News From Fort Schuyler

July 21, 2008 - Volume 8, No. 24

DON'T MISS THE BOAT - The Fort Schuyler Alumni Association has chartered the M/Y WORLD YACHT PRINCESS for its Annual Homecoming Dinner cruise on Saturday, September 27, so it is time to sign up. "Please RSVP by September 19; reservations are on a 'first come, first served' basis. Reservations for anniversary classes take priority until August 30th, that means all who graduated in a year ending in 3 or 8!" The chairman of this year's event is JIM DeSIMONE, '73. (For details go to www.fsmaa.org/homecoming)

PICTURE THIS - The Stephen B. Luce Library will be one of 12 world libraries pictured in the 2009 Renaissance Library Calendar. This calendar will feature a full page (approx 8"x12") color photo of the Luce Library Reading Room, aka the old Mess Deck - site of memorable meals and dances. Congratulations to the Luce Library staff for successfully pursuing this special opportunity. (More at the college website www.sunymaritime.edu or www.renaissancelibrary.com)

POWER ELITE, SCHUYLER STYLE - As promised, BOB SCHWIEGER '64, Editor and Publisher of Combined Cycle Journal (CCJ) has provided an up-to-date rundown on prominent power engineers from Fort Schuyler. He writes: "The big benefit of publishing the CCJ is not the long hours but rather the opportunity to visit still more power plants to learn what works and what doesn't, and to meet still more engineering heroes who make and distribute the electrical and thermal energy that keep the nation's infrastructure humming and its citizens comfortable."

"Electric power is a relatively large industry sector in terms of capital valuation, but relatively small in terms of people. A typical gas_turbine_based power plant averages about one employee for every 25,000 kilowatts of generating capability. With so few people, it would be difficult to speak with anyone for the first time and not find that person knows at least one other person that you know."

"Navy professionals and graduates of the country's maritime schools probably have provided more senior_level personnel for gas_turbine_based generating plants than all the other sources combined. And The Fort has supplied a significant percentage."

"For example, in just compiling the "Pacesetter Plants Issue" posted on the CCJ website here's who I ran into:

MIKE SCHWARTZ '71, the first plant manager at the award_winning Port Westward station owned by Portland General Electric Co. Mike recently was "kicked upstairs" to run an engineering group at corporate headquarters.

KEN TORRES '97, played a key role in Carrier Corp's rehab and upgrade of Co-op City's four 5000 ton chillers which now operate far more efficiently than before.

BILL AUGER '66, Fairfield University's energy manager is the driving force behind reliable onsite electricity production, which has replaced to the extent possible, the purchase of utility power.

LOU KESSELMAN '65, O&G Industries Inc., helped manage construction of UMass Amherst's $100+_million Combined Heat and Power Plant.

CHUCK LEVEY '83, vice president of Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, talked to us about mobile power systems and other interesting GT applications when we visited the new CHP facility at P&W's Middletown campus."

Bob notes that other graduates in the industry include:

"MIKE BROWN '82 recently moved over to PSEG's Bergen Station to manage that 1,200,000_kW facility. He had been the plant manager at the Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Plant (provides electricity and steam to ConEd) for years. Periodically, Mike hosted tours of the BNYCP for Femenia's engineering students.

TIM CARROLL '82, the first plant manager at Ravenswood combined cycle, recently was transferred (because of mandated asset divestiture) and now manages the operation of gas_turbine assets on Long Island.

BRIAN McCABE '82, who helped manage the construction of the Ravenswood combined cycle, is now VP of Project Development & Management for National Grid, an independent power producer in NY and the Northeast.

STEVE CERNIK '71, Manager of Business Development for Kawasaki gas turbines in the Americas." [Bob adds that "...all three of his kids went/go to the Fort as well. ...Two sons are graduates and sailing as second mates, and daughter is a second classman (classperson?).]

"Graduates visible at industry meetings are:

BILL WIMPERIS '77, Director of Generation Plant Development for Constellation Energy and STEVE SABO '66, Director of Marketing and Communications for Babcock Power, a leading manufacturer of boilers and heat transfer equipment for all types of power plants."

"Finally, as another indicator of how close this industry is, consider the following: DAVE FLANAGAN '61, now retired, was until recently an employee of the CCJ's best advertiser Rentech Boiler Systems Inc. of Abilene, Tex. Dave's son, Danny, is the creative guy for the agency that produces Rentech's advertisements and marketing materials."

Bob concludes, "The Fort rules! Let's hear more from engineers." [To which NFFS says, amen.]

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Richard Corson - Forest Hills, NY

Latitude 40.716N Longitude 73.85W

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