Chattanooga Engineers Club

NEXT MEETING____________________________

Monday, September 21 - Noon – DOUBLETREE HOTEL, Second Floor, Inspiration Room (407 Chestnut Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402)

“A Candid Evaluation of Our Economy" – Dr. John Garrett

In August 2008, the business press and one Presidential candidate insisted that the economy was sound and reports to the contrary were merely a political ploy by the opposition party. The story reported in the press was that the sub-prime mortgage collapse was “contained” and the modern “information-based post-industrial service sector” economy was relatively immune from high energy prices. The mild recession that began in December of 2007 turned ugly, pushing the economy off a cliff and into freefall. Even a cursory examination of the signals coming from the financial markets (TED spreads, LIBOR – Federal Fund spreads, etc.) indicated that a massive credit crunch, larger in scale than any since the Great Depression, was well underway.

Dr. John Garrett will discuss the beginning of the mild recession in America. He will describe how, six months later, predictions of an impending depression became commonplace. John will talk about the sum total of Federal support for the economy, including President Bush’s rescue package, the stimulus package designed by the Obama Administration, and Federal Reserve lending, which exceeded three trillion dollars.

Dr. Garrett is the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Foundation Professor of Economics.

FUTURE MEETINGS________________________

The DOUBLETREE staff has asked our Club members to arrive no earlier than 11:30 a.m. Speakers may arrive 15 minutes early. Since the DOUBLETREE staff bills the Club for those who sit at designated dining tables, the Club asks that if you do not plan to purchase a lunch, please sit in a chair at the perimeter of the room.

Monday, September 28 - Noon – “The Take Root Project and the Benefits of Urban Tree Planting”

Speaker: Preston Roberts, Take Root

Monday, October 5 - Noon – “Using Digital Technology to Create Global Maps”

Speaker: Alan Stevens, PhD, Scientist Emeritus, Federal Geographic Data Committee

Monday, October 12 – NO MEETING – In observance of Columbus Day

Monday, October 19 - Noon - "Micro Chemical Processing for Producing Biodiesel Fuel"

Speakers: Trip Dacus and Jennifer Lewis, Department of Chemical Engineering, UTC

Monday, October 26 – Noon – To be determined

Monday, November 2 – Noon – “Rethinking the Nature and Fate of our Universe”

Speaker: Dr. Robert Marlowe, Professor of Physics at UTC

PREVIOUS MEETING_______________________

Keith Buckner, Vice President of Manufacturing and Tennessee Operations Manager of Adaptive Methods Inc., described the Rapid Deployment Shelter System (RDSS). In July 2008, Adaptive Methods obtained an exclusive license from the Y-12 National Nuclear Security complex in Oak Ridge to further develop and manufacture the technology. Since July 2008, Adaptive Methods has invested over $1.3M in re-engineering in preparation for production manufacturing of the system here in Chattanooga. The RDSS is a unique rigid-walled shelter system that, with the touch of a single button, unfolds itself from a 20-foot-long steel ISO shipping container into a nearly 400-square-foot rigid-walled shelter system in less than two minutes. With the touch of a button, the RDSS quickly returns, powered by its onboard power supply, to its container configuration. The Club viewed a movie illustrating the opening and closing of the enclosure. All equipment and supplies needed for a planned deployment are securely stored inside the container, ready for operation.

The RDSS has been designed for use in domestic and military disaster response, emergency preparedness and other commercial applications. The target cost of each unit will be about $100,000.

Mr. Buckner also discussed Adaptive Methods’ 30-year relationship with the U.S. Navy. The company has 5 locations, $25,000,000 in annual revenues and over 100 employees, including 2 interns from UTC. Adaptive Methods, Y-12, and the Enterprise Center are all partnered in the venture to market and further develop the technology for global applications.

ITEMS OF INTEREST_______________________

The Chattanooga Engineer's Club meets at the DOUBLETREE HOTEL, CHATTANOOGA, Second Floor, Inspiration Room (407 Chestnut St., Chattanooga, TN 37402). Free parking is available in the gated parking lot on the south side of the Hotel only. The gate will be open from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Plan to arrive at about 11:30 a.m., if you intend to park in the limited space available. No additional parking is available in the pit east of the Hotel on Chestnut Street.

Looking for details on a local society meeting? Links to local engineering societies are available to you at: http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer

Captain Jon Norquist is searching for employment in Eastern Tennessee. He is a graduate of West Point with a degree in Civil Engineering, and he has served in Iraq. Please contact him by phone at 254-493-6599 or by e-mail at jonathan.norquist@us.army.mil.

QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS______________

If you have any questions, items that would be of interest to the Chattanooga Engineers Club, or suggestions for future programs, please contact Joe Robbins by e-mail at jrobbins@robbinsbohr.com or by phone at 423-756-4430. You can find membership application forms, references to future programs, historical data, and other info at: http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org. To receive future meeting announcements by email, join the Chattanooga Technology Organization mailing list at: http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org/email.