Cellar Restaurant at Union Square

Downtown, Chattanooga

Speakers: Susan Hance and David Kimball of ModernTech SI Inc.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has chosen the GEOPAK Civil Engineering Suite as its standard computer-aided design software package. In addition, TDOT requires that its engineering and surveying consultants use GEOPAK. Susan Hance and David Kimball, both from ModernTech SI Inc., will address why TDOT standardized on this design suite, the organizations impacted by this change, today’s status of its implementation, and what lies ahead for TDOT. They will also describe some of the features of the suite. Modern Tech handles the GEOPAK account for TDOT. It has offices in several cities throughout the Southeast, including Knoxville.

An important factor in the selection of GEOPAK was its ability to take the same data through the complete project cycle and to handle the full gamut of roadway project needs, according to TDOT managers. They say that GEOPAK is more efficient and easier to use than the previous software. What’s more, it is able to handle an entire project in one continuous cycle— from survey through construction.

AT OUR LAST MEETING _______________________________________________

April 2: "Improvements in Outdoor Lighting for Safety and Astronomy"

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

As night lighting has become more ubiquitous, it has also become an intrusion into our privacy and has even become detrimental to our health and safety. Glare from poorly engineered roadways and parking lots often contribute to the hazards of the road and, even in a home environment, it is difficult to experience the darkness of night without the intrusion of a neighbor’s spotlight. Our speaker, Bobby Thompson said that there are new lighting designs on the market today that go a long way in improving the situation. Foremost is the implementation of fixtures that focus the light onto the areas that are intended to be lit rather that to the surrounding space. Bobby described some of these lighting designs and how they were successfully implemented. He said the use of these lights and the education of the general public on the impact of excessive and poorly designed lighting will go a long way to reduce dangerous glare, avoid wasting energy and avoid light trespassing on other people’s property.

For more information on the subject, visit the International Dark-Sky Association site:

www.darksky.org

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS ______________________________________

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, Including the Control Room

1:00 p.m. to about 3:00 p.m.

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

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

Regarding the Field Trip to Sequoyah Nuclear Plant ____________________________

Note that the trip starts at 1:00 p.m. and lasts about 2 hours. If you are interested in attending, please make your reservations now by dropping me an e-mail (uwe@chattanooga.net) or giving me a call at 756-4321. For security purposes, you will need to provide me with the following information:

Home Address, including street, city, state, and zip code
Social Security Number

Citizenship – Yes/No (If not U.S. citizen, will need passport number)
Birth date (Month, day, and year)
Employer

DON’T FORGET _____________________________________________________

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 meetings at The Cellar Restaurant. 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