The Next Generation of Automation Professionals at ISA EXPO

All things “student” are my passion. People who know me recognize this fact. During my twenty-plus years with ISA much of my activity has centered on students. ISA does quite a bit for students, but as with many things, the Society receives little recognition for its efforts.

In my experience—at universities and colleges where there is an ISA Student section as well as the multitude of other engineering societies—though the other engineering societies probably have more members, the ISA section is more engaged with their senior (read that as working professional) counterparts. I have long engaged with the Cal Poly Pomona ISA Student Section and although they partner with IEEE quite a bit on campus, it is the ISA group that has connections with the professional community and it is the ISA student chapter that reaps the benefits from these connections. Many a student has been recruited from the ISA student chapter for full time positions following graduation as well as for internships while still in school! I have had many students express their appreciation for the close tie between the Los Angeles Section of ISA and the Cal Poly Student Section. Not only do the students benefit, but so does the Section. The Los Angeles Section Board has had numerous former students hold leadership chair positions. But even better than that: The students coordinate and run a beach party every summer for the entire student and senior membership. What a great way to get to know each other!

I don’t think that Cal Poly and ISA Los Angeles have a unique relationship. When I participate in the Council of Student Affairs meeting, yearly at Society Leader’s meetings, it is quite evident that this close relationship exists between many of our senior and student sections.

But having student sections is not enough…about 12 years ago some great leaders within ISA came up with the idea of holding a student competition at the annual fall conference. This prompted the formation of what is now called the International Student Games—one of ISA’s best kept secrets! Every year twelve teams of 4-6 students travel to Houston to participate in a full day of competing on their knowledge of automation technology and concepts. The competition has been well supported by industry who provides the equipment and problems. Even though the companies put a great amount of time and effort into these problems, I have never heard of one that didn’t want to come back to provide problems and equipment again after their first year of participation. I have to give public thanks to my own company, Emerson, who has provided problems and equipment every year of the competition—Thank you Emerson Education Services!

Unfortunately, the International Student games can only accommodate 60 students—so, how can ISA reach a broader group of students and young professional? Well, two years ago the Society came up with the concept of YAPFEST (Young Automation Professionals Festival). Allow me to set the scene two years ago when the first YAPFEST was held…It was raining—flooding might be the correct term—and under a tent in the parking lot at Reliant Center. About 200 young Automation Professionals and students got to participate in a great event. The rule was you had to be under 30 years of age to be allowed in the tent; however, an exception was made for the Executive Committee of ISA—I was fortunate enough at the time to be serving on the Committee and had the privilege of sharing a few beers, barbeque, and good music with some very enthusiastic and young members of our profession. It was a fantastic event! Truly a great networking opportunity!

This year, students and YAPs will be bringing their resumes to the event to share with YAPFEST sponsors. To learn more about the event or to become a sponsor, visit www.isa.org/yapfest.

But both the International Student Games and YAPFEST—as great as these events are—require the work of many volunteers and ISA staff people to pull them off. They also require donations or sponsorships from industry. Neither YAPFEST nor the International Student Games are supposed to be funded entirely by Society funds. Both events require donations from industry to make them successful and enjoyable for the students.

If you wish to be a sponsor of either of these great opportunities or would like to provide problems for the games—these would be much appreciated by our event coordinators—contact Chris Johnson at (919) 990-9230 or cjohnson@isa.org (YAPFEST) or Laura Crumpler at (919) 990-9232 or lcrumpler@isa.org (International Student Games) to learn more.

As all of our companies struggle with the issue of aging workforce and developing the new generation of automation professionals, keep in mind these great opportunities to attract and keep young people in automation. You never know where you will find the next Arnold Beckman, Kermit Fisher, Béla G. Lipták, W. Wayne Wittenberger, Hewlett and Packard, Bill Gates, Henry Ford, A.G. Bell, Edison, T. Jefferson, and the list goes on and on.

Districts 7 & 3 Joint District Leadership Conference Wrap-Up: Student Recruiting, Mascots, and More

Greetings from Houston, Texas—a little belated! Once again I found myself sitting in an airport, waiting for a plane home. As I write this, I am on my way home from the Joint District Leadership Conference (JDLC) at South Shore Harbor Hotel and Conference Center (20-22 June) where Districts 7 & 3 (Southeast US, Texas, and Mexico) members participated in a one and one-half days of leadership training, camaraderie, and learning about best practices for ISA.

The event was largely staged and run by Mary Cannon of the Houston Section with some help from Grady and Katherine Andrews from the Atlanta Section. For those of you that have the privilege of knowing Mary—she is a paragon of ISA enthusiasm! Mary and I have quite a history in the Society, both beginning our ISA leadership careers back in the mid-nineties (at the national level). At the time we were both—relatively speaking—young, single, blonde, and some might say (depending on your perspective)the instigators of many trouble or fun-filled escapades. But the bond that has truly cemented our friendship over the years has been a passion for all things “student” with regards to ISA.

