NEXT MEETING noon in the Terrace Room (was Continental Room before renovation) of Sheraton Read House Hotel____________________
March 14: "Eastern Interconnect Phasor Project--Responding To Recommendations After A Blackout" Mike Ingram, TVA
Mike Ingram with TVA’s Research & Technology Applications organization will discuss a transmission project that resulted from the blackout August 14, 2003, that affected large areas of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast and portions of Canada. TVA is working with Entergy, American Electric Power and other utilities on Phase 2 of the Eastern Interconnect Phasor Project. The regional project involves the installation of "real time" measurement instruments, which will permit the collection, sharing and display of measurement data among utilities. The project will improve grid reliability by making critical disturbances in transmission facilities apparent to system operators on a more timely basis.
For those of you who can't wait to hear Mike describe the "real time" measurement instruments, they are phasor measurement units (PMU) and they sample threephase power line waveforms at 720 Hz or higher. They compute phasors from these digital samples using a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), and combine the three phases into a single positive sequence value. The DFT computation is referenced to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), as derived from GPS (Global Positioning System).
Menu: Not available, yet. Please call the Sheraton Read House at 266-4121 if you need to know the menu.
OUR PREVIOUS MEETING ______________________________________________________________
March 7: "NASA Science Program for Elementary Education" Debbie Rosenow, Jamelie Kangles, and Sauyna Goss from Battle Academy
Pictures from the Battle Acadamy, an elementary school in downtown Chattanooga, showed students using palm pilots to record their assignments, do some assignments using FreeWrite, ViewPoint and Sketchy, and getting feedback from their teachers downloaded directly into their palm pilots. Battle Academy is using a hands-on approach to science and technology instruction. At their last PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) they had over 400 people in attendance where the parents and the children participated together in learning experiences with Battle Academy's liaison from NASA. Their children participated recently in the popular egg drop science project where the children design a container to protect an egg during a single story drop. Some children incorporated "drag" using wind resistance to soften their container's landing. They have participated in testing insulation for seeds that have flown in a weather balloon. Signals from space are being used to track the migration of land animals. Students have made presentations to each other on a "smart" board showing large maps and the migration pattern they are predicting or seeing from the data. They even have video conferences with NASA and other NASA Explorer Schools. The hallways are lined with handwritten daily summaries by the children of what NASA posts on their website. This helps with their reading comprehension and writing skills. The children are excited about science because NASA has gotten the teachers excited about science. Their funding partnership with NASA lasts for 3 years, but the impact of their partnership on the teachers with multiply with every student they encounter during their teaching careers.
FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS (noon in the Terrace Room of Sheraton Read House if location isn't listed)_____________March 21: "Compressed Air Is Versatile And Convenient But It Is One Of Industry's Most Expensive Energy Sources"" Art Stavrum, Ingersoll-Rand Company, Chattanooga Air Center
March 28: "Robotics Role in the Military" Don Jones, MESA Robotics, Madison, AL
April 4: Award-Winning paper presented at a joint meeting with the ASEE (American Society of Engineering Educators) Southeast Section Conference--Lunch will be $12 at the UTC Student Center and will require RSVP in advance to Judy Driggans at 751-7616
April 11: (tentative) speaker from Oak Ridge National Laboratory
April 18: "Nanotechnology In Medicine" Dr. Robert Bergland
April 25: "Medical Diagnostic Camera-- So Small It's Swallowable" Bill Garner, Given Imaging, Inc., Norcross, GA
May 2: “Advances in Refining Coal for Power Production" Dale Bradshaw, Advanced Coal Technology (ACT)
May 9: "Aerodynamic Drag Reduction of Heavy Vehicles" Dr. David Whitfield, UTC SimCenter
May 16:
May 23:
May 30: No Meeting - Memorial Day
June 4 (Saturday): CEC Pizza in the Park--a casual gathering with no prepared speaker, 10 am to 2 pm, Pavilion #3 at Chester Frost State Park
WHERE WE MEET _______________________________________________________
We usually 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.