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Volume 9 Issue 4
The Pipeline D. Burts Compton, Co-Editor January 2003
NEWSLETTER OF THE EAST TENNESSEE SECTION OF AIChE
Winner of the 2001 Marx Isaacs Award for Outstanding Newsletter
Local section website: http://www.geocities.com/aiche_etenn/aiche.html
January AIChE Meeting
Changes in the Nuclear Power Industry
(Reactor Design & Approval)
O ur speaker has worked for 24 years with TVA including time in such nuclear activities as
Quality Assurance, Technical Support, and Reactor Engineering, and has prior nuclear
experience with the Navy and at the University of Florida graduate reactor programs. His
current work at TVA involves reactor core surveillance, fuel receipt and refueling
activities, reactor physics testing, and day-to-day consulting on special nuclear
operations.
His presentation will include a discussion of the new designs for getting energy from nuclear
sources efficiently and at lower investment costs. He will also address the new ways for the
nuclear power industry to obtain approvals to construct and operate these electrical facilities to
benefit all Americans.
What: January Meeting of the East Tennessee Section of AIChE
Speaker: Whiting Delk,
Nuclear Engineer for Tennessee Valley Authority
Topic: Changes in the Nuclear Power Industry
(Reactor Design & Approval)
When: Wednesday, January 22nd, 2003, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Where: Eastman’s B-150C, Room 201 C Multimedia Center
PDH credit: We will provide a certificate for 1 PDH.
Special Note #1: Our speaker is driving up from the Chattanooga area, so if winter conditions are bad,
this meeting has an alternate snow date on the following Wednesday, January 29th, same time and place.
Contact Rick Virost (423-229-4479) if you are unsure if the meeting
has been slipped to the alternate date.)
Special Note #2: Please contact Rick Virost (423-229-4479) to arrange for visitor passes
for non-Eastman AIChE members and guests.
2 The Pipeline
December Meeting Recap
Emergency Response to Transportation Accidents
he East Tennessee Section of AIChE met on December 11th to enjoy lunch and an informative presentation on
T Eastman’s emergency response to accidents involving Eastman shipments on the roads and rails. Max
Middleton is a Development Associate who serves as the assistant to the Manager of Plant Protection at
Tennessee Eastman. He discussed Eastman’s response systems and shared some case histories or recent events.
As an international manufacturer and shipper, Eastman has to be prepared for these events. Plant Protection here
at Tennessee Eastman is the worldwide headquarters for emergency response. When an accident involving
Eastman material occurs, Plant Protection classifies the event based on the potential for injury or environmental
release. Based on the classification, Eastman responds by sending personnel or, if the event is minor, providing
information to Emergency crews on the scene.
One of the most memorable recent events was the Howard Street Tunnel fire in downtown Baltimore, which
burned for several days and closed major highways into the city. Eastman had 3 railcars in the tunnel during the
fire and personnel on the scene. None of the Eastman material was released.
Submitted by Joe Bays
Trivia from Cool Quiz!
Check out www.coolquiz.com for lots of interesting trivia. Below is a sampling of “random facts” found on their
web site.
Since 1901, fifteen people have intentionally gone over the Canadian side of Niagra Falls. (Two people
went over twice). Five of the fifteen (one third) have lost their lives. The first person to go over the falls
was Annie Edson-Taylor. She made the trip in a wooden barrel and survived.
About 43 million years ago, the Pacific plate took a northwest turn, creating a bend where new upheavals
initiated the Hawaiian Ridge. Major islands formed included Kauai, 5.1 million years old, Maui, 1.3
million years old, and Hawaii, a youngster at only 800,000 years old.
The wingspan of a Boeing 747 jet is longer than the Wright brothers' first flight.
Llamas are reported to be inquisitive, friendly animals. A llama greeting is marked by softly blowing on
each other. According to animal experts, a soft blow to a person is the llama's way of saying hello.
Astronaut and moon-walker James Irwin's NASA name tag, coated with lunar dust, sold at auction for
$310,500. The cloth keepsake, a 6- by 12-inch rectangle, was cut from the insulated jacket worn by Irwin
during the 1971 flight of Apollo 15. Lunar dust, which created a dark gray tint around the tag's edges,
became embedded into the tag during three separate moonwalks Irwin took. His jacket and other
equipment were left on the Moon to lighten the spacecraft’s load on the return trip home, but Irwin cut out
and kept his NASA tag as a memento.
3 The Pipeline
Message from the Chair
ell, it’s official: the results are in. You elected the following people to serve as
W officers of the East Tennessee Local Section in 2003:
Chair—Jennifer Mize (by automatic succession)
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect—Steve Miller
Secretary—Heather McNabb
Treasurer—Rick Virost
Director—David Hitch (three-year term)
In addition, John Ayock and Pete Lodal will continue to serve the remainder of their
three-year terms as directors. Please join me in welcoming the new officers.
Thanks to everyone who agreed to run in the election. AIChE would have been in excellent hands no matter who
won.
I’d like to thank the out-going officers for their excellent service and help while I’ve been chair:
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect—Jennifer Mize (succeeding to chair)
Secretary—Heather McNabb (continuing as secretary)
Treasurer—Lee Partin (continuing as short-course coordinator)
Director—Mark Harrison (ending three-year term)
I’d also like to thank the other Local Section leaders without whose help the our section could not thrive:
Short-Course Coordinator—Lee Partin
Pipeline Newsletter Editors—Burts Compton, Amy Wilson
Webmaster—Tim Nolen
ETEAC Representatives—Beth Alderson, April Keeling, Steve Humphrey
I have thoroughly enjoyed serving with these officers and volunteers, and plan to continue to be active. I wish the
best to the new officers for a successful 2003 and beyond!
