or national professional society will do) knows, not every thing goes according to plan.  NSPE has learned this difficult lesson with the roll out of its new Association Management System.  The highly complex and innovative AMS was supposed to bring NSPE membership recording keeping, financial management and member services flying into the 21^st century.  Instead, the system failed to anticipate the complexity of the NSPE membership renewal process and overwhelmed NSPE office staff with manual work that delayed financial reporting, distribution of funds to state societies and local chapters and shook the confidence of those urging NSPE to make changes.

My suggestion, please be patient.  NSPE is working on the right things.  Refocusing the Society on service to Professional Engineers and becoming a state-centric organization is exactly the right thing to do.  Moreover, the organization is just starting to implement the new governance structure that needed to go hand-in-hand with the new Mission.

Two KSPE members will play important roles in that new governance structure.  Current KSPE President Shawn O’Leary has been selected by your Board of Directors to serve as the Kansas representative on the NSPE House of Delegates, and Past President Tim Austin has been selected by the North Central Region as our nominee to serve on the NSPE Board of Directors.  Under the new governance model, the NSPE Board is a much smaller governing body and each member will have substantially more influence over the outcome of key policies than in the past. 

Shawn and Tim have both been very active in recent years attending NSPE meetings and actively participating in debate about changing the Society.  Your Region and State interests will be well represented by both.

Change IS difficult.  It requires strong leadership and perseverance.  The leadership team is being assembled with the strength and perseverance to make the new NSPE a reality.  Your Kansas Society will play an important role.

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KSPE Welcomes New Members

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ACEC Kansas Spring Conference on Design-Build

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Wichita Chapter Members Speak to Students about Engineering

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How to Pass the Professional Engineering Licensing Exams (FE and PE)

By Dennis Dahlquist, P.E.

It’s time to get ready for the professional engineering exams again and time to review some strategies for passing the Professional Engineering examinations (Fundamentals of Engineering, FE and Professional Engineer, PE).  The following are some of the strategies that many people have found useful in preparing for and taking the exam.  Dennis Dahlquist, PE teaches review courses for the Fundamentals of Engineering, FE (formerly known as the Engineering in Training examination, EIT) and the Electrical Engineering Professional Engineering Exam, EE PE. 

If you are interested in taking the Professional Engineering exams, contact the state board of the state in which you want to be licensed (in California; California Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors www.dca.ca.gov/pels).  To find the state board contact information, you could use your favorite web search engine or PPI has a nice page showing the US map to fine your state of interest (www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_map-usalink.html).  You will also want to refer to National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) web site, www.ncees.org.  You may also consider taking a review course before the exam.  Check around.  There are many for the FE and some for the PE’s (CE, ME, EE, etc.).  To find review courses, check with NSPE, www.nspe.org, to find the state society of interest (like CSPE), or check out PPI’s web site, www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_review-review.html.  Professional Publications Inc., PPI is a good source for review books. 

These examinations require review.  They are not to be taken lightly.  The State Board of Registration has the latest data on the previous exams; however the pass rates (number of people passing) are in the range of 20% to 50% (National data, 70% to 80%, www.ncees.org/exams/pass_rates).  This varies from exam to exam and year to year.  The passing data can be confusing.  Looking at the national passing data, the passing rates look much higher.  Keep in mind however, that these passing scores are averaged with many other states.  It is probably best to check with the state board in the state you are going to take the exam in for the best data on the exam passing rates.

The exams are not easy and this is by design.  The exams are designed by engineers, for engineers.  The key point here is that the exam is a multi-level test of one's engineering ability.  To pass the exam, you must engineer your way to the exam and through the exam.  You engineer your way to the exam by studying and reviewing the necessary material, and engineer your way through the exam by using good engineering technique.  The bad news is that you need to take a different approach to the exam than the old college way (especially if you crammed the night before exams).  The good news is that the approach you need to take for the exam is an engineering approach (one you are more familiar with now).

Exam Format

The first of the licensing exam series is the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE).  It is a multiple-choice, closed-book test (however, a reference book is provided, www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook/).  The exam includes a morning of general engineering problems and is followed by the afternoon section where you have your choice of a general or a discipline specific exam.  The second test of the series, The Professional Engineer exam, is discipline specific.  It is also a multiple choice exam, but is an open-book exam with a combination of breath (morning) and depth (afternoon) of the discipline.  You qualify to take this exam after passing the FE and completing some years as a practicing engineer (this varies somewhat state to state, but usually ranges from 2 to 4 years, check with the state board).  

