The Tennessee MathCounts competition was held on Saturday, 19 March 2011. Forty three students from eighteen different schools competed for the honor to represent Tennessee at the National MathCounts competition in Washington, DC, during early May. Over half of these mathletes

were on teams representing local Chapters of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers and the remainder competed as individual representatives from the local Chapter competitions. The top four scorers, regardless of the team upon which they competed form the team that represents Tennessee at the National Competition and the coach of the winning team at the State level serves as the coach of the Tennessee Team.

To assure their skills were sharp for the competition, these mathletes, 6th, 7th and 8th graders from across the state, were hosted overnight on Friday at a local hotel by TSPE and the Tennessee Engineering Foundation. There they were treated to a demonstration of the application of mathematics as engineering by Dr. Roy Loutzenheiser, Associate Dean for Basic Engineering, Recruiting, and Retention at Tennessee Tech University and by Dr. Fort Gwinn, Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at David Lipscomb University.

The competition began at the Tennessee Engineering Center with registration and breakfast. Once the competitors were settled, the Sprint Round, which is thirty written questions to be answered in forty minutes without the use of a calculator, was held. While those exams were being graded, the Target Round was conducted. This round requires each competitor to answer eight written questions in twenty four minutes. Calculators are permitted in the Target Round and the problems certainly require them!

Following the two rounds of individual competition, each Team of four worked collectively in the Team Round to solve a set of ten problems in twenty minutes. Then the competitors, coaches, parents, guests and volunteers relaxed over a pizza lunch.

After lunch, the top eight individual competitors participated in the Countdown Round. Conducted in a single elimination bracket format, two competitors at a time competed to solve problems in under forty five seconds.

I don’t know about you, but filling up my gas tank is driving me crazy. When I was refueling last week, I literally watched the digital sign change in front of my eyes, going up several cents! Despite the reasons for the increase, many of us would do just about anything to pay less for those precious

gallons of gas. If possible, I would have tried just about any other type of fuel just to save a few dollars. In fact, one of my responsibilities with the City of Sevierville for the past few years has been to help move us in the direction of alternative fuels. We currently use several different types of fuel in our vehicles, propane, natural gas, electricity, and biodiesel.

The trade magazines I keep up with say that we are on the edge of some exciting possibilities for fuel. But even with the new fuels, we’ll probably always be dependent on petroleum. But wouldn’t it be great if your car could run on anything you pour into the tank? Maybe someday we’ll be sitting talking about what kind of fuel we filled up with that day.

Have you ever thought about what type of fuel your heart was designed to run on? I’m sure that you’ve considered that just as a vehicle needs the right kind of fuel and the body needs its fuel of food and rest to work properly, so the heart of a person has been designed to run best with a full tank as well? What fills your tank? For each of us it may be something different… volunteering, working, family time, time away

Is Your Tank Full? By Bryon Fortner, PE, TSPE President, 2010-2011

InsIde• MATHCOUNTS photos • Executive Director’s Article• New PE’s • Annual Meeting

Bryon Fortner

Harry Clark

MaTHCounTs sTaTe CoMpeTITIon-MarCH 19, 2011 By Harry Clark, PE, F. NSPE, State MATHCOUNTS Coordinator

2011 April•May•June

continued on page 2...

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President

Bryon Fortner, PEbfortner@seviervilletn.org

President Elect

John Cole, PhD, PEjcole@easternengineering.us

Vice President

John (Jake) Greear, PEjake.greear@mcgillengineers.com

Secretary

Les Beaver, PElbeaver@cannon-cannon.com

Treasurer

Paul Kelly, PEpaul.kelly@arnold.af.mil

Past President

Tom Needham, PE tom.needham@shelbycountytn.gov

NSPE Delegate

Harry Clark, PE, F. NSPEharry.clark@arnold.af.mil

TSPE Headquarters

Tennessee Engineering Center 800 Fort Negley Blvd. Nashville, TN 37203 615-242-2486 www.tnspe.org

Executive Director

Candy Tolerctoler@tnec.org

Manager of Member Services / Editor

Judy Loguejlogue@tnec.org

2010-2011 TSPEExecutive Committee

Following the Countdown Round, our honored guest, Ms Linda Jordan, the K-12 Science Coordinator from the Office of the Tennessee Commissioner of Education, presented the awards.

Befitting their status as the first and second place finishers in the overall individual competition, the winner of the Countdown Round was Richard Ouyang from the Memphis University School and the runner up was Gene Li from Woodland Middle School in Brentwood.

