CHATTANOOGA
ENGINEERS CLUB
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
Beginning April 18, our meetings will be held in the
Tallan Cellar Restaurant, Two Union Square, Chattanooga, TN 37402.
NEXT MEETING
(noon)_______________________________________________________
Location: Tallan Cellar Restaurant, Two Union
Square, Chattanooga, TN 37402
April 18: "Nanotechnology In
Medicine or Very Tiny Things" - Dr. Robert Berglund, Chattanooga Heart Institute
Dr. Berglund will
discuss ideas from Engines of Creation, a book by K. Eric
Drexler. In the coming years, a scalpel may become considered a
crude tool to tear through cells in an effort to begin the miraculous healing
process of the human body. Sensors smaller than a cell could give us
an inside look at what is happening. Small machines could circulate
throughout the body identifying the locations of cancerous
cells. Small machines could also be used to deliver poison to
cancer cells or oxygen where it may be needed to reduce cell
damage. Dr. Berglund will tell us what nanotechnology breakthroughs
are being used now to promote healing and what will likely be used in medicine in the
near future.
Invocation: Jack Wagner
Menu: A salad and buffet lunch of Chicken & Dressing,
Green Beans, Squash Casserole and Banana Pudding will be available for $10 per
person. If you plan to eat with us, please reply to jgdriggans@tva.gov to help us estimate
how many meals we should order each
week.
OUR PREVIOUS MEETING
____________________________________________________
April 11: "Electron Microscopes Can
Characterize Nanomaterials at Sub-Angstrom Resolution" Dr. Larry
Allard, ORNL
Dr. Larry Allard from ORNL
discussed the extremely high-resolution microscopy activities. He
mentioned the HTML, the High Temperature Materials Laboratory, which allows
users to submit an application to conduct experiments. If a user submits a
project that is "publishable," then the experiments can be conducted for
free. Dr. Allard reviewed the design of the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory
(AML) showing a floor plan and describing many crucial elements of design for
the Instrument Building and the Mechanical Building. For example, the
floors were specially designed to minimize vibration and magnetic
interference which can affect the lab's very sensitive instruments.
Instead of using normal rebar which can carry current, the floor structure was
built with epoxy-coated rebar. The Instrument Room was constructed
using a "house-in-house" concept so that the inner building containing the
instruments is encased in an outer "shell" building to maintain constant
temperatures. Power lines that interfered with the operation of the
instruments had to be re-routed and twisted-pair wiring was employed within the
facility to eliminate magnetic fields. Also, supply and return ductwork
have dielectric breaks and vibration insulators and the ceiling panels support
two-inch sound-damping material. There is a special UPS backup power
system to provide 15 minutes and 75 kilowatts of backup power in the event of a
power failure. All these elements provide an ideal environment for
measuring instrument performance. Another interesting feature is that
computer systems were set up so that
experiments can be run remotely from anywhere that has high-bandwidth
connectivity.
One of the
instruments used in the AML is the JEOL 2200FS-AC Aberration-Corrected Electron Microscope, or
"ACEM." This instrument came with a $3 million price tag; the aberration
control unit alone cost $1 million. It directs a 0.6-angstrom electron
beam through a detector and to a spectrometer resulting in extremely
high-resolution down to a single atom. Amazingly, it is not the hardware
that is patented in this application; it is the software which uses
the Fourier Transform method to provide sub-angstrom images of
materials often applied to a super-thin carbon film. Dr. Allard showed
several results from the operation of the ACEM.
Thanks to Tiffany Gibby for
the summary of our last meeting.
FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS (noon in the
Tallan Cellar Restaurant unless another location is indicated)
__________
April 25: "PillCam: A 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
(Location: UTC SimCenter Auditorium, 701 M.L.
King Blvd., Chattanooga, TN 37403)
May 16: "New Air Pollution
Requirements and Chattanooga's Response" Errol Reksten, Chattanooga Air
Pollution Control Bureau
May 23: "Fire Protection Integrated Systems for Mass
Notification" Vic Humm, Safety Technology International,
Inc.
May 30: No Meeting - Memorial
Day
June 4 (Saturday): CEC
Summer Social -- Pizza in the Park, 10 am to 2 pm
(Location: Chester Frost State Park, Pavilion
#3)
WHERE WE MEET
_________________________________________________________
We will usually meet at Tallan Cellar Restaurant in the
basement of the Tallan Building at the corner of M. L. King Blvd. and Carter
Street. Lunch at the Cellar Restaurant is a hot buffet for $10 and the
meal is available at 11:30 a.m. Parking is available free at the Days Inn
across Carter Street, but you will need a note in your windshield that you’re
attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting. You may also park one
hour free in the garage behind the Tallan building if you
have your ticket stamped in the
Cellar Restaurant.
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________________________
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.