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June 2004 |
Volume 1, Number 2 | |||||
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Making sure we keep the UTSI FAMILY informed encouraged an enlightened |
This newsletter will be posted periodically … or whenever we have
breaking news. We will share with you the triumphs and trials of our
day-to-day campus life, as well as news on a larger scale. | |||||
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Quick Links to Articles:
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Beginning with the next publication we will feature a message from Dr. John Caruthers. TO BARBARA ERVIN for omitting her from the list of UTSI employees who have taken advantage of opportunities offered by the Institute to earn a higher education degree. We feared this might happen! We are nonetheless very proud of her and happy to acknowledge her accomplishment. If others of you were likewise omitted, please let us know. You, too, can follow in her footsteps to earn an increase of up to 6% (for a PhD!) per UTSI Personnel Procedure 405 at: http://personnel.utsi.edu/proc405.html. | |||||
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CONGRATULATIONS Also to Penny Morris (Smith) and her new husband, Robbie, wed June 19th. Penny is an Administrative Specialist in the Distance Education department. And “welcome to the world” to Yuandi Huang, born April 5 th to Dr. Meng Fan and her husband, Yu-Ning,. Dr. Fan is a Research Scientist. FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) | |||||
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time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son
who thinks he’s wrong.
~Charles
Wadsworth~ |
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS In accordance with federal law, any regular or term employee of The University of Tennessee who has been employed for atleast 12 months, and has at least 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12 month period is eligible for 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons.
Care of child after birth, placement for adoption, or placement for foster care Care of spouse, child, or parent with serious health condition Serious health condition of employee Family and medical leave shall run concurrently with paid leave (sick leave, annual leave, personal leave, workers’ compensation leave) or any leave of absence without pay. Advance Notice and Medical Certification Thirty (30) days advance notice when leave is “foreseeable”Medical certification may be required Second or third opinions (at the University’s expense) may be required Fitness for duty certification may be required to return to work Job Benefits and Protection Employer’s share of premium for group health insurance will continue to be paid (providing employee pays his/her portion) Normally, employees will be restored to his/her original or equivalent position, pay, and benefits upon return Employee benefits accrued prior to leave cannot be lost Employer Responsibility May not interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under FMLA May not discharge or discriminate against any person for opposing any practice made unlawful by FMLA, or for involvement in any proceeding under or relating to FMLA The Office of Human Resources and Services will assist employees in obtaining FMLA leave for which they are eligible. Contact us at (931) 393-7226. The UT Personnel Policy regarding Family Medical Leave is located at http://admin.tennessee.edu/hr/policies/338pol.html. | |||||
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Everyone according to their talent and every talent according to its work. ~French Proverb~
We will be glad to explain further and/or give a tour to anyone who is interested in learning more about our mission and our facilities. ~Jim Goodman~ |
RESEARCH SUPPORT GROUP The Research Support Group (RSG) personnel are Jim Goodman (Manager), Keith Walker, Gary Payne and Chris Armstrong. The group is responsible for the maintenance, repair, upgrade and operation of several experimental research facilities, including Water Tunnels, Low & High Speed Wind Tunnels, Dynamic Shaker Table, Combustion Flow and Acoustic Measuring Test Cells along with the UTSI Machine Shop. Gary Payne’s expert leadership at Machine Shop makes it a focal point for fabricating research project test articles and maintaining UTSI facilities. Keith’s vast experience, design, data acquisition and computer programming skills intricately involve him in every RSG project. Chris provides valuable support in each test setup by skillfully fabricating and installing test hardware, acquiring data and operating compressed air & test facilities. He also plays a major role in health and safety issues and training for the entire Institute. The supply of high pressure (3000 psi) air to research facilities, involving the maintenance, repair and operation of all compressors and air driers, is another important facet of the RSG responsibility list. Our research efforts have been sponsored by numerous federal agencies and private sector companies involving acoustics, aerospace, automotive, energy, strength of materials, industrial and sport/recreational fields. We are continually linked to a broad range of graduate student experimental projects as they pursue their advanced degrees at UTSI. This includes thesis and dissertation topics as well as professor assigned projects related to coursework.