The winner of the Team Round was the Memphis University School. Team members were Daniel Baty, Richard Ouyang, Yunhua Zhao, and Jeffrey Zheng. Their coach, who will coach the Tennessee Team, is Loyal Murphy, IV.

The second place team was from Woodland Middle School, Brentwood, and the third place team was from Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge.

The top four individuals, who will represent Tennessee at the National Competition, are:

First Place: Richard Ouyang Memphis University School

Second Place: Gene Li Woodland Middle School, Brentwood

Third Place: Tony Ding Montgomery Bell Academy, Nashville

Fourth Place: Yunhua Zhao Memphis University School

Thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard this year to support these young people!

MaTHCounTs sTaTe CoMpeTITIoncontinued from page 1

1st Place Team Memphis University School

3rd Place TeamJefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge

2nd Place TeamWoodland Middle School, Brentwood

State Team:(L to R) Linda Jordan, K-12

Coordinator, TN Dept of Education; Richard Ouyang

(Memphis University School); Loyal Murphy (Coach, Mem-phis University School); Gene

Li, (Woodland Middle School); Tony Ding (Montgomery Bell Academy) and Yunhua Zhao

(Memphis University School).2

from the office, golf, fishing, reading, etc. We can try many different fuels for our lives, but eventually, our tank may run dry. Relationships will disappoint us. Work may not always satisfy our desire for ultimate purpose in life. Even vacations can disappoint us. Our money can disappear. Achievements may not always pan out to bring our lives what we thought they might bring. There is one constant though. If you’ve read the Engineer’s Creed lately, you may recall that the last line contains the words, “In humility and with need for Divine Guidance.” For many of us what fuels our tank

is the worship of God – whether experienced through song, silence, confession, prayers, acclamations, tears, shouts, bowed heads, lifted hands or obedient lives. That is what keeps me in the place where life has its most powerful meaning.

Don’t forget that real significance and fulfillment can only be experienced in placing our trust in someone greater than ourselves! So be careful of what you put in your tank! I hope yours is full of the right thing!

Is Your Tank Full? continued from page 1

What a great turnout we had for Engineers Day on the Hill and the legislative reception the evening before!

Thank you for participating. Those who participated received certificates for 2 PDHs. If you were not among them, there is always next year.

We told lawmakers about our concerns for the safety of Tennesseans and the role you play in improving our communities. Legislation addressed includes:

• stressing the importance of continuing the Architects’ and Engineers’ Board

• supporting the requirement that PEs prepare bid specs for street improvement projects

• opposing the need for state departments to justify contracting work to the private sector

• opposing efforts to modify timing on traffic signals unless appropriate under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

• opposing efforts to give local preference in purchasing

• opposing efforts to prohibit bid spec changes within 48 hours of bid opening/acceptance

• supporting efforts to hold engineers and contractors harmless for accidents in construction zones if the driver was driving recklessly or under the influence of alcohol or drugs

• opposing the elimination of professionals on environmental boards

• opposing efforts to allow registered interior designers to do non-structural work

• opposing limiting funding for stream mitigation to the county where the impact occurred

• opposing the establishment of new standards for energy reduction

I include updates on legislation in my e-newsletters. If you are not on the distribution, please send me an email (ctoler@tnec.org) and ask to be included. Ditto if you would like the issue briefs.

Harry Clark, State Chair, and Judy Logue, State Coordinator, pulled off another successful state MATHCOUNTS competition, which was fun. This year, I saw a t-shirt on a pre-teen which I loved: Talk Nerdy to Me. Can you relate to this?

The next event on the horizon is the TSPE/ACEC of TN Annual Meeting in Franklin, August 24-26. We plan to have about 10 hours of professional development, a fun PAC Auction, and time for you to catch up with your colleagues from across the state. There will be a fund-raising luncheon for TN Engineering Foundation, instead of a golf tournament this year. You will hear more about it in the coming months. We hope you will join the fun.

Candy Toler

exeCuTIve dIreCTor’s arTICle By Candy Toler, Executive Director of TSPE and ACEC of TN

Candy Toler

Steve Bostic, PE, Lamar Dunn & Associates (Knoxville); Jim Currey, PE, TDOT

Aeronautics Div. (Nashville), Rep. Sherry Jones (Nashville); and Steve Lane, PE, Smith

Seckman Reid (Nashville)

John Felkins, PE, KCI Technologies (Brentwood); Vic McConnell, Smith Cashion & Orr (Nashville); Amy Spann, PE, EnSafe Inc. (Nashville) and Eric Gardner, PE, City

of Franklin.

