SFPE Director Receives ISFSI Instructor of the Year Award

Daniel Madrzykowski, PE received the FIRE ENGINEERING/ISFSI GEORGE D. POST INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR Award. This award was presented on April 23, 2009 at the 2009 FDIC Conference at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. Madrzykowski who sits on the Board of Directors of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is a fire protection engineer in the Building and Fire Research Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The award, which incorporates the Training Achievement Award previously given by Fire Engineering at the FDIC, is named for George D. Post, who was a long-time member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI). Post was a member of the Fire Department of New York, an illustrator of fire service publications, and a developer of instructional materials and is considered by many to be the father of visual training material used to train fire service personnel around the world.

To see the award presentation go to: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1842760318?bclid=1294526599&bctid=20855382001

The Fire Protection PE Exam is set for October 23, 2009

The 2009 Fire Protection Engineering Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam is set for October 23, 2009. One of the most important steps a fire protection engineer can make early in his or her career, is to place themselves on a course to becoming licensed as a professional engineer. For more information about the Fire Protection PE Exam visit the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Licensure Webpage. It has information about suggested references, the exam specification, educational resources and contact information for the state boards of engineering.

SFPE Makes Presentation at Va Tech School of Engineering

On March, 15 2009, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) made a presentation for engineering students at the Virginia Tech School of Engineering. About 25 students attended the presentation. The presentation focused on career opportunities in the profession of fire protection engineering. Additionally, faculty member Brian Lattimer discussed some of the fire related research that is currently being conducted at the University’s EXTREME Laboratory. The EXTREME Laboratory is an interdisciplinary laboratory where experimental and computational research is performed on material response at high temperatures and loads as well as combustion and fire dynamics processes.

Westridge Middle School from Shawnee Mission, Kansas Receives SFPE Award at National Future City Competition

Westridge Middle School from Shawnee Mission, Kansas was awarded for best fire protection engineering that keeps people and property safe from fire. This award was presented by the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition. “The Future Cities competition gives students the opportunity to apply the math and science they learned in school to a real-world application,” said SFPE Engineering Program Manager Chris Jelenewicz. “America needs good engineers and this competition will encourage these exceptional students to become the engineers of the future.” Pictured above is the award winning team from Westridge Middle School and SFPE Past President Ray Grill.

SFPE Hawaii Chapter Holds PE Exam Problem Writing Session

The Hawaii Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) hosted a problem writing session for the Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Examination in Fire Protection on April 1, 2009. This event was held at the corporate offices of S. S. Dannaway Associates in Honolulu, Hawaii. Six licensed engineers from the Hawaii Chapter participated in this session. Each year SFPE members write the problems that are on the Fire Protection PE Exam. Problem writing sessions that are sponsored by SFPE chapters play a critical role in the PE exam development process. For more information about the Fire Protection PE Exam go to the Licensure Page on the SFPE website.

Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) Joins ABET

The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is the latest organization to become a member of ABET, Inc. ABET is the accreditation organization dedicated to assuring quality in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology education. This development is a vital step in SFPE’s commitment to making certain that fire protection programs meet the educational standards set by the profession and that constituents have a standard by which to assess each program’s quality.

“It is our pleasure to welcome into the ABET family yet another organization that values the quality of technical education to the extent that SFPE does,” ABET President Joseph L. Sussman said. “We look forward to working with the SFPE representative on our Board of Directors and getting the society’s volunteers involved with the engineering and technology accreditation commissions.”

Effective immediately, SFPE is a full-fledged ABET Member Society. ABET Member Societies hold seats on the ABET accreditation commissions and have at least one voting representative on the ABET Board of Directors. In addition, Member Societies take lead responsibilities in program accreditation.

SFPE is responsible for recruiting and selecting program evaluators to review fire protection engineering programs. If you interested in volunteering as an evaluator, please contact SFPE Engineering Program Manager Chris Jelenewicz.