PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT |
-------------------------------------------------------- Professional Development Event at LORAM Founded in 1954, Loram Maintenance of Way started out as a small operation consisting of two simple machines, and a handful of employees. Today, Loram has become one of the leading suppliers of track maintenance machinery and services in North America and the global market. Loram provides maintenance of way services to Class I and short line railroads, transits, and commuter rails. Come to LORAM to learn about this local company and tour their new facilities. After a presentation highlighting their LEED Silver certified building and an overview about LORAM, there will be a facilities tour and opportunities to network. Dinner will be provided which will be a finger food buffet in the Atrium. Please wear closed-toed shoes for the tour, hard hats and safety glasses will be provided. Date: Monday, April 16th, 2012 Time: 6pm – 8pm Location: LORAM Directions: From Hwy 494 in Plymouth, go west 6 miles on Hwy 55. Cost: $10 SWE-MN members, $13 for non-members, FREE-Students RSVP :Thursday, April 12th, using the PayPal link below. Questions: E-mail Elaine, Jacalyn, or Katrina at pd@swe-mn.org If you do not currently have a Paypal account, e-mail to let us know. Payment is then due day of by cash or check. -------------------------------------------------------- Professional Development Event at the Elk River Resource Processing Plant Come join SWE-MN as we dive into the world of reuse and recycle! After an informational presentation, SWE-MN members will have an opportunity to tour the Resource Processing Plant in Elk River.* "Each day, municipal solid waste from Anoka, Hennepin and Sherburne counties is delivered to the Elk River Resource Processing Plant in Elk River, Minn. Steel, aluminum and items that cannot be burned are removed and the remaining waste is chopped up before it is delivered to Elk River Energy Recovery Station as refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Over the course of a year, up to 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste is transformed into RDF. The RDF is hauled to the Elk River Energy Recovery Station where it is burned to generate enough electricity to power as many as 30,000 homes each year. Converting municipal solid waste to RDF so it can be burned to generate electricity is environmentally beneficial. Otherwise the waste would be hauled to a landfill." http://www.greatriverenergy.com/makingelectricity/biomass/elkriverresourceprocessingplant.html It is a working / producing plant where there will be daily working activity and it may be loud, but the most important thing is that it will be very interesting! Please dress for the weather (as some tour stops are not climate-controlled) and wear appropriate footwear, open toed or high heels are not permitted. On the tour you may encounter stairs and open grate walkways. The following personal protection equipment will be required and provided: hard hat, safety glasses, and hearing protection (available if requested). After filling our minds with new information about recycling and processing materials, we will fill our stomachs with some good food and conversation at Broadway Pizza in Elk River. Tour Location: 10700 165th Avenue NW, Elk River, MN 55330 Dinner Location: Broadway Pizza, 16754 Highway 10, Elk River, MN Questions: E-mail Elaine, Jacalyn, or Katrina at pd@swe-mn.org *Note: Since this is a working industrial plant, tours may need to be cancelled or modified depending on conditions at the plants. -------------------------------------------------------- 19th Annual Professional Development Spring Seminar Recap The day started with breakfast and a keynote presentation by Judy Lee, co-host of the PBS show Design Squad Nation. Her presentation was a talk to “Engineer Your Life,” reflecting on her perspective on women engineers as role models for the next generation. Her message led right into our morning set of sessions with presentations that included the following: Women Engineers as Leaders; Engineering Communication in the Real World; Green Associate/LEED AP; and, technical presentations including one on laser technologies. Accompanying the technical sessions were a variety of additional presentations such as Intelligent Careers: Thriving While Keeping Yourself Whole; Decode the Dress Code; Rethinking Education; and, The Make it or Break it Leadership Competency. After the first two sessions, lunch was served for the attendees and speakers, providing a short amount of time for networking. Once everyone was settled for lunch, attendees were able to enjoy a presentation about the State of SWE, given by Alyse Stofer, SWE President-Elect. Alyse’s presentation was followed by a brief SWE-MN business meeting announcing the FY13 election slate. The two sessions following lunch were as interesting and informative as the morning sessions. The afternoon sessions included presentations about Electronic Organization and Technical Tools. A session about creating estimates, titled “Estimate – Reflections on the Approximate” was offered as well as a session teaching attendees about the Car of Tomorrow. The last session of the day featured a session about How to Write a Resume Someone will Read, a session for attendees to learn about making a Business Golf Connection, a presentation about Greening Your Business and a session about Being Independent. After the final session, names were drawn for door prizes and attendees provided feedback on the Spring Seminar by filling out evaluation forms. We hope that those who attended the Seminar learned something new, while having fun at the same time. We especially would like to thank Medtronic for hosting the event, as well as SWE-MN sponsors for supporting SWE-MN Professional Development. We also give a HUGE thanks to the volunteers that helped us on the day of the event! Thank you to all those that attended this year’s Professional Development Spring Seminar! We hope that you will attend the Region H Conference at the University of Minnesota next year!
|
|
For web related issues, please contact Senja at webmaster@swe-mn.org.
Elaine Reeves
Katrina Sanders
Jacalyn St. Dennis
pd@swe-mn.org
FY12 Events
September 12, 2011
Fall Open House
September 19, 2011
PD Committee Meeting
November 7, 2011
PD Committee Meeting
November 15, 2011
ev3 Speaker and Tour Event
February 4, 2012
SWE-MN Career Expo
March 10, 2012
SWE-MN Spring Seminar
April 16, 2012
LORAM Speaker and Tour
May 16, 2012
Waste Management Tour