SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 66)

At the 1983 convention in Seattle, Ada was inducted into the College of Fellows. Arminta Harness is at the podium. Her years of accomplishment and service continue to benefit the profession and fund the future of engineering. BY JILL S. TIETJEN, P.E., F. SWE Ada Pressman’s legendary contributions to the Society of Women Engineers did not end at her death in 2003. This first “three-pinner” — past president, Fellow, and Achievement Award recipient — bequeathed more than $800,000 to SWE to fund scholarships in perpetuity. Ada, as she would want to be called, was an amazing woman, and I consider myself fortunate to have known her. From her outstanding career in industry, to her many years of dedicated service to SWE, to her dedication to mentoring young women and funding their educational dreams, Ada truly was a role model for all of us. Ada at work as chief engineer. A pioneer in nuclear engineering A mechanical engineering graduate of The Ohio State University, Ada spent the majority of her career with the Bechtel Corporation. She became a pioneer in combustion control and burner management for supercritical power plants, including the input logic and fuel air mixes associated therewith. She was directly involved in early design efforts toward more automated controls of equipment and systems, the new packaging techniques, and breakthroughs in improved precision and reliability of sensors and controls. As she progressed through the management ranks at Bechtel (earning her M.B.A. at the same time), Ada was recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding experts in power plant controls and process instrumentation and worked on fossilfired and nuclear power plants. Ada characterized her professional experience as including the engineering management of millions of individual hours of power-generation-plant design and construction and of economic studies and proposals for potential projects. She continually monitored the costs for each project as well as the technical engineering details as the design progressed. Ada also spearheaded the effort in California to establish a control system P.E. She was proud to be awarded the 00001 PE number in that discipline. Dedicated service to SWE and the profession A charter member of the Cleveland Section (1954) and active for many years in the Los Angeles Section, Ada served as the president of SWE in 1979-1980, the first of the one-yearterm presidents. She received SWE’s Achievement Award in 1976 for her “significant contributions in the field of power control systems engineering.” In 1983, she was elected to the Society’s board of trustees, where she served until her death in 2003, including 12 years as treasurer. She spent countless hours on the books and took the board of trustees from handwritten ledgers into the computer age. In honor of her many Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. 66 SWE FALL 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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