John Celli Witness to Engineering History

John Celli Witness to Engineering History John Celli Witness to Engineering History John Cellis career as an engineer has spanned five decades and a full description of his many accomplishments in the field would require a separate full-length feature. His career has encompassed events from the 1969 Moon landing to the earliest days of telecommunications satellite technology to the recent development of 3D printed satellites. Here, the 2016 Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame inductee describes some of his career highlights and tells readers where he thinks the field is headed next. Q. What first made you interested in the field of aerospace in general and satellite technology specifically? A. I welches living in Rome, Italy and attending the School of Engineering in 1969. I lived at the top of an apartment building, and the apartment building welches at the top of one of the Seven Hills of Rome, so I had a beautiful view of Rome half of Rome at least. It was a hot summer. In those days there was no air conditioning, so the air conditioning, when you watch TV, if its a hot night, it would be for you to sit on the balcony or the terrace that you have and watch the TV which is inside, which I was doing. All of a sudden it was about 100 in the morning. I could hear an incredible noise coming from below me, a mix of cheers and applause and screams. Its something that I never forgot. Even to this day, I can close my eyes and live it again. What it was, was Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. We were all watching that great picture that was sent from the United States all over Europe. It was leid actually being there and watching this incredible event, it was the reaction of the millions of people in the city watching that event. Its just something that still gives me the goosebumps, so I had no choice. I was already in engineering and at that split second, I said, Well, Im going to work in aerospace, and thats what I di d after graduation. Thats the reason. Not only did I decide to be in aerospace, but it actually made me decide to leave Europe and move to the States, where obviously the space exploration, aerospace, and satellites in particular, were at a much higher level than in Europe in those days.SSL President John Celli with the California Space Authority award. Image SSL Q. What do you think the next moment like that will be? Will it be arriving on Mars someday, or will there be another event like that? A. To be honest with you-and I express my opinion in some conference roundtables at NASA headquarters-I dont think necessarily Mars exploration is going to do it. I dont know if you know this, but the young generation seems to be very focused doing work on things that have a social content. In other words, things that help the environment, that help people, that help the poor, that help growing countries, and theyre very attracted by that. The ultimate social help that space technology can provide is, if you think about it, capturing an asteroid that is coming to the earth and threatening everybodys life. That is the ultimate social service. Q. What are some the latest technological developments in the field of satellites that might interest ASME.org readers? A. The satellite industry has been evolving continuously. We build these very complex and huge machines that are 30, 50, 100 times bigger than what I used to do in the mid-seventies or the eighties. Youve certainly heard about making complex parts in a very efficient way using 3D printing. Its a form of building components using a different type of composite material, because basically they use powder and certain specialized resin to do that. Were actually flying those kind of things, and I think that technology has to evolve and will evolve and be able to do even more complicated things or build bigger objects that can be used for all kinds of applications, but certainly for satell ite and for space. The other thing that is pushing for new technology is the need to reduce cost for satellite systems. What I mean with satellite systems, its not just the satellite itself, but its the ground infrastructure needed to provide the services, as well as the launch vehicle. It needs to be used to take the satellite all the way up to low orbit or geostationary orbit. Another area that I think for mechanical engineers would be particularly important in the next few years, is the packaging. If you think of the capability in an iPhone, in a very small environment it is very strong, it is moisture resistant, it is heat resistant, and always works, always performs, but its very small with a lot of capabilities. Thats packaging, right? Potentially theres going to be a breakthrough in the next few years. Its something that is needed, that needs to be pushed, and will certainly help in reducing the size of the satellite, the cost, and therefore the cost of launch ing it. Q. Where are things going in the future in this field? A. In the future it is going to be more and more important to have satellites that are flexible. Lets say you order a satellite today, a big one. You probably wont get it for another three years. Then you launch it and it has to provide services for at least 15, 16 years in order to provide you with enough revenues to cover the investment, which is substantial, and provide a return, so its a long time. Its very difficult for current customers and future customers of ours to predict what the market is going to be in certain region of the world, so you need something that is flexible. For example, if today its covering South America and for some reason there is a reduced demand, that you can move that capability into another area, for example, North America or Africa, the Western coast of Africa, and provide services there. Its going to require manufacturing techniques that are different, that we may n ot have today. Thats an area that I think progress has been made over the years, but I dont believe enough. Thats an area where mechanical engineering should push where we are. Its, as I said, a combination of packaging, extracting the heat from various small and complex packages containing digital equipment, for example, and reducing the mass and the cost. Robotics is going to help as well. We have programs that we want to get from NASA for assembling a satellite in orbit. The advantage of that is that you can send a satellite up and then you can send another one, park it next to it with robotic capability, and change that satellites antennas and payload. Q. What did it mean to you to be a Silicon Valley Engineering Council Hall of Fame inductee? A. It was obviously a great honor, particularly for an immigrant. I came here 35 years ago, and in Silicon Valley, to be able to rise to the top of a company that I joined 35 years ago as just a young engineer, and then being inducted in the Hall of Fame, its just unbelievable. As I said in my speech at the conference, I was also surprised because in this industry, the satellite industry, individuals can seldom accomplish a lot. You need a team. Its always teamwork. The complexity and the challenges of designing and building satellites are so huge that you need a team to be able to resolve problems and be successful. For Further Discussion Even to this day, I can close my eyes and live it again Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon. We were all watching that great picture that was sent from the United States all over Europe.John Celli, president, SSL

