APETT PEN

PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS NEWSLETTER

APETT Executive
Update
APETT Honours
and Awards
Ceremony
Joint APETT/
IMechE
Networking
Event
Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago October 2014
APETT Executive Update
The Executive Council 2014/2015 is particularly pleased to have revived the banquet tra-
dition at the 54
th
APETTs Honours and Awards Ceremony. We especially thank our Cor-
porate Sponsors, listed on this page, for supporting the Engineering fraternity.
The topic of the APETT Presidents Address was the role of the Engineer in T&Ts society
today, and how the Association could support this. Kudos to APETT representatives that
continue to make a contribution in developing codes and standards, national policies and
plans (from disaster preparedness to preserving the countrys heritage), and representa-
tion on national committees and institutions.
The accomplishments of our Engineers in the design and building of the countrys facili-
ties, oil and gas industry, and manufacturing sector has not been well documented.
APETT is working to correct this via the Engineering Legacy project.
The number of financial Members has been in recent years just above 400. Through the
use of communication tools to get members involved (e.g. PEN, ACE Newsletter, APETT
Journal, online groups, Seminars, re-launch of the APETT Technical Conference, and
marketing of APETT at various events), the membership number has increased to 700 in
six months. We have also started to work on the student membership base.
Finally, the theme of this Council has been on Collaboration. Over the past couple of
months, as reported in PEN, APETT has approached several other foreign professional
societies with branches in T&T. More will be said on this in our next PEN issue.
Eng. Dr. Haydn I. Furlonge on Behalf of APETT Executive Council 2014/2015
Other Sponsors: National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd., Atlantic Project Consultants Ltd., Non-
Destructive Testers Ltd., In-Corr-Tech Limited and PrezWorks Graphics Web Design & Printing

Page 2
APETT 54th Annual Honours and Awards
Ceremony
The Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) held its 54th Annual Honours and Awards Cere-
mony on Saturday, 27th September, 2014 at the Radisson Hotel. While in recent years the pinnacle celebration has only
been the Awards Ceremony, the Council of 2014/2015 took the decision to expand the Honours & Awards Ceremony to the
previous Gala Banquet to reflect that this is truly the premier APETT event of the year.
The feature speaker for the event was the Honourable Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, MP and Minister of Works and Infrastruc-
ture. The Minister spoke about the ethical side of the engineering profession and the increased local content on projects
presently being undertaken by his Ministry. His hope was that one day, Trinidad and Tobago would be able to satisfy its own
technical needs rather than outsourcing engineering works to foreign companies. He also highlighted the number of kilome-
tres of roads and box drains and bridges built by his Ministry and the productive use of URP labour force under the supervi-
sion of small contractors.
The President of APETT, Eng. Dr. Haydn Furlonge spoke about the increased membership drive and offered his view on the
question, "Who is APETT?". This is a topic that has long been discussed among the engineering fraternity as to the rele-
vance of APETT. He also highlighted the four main divisions (Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Mechanical) and their work in-
cluding technical seminars in which they have been involved. He referred to the issue of mandatory registration of all engi-
neers and the support of the Ministry regarding the proposal to amend the Registration Act. The President paid tribute to Ms
(continued on the next page)
Section of the audience at the Ceremony

