Patrick M. Brown International SAWE President Cessna Aircraft Company th I am pleased to invite you to attend the 70 Annual International Conference of the Society of Allied Weight Engineers, Inc. in Houston, Texas. This year our conference is hosted by the Houston Chapter. This will mark the Chapter’s first time for hosting an International Conference. Personally, it is very exciting to participate in a first time event. Founded in 1836 and named after General Sam Houston, the city’s economy is based on energy, manufacturing, aerospace, transportation, and health care. In fact, Houston has the largest concentration of healthcare and research institutions in the world and is known as the energy capital of the world. Houston is also home to NASA’s Johnson Space Center where the famous Mission Control Center resides. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage. Houston is the largest city in Texas and the 6th largest city in the United States. With its rich history and global presence, Houston represents not only an outstanding growth opportunity for our Society but also an ideal location for our International Conference. The host hotel is the Hilton Houston Westchase. Located on the outer loop highway on the southwest side of the city, the hotel is well situated for access from all major thoroughfares and airports. The Westchase has all the amenities that one would expect from a Hilton Hotel. With 295 guest rooms and 13,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, the hotel is perfectly sized for our conference. I can personally attest that there are several fine shopping and dining establishments within sight of the hotel and well within walking distance. If you have never attended an SAWE International Conference (or even if you have), Houston is the right time and the right place. This International Conference is a unique opportunity to meet with fellow practitioners of the mass properties discipline from all areas of the field and from all points on the globe. This is your opportunity to share, listen, and learn from engineers who understand the peculiarities of your work. If you do not know how you are going to convince your company to send you, write a paper, become a Chapter Director, become an International Officer, get engaged in your work. Convince your company that Exhibitors and Sponsors representing materials, mass measuring, aircraft manufacturing, shipbuilding, and offshore marine will be there to show off their latest products. These products are designed specifically to help solve mass properties problems from the simplest to the most complex, making you and your company more efficient and profitable. I am confident that the Executive Committee and the Houston Chapter are working hard to bring you the best technical content, training, Exhibitor and Sponsor support that will make you successful in the coming year. If you have to walk, run, swim, boat, drive, fly, roller-skate, or ride a train, make every effort to attend this conference. If you cannot make it, you will surely be missed. Regards, Patrick Brown 2 ©2010 SAWE – www.sawe.org Conference Announcement Rick Watkins Conference Chairman Altair Engineering The Houston Chapter of the SAWE is honored to have been selected as the site for the 70th annual International Conference on Mass Properties and is looking forward to May 2011 with much anticipation. We are a relatively new Chapter, but very eager to make sure everyone enjoys a healthy dose of Texas hospitality while they are here. The members of the local Host Committee have put together a fantastic array of technical presentations and social events to make the 70th annual conference one you do not want to miss. As Houston’s mass properties professionals are split between the offshore and aerospace industries, we are using this conference to springboard the Society’s efforts to expand our presence in the growing industry of offshore engineering, while continuing to advance the state-of-the-art in one of our core areas of expertise. Being near the Gulf Coast and also in a major metropolitan area affords this year’s conference a wonderful diversity of options for our social outings. One specific departure from previous conferences is the sheer number of official social events. Even with the added activities, we were far from covering all that Houston has to offer. As in previous years, we have negotiated reduced rates at the conference hotel for those wishing to come early or stay late, so we encourage everyone to bring their families and soak up the friendly atmosphere. I look forward to seeing you in Houston. Rick ©2010 SAWE – www.sawe.org 3 Conference Announcement Vendors and Sponsors William Griffiths Paul Kennedy VP Vendor Relations Deputy VP Vendor Relations The Aerospace Corporation Space Electronics LLC Claudia Rosenberger Alfred Munoz Deputy VP Vendor Relations Chapter Vendor Coordinator usb GmbH SBM Atlantia On behalf of the International Society of Allied Weight Engineers, Incorporated, I encourage your company to participate as an Exhibitor or