CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB http://www.utc.edu/~engrcs/cec/cec.htm Volume LI February 28, 2000 12:00 noon Number 8 The Cellar at Union Square THIS WEEK__________________________________________________________________ Bradley Davis and Georgia Caruthers, graduating seniors of UTC School of Engineering and Computer Science will present their Senior Design Project. The students were presented with real world problems from several local engineering and manufacturing facilities. Mr. Davis and Ms. Caruthers are on the DuPont team. This project is sponsored by DuPont. The project requires that the team identifies and evaluates processes for recycling or disposing of the ash generated by DuPont's coal-fired boilers. The team will make recommendations to DuPont at the end of April as to what option is the best, applying engineering analyses to justify their selection. LAST WEEK___________________________________________________________________ Mr. Jim Frierson was our E Week Kickoff luncheon speaker. Mr. Frierson presented the Chatlanta High Speed Rail Initiative. Chattanooga / Atlanta is one of the seven pair cities being considered for a magnetic levitation project funded by the federal government. One proposal will be awarded this year, the award will fund 70 miles of magnetic levitation rail. For our proposal it will take the rail from Atlanta to Kennesaw. The remainder will require other funding source. Mr. Frierson listed several reasons why the Chattanooga Atlanta proposal is a very strong proposal. Atlanta has become the site of many corporate headquarters, with the recent Olympic, Atlanta has gained world recognition as well. Atlanta metropolitan area has grown at a tremendous rate in the last decade, it now includes 20 counties, with 3.5 million in population. The metro Atlanta could add 3 or 5 more counties in the next year. Metro Chattanooga is a 5 county area, with 3 counties in Georgia, and two in Tennessee. Chattanooga has been labelled as the 4th city in Tennessee, but the second largest in Georgia. Chattanooga also been gaining notoriety as a tourist site, and an environmental aware city. Chattanooga and Atlanta have been working as partners for the last five years. With Atlanta airport at its maximum capacity, Chattanooga could offer ours as a secondary airport. Atlanta now has the distinction of having the longest commute of any cities in the country. With the population explosion, poor air quality, and traffic problems, Atlanta has begin to see some decline in property values. The high speed rail could solve problems for Atlanta, and benefit Chattanooga in economic growth. The magnetic levitation federal fund is not our only avenue, the studies that the two cities have done will apply toward other funding possibilities. The proposal is for a high speed rail to connect the two cities. Atlanta's grand plan includes rails to Charlotte and Raleigh, Birmingham and Montgomery, Knoxville and Nashville, Macon, Savannah and Jacksonville. The consultant team led by Parsons Transportation Group includes top firms from both Atlanta and Chattanooga will complete a draft environmental assessment by February 29, 2000 that will evaluate potential impacts of the project. The parties involved have been studying the high speed rails in Germany and Japan. Mr. Frierson was on the last passenger train out of Chattanooga in May 1971. He personally would like to see passenger train in Chattanooga again. An article on the possible route for the rail can be found at www.timesfreepress.com/1999/dec/04dec99/02maglev.html Mr. Frierson also provided a site to obtain additional information, www.acmaglev.com. COMING PROGRAMS___________________________________________________ March 6 - Patrick Leary, BreezeCOM Wireless March 13 -Anda Ray, Interim Director of the TVA Public Power Institute (PPI). March 27 - Brian Taylor and Rebecca Williams, UTC Senior Design, Roadtec Project. E WEEK AWARDS___________________________________________________________ Melvin L. Downs, P.E. is named Engineer of the Decade. Mr. Downs is president of Downs Engineering, a consulting firm, engaged in civil engineering functions. Mr. Downs has been the resident engineer on various storm water projects for the City of Chattanooga. William E. Estes, P.E. is named Engineer of the Year. Mr. Estes is a Mechanical Engineer for Townsend Engineering. He has participated in the design of various buildings in the Southeast, recently completing projects on Ringold Elementary School and Boyd Buchanan High School. Bill Payne is named the Young Engineer of the Year. Mr. Payne is the Manager of Storm Water for the City of Chattanooga. He is also the current president of the local Amercan Society of Civil Engineers. June Henderson is named as the Engineering Technician of the Year. Ms. Henderson is a civil engineering technician at the Volkert & Associates. Most recently, Mrs. Henderson has assisted in the completion of widening of Olgiati Bridge, and Highway 153. --- Chattanooga Technology Council Mailing List | A free service provided by To unsubscribe, e-mail: ctc-unsubscribe@cdc.net | CDC Internet, Inc. For additional commands, e-mail: ctc-help@cdc.net | http://www.cdc.net "