Page 3
Noreen Mitchell, the Administrative Assistant, and lone paid employee,
for the excellent job she continues to do as the glue that holds APETT to-
gether. He reminded the gathering that APETT depends on volunteers for its
technical activities and urged more engineers to get involved in the Associa-
tions work.
The premier awardee, Career of Excellence 2014 recipient, Eng. Fellow
Frank Teelucksingh gave a heartfelt speech on his history in engineer-
ing and the support of his wife through it all. His keynote topic was sustaina-
bility and the future of the natural resources of the earth. He beseeched the
Engineers of today to design with least wastage and with efficient use of re-
sources, such that the engineers of the future would have time to solve the
problem of dwindling natural resources.
The full list of awardees are:
Career of Excellence in Engineering Award - Eng. Fellow Frank Teelucksingh
R.V.S. Aleong Award for Sterling Service to APETT - Eng. Fellow
Prof. Clment Imbert
Fenrick De Four Award for Outstanding Engineering Achievement -
Eng. Dr. George Sammy
APETT Special Award for Philanthropic Work - Alpha Engineering & Design
(2012) Ltd. Managing Director: Eng. Fazir Khan
Elevation to Fellow:
Eng. Conrad Chow
Eng. Peter Gaffney
Eng. Omar Gorib
Eng. Hatim Hassan
Eng. Lennox Nunez
Eng. Kenneth Oliver
Eng. Prof. Prakash Persad
Eng. Franklin Sankar
2013/2014 APETT Bursary Recipient - Kiran Bholasingh
The audience was well entertained by award winning sisters Laurissa and Renelle Maharaj with a violin and viola
duo, and APETT President-Elect Eng. Neil Dookie gave a hearty vote of thanks to all those involved in the planning and
execution of the event. From all peer responses, the 54th Annual Honours and Awards Ceremony appeared to be a mile-
stone success and the Council of 2014/ 2015 wishes to once again thank all those involved, especially the sponsors, and
those who attended this gala celebration with us. Article Author: Shawn Bedecee. Edited by Eng. Prof Clment Imbert and
Eng. Suzette Baptiste. Photographs by Ispiri Photography.
Eng. Fellow Frank Teelucksingh deliver-
ing the Career of Excellence Address
Contact Us
Email or give us a call for more information or if you are interested in being involved.
APETT, The Professional Centre, 11-13 Fitz Blackman Drive, Port-of-Spain
Email: apett@mail.tt; Phone: (868) 627-6697; Web: www.apett.org; Like us on Facebook.
PEN Editor: Eng. Dr. Chris Maharaj (R.Eng., MAPETT, C.Eng.)
Eng. Fellow Lennox Nunez receives his
award from Wade Hamilton (Vice Presi-
dent, Technical Services of NGC)

Page 4
Joint APETT/IMechE Networking Event
On September 18, 2014 a joint Networking Event was held between the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and
the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobagos (APETT) Mechanical Division. Held at the University of
the West Indies (UWI) University Conference Centre, the event is expected to be the first of such joint events between both
associations. The main theme of the event was for professionals and students of the mechanical engineering discipline to
meet, network, and have some fun. The secondary theme was to raise awareness of the attendees to the need to be part of
the IMechE and APETT fraternity. There were approximately 180 attendees that comprised of recent graduates, current stu-
dents, and professionals from various industries.
Attendees also had the opportunity to register
with APETT and IMechE.
The event was hosted by IMechE committee
members Samantha Deoraj and Safiya Koo. The
welcome address was delivered by Eng. Fellow
Professor Clment Imbert, a long standing mem-
ber of APETT and the recipient of numerous
awards for his outstanding service to the indus-
try. His words of advice to the audience were
very informative. He also added a bit of comedy
which is a trademark of his charismatic personal-
ity.
The event was primarily sponsored by Qualitech
Machining Services (QMS) that was represented
by Mr. Jason Badree. Mr Badree highlighted the
various specialized equipment and associated skillsets that the company offers. Eng. Dr. Haydn Furlonge, president of
APETT, discussed the importance of the association, its objectives, and the benefits of membership. The benefits of mem-
bership included supporting personal development and opportunities for recognition and networking. The vision of APETT
Council is to lead the advancement of the Engineering Profession in T&T through effective collaboration with all stakehold-
ers. Mr. Deepak Lall spoke on behalf of Dr. Anthony Green, the IMechE Americas Region Chair. Mr Lall delivered an in-
formative presentation which introduced IMechE to the audience along with the different membership levels.
The Networking Event was not only structured to provide the audience with information regarding the two engineering organ-
izations but was also held as a fun interactive session between students and professionals from the industry. The interactive
session consisted of a brief presentation that each table of up to 8 attendees had to deliver after 10 minutes of preparation.
The intent of this session was to foster teamwork and stimulate the audiences mind with regard to issues related to mechan-
ical engineering in the country. It also was an attempt to demonstrate the importance of engineers and the need for sustaina-
bility in all projects they may be involved in. The entire event was very successful especially in terms of attendance and pro-
moting the engineering organizations. This is one of the first milestones set out by the joint APETT/IMechE collaboration.
There will be more collaborative efforts to come from the two organizations.
For further IMechE enquiries, please send an email to caribbeanrep@imechenetwork.org or
caribbeanunirep@imechenetwork.org.

Article Author: Hassan Mohammed. Photo courtesy of Keyon Mitchell.


APETT Mechanical Division, IMechE UWI student chapter, and
IMechE pan-Caribbean group committee members and volunteers
that prepared for and assisted on the day of the event.