NEXT MEETING Monday, December 12,
2005 (noon to 1:00pm) RSVP TODAY to Lulu Copeland at
697-3212
Our community submitted suggestions last fall
to name a spectacular new park being created on the North Shore as
part of the 21st Century Waterfront Plan. Two people, Jeff Nation and Jon
Farr, suggested it be named Renaissance Park and that is what the
Chattanooga Downtown Redevelopment Corporation voted last November to name
this 23-acre park. Development of Renaissance Park has begun and
Mayor Ron Littlefield will tell us about the plans to add boardwalks to the
southern end of the park where a flooded forest area is home for
significant wildlife. A phytoremediation process will be added to the park
where plant life will clean the stream that flows through the property.
This natural process will be incorporated into the park and students will be
able to study this biological process first hand. The northern end of the
park will include a new 6,200 square foot facility using an environmentally
sensitive design that should be completed in the spring of 2007. It will
operate as a destination and resource for information regarding the region's
rich natural, educational and recreational opportunities and amenities.
Mayor Littlefield has lived in Chattanooga most of
his life and has been in public service for more than 30 years.
Engineering scholarships will be presented to UTC
and CSTCC and the new club officers for 2006 will be installed.
Lunch: Reservations for this
lunch should be made by Dec. 5 through Lulu Copeland at 697-3212. Lunch
will include ground beef steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables,
and salad for $12.50.
Parking: If you don't
already have a parking pass for your dashboard, ask campus security where to
park for this event.
FUTURE MEETINGS (Please RSVP for Dec.
12 and Dec. 14
meetings)____________________________________
Tuesday,
December 6: IIE Christmas Reunion Dinner at Wally's Restaurant in
East Ridge, networking at 5:30 pm and dinner buffet at 6:00
pm (Institute of Industrial Engineers)
________________________________________________
Wednesday, Dec. 14, 11:30 am-1:00
pm Joint Meeting with 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
"Losing our Competitive
Edge?" William (Bill) Archey is President and CEO of
AeA
Jim Frierson has called the recent study by
AeA a "three-alarm" report about science and technology in the United
States. Bill Archey will present the highlights to us from this
report. 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.
_________________________________________________
No meeting on Dec. 19, 26, or Jan.
2
Monday, January 9: Plant tour
-- Details to be announced soon
Monday, January 16: No meeting - President's
Day
Monday, January 23: "Cameras on Traffic Lights
and in Curves" John VanWinkle, City of
Chattanooga
Location: Tallan Cellar Restaurant
Monday, January 30:
"Brainerd Levee System" Roger Milstead, TVA
Location: Tallan Cellar Restaurant
Program Chair: Terry
Reynolds
Tentatively moved to February:
"Intelligent Transportation Systems" Pat Hu, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory's Engineering Science and Technology Division
PREVIOUS
MEETING_____________________________________
December 5, 2005 "Engineering the Fight
Against Crime" Lieutenant Ken Phillips, Chattanooga Police
Department
Lt. Ken Phillips and Tim Commers showed us pictures
of fingerprint evidence that were prepared using Photoshop software in about an
hour. In the past, officers would spend many hours enlarging photographs
and putting them on hard foam boards to be used in court. Lt. Phillips
told us that the in-car digital video cameras have been a big asset, too.
Now, the judge and jury can also view sobriety tests because they were
recorded. High-tech fibers are used in body armor. These have saved
lives and are replaced after about 5 years to keep them performing well.
Computer-aided and GPS-aided dispatch along with live (rather than taped) in-car
digital videos are expected to improve response to crime scenes.
Computers are being used, especially by S.W.A.T. teams, to build databases
of floor plans with quick reference information like the number of
entrances and exits from local public buildings where a hostage situation might
occur. Building information is downloaded to a S.W.A.T. team computer in
the vehicle while they are in route to the building. For crime or crash
scene reconstruction, sometimes they use lasers to check bullet
trajectory, metal detectors, fluorescent lights to detect chemicals, and a
flashlight with a built in digital camera. Fingerprints taken from a scene
can now help to identify who the criminal might have been through a quick
database search. In the old days, fingerprint evidence was taken at a
crime scene and put on file. This evidence was only used to check if the
person the detectives suspect matched the fingerprints taken from the
scene. Now a print can identify a person. Then that person's DNA can
be tested for a match with the DNA collected from a crime scene. With
rapid identification through fingerprints, criminals who might never have
been found in the old days are now in prison.
November 28, 2005 "Gifts to Save Lives" Vic Humm, Safety
Technology International, Inc.
Vic Humm spoke about the different
kinds of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide sensors, and new products he expects to
be available next year. Here is a link to his Power Point presentation for
those who wanted more details:
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.