NEXT MEETING Monday, November 28, 2005
(noon to 1:00pm)______
in the Tallan Cellar Restaurant at the corner
of M.L. King, Jr. Blvd. and Carter Street in downtown Chattanooga
"Gifts to Save Lives" Vic
Humm, Safety Technology International, Inc.
Is your smoke detector still good? Vic Humm
will show us UL listed aerosol samples for testing commercial and
residential smoke detectors and explain how to use them. He will also
describe other safety products that may be good holiday gifts. One product
is a smoke detector that can send a radio signal to a rotating disk under a
person’s pillow, causing it to vibrate to help ensure they don't sleep through
an alarm. The smoke detector can also radio to turn on a strobe
light. Another product Humm will describe is a new carbon monoxide sensor.
Vic Humm, an engineering consultant for Safety
Technology International Inc., is also a peer review member on several UL
(Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.) Technical Panels for some of these safety
related products.
Invocation: Ron
Burton
Lunch: A buffet lunch for $11 will be
available for attendees beginning at 11:30 a.m. that includes beef stew,
broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole, salad, a roll, and chocolate
pudding. Reservations are not required and guests are welcome. For
more information, call Judy Driggans at 751-7616 or Brad Baucom at
751-4696.
Parking: Free parking (for those
who leave a notice on their dash indicating they are with the Chattanooga
Engineers Club) is available for attendees at the Days Inn on Carter
Street. There is also a parking garage behind the Tallan
Building.
BUSINESS
___________________________________
Slate of Officers for
2006
The nominating committee has presented the following candidates
for next year's slate of officers. The election will be held on Nov. 28 by
ballot.
Section 4 of CEC By Laws: Members who are
unable to attend the election meeting of the Club may secure absentee ballots
from the Secretary (Philip Kazemersky, Phil-Kazemersky@utc.edu or
425-4718) upon written request, and shall return said absentee ballot to
the Secretary in a sealed envelope marked "BALLOT FOR OFFICERS" by noon of the
day of the election meeting.
First Vice President (Program
Chair):
Phil Kazemersky
Second Vice President (Membership
Chair):
Stephen R.
Smith
Secretary:
Tiffany
Grant
Ron Bailey
Judy Driggans will
assume the position of President
Steve Stark will remain as
Treasurer
PREVIOUS
MEETING_____________________________________
Nov. 21,
2005: "Lessons Learned by the National Transportation Safety Board"
- James Evan Hall, Hall & Associates, LLC
James Hall told us
that Orville and Wilbur Wright conducted the first aviation accident
investigation after Lt. Selfridge, a passenger on one of their early flights
that crashed, was the first aviation fatality. Later, the National
Transportation Safety Board was created to provide and independent investigation
of public transportation accidents. The NTSB employees about 400 people
and has a budget of about $70million/year. They investigate accidents to
prevent the same error from ever happening again. In addition to aviation
accidents, they have studied why air bags, when they were first included in
automobiles, were killing small children. They made recommendations to
manufacturers and changes in designs have been made. With regard to rail
transportation, Hall said there are many levels of government over uncontrolled
rail intersections where needless deaths occur. At least now there should
be stop signs at all these crossings. The rule remains that drivers should
stop, look, and listen before crossing a railroad.
Hall told us
that the "black box" recorders in airplanes are not really black. They are
orange. One "black box" is in the cockpit and the other is near the rear
of the plane. Sometimes they are hard to find. They felt lucky to
finally recover both recorders from a ValueJet that crashed into the
Everglades. These boxes are strong and can withstand extreme
temperatures. The only "black box" he could recall being destroyed was in
a small jet that crashed in Columbus, Ohio, because it burned for 8 to 12
hours. "Black boxes" can withstand extreme heat, but not for
long periods of time. The "black box" in a F18 fighter jet can be
ejected by either an electro magnetic release or by an explosive
device. "Black box" recorders loop and only keep the last 30
minutes of events. Sometimes flight problems start and linger for more
than 30 minutes and valuable information about early events that led to a crash
are lost in this 30 minute loop. They are now requesting a 2 hour looped
recording be made.
FUTURE MEETINGS
____________________________________
Monday, December
5: "New Technologies Used by Chattanooga
Police" Lt. Ken Phillips, Chattanooga. Police
Dept.
Monday, December 12:
"Renaissance Park Plans" Mayor Ron Littlefield
Please invite spouses and
guests. Reservations for this lunch should be made
by Dec. 5 through Gordon Phillips at our meetings or by calling
757-5104. Lunch will include ground beef steak with gravy,
mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables, and salad for
$12.50.
Location: Chattanooga State Technical Community
College, faculty dining room
Wednesday, Dec. 14: "Losing our Competitive
Edge?" William (Bill) Archey is President and CEO of AeA
A recent study by AeA that Bill Archey will discuss points
out that R&D funding supports innovation by investing in the
technologies that advance society, increase productivity and ultimately
improve standards of living. AeA (formerly the American Electronics
Association), founded in 1943, is a nationwide non-profit trade association
that represents all segments of the technology industry. Internet, MRI
scanning technology, Doppler radar, and GPS were born from U.S. federally
sponsored research. See
www.AeAnet.org for more.
This will be a joint meeting with the Chattanooga Technology Council and
other organizations. Please reserve a lunch before Dec. 7, by
calling Pamela Akins at the Chattanooga Technology Council,
423-209-6813.
Location: Chattanooga Convention
and Trade Center
No meeting on Dec. 19, 26, or Jan. 2
Monday,
January 9: "Intelligent Transportation Systems" Pat Hu,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Engineering Science
and Technology Division
Location: To be announced
Monday, January 16: No
meeting - President's Day
Monday,
January 23:
"Cameras on Traffic Lights and in Curves" John VanWinkle, City of
Chattanooga
Monday,
January 30: "Brainerd Levee
System" Roger Milstead, TVA
Program Chair: Terry
Reynolds
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.