Cellar Restaurant at Union Square

Downtown, Chattanooga

-by Bobby Thompson, Director of UTC’s Jones Observatory.

It used to be that the scourge of any astronomer was a cloudy sky. That dread has been supplanted in recent decades by a phenomenon that makes viewing distant stars very difficult, if not impossible: outdoor lighting. With the sprawl of human habitat becoming ever more expansive, few places are left in the world from which to view the night sky or conduct astronomical research. Bobby Thompson, Director of UTC’s Jones Observatory, says that this does not have to be the case. Foremost, outdoor lighting does not necessarily provide a more secure environment. Furthermore, the lighting can be designed in such a way that it minimizes its impact of obscuring the night skies while, at the same time, providing the necessary lighting for streets and buildings. At our Monday meeting, Bobby will explain how such compatibility can be achieved and how the implementation of proposed measures can benefit the scientific and general community.

AT OUR LAST MEETING _______________________________________________

Monday, March 26 "The UTC - Astec Industries Senior Design Project"

• by Jennifer Smith

To determine the proper heat transfer coefficients of an Astec Industries soil remediation system, a design team of UTC senior engineering students developed a device that models the functions of the remediation system at a much smaller scale but yet one that produces reliable and consistent data. The team also developed a mathematical model that incorporates the test data, scaling factors, and thermodynamic properties to calculate the heat transfer coefficients. Jennifer Smith, one of the design team members, provided us with a general overview of the development of this device, as well as the design of a bench top model that was used to test some original concepts and design techniques. Knowledge of the coefficients will allow Astec engineers to adjust their remediation equipment to properly treat the contaminants, to avoid overheat the contaminated soil and to reduce operating costs

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS ______________________________________

April 9: "Tenn. Dept. of Transportation Selects a Civil Engineering CAD Program"

• A Presentation of its features by the selected software developer, Geopack.

April 16: UTC Senior Design Presentations of their Roadtec Project.

April 23: UTC Senior Design Presentations of their AVS Project.

April 30: Field trip to Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

May 5: "Nuclear Power: Today and in the Future"

– Dr. Harold Dodds – Director, UTK Nuclear Engineering Department

GREAT NEWS THAT BEARS REPEATING ______________________________

The management at the Days Inn across the street from the Crystal Building (M.L. King Blvd and Carter Street) has consented to let us park in their parking lot during our Monday meeting times from about 12 to 1. It is free of charge. They do ask, however, that we leave some type of note on our car’s dashboard to indicate that we are attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club. Your copy of the snail-mail bulletin will probably do well as marker. Also, it would be nice to stop by the reception desk and tell them you have parked your car there and are going to the Engineers Club meeting.