PEs Collect 'Engineers On Stamps'

Reprinted with permission from Engineering Times

Even monster movies, rock legends, and migratory birds have their own stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service. So there must be some interesting engineer stamps out there to find, right? That's exactly what NSPE member Michael Vinarcik, P.E., plans to do, with the help of a group of philatelists affiliated with the American Topical Association (ATA).

Vinarcik, who organizes Detroit National Engineers Week activities and orchestrated bringing the popular Breaking Through: The Creative Engineer exhibit to his area, also happens to be an avid stamp collector. Around the time local E-Week planners started tossing out ideas for the year 2000, Vinarcik noticed that "Engineers on Stamps" had been one of ATA's suggested study units. "They've had three different attempts to make it fly in the past 30 years and it's never really gotten off the ground," he says. "So I wrote to the ATA and I said hey, I'm willing to take this challenge and spread the word to the engineering community."

So began Vinarcik's quest to find interested members of NSPE and other societies and form the group of 10 he needs to make "Engineers on Stamps" an official study unit, start publishing a newsletter, and begin planning a way to tie the group's collecting into Engineers Week activities.

He found another Michigan collector, engineer Robert Stevens, whose list of engineers featured on stamps fills about 20 pages. Stevens has compiled a list of 174 military engineers on stamps, a list of stamps commemorating engineering institutes, and a list of stamps featuring astronauts with engineering degrees, among others. Stevens's main roster of about 1,200 engineers on stamps, including forefathers such as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla (as well as lesser-known names), will form the basis for Vinarcik's study unit. Stevens says that some of the individuals on the list may not have held the title of "engineer" in history, but they demonstrated the application of innovation that is native to engineering.

"The whole purpose of the study group is to cross-pollinate information so people can develop the kind of collection they want," says Vinarcik. "For example, if someone just wanted military engineers, they could work from that subset." He says the group will develop a master list of collectibles and create an Excel spreadsheet that collectors can sort through and find what they're looking for.

For Engineers Week, "I would like to come up with a recommended list of stamps—the more attractive, eye-catching ones—and forward it to the E-Week groups in the Detroit area," says Vinarcik. His ideas include assembling an exhibit of engineers on U.S. stamps to showcase engineering achievement and stamp collecting. He also plans to post the collection on his E-Week council's Web site, www.eweek-detroit.org.

Vinarcik says that some of the stamps on the group's list date back to the early 1900s—and some are worth more than others. But, a stamp "is kind of like a Beanie Baby—it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it," he adds.

In the case of newer engineer stamps that are currently sold, the problem is hardly the 33-cent price tag—it's the lack of availability. Although early African American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker was issued on a stamp in 1998, and "Space Discovery," "Computer Technology," and "Supersonic Flight" have been honored on stamps in recent years, it's been awhile since an outstanding engineer or engineering discipline has claimed a stamp.

Until a new favorite comes along, Vinarcik has a few older favorites from the fledgling "Engineers on Stamps" collection. An attractive stamp from the 1950s that honors civil engineers is one. He's a metallurgical engineer by trade, so other favorites include a mid-century steel stamp and a "cover," or envelope, featuring the signature stamp of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. This exhibition featured the Atomium building, a representation of the crystal structure of iron.

Interested in learning more about "Engineers on Stamps"? Contact ATA Engineers on Stamps Study Unit, 20032 Weyher Street, Livonia, MI 48152-2033 or e-mail Michael_Vinarcik@msn.com. (More experienced collectors know, of course, that stamp-collecting etiquette calls for collectible postage on a mailed note of interest.)

Pro-PE Postage Meter

Tired of the New York State courts' "liberal" attitude toward accepting courtroom experts, forensic professional engineer and NSPE member Elliott Berrin came up with a unique way to let his clients know that PEs are better qualified than engineers without a license. He decided to put a pro-PE message on his postage meter.

Berrin says most of his clients are either large insurance company claim departments or lawyers who could benefit from a postage meter "tip" advising them that licensed engineers are their best bet. "In my field, we are being inundated with so-called courtroom experts who are not qualified, or at least they don't have the credentials to prove they're qualified," Berrin explains. "This is a problem for the court system, lawyers, and legitimate experts. Thus, I thought of the postage meter message as a way to tell my clients, politely, to scrutinize whom they retain."

New York State Society of Professional Engineers Executive Director Kelly Norris echoes Berrin's view. "It's an inexpensive and easy way to get your message out to a large audience. It can't hurt to promote licensure on every single piece of mail you send out."

There is plenty of potential for other NSPE firms to join Berrin in promoting licensed engineers by putting a message on their postage meters. For example, a personalized message "ad plate" can be ordered from Pitney Bowes for about $70-$80. Berrin is currently considering possible slogans to use on his postage meter and is seeking ways to coordinate his pro-licensure message with other NSPE member firms.

If you have an idea for a short slogan that emphasizes the benefits PEs offer over non-PEs (example: "Licensed Engineers Provide Competence and Integrity"), or if you are interested in participating in this postage meter effort, e-mail your ideas by the end of June to Elliott Berrin, P.E., at erberrin@compuserve.com.

Copyright © 1999 National Society of Professional Engineers

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