Anniversary Plans

This white paper proposes a new ASME International initiative for archiving its modern history so that future historians will have adequate sources readily available to them (interviews, recordings, images, monographs) as they begin to write the next chapters in the history of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The idea to do this resulted from several discussions about what would be an appropriate and useful 125th anniversary project for the society and/or some or all of its units to undertake.

A number of major events have involved ASME over the last two decades since the Society's centennial history was written in 1980. Some of these are discussed briefly in this paper. It is suggested that these events be chronicled for future use. One interesting approach would be for ASME, through its History and Heritage program, to sponsor a series of monographs on these key events through the 2001 to 2005 period, say, perhaps one each year. Each one would be presented at that year's annual Congress. They would be presented as a lecture or a panel discussion using appropriate multimedia, e.g., tapes, film, etc. The presentations themselves would be recorded and preserved on CD/DVD. Excerpts could be featured in the ASME News, in ME Magazine, and on the ASME.ORG web site. Some might be useful for study at TEC, PALC, RACs, etc. Some could form the basis for an extension of the Distinguished Lecture Series.

It would seem that, given the historical preservation goal of this project, that it should be an attractive candidate for ASME Foundation funding. Collaboration with sister societies and solicitation of external funding sources should not be ruled out.

Retrospectively
With the old millennium yielding to the new and as we begin preparing for the Society's 125th anniversary in 2005, our thoughts turn to the important historical events that have fashioned and continue to fashion the heritage and legacy of ASME International. The early history of the Society has been extensively chronicled, beginning with Frederick Hutton's A History of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers from 1880 to 1915, followed by well-documented coverage of the Society's gala 50th anniversary in 1930. A series of important writings in the early to mid 1900s (e.g., "Toward Civilization," "Wither Mankind," and a number of biographies) and other papers of some of our great engineering leaders (e.g., Fritz, Westinghouse, and Sperry) collectively tell the evolution of the profession and the growth, trials, and tribulations of ASME through much of the century.

The decade-long "Parker Affair" in the 1930s, while an exasperating experience for ASME, its publications, its leadership, and in particular, Clarence Davies (chief staff officer) nevertheless provided a rich collection of essays, letters and numerous court papers from years of litigation, up and down the New York State Courts. The lessons learned from the Parker Case provided enough source material to occupy students of engineering history until the famous Hydrolevel case burst upon the scene nearly 50 years later.

Arthur M. Greene's History of the ASME Boiler Code (1955) and T. M. Robie's A Fifty Year History of the Diesel and Gas Power Division 1921-1971 (N.p., 1971) are among several works that chronicle important aspects of engineering and ASME in the second half of the twentieth century. Finally, Bruce Sinclair's mini-epic, entitled A Centennial History of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers 1880-1980, did a good job of summarizing the key events of ASME's first 100 years. What it lacks is historic detail (the text is only 221 pages) it compensates for by ample references, good footnotes and readability.

A Spinning Clock and Shrinking Globe
The widespread use of high-speed transportation and telecommunication in the late 1900s encouraged an acceleration in the pace of everyday living. Things didn't just seem to happen more quickly-they, in fact, did as modern technology (itself both a product as well as an enabler of change) provided the fuel for even greater change. The digital explosion of the century's last decade and the incredible pervasiveness of the Internet opened the floodgates not only by increasing the speed and scope of communications but also by expanding the availability of knowledge and information thereby breaking down traditional boundaries (barriers). An interesting byproduct of these phenomena is that more history is being made over shorter periods, leaving us with less time to reflect on where we've been and how we got there. The emphasis is almost entirely on preparing for tomorrow. If we accept the premise that the lessons of history are important in learning for the future, then we will readily concede that it is important for ASME to enhance its efforts to outline and record its modern history from 1980 to 2000.

There are a number of major events that have occurred in the last two decades that have had and continue to have a major impact on ASME, its members and the societal constituents they both serve. We are fortunate in that many of the individuals who participated in the events of the last quarter of the century still walk among us, available to provide factual and interpretive observations through writings or interviews. While it may be premature to undertake a "second volume" of Sinclair's Centennial History, the timing is propitious for ASME to undertake the task of collecting, assembling and summarizing the resource material that will be used as the basis for preparing the next comprehensive chapter in the history of ASME International, perhaps around the time of ASME's 150th anniversary.

