The 2003 Hydro Power Contest will be held at Waterpower XIII, July 29-31 in Buffalo, New York. Many competitors have already purchased their Turbine Kits and are working on their competition devices. A few have already sent in their Declaration of Intent to Compete forms. Looks like an exciting competition!
Contest supporters and sponsors have again provided very generous prizes for the 2003 Contest. The total value of this summer's prizes is over $30,000! You can find an overview of this year's prizes on the Contest Prizes web page.
Check the Sponsors page for a list of the Contest Supporters and Sponsors. Here's a closer look at some of the newer Contest sponsors.
DSP Development Corporation
ASCE Hydro Power Committee
AEA Technology
Hydro Research Foundation
LEADING CONCEPTS
Leading Concepts, Inc. (LC) is a hands-on leadership academy for professional men and women. LC specializes in providing individuals and organizations the opportunity to cultivate successful Teamwork, Leadership and Communication behaviors. LC's learning vehicles are substantive, intense, and enduring - modeled after one of the world's most successful teams, the U.S. Army Rangers. "If you can lead people into battle and come out alive, why can't you lead them through corporate America? The parallels are exact," Dean Hohl, LC President says.
There is little chance today of career monotony. People are making major career changes today more often than they made in-house job changes 25 years ago. Even in the hydroelectric industry, everyone's job is changing as the industry progresses through electric industry restructuring. Most technical projects involve multiple science and engineering disciplines. Most business projects involve multiple professions. There is a huge demand on people to quickly identify strengths, roles, and responsibilities and then effectively perform as an integrated team. LC's training is timely and appropriate both for students entering the hydro field and for people already engaged in hydro-related careers.
LC has successfully helped numerous companies in many industries and disciplines improve their human culture and bottom line. LC offers 2, 3, and 4-day off-site, customized experiential workshops, which focus on unlocking the human potential of individuals and organizations. LC also offers on-site seminars, coaching, and consulting. Leading Concepts, Inc. is based in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information on Leading Concepts' books and seminars, visit the LC web site at www.leadingconcepts.com. While you are there check out Dean Hohl's latest book "RANGERS LEAD THE WAY - The Army Rangers Guide to Leading Your Organization Through Chaos."
TURBNPRO
TURBNPRO software was created to assist hydroelectric project developers, power systems educators, and consulting engineers to identify, select, analyze, and apply hydro turbines. Typical performance and dimensional characteristics of Francis, Axial/Propeller, and Pelton turbines are developed by the program and may be used to assess energy potential at the user's site. Advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of the various hydro turbine configurations and arrangements are discussed. TURBNPRO includes extensive graphics showing turbine performance in various formats as well as identification of major turbine components and dimensions.
During a hydroelectric project's feasibility study and preliminary engineering phases, optimum selection of the hydraulic turbine size, type, and quantity is frequently a difficult exercise. By using TURBNPRO to compare the dimensional impact on powerhouse design and the energy production of various turbine solutions, the user has a means to closely select the optimum turbine type, number, and arrangement for a hydroelectric project.
For those involved in hydroelectric project studies and designs, TURBNPRO can be an important addition to a library of hydro turbine information resources. TURBNPRO is also an excellent tool to acquaint and train those unfamiliar with hydro generation equipment in the applications and limitations of the various types of hydraulic turbines. For more information, visit the TURBNPRO web site at www.turbnpro.com .
ASME HYDRO POWER TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Hydro Power Technical Committee is one of several committees within the ASME Power Division. The Power Division was organized in 1920 to better advance related professional activities. The Power Division is one of 36 Technical Divisions of ASME and one of four in the Energy Conversion Board (ECB). Division activities include organizing and supporting local and overseas conferences, presenting technical courses, developing industry guidelines, preparing videotapes, awarding student scholarships, issuing a newsletter twice each year, administering awards, and supporting the Energy Conversion Board.
The Hydro Power Technical Committee is made up of volunteer industry experts. The Committee is active in the development of test codes, technical standards, and publications. The latest book produced by the Hydro Power Technical Committee is "The Guide to Hydropower Mechanical Design." The Committee believes that hydro power is an interesting career field and is eager to attract mechanical engineers to the hydro industry. For more information, visit the ASME web site at www.asme.com .
AUTODESK
Autodesk's primary products are engineering and design software packages. Autodesk produces powerful PC-based design and drawing tools. Autodesk is the world's leading design and digital content creation resource. The company provides software and Internet portal services to help customers conduct business through powerful design tools. Autodesk serves more than 4 million customers in over 150 countries.
Given the extent of Autodesk products in use, today's engineers are very likely to use these design tools to prepare work products. They are even more likely to utilize drawings, illustrations, and graphic art prepared by others using Autodesk software tools.
Autodesk offers support and training, extensive applications packages, and on-line professional centers. For more information, visit the Autodesk web site at www.autodesk.com.
MATHSOFT
MathSoft's main product is math and calculation software. The format of calculations within MathCAD is very similar to hand-written calcs. Formulae are placed on pages in visually familiar, intuitive forms. MathSoft produces education tutorial packs, engineering discipline application packs, and symbol libraries. MathSoft products allow the user to write reports simply with active calculations embedded (with algebraic symbols) in the text.
MathSoft is the provider of the broadest line of math, technical design, calculation, and analysis software for business, academia, research, and government. With MathSoft's products, users can deploy technical calculations and exploratory data analyses across their entire organizations.
The company has more than one million users of its MATHCAD, StudyWorks!, S-PLUS, StatServer and AxumO software worldwide. MathSoft corporate, product and sales information can be found at www.mathsoft.com .
Looking for Technical Help?
If you have technical questions about the Contest, the Rules, or about hydro machinery in general, please contact us. Feel free to FAX or phone with your questions. E-mail, at the address listed below, is especially convenient for us since we can respond efficiently without wrestling with time zones and answering machines.
For more information about the annual contest either call (508) 351-6023,
FAX a message to (508) 351-6023, send an e-mail to hands-on@rcn.com,
or visit the Hydro Power Contest home page at:
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