Becoming a P.E. (short version)

Acquire a good education, a Bachelors (BS) or a Masters (MS) engineering degree from an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology www.abet.org) accredited school.  This will save you some qualifying time for the exams.  Take the FE while you are finishing school (if not, take a review course tailored for people who have been out of school for some time).  Work in your discipline for the number of years required by the Board, (this varies based upon education, discipline, and state), and take the PE exam in your discipline. Upon passing the exam you become a Consulting Engineer, also known as a Licensed Professional Engineer (and you can now legally put P.E. after your name).

I am signed up for the exam what do I do now? 

How do you engineer your way to the exam?  Seek out review courses near you (CSPE is offering seminars on how to pass the FE and PE, www.cspe.com).  Find others who are planning to take the exam and form a study group.  Work problems, problems, problems.  Obviously, you have other obligations, however, you want to make a commitment to yourself to pass this exam.  Set up a schedule for studying.  You are preparing yourself for a mental marathon.  Just as you wouldn't try to run 26 miles without training for it, you can't expect to pass the exams without studying.  The more problems you work, the better.  However, you don't want to just work on the problems you like.  Working on the other problems expands your ability to work a larger range of problems. 

Materials You Will Need

When working practice problems in preparation for the exam; use the same materials that you will be using on the exam, calculator(s) and reference books.  You want to be very familiar with your tools. 

Reference books:  For the FE your FE Reference Handbook (http://www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook/) will be provided to you (so prior to the exam you want to be familiar with it).  The PE is open book, so you can take what you want.  But, you had best know the references you are planning to take into the exam, because there is no time during the exam to read books. 

Calculators:  No computers or any calculator with communication capability are currently allowed during the exam.  To find out the latest information on calculators allowed on the exam, check out NCEES Calculator Policy (http://www.ncees.org/exams/calculators/).   Also make sure to check with the state board for the current rules on what is acceptable in the exam.

Exam Preparation and Performance

While you are doing your practice problems, try to not use your calculator very much.  "What do you mean? This is engineering; you HAVE to use the calculator!"...you might say.  However, remember that the exam is a test of your engineering ability, not how well you use a calculator.  This is an engineering exam, not a math test.  Calculator time is "dead" time.  Every time you use your calculator it is time you are not spending "thinking" about (engineering) the problem at hand.  Yes, you will need to use your calculator, just use it wisely.  How does one calculate without using a calculator?  Use your brain, it is much faster!  For example, what is the common log of 1000?  Before you reach for your calculator, think about it.  What is the power of ten representation of 1000?  1000 is ten to the third power.  What is the log of 1000, it is 3!  See you can do it without a calculator.  Fine you say, but what about the log of 2,354?  Well, you can come up with a close approximation of 2,354.  You know the log of 1,000 is 3 and the log of 10,000 is 4, so the log of 2,354 is between 3 and 4, and closer to 3.  This may be enough information to isolate an answer in a multiple-choice question or at least throw out some answers.

Try to check your answers as much as possible.  I realize that you are under time restrictions; however, you want to at least estimate your answer.  Under the, "stress of test" you can hit extra keys on the calculator (or maybe make a calculation error) and by mentally estimating or doing an alternate solution, you will be able to catch these errors.

Study hard and study well.  You want to practice exam conditions when solving the practice problems.  This means you probably will not have a TV (or computer) during the exam, so don't study with the TV.  On the other hand, you probably will not have a completely quiet and isolated room either, so study accordingly.

FE Reference Handbook:  For the FE exam, get a hard copy of the book and use it while you are studying.  You will want to be as familiar with this reference as you can, it will be the only reference you will have during the exam.  You will not be able to take in your copy of the FE Reference Handbook to the FE exam, but they will give you a new copy at the exam (so, make sure when you are studying you are using the version that will be at the FE exam). 

For the PE exam, I would also recommend getting a hard copy of the Fundamentals of Engineering Reference Handbook and including it with your reference materials you take into the exam.  The FE Reference Handbook has the discipline specific information, which would make it a good reference for the PE exams.  It would certainly help on the breath section of the exam (the morning part of the PE exam).

Just before the exam, get two good nights of sleep.  This is not to imply that you sleep for 16 hours before the exam.  That will create another set of problems.  It seems that today's society is run by a lot of people under sleep deprivation and you want a useful rested brain for the exam.