Sponsor at the 70th Annual International Conference on Mass Properties Engineering in Houston, Texas. The venue selected this year, the Hilton Houston Westchase Hotel, provides a relaxed, country atmosphere just west of a major metropolitan area. I attended the SAWE Houston Regional Conference at the hotel in early October, and can attest that the facilities are ideal for hosting a conference. The exhibit hall is large enough to accommodate 16 to 20 exhibitors with ease. As an exhibitor, your company will have the opportunity to provide conference attendees with an awareness of the newest concepts, products, and services offered in a diverse range of technologies and transportation sectors. Each exhibitor will have an 8’x10’ area to display their products and services in a secured exhibit area. Exhibitors and sponsors are each invited to make a brief presentation in one of the Technical Tracks. Longer presentations of 20-40 minutes can be arranged with concurrence of the Technical Program Committee. In addition, if you desire to provide training in the use of your product or service, I will arrange a discussion with our Training Group to afford this opportunity. I encourage more involvement with SAWE on every level. I am personally excited about the opportunity to engage NASA, the petroleum industry, and the marine industry in this year’s conference. In particular, the world of offshore platforms is new for many in the SAWE, and we are eager to learn. I look forward to meeting many new mass properties engineers, including several new (to SAWE) exhibitors. I also anticipate the return of several of our faithful exhibitors from the past, including manufacturers of mass properties measurement equipment; suppliers of composites, advanced materials, and hardware; and computer software developers. Many of these exhibitors act on the global stage, and we look forward to seeing them at the 2012 SAWE Conference in Germany. Conference attendees are encouraged to visit all of the exhibits and discuss the products and technologies with the attending representatives. Depending on the particular exhibitor, knowledge in the form of demonstrations, literature, or samples will be available to take back to your place of employment and share with colleagues. If you are interested in participating as an exhibitor, sponsor, author of a technical paper or presentation, or would like to teach a vendor training course, please visit the website, www.sawe.org. Early registration for the conference is encouraged. The SAWE Store can be accessed from the above website, and it is possible to register now and pay later. The deadline for registering and paying in full is May 2, 2011. For more information on sponsorship and exhibiting, please contact any of the following: Bill Griffiths, [email protected], (425) 883-2098, (310) 367-4134 (cell); Claudia Rosenberger, [email protected], +49 89 99 89 42 83; Paul Kennedy, [email protected], (860) 829-0001 ext. 204; or Host Chapter Vendor Coordinator, Alfred Munoz, [email protected], (281) 679-2364. 4 ©2010 SAWE – www.sawe.org Conference Announcement Gold Sponsorships Silver Sponsorships Bronze Sponsorships Exhibitors CMW Incorporated Dynamic Materials Corporation General Electrodynamics Corporation HE Aviation i.e. Solutions Intercomp Company Northrop Grumman ShipWeight - BAS Engineering Space Electronics LLC Teknoscale OY Unicel Additional Sponsors and Exhibitors will be added to the on-line version of this Announcement as registrations are received and confirmed. ©2010 SAWE – www.sawe.org 5 Conference Announcement Technical Tracks Robert J. Hundl VP – Technical Director The Boeing Company Since its inception in 1939, the purpose of the SAWE has been to promote the exchange of technical information and new ideas in Mass Properties Engineering. The SAWE International Conference is the annual meeting that brings together mass properties professionals from throughout the world. These dedicated men and women work in close cooperation with, and address the needs of, industry, government, and other engineering and manufacturing organizations. The 2011 Technical Tracks are a result of input from these mass properties professionals with the combined efforts of the International Officers, the 2011 conference committee, and the Technical Committee. We, as engineering professionals, again have the opportunity to learn firsthand about important initiatives, research, and the latest developments in our discipline through specialized technical tracks and discussions. Since ours is a community of practicing engineers as well as a unique engineering discipline, this interchange is a special opportunity for all of those who participate. We especially encourage young engineers to take the opportunity to learn directly from more experienced peers and colleagues. This conference is a forum for individual presentations and panel discussions on applied mass properties technology for the design; manufacturing; testing; and utilization of air, land, sea, and space vehicles and their associated systems/ subsystems.