engineering

Paul J. Torpey

Paul J. Torpey is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul J. Torpey rather than just read about it. In short: Paul J. Torpey (1937-2019) was an American mechanical engineer and former executive at ESEERCO research cooperation.

Key takeaways

Paul J. Torpey belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul J. Torpey to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul J. Torpey from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul J. Torpey (1937-2019) was an American mechanical engineer and former executive at ESEERCO research cooperation. He served as 113th president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in the year 1994-95. Paul Torpey was a recognized leader in the mechanical engineering profession. During his distinguished career, he made significant contributions to the electric utility industry at companies including Bell Telephone Labs and Consolidated Edison Company (Con Edison) of New York as well as organizations including the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Empire State Electric Energy Research Corporation (ESEERCO). He was also active within the engineering professional society community, as evidenced by his many years of leadership service in ASME.

Biography Torpey graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1955. He studied mechanical engineering at Columbia University, where he obtained his BSc in 1959, and his MSc in 1960. After graduation in 1960, Torpey started his career at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. (Bell Labs) in New Jersey. While at Bell, he was influential in the development of aircraft derivative gas turbines used to provide backup power for the United States’ telecommunications network. In 1970, Torpey joined Con Edison where he helped the company launch one of the earliest electric utility research departments. He worked on a variety of projects related to environmental control, advanced energy conversion, robotics, energy conservation and renewable resources. During the 1970s, he was also a key figure in the formation of the EPRI and ESEERCO— two energy organizations that have conducted extensive research exploring efficient energy utilization, environmental protection, cleaner advanced energy sources, and improved methods for the transmission and distribution of electric energy. Torpey, who assumed the role of ESEERCO’s administrator in 1974, steered that organization through its evolution from a group focused on nuclear research into a research consortium that conducted a wide range of electric energy research projects for the electric utilities in New York State. He served as its administrator from 1974 to 1976, and was executive director from 1988 to his retirement in 1999. Outside of the power industry, Torpey established himself as a prominent leader during his nearly 60 years as an ASME member. He served as the Society’s 113th president in 1994-1995, and held a number of prominent ASME leadership positions, including member of the Board of Governors from 1989-1993, ASME’s vice president of research from 1984-1988, chair of the Society’s Leadership Development Initiative from 1992-1997, chair of the Fellows Review Committee from 2002-2004, and member of the ASME Auxiliary from 1994-1996. Following his presidency, he was also active in the History and Heritage Committee, the ASME Research Board and the Committee on Staff. Torpey received the ASME Centennial Medal and Dedicated Service Award in 2008 for his work with the Society, and was named an ASME Honorary Member in 2011 for “outstanding leadership in the electric utility research field that significantly advanced modern power systems, and for enlightened and insightful activities in engineering societies that improved the quality of the profession.” Paul married Phyllis A Robinson in 1962. They had one child, Mark R. Torpey and four grandchildren—Matthew R. Torpey, Jacob R. Torpey, Benjamin J. Torpey and Mark S. Torpey. Torpey died on Aug. 26, 2019, at his home in Greenport, N.Y. He was 80 years old.

Selected publications Torpey, P. J., "Noise control of emergency power generating equipment." Amer. Ind. Hyg. Ass., J. 30, 596 (1969). Paul J. Torpey. "Establishing the longitudinal temperature distribution for fully developed turbulent flow in a gas turbine exhaust duct," Conference Paper, in: Papers, ASME, The Society, 1970. p. 81-89 Torpey, P. J. "Mini computerizing analog data collection." Control Eng. 17(6), 69, June 1970. Torpey, Paul J. "Collaborative R&D Helps Companies Stay Productive," Mechanical Engineering-CIME, Vol. 116, No. 10. (October 1994)

References

External links Media Link [1], Honorary ASME Membership Awarded in 2011

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul J. Torpey

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul J. Torpey claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul J. Torpey before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul J. Torpey ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul J. Torpey

In research: Paul J. Torpey appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul J. Torpey in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul J. Torpey is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1937 births, 2019 deaths, American mechanical engineers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul J. Torpey outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paul J. Torpey in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul J. Torpey means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paul J. Torpey out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul J. Torpey in simple terms?

Paul J. Torpey (1937-2019) was an American mechanical engineer and former executive at ESEERCO research cooperation.

Why does Paul J. Torpey matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul J. Torpey?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul J. Torpey.