Chattanooga Engineers Club Newsletter

NEXT MEETING____________________

Monday November 1 – Dr Anwar Zahid, - Arcadis

“ Hurricane & Flood Protection System- New Orleans, Louisiana”

Dr. Zahid will discuss many of the hydraulic and flood protection structures now being constructed in New Orleans, LA. He will talk about the complexity and challenges in designing some of these significant structures where he is actively involved in the design.

Dr. Zahid earned his BS and MS in Structural Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Ph.D. in Structural Engineering and Mechanics from North Carolina State University. His experience encompasses working on complex hydraulic structures including gates, pump stations, concrete T-walls for flood protection, levees for flood protection, and complex foundation design. His responsibilities have included project management, task management, engineer of record, technical reviewer and teaching.

FUTURE MEETINGS ____________________

Monday November 8 – Dr Cliff Ricketts Middle Tennessee State University

“Running Engines off Sun and Hydrogen, using TVA’s Green Power Switch and Generation Partners Programs”

Dr Ricketts will describe how he uses solar panels to generate electricity, which then generates hydrogen for fueling a high performance car. He may show the vehicle as well.

Monday November 15 – Dale Bradshaw - Consultant to NRECA

“Fossil Plant Efficiency Improvements”

Monday November 22 – Michael J. Landguth, President & CEO - Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority.

“Chattanooga Airport Plan” - Mr. Landguth will discuss plans for the Chattanooga Airport, and its economic impact on the area. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and is a certified flight instructor, advanced ground instructor and a licensed commercial pilot. He came to Chattanooga in 1999 as Director of Airport Operations, and became CEO in 2004.

Monday November 29 – Mark Swartz, Architect, Owner of greenMark Collaborative

-Topic TBD

Monday December 6 – Dr Nasser Khalifeh - Memorial Hospital (invited)

“New Radiation Therapy Technology to Minimize Collateral Damage”

Monday December 6 – Ron Domitrovic - Electric Power Research Institute
“EPRI’s National Energy Efficiency Demonstration program”

PREVIOUS MEETINGS____________________

Monday, October 25 – “49^th Annual Association Conservation Engineers Conference”

The Chattanooga Engineers Club met with the Association of Conservation Engineers (ACE) for their Carl Anderson Conservation Project Engineering Awards dinner. ACE is an international professional organization of engineers and others in related disciplines that work with the natural environment and promote the application of sound engineering practices in the field of natural resource protection, environmental restoration and recreation development.

Awarded annually, the Carl Anderson Conservation Project Engineering Awards recognize ACE members for outstanding projects in conservation engineering. The Valley Forge Park Water Main and Stream Restoration Project in Chester County, Pa., received the Award of Excellence, and the Conowingo Dam Fishing Enhancements Project in Darlington, Md., received the Award of Merit. Further details may be found at http://www.gfnet.com/Newsroom/2010/conservationawards091510.htm

Monday, October 25 – Superconductivity, – a Transformative Technology”

Dr. Rather compared superconductivity to other transformational technologies such as the AC power grid and nuclear energy. Low temperature superconductivity, which requires temperatures of 4.2 Kelvin, was discovered in 1911. It requires liquid helium coolant. High temperature superconductivity, which operates at 77 Kelvin, was discovered in 1987. It can use liquid nitrogen as coolant, which can dramatically lower capital and operating cost compare to low temperature equipment.

Current applications of superconductivity include MRI Imaging, and MagLev (Magnetically Levitated) Trains. Future uses include electric transmission lines and energy storage. MRI machines are becoming commonplace; however, there are only a few MagLev trains in the world. A system developed in Germany and being deployed in China uses does not use superconductivity, which increases cost significantly and limits the speed of vehicles because of the small clearance (~2 cm) between the vehicles and the track on which it operates. The Japanese system uses low temperature superconductivity and can maintain 10 cm of clearance and achieve higher speeds.

Dr Rather is working with Dr Jim Powell and Dr. Gordon Danby who have a series of patents that would use lower cost, high-temperature superconductivity in MagLev trains. At the same time, their inventions will reduce the impact of stray fields within the vehicles.

CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB — CORPORATE SPONSORS_____________
We gratefully acknowledge the corporate sponsorships listed below.

2010 — Robbins & Bohr, LLC

2009 — Coca—Cola

2008 — Alstom

2008 — Chattanooga State

MEETING LOGISTICS_______________________

The Chattanooga Engineer's Club meets at the DOUBLETREE HOTEL,
407 Chestnut St., Chattanooga, TN 37402. Free parking may be available in the gated parking lot on the south side of the Hotel. Plan to arrive before 11:30 a.m., if you intend to park in the limited space available. Late arrivals may need to pay for parking on the street or in a nearby public parking garage. Lunch is $14. If you do not plan to purchase a lunch, please use the chairs around the perimeter of the room, and not those at the round tables.

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 Ralph Boroughs by e-mail at rdboroughs@gmail.com or by phone at 423-227-0412. 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.

Links to local engineering societies are available to you at: http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer/

For a calendar of local technology related events see: http://chatc.org/