MINUTES OF AIAA NEW ENGLAND SECTION COUNCIL MEETING,

6 December  2004

Members present: Ray and Elise Erikson, Ian Dargin, Rick DeMeis, Doug Joyce, Mario Miani, Bill Miller, Gene Niemi, Paul Schwartz, Roy Walters, Peter Young

1. The November 1 Council Meeting minutes were reviewed and approved.  Charlie Wilson had e-mailed in the Treasurer’s report and the present checking account balance stands at $7157.  The Dec 2004 issue of the Aerospace New England newsletter was handed out and reviewed.

2. Ray Erikson led a review and discussion of the remaining budget items for the year.

- To save food costs at future Council meetings, only appetizers and beverages will be provided; Council members will be responsible for bringing any food for themselves to the monthly meetings.

- For the upcoming talk by Prof. Missy Cummings at MIT (9 December), Pete Young has arranged for the refreshment expenses to be paid by the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department.

3. Plant visits in the local area.  These have been quite successful in the past and are a good way to extend the AIAA’s presence to companies and organizations that are active in the aerospace industry. The Council decided to plan a plant visit in March or April and the following persons were named to contact the companies listed:

- Pete Young, General Electric (GEAE), Lynn MA

- Rick DeMeis, BAE, Nashua NH

- Doug Joyce, Kollsman Instruments, Merrimack NH

- Gene Niemi, Parker-Hannifin, Fort Devins MA

These contacts should be made ASAP and word sent back to Ray Erikson by the end of the week, if possible.

4. Space Day, mid-May. A general discussion ensued as to what types of activities to plan for this annual event.  The Council  agreed to see if Linda Fuhrman, Draper Labs, could provide an overview and update on NASA’s Concept Exploration and Refinement (CE&R) series of architectural studies that will form the foundation for future manned (and unmanned) space exploration missions.  Ray Erikson will contact Linda on this matter.

5. Annual Honors and Awards Banquet.  The past H&A Banquet and the upcoming (Feb 16, 2005) were discussed and reviewed.

- Bill Miller reported that the Feb 2004 event had 98 dinners served with 25 anniversary honorees and their spouses. The total bill paid to the Best Western was $3091 and $770 was taken in as income from tickets sold.  A $5 off PayPal incentive didn’t help the cash flow situation. Finally, in addition to the local Section honorees, the Council budget also paid for three rooms for overnight stays.

- For the upcoming Feb 05 H&A event, we are not planning to pay for any overnight stays and we expect a smaller turnout of anniversary honorees.

- The following price structure was discussed, voted upon, and agreed:

- $30 per person  - AIAA members paying in advance.

- $15 for students

- $35 for non-members paying in advance, and AIAA members paying at the door

- $40 for non-members paying at the door 

The Point of Contact for RSVPs, advance payments, etc. is Paul Schwartz.

6. Further nominees for Section Awards. After discussion, the following individuals were approved for Section Awards to be presented at the Feb. H&A banquet:

- College Student – Tom Zangle, Dartmouth College, Hanover NH

- Pre-College – Troy Coverstone, St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury, MA

Paul Schwartz and Pete Young will provide follow-up and coordination with these individuals.

7. Annual Meeting, June 2005. After discussion, the Council voted to invite an AIAA Distinguished Lecturer to speak at the Collings Foundation annual Open House in Stow MA.  The following names will be submitted to National as our choices for this event:

- Norm Thagard, NASA Astronaut

- George Ka’iliwai, Technical Advisor, Air Force Flight Test Center

- Thomas Morgenfeld, Lockheed-Martin  Test Pilot

- Mike Francis, manager for X-Planes and UCAV's.

The meeting was adjourned at 8pm.

Peter Young