New ASME President Charla Wise Highlights ASME’s Mission & Vision in Her President’s Dinner Address

June 30, 2107

ASME President Charla Wise became the 136th president of the Society during the ASME Annual Meeting in Newport Beach, Calif., earlier this month.

During her inaugural address at the President’s Dinner earlier this month at the ASME Annual Meeting, ASME’s new president, Charla K. Wise, discussed the Society’s mission and vision, as well as her hopes for ASME’s future as it continues with its strategic plan for becoming the go-to organization for addressing key technology-related issues.

Wise, a consultant and an adjunct professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan who had previously spent more than 25 years in high-profile positions at General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, has been an active and dedicated supporter of the Society during her more than 10 years as an ASME member. A longtime member and former chair of the Industry Advisory Board, Wise has served in the Society in a variety of positions including member of the ASME Board of Governors, chair of the Strategic Growth Task Force, vice chair of the Committee on Honors, and member of the ASME Foundation Board.

Given that history with ASME, Wise is naturally familiar with — and committed to — the Society’s mission: to serve diverse global communities by advancing, disseminating and applying engineering knowledge for improving the quality of life and communicating the excitement of engineering.

ASME’s new President Charla Wise (left) with immediate Past President Keith Roe at the President’s Dinner.

Touching on the mission’s last point, Wise said, “As quickly as our world is changing and advancing, we need to stimulate and inspire the minds and capture the hearts and souls of our existing engineers and technical professionals, as well as those of future generations of engineers to join us in accomplishing our mission to impact the world positively, through our solutions and technology.”

Wise also discussed ASME’s vision of being the essential resource for mechanical engineers and other technical professionals throughout the world for solutions that benefit humankind, noting that she shared this vision for the Society as well.

“Last year, when I ran for president, I told the Nominating Committee that my theme for this year would be ‘Continuity, As We Move Forward, Together.’ And that’s the beauty of the strategy that ASME’s Board of Governors has been working on over the past several years. It brings us continuity as we look to the future, especially over the next 10 years. It helps us move forward toward achieving our mission by having clear goals. It brings us all together — we all have a common vision — what I call a ‘North Star’ for the Society.

ASME immediate Past President Keith Roe reflected on his yearlong term as the Society’s leader during his speech at the President’s Dinner.

Much like the North Star, which has been used throughout the ages as a navigational tool because it remains nearly immovable in the sky, the Society’s vision “holds steady in front of all of us,” Wise said. “We all can keep our eye on the North Star (our vision) as we move forward on our ASME paths as individuals, as sectors, as groups. We all see how our paths may be somewhat separate, yet we are connected and integrated, helping each other, and doing our part to lead us towards success.”

As her speech drew to a close, Wise, addressing her fellow ASME colleagues in the room, said, “We are the leaders to make our vision a reality. We are members of such an incredible team. I am always impressed and energized when I look at the credentials, the commitment, the energy and the dedication of this team. You are, and we have on our team ‘the best of the best’ — and we can make it happen.”

Earlier in the program, immediate Past President Keith Roe looked back on his 12-month term and highlighted some of the major milestones of that year, which included the launching of the new Engineering Festivals (E-Fest) program for engineering students, the introduction of new International Working Groups for pressure technology standards development in Argentina and China, and the development of workshops, webinars, Congressional briefings and other programs concentrating on ASME’s five strategic technologies — pressure technology, advanced manufacturing, robotics, bioengineering and clean energy.

“One year ago, I pointed out that ASME is in the process of transforming our Society — and that our focus was to develop content-based ecosystems that will help engineers find solutions for the world’s most pressing needs and challenges,” Roe said. “This transformation we hope will energize both volunteers and staff, in its partnership as high-performance teams, to raise our expectations of ourselves and everyone who helps us meet these challenges.

“This kind of transformation requires fundamental changes in strategy, operations, and worldview — the kind that pushes us to action, that moves us from exploration of opportunities to a radical shift that leads us from the chaos of discovery to order,” he continued. “I promised you I would do my best to lead you there, as president. You still have that promise, as I look forward to continuing this work with Charla Wise and the leadership team for our next fiscal year.”