CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org

NEXT MEETING (noon in the Read House Continental Room)_____________________________________________

Monday, February 14: "The Downtown Plan Through 2025 for Chattanooga" Karen Hundt, Director of Planning & Design Studio, Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

Hundreds of Chattanoogans came together to share their visions of what downtown Chattanooga can and should become. Those individual dreams were collected and refined by Karen Hundt’s staff in the Planning & Design Studio. Participants talked about better transportation systems; they talked about conservation of the natural aspects of downtown; they talked about constructing buildings that will be environmentally responsible and architecturally interesting; and they talked about creating great public spaces for all of us to enjoy. All of that is included in this plan that integrates our goals for transportation, public spaces and natural systems. Karen Hundt will tell us that because this plan is a guide its adoption will not guarantee that community improvements will be funded or that zoning changes will occur. However, having this plan may increase the priority of these projects and guide the city leaders to make the changes that the citizens have asked for.

Invocation: Ron Burton

Menu: Unavailable today--Please call the Read House at 266-4121 for the menu.

SPECIAL E-WEEK ANNOUNCEMENT__________________________________

The 2005 Chattanooga Area Engineer’s Week Awards committee invites you to submit a candidate for nomination by Feb. 11, to one of the following E-Week awards:  "Engineer of the Year," "Young Engineer of the Year," "Technician of the Year," "People-to-People," or "Manager of the Year." To obtain the nomination forms please contact Bryan Eldridge, at 423-238-7111 x 23202 or 326-1699 or by email at bryan_eldridge@mckee.com or eldridgeb@asme.org , or Tiffany Gibby at 423-751-3168 or 326-3185 or by e-mail at tjgibby@tva.gov . You may also access the nomination forms online at the CEC web site under E-Week 2005. http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer/EWeek_Activities_2005.htm

Nominations forms for the first three awards below need to be received by Byran Eldridge by email by February 11. General award qualifications are:

ENGINEER OF THE YEAR  - graduate of an accredited engineering college with a baccalaureate in a recognized engineering discipline; known for practice in Chattanooga, registered as a professional engineer.

YOUNG ENGINEER OF THE YEAR  - same as for Engineer of the Year except EIT can be held in lieu of registration; under thirty six years of age during 2004.

TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR  - graduate of a two-year associate of applied science degree in engineering technology with a minimum of five years experience OR ten years related work experience with two letters of recommendation from engineers verifying that the level of work is consistent with that required of someone with a two-year degree.

PEOPLE TO PEOPLE - Nominees should be actively involved in public programs, should be dedicated to civic, community or national programs of improvement and support for people-to-people type programs, should have demonstrated significant community or civic loyalty and support for people-to-people type programs, and be a character of such community contributions as to be of unheralded personal service and support. Nominations for this award should be submitted by February 11 to Wayne McCoy at 423-698-2661 or MILLERMCCOY@aol.com .

CHATTANOOGA AREA MANAGER OF THE YEAR - This award is separate from the others in that it is not necessarily an engineering-related award and will not be presented at the banquet. However, the Engineers Club is invited to participate in the nominations. Nominees should:

Have provided leadership in the development of the economic progress of the Greater Chattanooga Area.
Be broadly recognized as a role model for ethical management practices and management as a professional.
Have contributed to the community well being through activities other than by primary position by civic, professional, church, or educational leadership.
Be a top executive in business, industry, government, or non-profit activity in the Greater Chattanooga Area.
Be nominated and selected as an individual, not as a representative of any specific company or organization.
Be a visible advocate of the American Free Enterprise System.
Nominations for this award should be submitted by February 11 to Jim Steele at 423-697-2614 or jim.steele@chattanoogastate.edu .

OUR PREVIOUS MEETING________________________________________________

February 7: "Steel - The Cold, Hard Facts About a Red-Hot Commodity" Nelson Burger, Siskin Steel

Nelson Burger told us many long-time employees of the steel industry began to retire in the 1990s. With their retirement, the steel industry in America was faced with monumental legacy costs. This extra cost made it so difficult to compete with imported steel that within a period of five years, about 45 major steel firms went bankrupt. In 2002, President Bush invoked Section 201 of the International Trade Act of 1974 that put a tariff of 30% on imported goods in year 1, 24% in year 2, and 18% in year 3. As a result, American steel manufacturers immediately increased their prices nearly 30%. This helped, but midway through the 3-year plan, President Bush abolished the tariffs because of world threats to impose tariffs on U.S. exports and he said the desired recovery of the US steel industry was underway.