Richard Colberg (rcolberg@eastman.com)
Chair, East Tennessee Section
Professional Engineering Exam Review Course
T he Professional Engineering Exam for Chemical Engineers is offered twice annually: in the middle of April,
and at the end of October. In the past, the East Tennessee Section of AIChE has offered a review course for
those planning to sit for the exam. The winter months seem to be more conducive to studying for the exam, so the
course has traditionally been offered in February and March. Many who do not plan to sit for the exam until
October also attend the class, however, in order to refresh their memories about the topics they will be reviewing.
If you are interested in attending this course, please contact Joe Parker at 423-229-3850 (e-mail
mailto:jlparker@voridian.com so we can determine if there is sufficient interest to hold the course next year.
4 The Pipeline
The class would meet one night a week for six weeks; each week, a different subject would be reviewed. The
subjects that would be covered by the course are:
Mass and Energy Balances
Thermodynamics
Fluid Mechanics
Heat Transfer
Mass Transfer
Reaction Kinetics
Each session would last two to three hours. The course would begin around the first week in February, and the
cost would be $25 per person.
EVEN IF YOU ALREADY HOLD AN ENGINEERING LICENSE, YOU MAY WISH TO ATTEND THIS
COURSE! The State of Tennessee requires each licensed engineer to obtain 24 Professional Development Hours
(PDHs) over a two-year period in order to retain his or her engineering license. The East Tennessee Section of
AIChE will award PDHs according to the number of class hours attended. Students who attended all sessions of
the course in 2000 received 14 PDHs, more than enough to satisfy the requirement for one year.
Submitted by Joe Parker
More Trivia from Cool Quiz!
In 1066, Halley's comet appeared shortly before William the Conqueror invaded England. The Norman
king took it as a good omen; his battle cry became "A new star, a new king."
Pediatricians estimate that 58 percent of their young patients go to child care or school even when ill,
according to a Gallup survey. This despite the fact that 81 percent of mothers working full-time have
stayed home at times to care for a sick child.
Elephants communicate in sound waves below the frequency that humans can hear.
If Earth was the size of an apple, the atmospheric layer would be no thicker than the skin of the apple.
The territory of French Polynesia covers an area, including inland water, of about 1,550 square miles. The
capital is Papeete on the island of Tahiti, the largest of the islands. There are 130 French Polynesian
islands in all.
Pecans vary in size, from thirty to ninety nuts per pound. No nuts are produced until the trees are at least
five years old.
Native Hawaiians call a newcomer to Hawaii a "malihini".
"Exurbia" is the mostly rural residential area beyond the suburbs of a city.
A hurricane that hit Puerto Rico in 1928 dropped 30 inches of rain over the island; the deluge was
estimated to weigh 2,800,000,000 tons.
Giant flames called prominences shoot out from the Sun's surfaces for 310,000 miles, more than the
distance from Earth to the moon. The entire Earth could fit into one of these flames nearly 40 times.
A recent Gallup Poll Social Audit on gambling showed that 57 percent of Americans have bought a
lottery ticket in the last 12 months, making lotteries by far the favorite choice of gamblers.
Twins are born less frequently born in the eastern part of the world than in the western.
5 The Pipeline
National Engineer’s Week Seeks Volunteers
P lanning is underway for National Engineers Week, which will be held February 16-22, 2003. The mission of
National Engineers Week is to increase public awareness and appreciation of engineering and technical
professions. This is made possible through the efforts of volunteers from local industries. In 2002, we visited 38
schools totaling around 6,000 different students. In order to make Engineers Week 2003 a success, we will need
around 155 volunteers to participate in the school visits.
During Engineers Week, volunteers visit classrooms of middle school and high
school students throughout Upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. These
visits are designed to help improve the student interest in technology, science and
mathematics, and also show how these subjects are applied in the real world.
Volunteers typically have the opportunity to meet with several classes and share this
information through presentations, videos, demonstrations, and classroom
discussions. For more information, see the Engineers Week website
http://eastmanweb/wp462/index.asp.
Each participating school will be assigned a group leader. This person will be
responsible for coordinating the school visit and distributing presentation material to
the volunteers. If you would like to participate in Engineers Week by visiting a local
school, contact April Keeling by Monday, January 13 via email at akeeling@voridian.com or by phone at (423)
229-2864. If you would like to serve as a group leader, simply indicate that as well. Those of you who volunteer
will be assigned to a school and contacted by your group leader.
Please seriously consider participating in Engineers Week by visiting a local school. This is a great opportunity
for you to help young students become more familiar with what engineers and technical professionals actually do
by sharing your personal experiences with them. It doesn't matter how long you've been out of college or what
your current assignment may be because everyone has something to offer. Local schools are always very
appreciative of having this unique educational experience to provide to their students. Your participation will be
greatly appreciated by the teachers and students alike.
Submitted by April Keeling
Local Section Officers, Directors & Support Staff
Chair: Jennifer Mize 224-7018
Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect and
Program Committee Chair: Steve Miller 224-7350
Secretary: Heather McNabb 229-8097
Treasurer: Rick Virost 229-4479
Directors: Pete Lodal 229-2675
John Aycock 229-8860
David Hitch 229-5398
Local Section Webmaster: Tim Nolen 229-8287
AIChE Pipeline Newsletter Editors: Burts Compton 229-8526
Amy Wilson 229-5323
ETEAC Representatives: Beth Alderson 229-8163
April Keeling 229-2864
Steve Humphrey 229-8027