There have been many champions of student activities within the Society besides myself, including 2009 President Dr. Gerald Cockrell, Sheldon Weatherby, Mike Perron, and Don Thompson; but, Mary has been one of the stalwart contributors to students for many years now and continues to be the Society’s leading student recruiter. How Mary finds the time to balance her work schedule and the many, MANY visits she makes to schools in the Houston area to discuss ISA and the automation profession in general never ceases to amaze me. Ms. Cannon’s enthusiasm is infectious and I always feel renewed and re-energized after hanging with Mary for a few hours!

This exuberance carried over into the discussions at the JDLC, with its many highlights: a tour at NASA arranged by Zafar Taqvi, a presentation on creativity and mind mapping—an excellent tool when your boss says “think out of the box” according to Connie Harryman, a guest speaker—and a great talk on how to…as well as how not to…recruit volunteers.

Probably the most significant conversation was with Glenn Allen of Southern Polytechnic University in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Allen has established a Mechatronics degree which will be accredited by ABET in a year when they graduate their first set of students. The degree is part electrical engineering, part chemical engineering and part computer/science/robotics—according to Professor Allen…Sound familiar? This is how most of us would describe the necessary background to be in Automation. Not only did Professor Allen establish a great program—which is growing, by the way—he is working with “Best Robots,” a program to attract young math and science types into engineering, and is working with the Georgia State government on workforce development. Professor Allen may not know it yet, but there is a huge sucking sound from a vacuum pulling him into the ISA circle. He has an interesting perspective on what is needed to match our education system to current and future societal and industry needs, instead of teaching the same degrees the same way.

The other significant conversation was around the need for a mascot for ISA. An image we can rally around, promote and use to gain recognition. Some of us (those who participated in the Districts 8, 9, 10, 11 JDLC) think that Tiki Picture should be considered. But there are numerous possibilities. If you have any bright ideas please communicate them.

Congratulations to Mary, Grady, Catherine, and all the leaders of Districts 7 & 3 for a great event. I hope to participate again next year!

Volunteers

Volunteerism is alive and well. Not only is it alive and well, but what volunteers can accomplish is incredible. Most of us need look no further than our local Boy Scouts of America. This was brought home to me last week when I participated in my son’s Cub Scout day camp.

This is an amazing event. Two thousand cub scouts descend on O’Neil Park in South Orange County California—in two shifts: One thousand from 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and another thousand from 2:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Keep in mind that there is at least one adult for every four cub scouts and several hundred boy scouts earning service hours by participating as “Orange Shirts” (Counselors and assistants). In addition, there are also about hundred or so siblings in attendance at “sibling camp” as well as numerous Emergency Medical Technicians, law enforcement people, and firemen on hand to keep everyone safe. These people (including the firemen, law enforcement, and EMT’s) are volunteering their time to work for these kids…They do not get paid to participate in this event!

We participated in the afternoon shift, so our day began with trying to time our entrance into the park at the right moment: after the morning shift left but before the rest of the afternoon attendees showed up. There is about a 30 second window to accomplish this! Luckily, there are lots of Orange Shirts directing traffic and telling us where to park to drop off our little guys.

After mustering with our group we began rotating through the activities earning belt loops (Cub equivalent of merit badges) and points towards rank advancement throughout the day (and week). The activities included building bird houses (there is something about 30 or 40 little boys with saws and hammers in their hands that makes me nervous), water bottle rockets (a slightly more high tech version that the ones my son and I made a few weeks ago), Go Cart races (they just look dangerous and feel dangerous when a couple little boys are pushing and another is “behind the wheel”), archery (if 30 or 40 boys with saws frightens me, think how I felt when I saw 50 or 60 with bows and arrows), flag football, soccer, marbles, and owl pellet dissecting (just think about a hairball from a cat with the bonus of small critter bones—that is what we were dissecting…totally disgusting but very interesting!). And, if you could stomach it after the owl-pellets, solar baked apples and cub-made ice cream and last but not least a good ol’ fashioned water/mud fight.

It was hot. It was dusty. But the boys were having far too much fun to realize the important lessons they were learning: sportsmanship, being part of a team, sharing, looking out for each other, plus all the technical stuff they learned. But the biggest lesson I hope they learned is the value of giving to your community. Without hundreds of volunteers, this event would be a no go. The core team of volunteers that organizes and coordinates the event is phenomenal. They have the rotations and people control down to a science—there must be someone from Disneyland on the crew! But their single most underappreciated attribute has to be their commitment to youth. We can’t produce leaders for the future unless we take the time to show them the way: how to be leaders, how to be volunteers, and how to give back to their community.

My hat is off to the staff of Saddleback Valley Day Camp. They set the standard in volunteerism, and they do it with a staff of about 10 people. Imagine what we can do with our membership of 30,000 in ISA? The possibilities are endless.