Click on pictures for a larger view | |||||
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The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary. ~ Thomas Edison ~
Trust that still, small voice that says, This might work, and I’ll try it. ~Diana Mariechild~
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What they want you to know: “Our personnel and facilities are utilized to perform experimental fabrication and testing. This effort combines with the theoretical aspect of research programs to provide scientific solutions and advancement,” explained Jim Goodman. The newly renovated Wind Tunnel, Water Tunnel, e-Beam and Energy Conversion Facilities, Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory, houses the Low Speed Wind Tunnel, AEROLAB Water Tunnel, Machinery Fault Simulator, Control Room and other shop and test laboratories. The Propulsion Laboratory is located behind the Wind and Water Tunnels Laboratories and is primarily used as a combustion/propulsion experimental facility. The UTSI Machine Shop has one machinist with 30 years and another support staff member with 5 years of experience in conventional machine shop practices fabricating a very wide range of items. They cover the full scope of materials including Aluminum, Steel, Stainless and High Temperature Steels, Titanium, Graphite, Composites and Wood ranging in dimensions from sub-miniature to upper limit of our machine capabilities. Brief Description of Some Research Support Group Efforts for 2004-05: I. Hypervelocity Vehicle Electric Power Systems (HVEPS): We are presently preparing for modifications to hardware, software and facilities to support the next phase of HVEPS combustion testing at Propulsion Facility in an effort to create an on-board light-weight, high-output power source for future aircraft applications. II. Dynamic Measurements: AEDC/ATA supports a project to study the dynamics of various wing configurations and materials tested on our LING Shaker Table. III. Jet Engine: AEDC/ATA is in the process of installing a J-85 Afterburning Turbojet Engine at CFFF for the development of emissions instrumentation. | |||||
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Diligence is the mother of good luck. ~Benjamin Franklin~ |
Chris Armstrong’s Great
Adventure I'm also looking at possibly going to Volgograd, Russia ( Stalingrad) with a group that recovers military vehicles lost in waterways during World War Two. Yes, there are many more lost out there than you might think. Not to mention all the other types of military relics. My problem is that I have too many adventures I want to complete and not nearly enough time or money. If I could only win the lottery.......... Animas Expedition in Uruguay is run by an Argentine named Horacio Pardo, who is the primary researcher and leader of the group. He has worked with the famed Mel Fisher on past projects and Mr. Fisher was involved with this project at the time of his death. Mr. Pardo has had previous success in treasure hunting with his work on La Luz and has had numerous articles written about his work. He has appeared on several television programs on Discovery, History Channel and A&E. | |||||
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Calamities are of two kinds: Misfortune to ourselves, and good fortune
to others. |
Name: Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Francia y las Animas del Purgatoria Our Lady of the Rock of France and the Souls in Purgatory Nickname: El Pena Kingdom: Portugal Lost: January 24, 1720 Cargo: Minted silver & gold coins along with artifacts. Most illegal. Value: $31,000,000 Brief History: Portuguese ship illegally smuggling treasure from Spanish controlled territory. Ran aground on Santa Lucia Bank morning of January 24, 1720. Very little salvage was done at the time of sinking due to visibility. Spanish authorities were aware of this ships activities and boarded the ship after its grounding. However, it was too late as the holds were already flooded. Name: Nuestra Senora de la Lapa y Senor San Francisco Our Lady of La Lapa and San Francisco Nickname: La Lapa Kingdom: Portugal Lost: February 1770 Cargo: Silver ingots. All illegal. Value: $23,800,000 Brief History: Portuguese ship illegally smuggling treasure from Spanish controlled territory. Ran aground on Santa Lucia Bank in February 1770. Virtually no salvage was done at the time due to communication errors. The Spanish knew about this smuggling, but boarded the ship too late. Once again, it sank before a cargo evaluation could be performed. One Spanish sailor claimed to have seen a barrel in the hold break open just before the ship broke apart and described it’s contents as “silver in pine cones”. This description is likely due to the rough shape of the ingots. Name: La Gamela de Joseph Borda Nickname: La Gamela Kingdom: Spain Lost: April (Good Friday) 13, 1770 Cargo: 285 bags of silver coins. Gold coins and the last treasure of the Jesuits. Value: $16,000,000 Brief History: The Catholic King of Spain declared that all Jesuits leave the kingdom and have their property confiscated, sold, and the profit returned to the crown. The Gamela was one of the last ships to attempt this voyage. It too was run aground on the sandy shallows of the Santa Lucia Bank. One of the items is reported to be a golden chalice that some believe to be the Holy Grail. Of course this is very unlikely, but the historical aspect of finding any golden chalice would represent a find of incredible value in terms of more than just money. It would be a significant artifact to the peoples of Uruguay in particular and to Christians in general. The irony of this wreck is that it was an attempt to erase the Jesuit presence in the area, but instead, insured that the Jesuits would forever be linked to the area and it happened on Good Friday. The wrecks are located where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Rio de la Plata River (River of the Silver). Generally regarded as the widest river in the world, the Rio de la Plata is also well known for its lack of visibility due to vast amounts of sediment brought from the central South American continent. The river separates the Argentine capital of Buenos Aeries from the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, which is the southernmost capital in the world I believe. To give an idea of the rivers width, it takes just under an hour to fly from one capital to the other in an airliner. The weather is seasonal like ours with the exception of having them reversed. There are many wrecks in the waters off of Uruguay, most notably the German Pocket Battleship Graf Spee, sunk by her own crew to avoid capture during World War Two Working with the project oceanographer, Luis Anastasia, was a high point as he meticulously charts the currents, sand bars and recoveries for further analysis and his wife Addy who is an attorney and works for the Government Tourism Ministry plays a vital communications role. These are people you see on the Discovery channel and I sincerely believe they will find the treasure soon. One last treasure is the country of Uruguay itself. It is clean, open country with very friendly people, excellent steaks, world class Tannat wine and is unbelievably inexpensive.”Chris on the beach of the Rio de la Plata looking for
treasure. The tide was high and water was too rough from storms days
earlier to take the Zodiac boats out and dive, so I was relegated to beach
hunting. Didn't find anything other than modern coins, but I did find
perfect isolation and peacefulness. The area (Colonia Wilson) has a very
lonely feel and other than a few fishermen, doesn't see many people. The
shipwrecks lie about three nautical miles offshore on the Santa Lucia
Bank, which is a shallow sand bank ranging from 3 to about 15 meters deep.