Claire Barnett, PE, EnSafe Inc., Rep. Jeanne Richardson, and Frank Gianotti, PE, Tetra

Tech (Memphis)

Robert Campbell, PE, Robert G. Campbell and Associates; Brad Salsbury, PE, Cannon & Cannon, Inc.; Joan Campbell, Robert G.

Campbell & Associates; and Jake Greear, PE, McGill and Associates (Knoxville)

EnginEErs’ Day on thE hill visits in Nashville

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new and reTurnIng Tspe MeMbersCHaTTanooga CHapTer:Tuan A. Tran, PE knoxvIlle CHapTer:Darren M. Cardwell, PELori DeRoos, PEJames William Hall, PEBradley W. Hodges, PEDenise F. Jackson, PEJames D. Jameson, PEAddie L. Kirkham, PEBrian Mahoney, PEKristopher L. Meyer, EITAndy Mile, PEGregory L. Patterson, PEJames I. Smith, PEJohn David Triplett, PEChristopher J. Weaver, EIT

MeMpHIs CHapTer:Shilpa AppurubugathaMallory K. BaileyEvan B. BoulangerShawn D. BreckenridgeJeremiah E. CockrellSean E. DantisMax A. Dulebenets

Irving O. GabaldonKatelyn A. GodwinTarris W. GreerCedric L. HarrellKaitlin R. HowleChisalu CGM JonesAlan KillenPatrick E. McGinnisJuwan L. MooreMinh H. NguyenKleber M. PautaTony G. Pinson, PELauren R. QuinonesMichael F. Rebick, PEMatt T. SandersWilliam J. SobczakJoshua A. SwillumViet Minh N. TongLinda N. TruongJohn K. VoWilliam B. WardCatherine VN Wood

nasHvIlle CHapTer:Greg S. Sanford, PERobert B. Anderson, III, PEMichelle J. Baker, PE

David A. Ballard, PEChris A. Ballou, PEMichael L. Black, PEBenjamin Bilbrey Bohannon, MBA, PEMatthew R. Clark, PEMark Alexander Clark, PEMichael W. Cooper, PEJames Chris McGuire, EITRobert A. Montgomery, PE, LEED, APChip Pinion, PEBryan S. Price, PEDonald L. ReidDavid E. Spinks, PE

upper easT CHapTer:Jason W. Goodman, PE

lakewaY CHapTer:Michael C. Johnson, PEJeffery Alan Spencer, PE

sTudenT CHapTer:Vincent David Best, PEDoyle B. Bowen, PEGerald KruppEvan Thomas RobsonStephen Smith

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CHaTTanoogaJesse Shawn Baron Matthew Arnold Boynton Anna C Brodie Keith Alan Dietrich Jason Rufus Foley Michael Corey Hodges Fredrick James Jensen, III Creed Taylor Paul Robinson Thomas Tuan Anh Tran Kevin William Zitzow

knoxvIlleJon David Barrett Matthew David Bowman Matthew Preston Bryan Adam Samuel Byard Jarrod Lon Chapman Aaron Daniel Crenshaw Edwin Bradley Deyton Scott Richard Fesler Joshua Emory Fox Leslie Keith Grayson Bradley William Hodges Jeffrey James Hooyman Derek Kent Kilday Addie Louise Kirkham Travis Lynn Kirkland Andrew Kenneth Lautner Tae Hyung Lee David Abuoi Majok Kristy Leigh Manahan Clemence M Noakes Amy Leigh Rennoyer Michael Cain Reed Ross Emmons Shaver Clifton Charles Sluss Daniel Curtis Smith John David Triplett Jason Patrick Tucker Leslie Aaron Webb Charles Devan Welch Matthew Steven Williamson

lakewaYWesley S Gilmer David Marion Webb

MeMpHIsJonathan Ernest Bell Nicholas Joseph Bidlack Cierra Davida Bridges Charles Wray Campbell Jr. Trevor Alan Cropp Warren Tice Goodson Jittapong Malasri James Dustin Mays Ghouse Sundke Mohammed David L Montague Tony Gregory Pinson Mathew John Rachor Daniel Joseph Roberts William Lee Schumann, IIDouglas Adrian Swett Christopher Patrick Whitley David Hall Zarecor

nasHvIlleLewis Samuel Agnew Jr. David Andrew Ballard Christopher Aaron Ballou Daniel C. Bertell Benjamin Bilbrey Bohannon Dain Michael Brandrup Samuel Edward Bratton Jeffery Howell Bryant Jr. Laura Harr Chandler Mark Alexander Clark Matthew Ryan Clark Brad David Cloar Michael Wayne Cooper Adam Wilson Crunk Jason Marshall Fitch Brian Hugh Gafford Justin Steven Hethcote Nicole Long King Ryan Anderson Kirkland Justin Daryl Kuhlers