Don't cram before the exam.  This may have worked in college, but it doesn't work well for the Professional Engineering exams.  Being rested for the exams is very important.  You will know a lot of information for the exam if you have studied along the way.  However, it will be of no use to you if your brain is asleep on the exam day.

Strategies During the Exam

You want to develop a plan for the exam.  One I recommend is to read the exam.  Read through all the questions and classify them into; "easy", "will require some work", and "I don't know ".  This should take 6 - 12 minutes, depending on the exam and you.  Implement your plan.  The easy ones are best to answer during the first pass through as you read them; however, watch the time.  Don't spend all of your time on the problem(s) you like.  Get them done as soon as possible.  You are going to have to spend your time on the others, i.e., the ones you don't like as much.  If the whole exam is easy for you, great, do it and go home.  For most people, there aren’t enough of the "easy" problems for them to pass the exam (otherwise the pass rates would be higher).

On the "will require some work" problems, don't spend your time completely calculating the problems.  A natural human reaction is to start at the beginning and serially move to the end.  You don't have time for that.  Check as you are calculating, to see if you have enough information to isolate the answer.  For multiple-choice questions, if two answers are correct and there is a selection for "all", select it and go on. Don't take the time to prove to yourself all the answers are correct.  Use the answers from multiple choice questions to back calculate, this can save you time.  You need to be efficient with your time. 

Make sure that when you are answering a question, you are filling in the answer for that question.  For example, if you are answering question 33, make sure you are filling in the answer for 33.  It may seem unnecessary to even mention this; of course for problem 33 you would fill the answer for problem 33.  But you must remember during the stress of test you might not.  Many times I have heard from people after taking the exam.  They thought they had done quite well upon leaving the exam realize their answer sheet did not reflect the questions they had skipped over.  Taking the last 5 to 10 minutes of the exam to check your answers will not work very well on these exams.  You will need to develop your own methods of check to make sure you have answered the correct question.

By reading the "I don't know" problems again, you may discover that they can be moved into the category of "may require some work".  If not, do some intelligent guessing.  If you find yourself in a problem and it just looks too hard, remind yourself that you are not "looking" at it correctly.  This helps in two main ways.  First is that this will cause you to re-look at the problem and there may be something you missed.  The second is more of a psychological help.  If you think it is too hard for you, you may convince yourself and give up.  Don't give up; just look at it differently.  That is the main point of being an engineer.  Don't give up; try another way. That's what being an engineer is all about, trying until you find a solution.  The people who give up are not engineers; the people who get it done are engineers.

Summary Check List:

Before the exam:

• Check with the Board for an Application and current requirements for the exams.

• Develop a plan for the exam.  How are you going to engineer your way to and through the exam? One specialty area is not enough to pass the exam.

• Study for the exam, take a review course, and/or form a study group. 

• Familiarize yourself with your calculator and reference materials. 

• Make sure you going into the exam fully rested.

On the exam:

• Read all the problems and sort by difficulty.

• Estimate as much as possible.

• Make efficient use of the calculator and your time.

• Keep in mind, if it looks too hard you are not looking at it correctly.

• Check the answers; make sure your answer is the answer to the question asked.

Good luck, on your path to becoming a professional engineer.

Links for further information:

•  ABET, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology www.abet.org

• PEI, Professional Engineering Institute:  www.pereview.com

• PPI, Professional Publications, Incorporated:  www.ppi2pass.com

• State Board locator: www.ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIInfo_pg_map-usalink.html

• Kansas State Board of Technical Professions: http://www.kansas.gov/ksbtp/engineers.html

• How to pass FE and PE exam seminars:  http://www.cspe.com/FunctionalAreas/StudentYouth/howtopass.htm

• NCEES, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES):  www.ncees.org

• FE your reference book www.ncees.org/exams/study_materials/fe_handbook)

• Calculator Policy www.ncees.org/exams/calculators

Dennis Dahlquist, P.E is a consulting engineer in California. He teaches Electrical Engineering and general Engineering courses at California State University, Sacramento.  He has taught review courses for 20 years for the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Electrical Engineering (EEPE) licensing exams, with pass rates near 90%. He can be reached by email at: d.dahlquist@ieee.org, 2006

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Kansas Dam Safety Program

Letter of Map Change Training Sponsored by Kansas Division of Water Resources

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