Returning to Work How to Handle the Employment Gap

Returning to Work How to Handle the Employment GapReturning to Work How to Handle the Employment GapUtilize your volunteer experience to boost your resume and expand your network during the job search.QI havent worked outside the home except to volunteer for many years and cant even get an vorstellungsgesprch. I know I can do the job but how do you get that across? Doreen M.AIt can be so frustrating when you know you have value to add to a company but cant get your foot in the door. Your story is very common with full-time parents who left the corporate world to raise their families and now want (or need) to reenter the workforce, and with those who were laid off and were forced to take on a string of lower-paying jobs to pay the bills. In these situations, I recommend doing two thingsUpdate your brandIts so important to have a resume and online profile that showcase your relevant skill sets and accomplishments, while also showing that you havent been twiddling your thumbs since you left the corporate world. Heres the dealIf your volunteer work (or other recent work experience) can be directly tied back to your targeted job goals, then use a traditional chronological resume format. I dont care if they didnt pay you for the work I care if the experience helped you gain relevant industry experience or build skills that are important to the roles youre targeting today. Make sure you frame the job description and selected accomplishments with your job goals in mind the name of the game is relevancy.If your recent work experience doesnt support your job goals or you have an employment gap due to educational pursuits, sabbaticals, etc., then your best bet is to switch to what we call a functional (also known as hybrid or results-oriented) resume format. In a functional resume, the focus is placed on your relevant experience and the results or accomplishments of that work. You include chronological information and other roles, but those take a back seat so the atte ntion stays on the skill sets and expertise thats directly related to your targeted job.Ill be honest Im not the biggest fan of functional resumes, mostly because recruiters seem to prefer the chronological format. However, in this type of situation a functional format will do a much better job at positioning your skills and experience as they relate to your job goals. Click on the following link to learn more about different resume formats.Invest in your networkWhenever youre facing challenges in the job search due to unemployment, career changes, and so forth networking becomes even more important to your strategy.The more people you can meet within your desired line of work, the more information you will gain about the marketplace, its main players, and the potential opportunities that are out there. It will help you fine-tune your search to target companies that have the most potential and would be the best fit for you.Youll learn how the market has changed since you last work ed in it, and if there are any skill gaps you need to fill in order to be more attractive to potential employers. For instance, I worked with a client who was a senior marketing professional in the 90s. When she began looking for work again, it became apparent that shed need to gain a better understanding of online marketing and ecommerce to compete with other job seekers in her space.Your contacts can advocate on your behalf and help you by-pass any gatekeepers in the application process. The 2012 CareerXroads Source of Hire Survey found that you are 10 times more likely to land an interview if your application includes an employee referral. The more networking you do, the more likely you are to find people who are willing to pass your application along or allow you to include their name in the application process. And dont discount the people youve met while volunteering While they may not work in your targeted line of work, whos to say they dont have friends or family members who do?

Video Chapter 2 What Should We Be Teaching

Video Chapter 2 What Should We Be Teaching Video Chapter 2 What Should We Be Teaching Video Chapter 2 - What Should We Be Teaching?Decision Point Dialogues II STEM, Chapter 2 - What Should We Be Teaching?A new principal at Danicas school, Metro City, advocates for a STEM curriculum in which engineering would play a much greater role. Should the changes be made? Would they also work at Dereks middle school, West Harding, which has a much tighter budget and many more struggling students?This second episode is part of the second Decision Point Dialogues programCritical Thinking, Critical Choices What Really Matters in STEM. Here, celebrated journalistJohn Hockenberry, host of the public radio programThe Takeaway, leads 12 influential STEM thought leaders through a myriad of intricate cultural, economic, and education related conflicts based on a mock scenario.Join the conversationon the second episode.Watch Chapter 3 - How Should We Be Teaching?Stay connected to the ongoing dialogue wit h subject matter experts and access exclusive content by visitinggo.asme.org/stemdialogues. The copyright of this program is owned by ASME.