James Lawrence Lee Stephen Christopher Lee Jonathan Douglas Love Wesley Earl Mittlesteaedt Robert A. Montgomery Frank O’Neil Oakes, III Janette Louise Peters Bryan Samuel Price Jennifer Marie Shupe David E Spinks Thomas Riemann Steinwinder Jamison Earl Townsend Fengjuan Wang Brian Hinton Whitlow Jennifer Lee Williams

upper easT TnTimothy Allen Elsea Noah Glenn McMillan Patrick Lynn Moriarty Jr. Christopher Luke Stewart Dustin A Tremaine

TSPE Members bolded

CongratulationstotheNewPEs!

SponSorSTSPETEFACEC of TN, Nashville ChapterASHRAEASCE, TN SectionCSI IEEE Entran, LLCSAME

VolunteerSMichelle Baker, PEAlice BrankJaney Camp, PEClint Camp, PEHarry Clark, PE, F. NSPE (State Coordinator)Michael Cloud, PEJohn Cole, PE, PhDJim Currey, PE, F. NSPERichard Dix, PE, F. NSPEJim Hall, PEJudy LogueAllan Long, PE, F. NSPEConnie LongAmy Spann, PECandy TolerJim Thweatt, PE

Ben White

A Special Thank You to our2011 MAtHCountS SponSorS and VolunteerS

Merrol Hyde Magnet School Robotics Team won 2nd place at the 2010 Music City BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, held at Lipscomb University, they went on to place 1st in the regional competition at Auburn University. Merrol Hyde will advance to the 2011 BEST Robotics World Championship, April 14-16, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Congratulations Merrol Hyde!

Member NewsMcKenzie Roberts, PE, was reappointed to a 5-year term on the Alarm Systems Contractors Board. He is the owner of Security Equipment Company, Inc., in McMinnville. He served as the first appointed member of that Board in 1991. Ken is a life member of both TSPE and the TN Burglar and Fire Alarm Association.

Chris Eggleston, PE, MBA has joined Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Inc. as Roadway/Bridge Structural Project Manager in the Nashville office.

Everett Cowan, PE, former president of Gresham Smith and Partners, has launched AE Guidance, LLC. The company, launched in conjunction with management consulting firm Compass Executives, provides consulting services to architectural and engineering firms.

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TennesseeSocietyofProfessionalEngineersTennessee Engineering Center800 Fort Negley BoulevardNashville, TN 37203

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Tspe parTnersConcrete Paving Association of TNCrow Friedman Group, LLCGreenleaf 3D, Inc. Jacobs TechnologyLellyett & Rogers ServicesPDI CorporationRyan Search & ConsultingSherman-Dixie Concrete IndustriesSmith Cashion & Orr, PLCStrategies Group, Inc.Tennessee Concrete AssociationThe Crom CorporationUnited Structural Systems, Inc.

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ThEJoiNTANNuAlMEETiNgreTurns To THe HIsTorIC CITY oF FranklInFranklin, one of the most common names for a U.S. city, was named after Benjamin Franklin, a close friend of Dr. Hugh Williamson. It is the county seat of Williamson County and was incorporated on Oct. 26, 1799, with the town laid out on land belonging to Abram Maury. The TSPE and ACEC of Tennessee members will hold their Annual Meeting on August 24-26, 2011. Mark your calendar for fun at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs this summer!

Events will include the now legendary, surprise-packed PAC auction, the installation of new officers, the presentation of TSPE State Awards and professional development seminars.

Room reservations are due on or before Wednesday, August 3, 2011 and can be made by calling the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs at 1-888-403-6772. Identify yourself as being with the TSPE/ACEC room block to receive the special $134.00 rate.

Look for the Annual Meeting Flyer with registration information in the Jul/Aug/Sept 2011 edition of the TSPE Today!

JuNE3-4 TSPE Planning Retreat, Fall Creek Falls

July13-17 NSPE Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV

aug 24-26 Joint Annual Meeting, Franklin Marriott Cool Springs

Calendar oF evenTs

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