This makes for easy diving and long bottom times, but the visibility is
always zero and there is a current to contend with.
The other two photos are of cannon shot and gold coins respectively. The story is interesting and historically significant in that one of the ships was reported to be carrying the last golden chalice of the Jesuits. The three (possibly four) wrecks have a combined bullion value of about $100,000,000 and at auction, the worth will increase dramatically. That is assuming all three ships are found with the cargo intact. As I was coming home from my trip, they were in the process of coordinating a dredge to uncover a site that gave magnetometer readings indicative of cannon. Currently, they are still working on this effort as the Uruguayan government has to approve operations and have Uruguayan Coast Guard representatives aboard during salvage. It's a logistical nightmare.
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The harder you work, the harder it is to
surrender. ~Vince Lombardi~ |
Dr. George Jensen celebrates the first day of the rest of his life June 30th as he enters the retirement phase of his long career with the University. Best wishes, Dr. J…enjoy drowning worms, but don’t get too far away! At his “Grand Ice Cream Social” he left us with the admonishment to keep a positive attitude and believe that the Institute is getting stronger.
FYI
Coffee County Leadership Technology Day brought a group to tour UTSI. They were greeted by Dr. Joel Muehlhauser and given a brief overview. Dr. Garry Coleman and Mark Cross demonstrated the Smart Classroom. They traveled to CLA and then to the Propulsion Lab. Their critique of the tour was excellent! Thank you all who were responsible: Carole Thomas, Dr. Trevor Moeller, Andre Kashierski, and the aforementioned RSG crew! We expect a group of AEDC Summer Interns to visit us July 16 th. These are potential future students of the Institute, and we look forward to the recruiting opportunity! | |||||
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There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. ~George Santayana~ |
With sad hearts we bid farewell to one of our own this
month. Miller Lundy Wilder, GRA in Aviation Systems, will be sorely
missed by the UTSI Family
I wish to submit the following poem in memory of our friend, Miller Wilder. The author of this sonnet was killed in a plane crash just 3 months after its penning. He was only 19 years old….another life also cut too short. May these words and the wonderful memories of Miller help sustain us through our times of grief. Peace be with you all, Robin Nee "High Flight" Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth ─John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922-1941) | |||||
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If you can count your money, you don’t have a billion dollars. ~J. Paul Getty~
Diligence is the mother of good luck. ~Benjamin Franklin~
Calamities are of two kinds: Misfortune to ourselves, and good fortune to others. ~Ambrose Bierce~
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The state appropriated money for raises, and
effective July 1, 2004, UT employees will receive at least a 3.0 percent
increase in base pay. If you make less than $25,000, you will receive a
larger percentage. Then in October, you will receive a
special bonus.
The plan the governor and the General Assembly adopted called for a 3.0 percent increase for employees. But the university keenly realizes the needs of its lowest paid staff, and we were able to add some money to the pool to give those staff members larger percentage increases. Starting in July, everyone who makes less than $25,000 will receive a $750 a year increase. For some of you, that will amount to as much as a 5.3 percent raise. The $750 will be prorated for part-time employees making less than $25,000. On or around October 1, 2004, you will receive a non-recurring (not part of your base pay) bonus based on your number of years of service. The bonuses will range from $210 to $1,750, but we are awaiting final eligibility guidelines from the state. Eligible employees will continue to receive their regular longevity pay as well. The university appreciates the efforts of the legislature and the governor to give our dedicated, hard working employees pay raises. Remember to treat each other with courtesy and respect. Express your appreciation to each other for assistance and cooperation as you go about your daily duties. For service to UTSI above and beyond the call of duty, write a thank you note to be placed in the employee’s personnel file. What a nice way to express your appreciation! ###
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