ASME President, 2001 - 2002

William A. Weiblen, the 120th president of ASME International for the 2001-2002 term, is a registered professional engineer.  Having held several key management positions in engineering, manufacturing and finance, Weiblen retired in June 1999, after a distinguished 38-year career with the Pratt and Whitney (P&W) Division of United Technologies.

Weiblen, 62, was born in Whitefield, Maine.  He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maine in 1961, and then went on to earn master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration from the University of Connecticut in 1967 and 1972, respectively.

In 1961, Weiblen joined P&W in East Hartford, Conn., as a design engineer and was soon elevated to senior design engineer assigned to the company’s industrial and commercial engine programs.  From 1968 to 1985, Weiblen assumed the position of project engineer for industrial gas turbine projects that included P&W’s new land-based industrial engine project (FT50/GT200) and later the company’s PW2037 commercial engine programs.  He also served four years as staff project engineer for cost reduction programs in which he played a pivotal role by developing design options that would meet stringent program goals.

Weiblen became P&W’s manager of finance and industrial engineering in 1985, and in early 1988 was assigned managerial responsibilities for Technical Support at the company’s East Hartford and Middletown Production Assembly and Test operations.  For his leadership and performance, Weiblen received a citation from the company president for “Extraordinary Management Effectiveness” for spearheading the reorganization and integration of production assembly technical support groups into the business units they supported. 

From 1987 to 1996, Weiblen was manager of manufacturing engineering responsible for technical support, overseeing P&W’s industrial and plant engineering projects, tool design, and environmental, health and safety issues.  Under Weiblen’s direction, a feasibility study to design a second-generation computer system to eliminate paperwork associated with P&W’s Assembly and Test operations was initiated in 1991.  The project, a paperless work management system recently implemented, was estimated to save the company $500,000 annually with a 29% return on investment.

An ASME member since 1957, Weiblen has held a number of key leadership positions within the Society.  Most recently, he served as a member-at-large to the Committee on Issues Identification and as an advisor to the senior vice president of the Council on Member Affairs (CMA). A former CMA senior vice president, Weiblen also served the Board of Governors as a member-at-large from 1996-1999.

Weiblen has held several positions in ASME’s Region I, including vice president (1988-1992) and regional secretary  (1984-1988). He currently serves as an advisor to the Hartford Section executive board and as a member of its scholarship committee.

For two decades, Weiblen has held local and district leadership positions with the Boy Scouts of America and is a recipient of the District Award of Merit for Scouting.