Some Significant Events
The 1980s opened with the culmination and resolution of the Hydrolevel case, an event that changed forever the way ASME and other voluntary technical organizations conducted their business. The Hydrolevel case reached its conclusion in 1982 with a 6-3 ruling against ASME by the United States Supreme Court. The case spanned a 7-year period beginning with the 1975 filing of the Hydrolevel Corporation's lawsuit. These 7 years span the administrations of nine ASME presidents, five of whom are still living, and three past executive directors, all of whom are still alive. Heavily involved was the staff leader of ASME's Codes and Standards, Melvin Green, who is deceased.

A number of other significant events occurred in the last two decades. And while not as highly profiled as Hydrolevel, they are important nonetheless and probably have a less well-documented historical record. The first is the major restructuring of ASME's financial and staff management system that took place upon the arrival of ASME's eleventh executive director, David L. Belden, in 1987. The Society's accounting system and cost allocation procedures were far from what was needed to operate a multimillion-dollar corporation in an environment of ever increasing complexity with respect to tax law, accounting, procurement, fiduciary responsibility and evolving standards of age, gender, and racial discrimination. Under the leadership of the new executive director and with the enthusiastic support of a string of elected presidents and governors, a dramatic series of changes, both physical and philosophical, were made to the Society's governance and administration. By the early 1990s, ASME was well on its way to being the "premier organization for promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical engineering throughout the world." This is an interesting piece of history concerning ASME's entry into an era of best practices and deserves to be properly recorded and reflected upon while many of the principals are around.

No less interesting and equally important was the second step in ASME's operational transformation, namely the impact of information technology and high-speed global communications that ushered in the digital era in the second half of the 1990s. The rapid penetration of desktop computing and the advent of the World Wide Web profoundly altered and continues to alter the ways that ASME delivers services, relates to its members and conducts its business on a global scale. The early and enthusiastic commitment by ASME's staff and volunteer leadership and their "partnering in progress" in order to expedite the Society's rapid utilization of digital technology, including the implementation of asme.org (first called ASMENET) is another proud story that should be chronicled while the memories are fresh.

Progress Begets Progress
ASME since its inception set its sights well beyond the boundaries of North America. The founding ASME leadership, consisting of men of financial means and substantive influence within academic and industrial spheres, were no strangers to European travel. The gala 1889 excursion of America's engineering societies' leaders to attend the Paris Exhibition and to meet and exchange views with their British and other European counterparts bears witness to an early appreciation by ASME of the benefits of international cooperation and intellectual exchange. Over the intervening years the growth and global acceptance of ASME's codes and standards (1972), the growth of international conferences and a steady increase in offshore membership provided sure signs that ASME was rapidly becoming more and more a global institution.

Affordability of high-speed transportation, greatly improved international telecommunication and the advent of the Internet and e-mail by the end of the 1900s had removed many of the obstacles to ASME's true globalization. So it became propitious for the Society to make a clear commitment to internationalism, which it did by creating international correspondents (1985) and chapters (sections), in 1989, globalizing its mission-vision statements in 1993, by adding the "international suffix" to its name in 1994, inaugurating a series of international workshops in 1994-96 and by creating the new international region XIII in 1997. Again, another intriguing story worthy of being told.

These are but a few of the recent events that define the modern history of ASME. A few others include:

• the long technical society vs. professional society debate, its ultimate resolution and the resulting growth of member benefits
• lifelong learning in the changing workplace
• outgrowing the Carnegie Trust and the sale of the UEC
• demographic trends toward a more diverse workforce
• the impact of computers and software technology on the teaching of design principles

Draft: July 27, 2000
Amended: May 4, 2001

1 Frederick Hutton, ASME chief staff officer 1883-1906, President 1907-1908
2 Charles A. Beard, New York, 1930
3 Charles A. Beard, New York, 1928
4 John C. Parker, ASME member 19? to 19?
5 Based on committee and council minutes, most of this book appeared in Mechanical Engineering between July 1952 and August 1953.