China has been importing steel and also the raw materials to produce finished steel products. Mr. Burger called this the "perfect storm" that was brewing in late 2003. China was consuming coal (for coke) and scrap at increasing rates. A fire in a major US Steel coal mine reduced the available coal by more than 25%. China needed coal and scrap metal and was willing to pay for it. So prices went up. The price of scrap in January 2003 was $80/ton and the price hit $430/ton during 2004. As a result of this "perfect storm" phenomenon, the mills implemented raw material surcharges to pass on the cost of market price surges of raw materials to the consumers. The surcharges hurt companies that were locked into long-term contracts for large construction projects. Burger quoted Nucor Steel's President, Dan DiMicco, as saying, "Surcharges are here to stay. Some months they may be zero, but they are a part of our industry." Will the price of steel continue to rise? The experts can't agree: 40% say prices will increase about 10%, 40% say prices will decrease about 13%, and 20% say prices will not change. The factors that will impact the future steel market are:

World-wide demand--especially China and India
Consolidation--reduction of supply
Low value of the US dollar will limit imports into the United States
Low interest rates will help maintain a strong capital goods market

Some are predicting a "cooling down" period of steel prices because auto sales in the US have leveled off or dropped during the latter part of 2004. It is thought that those who would have purchased a vehicle in the fall may already have purchased one because of the incentives offered since Sept. 11, 2001.

In closing, Mr. Burger warned us that we have a global market and that a minor shift in China's economy may dump excess supply of steel into the world market. It isn't only steel they are consuming. In 2003, China consumed 55% of the world's cement production, 36% of the world's steel production, 25% of aluminum production, 30% of the world's iron ore, 31% of the world's coal supply, and scrap imports to China from the US increased 50%. China's raw material demand on global trade is so dramatic that shipping rates have quadrupled in the past 24 months.

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS (will be at the Read House if location isn't listed)_____________________________

February 21: No Meeting - Presidents Day

Wednesday, February 23: Engineers Week Keynote Speaker: David Magee, author of Ford Tough
This joint meeting with the Chattanooga Technology Council will be at the Chattanooga Convention & Trade Center. Lunch will be $12. Reservations at least a week before the event are recommended and may be made by calling Tiffany Gibby at 751-3168. For information on this and other E-Week activities, see: http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer/EWeek_Activities_2005.htm

February 28: "How to Design a Display that will Grab and Hold a Child's Attention" Bobbe Spink, Montessori School

March 7: "NASA Science Program for Elementary Education" Debbie Rosenow, Battle Academy

March 14: "Eastern Interconnect Phasor Project -- Responding to NERC's Blackout Recommendations" Mike Ingram, TVA

March 21: (tentative) "New Technologies in Medicine" a Doctor from Erlanger Hospital

March 28: "Robotics Role in the Military" Don Jones, MESA Robotics, Madison, AL

April 4: (tentative) "A Camera So Small People Swallow It To Help Diagnose Digestive Problems" Bill Garner, Given Imaging, Inc., Norcross, GA

April 11: (tentative) speaker from Oak Ridge National Laboratory

April 18: (tentative) "Cooking Like The Jetsons With The Intelligent Ovens Now Being Built in Chattanooga" David Mansbery, TMIO

WHERE WE MEET _______________________________________________________

We meet at The Read House, and lunch is $11. Parking is free at the Days Inn across MLK Blvd. but you’ll need a note in your windshield that you’re attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting. Valet parking (by AAA, the manager of the Read House Hotel parking garage) is about $3 for lunch events. The Read House Hotel garage entrance is now on Broad Street.

QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________________________

If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please contact Judy Driggans at 423-751-7616 or by email at jdriggans@comcast.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org.