Academia Panamericana de Ingeniería
Academia Pan-Americana de Engenharia
Pan American Academy of Engineering
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The First Steps
The idea to create an
Academy of Engineering for the American Continent was born in UPADI -
Pan-American Federation of Engineering Societies, within his Committee on
Engineering Education by the end of the 80’s, being his President Prof. Eng.
Miguel Angel Yadarola.
The initiative was proposed
to Directorate of UPADI summoned in
The Directorate of UPADI summoned
in
After two years of work,
time during which antecedents of similar institutions were analyzed and after
succeeding with a suitable legal advising, the Editing Commission presented and
based an original version of By Laws to the
International Directorate of UPADI summoned in
In the meeting of
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UPADI starts up the Academy
The next meeting of the
International Directorate of UPADI made in
From the Headquarters of
UPADI in Puerto Rico, at the beginning of 1997, the Member Organizations
were summoned to organize rigorous processes of selection, with the purpose of
nominating names of prestigious engineers, distinguished by its recognized ethical
values and with an outstanding trajectory of contributions to the progress of
science, education and engineering in his country, in order to integrate the first
membership of the Academy, in the character of Charter Members.
In Lima, Peru in 1998,
the International Directorate, constituted in Election Committee, analyzed and
approved the first candidacies presented by the Member Organizations, but it
considered that some countries would not be represented in the membership of
the Academy because they do not responded with time to the summon. It decided
to extend the term until the following meeting that would become in opportunity
of XXVI UPADI Convention.
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Foundation of the Academy
In Panama 2000, with
the approval of new Candidates proposed by the Members of UPADI, the Directorate
summoned the 30 Elected Candidates to integrate the first membership of the Pan-American Academy of Engineering,
signing the Act of Foundation in a Solemn Ceremony. This happened on August 24
of year 2000 in the
On August 25, the brand new Founders
Academicians met in the First Plenary
Session in order to choose Authorities, to approve an Action Plan and to
establish the membership fees.
As President of the
Academy was elect Prof. Eng. Miguel Angel Yadarola, recognizing in
him, the vision and the leadership that allowed to create and to organize this
Institution, first in its sort, that gathers engineers of a whole Continent in
individual way. Eng. Yadarola continued exerting the Presidency through
successive re-elections, finalizing its mandate in 2010 in
As Vice-presidents were
elect
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Validity of the By Laws
With running of the years
it appeared the necessity to introduce some modifications in the By Laws, that could
consider aspects not included initially or that could mean explanations or
improvements in the wording and ordering of the texts.
The First Modification took place in the year 2004 in
The
Second Modification took
shape in
◦
A single
category for people of countries of the
◦
The
Category of Associate Member is reserved
for people of countries of other continents.
◦
The age limit (75 years) has been removed
for any people nominated as Member.
◦
The requirement
for the Members to participate in the Ordinary Plenary Sessions (every two
years) was also removed The new obligation is “participate
in the activities of the Academy with their presence at the biennial meetings,
or integrating Committees and Task Groups, or as a Speakers at Conferences or
teleconferences coordinated by an authority of the Academy”.
◦
The Board
of Directors will be partially renewed - by halves - every two years, with validity
as from year 2010.
◦
The
function of President Elect and Past-President is created. Both integrate the
Board of Directors.
◦
The members
of the Board of Directors can be re-elected by only two successive periods.
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Six Ordinary Sessions and Four Extraordinary Sessions in the first Ten
Years of Life
◦
Every two
years, the Members of the Academy are summoned to a Plenary Ordinary Session (POS).
There, plans of work are discussed, controls the implementation of programs is
considered and Balance Sheets, Budgets and the Report of the President, are
approved.
Until the end of the year 2010
there were six (6) Plenary Ordinary Sessions.
1° - POS – Panamá - 2000
2° - POS –
3° - POS – México - 2004
4° - POS –
5° - POS –
6° - POS –
◦
In subsequent years, the Academy will continue to fortify its
activity, counting with a growing participation of Academicians in their
biennial Plenary Sessions. Such was the case of the latter in Buenos Aires,
during which the Tenth Anniversary was celebrated with meetings of comradeships
that were held in coincidence of the World
Congress Argentina 2010.
◦
The Extraordinary
Plenary Sessions, held
until 2010, have been summoned to discuss and to approve modifications to the By
Laws: Mexico 2004, Atlanta 2006 (rejected
a draft modification), Brasilia 2008
and Puerto Rico 2009, the latter
only to consider the maintenance of the Legal Academy Headquarters in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil at FEBRAE Headquarters. New amendments to the By Laws shall surely happen in the
years to come. The Academy is a unique Institution that has not had previous
precedents in which its creators could find sources of inspiration for its
putting into shape, integration and operation.
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Policies Forums and Focus Sessions
◦
Programming
of Policies Forums of the
Academy began in the early years of life with the aims to present, study and
discuss matters of actuality and importance, for engineering and for the
Countries of the Americas and establish, through the results and Declarations, lines of action that mean
policies, suitable to be implemented by the Academy, by UPADI and by its member
Organizations and also by different professional, academic, governmental and
multinational Institutions.
§
Forum of
Tegucigalpa 2002 – Engineering
for Sustainable Progress - Cooperation for Technological Development.
§
Forum of
Montevideo 2003 - Accreditation in the
Regional Context
§
Forum of
Mexico 2004 - International Mobility of
the Engineers
§
Forum of
Atlanta 2006 - Ethics and Integrity in
the Provision of Engineering Services.
§
Forum of Mexico
2009 – Contributions of
Engineering to the Improvement of the Environment.
§
Forum of
Buenos Aires 2010 – Think
Engineering
◦
The Focus Sessions are meetings open
to free participation of all Academicians and Candidates in which are being
discussed themes, scheduled or not, that allow the improvement of the
activities of the Academy and the fulfillment of its mission, through a
critical analysis of strengths and weaknesses. In addition is analyzed the guidance
that will have future activities based on the study of new scenarios that allow
the definition and planning of strategies and programs of work.
§
First Focus Session:
§
Second Focus Session:
§
Third Focus Session:
◦
The Focus Sessions
do not adopt resolutions or recommendations. A rapporteur brings together the
most significant coincidences that are transferred to the Board of Directors
for its analysis and implementation.
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The Academy held its First Decade
with meetings in Buenos Aires. A successful cycle of consolidation and
expansion was fulfilled
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, on
21 and 22 October 2010, the Academy held its 10th Anniversary, which happened on
August 24th. The traditional Ordinary Plenary Session, the Policy Forum
on "Think Engineering", which at that time had as protagonists to the
Academicians previously registered with a Theme and an emotional Incorporation Ceremony
of new Members and Associate Members, left an indelible memory in all
participants. The Academy honored in Buenos Aires to its driving and founder Academician,
who was also its first President for ten years, Prof. Eng. Miguel Angel
Yadarola, giving him the distinction of being the first Member Emeritus.
Thanks to the continuous
and unselfish work of an important group of Members and Associate Members, the
Academy has managed to construct a reputation of excellence on the basis of
studies, debates and the adoption of policies for the engineering and the
countries of the
