Friday, December 20, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019
Friday, December 13, 2019 "Safe Return of the Apollo 11 Manned Crew Capsule from the Moon to the Earth" 20191213
Friday, December 13, 2019 "Safe Return of the Apollo 11 Manned Crew Capsule from the Moon to the Earth"
Noel Thyson has undergraduate and graduate school degrees from the University of Illinois in Aeronautical Engineering located in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. He has a distinguished alumni award from the Aeronautical Engineering Department at the University of Illinois and was awarded a life time membership in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
He worked for 47 years at Avco/Textron Systems Division in Wilmington, Ma and retired in the year 2009. He worked in the Advanced/Research Department and was director of conceptual design, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, flight mechanics, and materials.
He will present today a summary of the Apollo 11 Manned Crew flight from the earth to the moon and back to earth on July 19 —24, 1969. The first landing of man on the moon. He will concentrate on presenting details of the hostile/high temperature environments that surrounded the Crew Capsule upon reentry from the moon through the earth’s atmosphere and on the ablative heat shield thermal protection system used to protect the Crew for a Safe Return from the Moon to the Earth.
Noel Thyson has undergraduate and graduate school degrees from the University of Illinois in Aeronautical Engineering located in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. He has a distinguished alumni award from the Aeronautical Engineering Department at the University of Illinois and was awarded a life time membership in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
He worked for 47 years at Avco/Textron Systems Division in Wilmington, Ma and retired in the year 2009. He worked in the Advanced/Research Department and was director of conceptual design, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, flight mechanics, and materials.
He will present today a summary of the Apollo 11 Manned Crew flight from the earth to the moon and back to earth on July 19 —24, 1969. The first landing of man on the moon. He will concentrate on presenting details of the hostile/high temperature environments that surrounded the Crew Capsule upon reentry from the moon through the earth’s atmosphere and on the ablative heat shield thermal protection system used to protect the Crew for a Safe Return from the Moon to the Earth.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Friday, November 8th, 2019 Acoustic Analysis of the JFK Assasination 20191208
Friday, November 8th, 2019 Acoustic Analysis of the JFK Assasination
Dr. James Barger, former Chief Scientist at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, will speak to us at our meeting this Friday, November 8, at 10:45am.
Dr. Barger is an internationally recognized expert in acoustics, particularly in sonar, underwater noise detection and reduction, broadband medical ultrasound, sensors for geophysical seismic exploration, and noise and vibration cancellation. On Friday, he will discuss the acoustic studies he performed for the House Select Committee on Assassinations of the United States House of Representatives in connection with its investigation of the assassination of president John F Kennedy in November 1963.
Dr. James Barger, former Chief Scientist at Bolt, Beranek and Newman, will speak to us at our meeting this Friday, November 8, at 10:45am.
Dr. Barger is an internationally recognized expert in acoustics, particularly in sonar, underwater noise detection and reduction, broadband medical ultrasound, sensors for geophysical seismic exploration, and noise and vibration cancellation. On Friday, he will discuss the acoustic studies he performed for the House Select Committee on Assassinations of the United States House of Representatives in connection with its investigation of the assassination of president John F Kennedy in November 1963.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Friday, October 25, 2019 RNR, DNA, and Free Radicals 20191025
Friday, October 25, 2019 RNR, DNA, and Free Radicals
Our guest speaker is JoAnne Stubbe, Novartis Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at MIT who will discuss the role that ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) play in catalyzing the conversion of nucleotides to deoxynucleotides in DNA replication and repair.
Free radicals (molecules that have lost an electron and are therefore highly active) are often cited as contributing significantly to the aging process. Recent investigations, however, have shown that certain free radicals play a very beneficial role in biochemistry, and a number of drugs based on this recognition are being developed. A brief overview of the "good" radicals and their involvement in an essential enzyme mediated reaction in primary metabolism will be presented.
Our guest speaker is JoAnne Stubbe, Novartis Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus at MIT who will discuss the role that ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) play in catalyzing the conversion of nucleotides to deoxynucleotides in DNA replication and repair.
Free radicals (molecules that have lost an electron and are therefore highly active) are often cited as contributing significantly to the aging process. Recent investigations, however, have shown that certain free radicals play a very beneficial role in biochemistry, and a number of drugs based on this recognition are being developed. A brief overview of the "good" radicals and their involvement in an essential enzyme mediated reaction in primary metabolism will be presented.
Friday, October 11, 2019
October 11, 2019 Mystic River Watershed 20191011
October 11, 2019 Mystic River Watershed
Andrew Hrycyna will speak on the Mystic River watershed and its amazing urban ecological restoration story. Each year more than 700,000 river herring migrate from the Atlantic to the Mystic River to spawn in freshwater. For 8 years, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MRWA) has been documenting the population, in coordination with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), using trained citizen volunteers who count the fish at a fish ladder in Upper Mystic Lake. The data show a remarkable tripling in the population after the building of the fish ladder. Andy will give a tour of this data, discuss the parallel data acquired from a video monitoring system now in its third year, and talk about the prospects of increasing the population of river herring even further by creating access to spawning habitat in Horn Pond in Woburn.
Andy Hrycyna is a watershed scientist at MRWA. Andy has worked closely on this project for 5 years, and also runs the water quality monitoring programs on the Mystic River. Andy came to MRWA after earning a master's in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard Extension School.
Andrew Hrycyna will speak on the Mystic River watershed and its amazing urban ecological restoration story. Each year more than 700,000 river herring migrate from the Atlantic to the Mystic River to spawn in freshwater. For 8 years, the Mystic River Watershed Association (MRWA) has been documenting the population, in coordination with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), using trained citizen volunteers who count the fish at a fish ladder in Upper Mystic Lake. The data show a remarkable tripling in the population after the building of the fish ladder. Andy will give a tour of this data, discuss the parallel data acquired from a video monitoring system now in its third year, and talk about the prospects of increasing the population of river herring even further by creating access to spawning habitat in Horn Pond in Woburn.
Andy Hrycyna is a watershed scientist at MRWA. Andy has worked closely on this project for 5 years, and also runs the water quality monitoring programs on the Mystic River. Andy came to MRWA after earning a master's in Sustainability and Environmental Management from Harvard Extension School.
Friday, September 27, 2019
September 27th, 2019 Carl Pasciuto’s Talk on Precision Engineering The Evolution of High Precision Machining into the 21st Century 20190927
September 27th, 2019 Carl Pasciuto’s Talk on Precision Engineering
The Evolution of High Precision Machining into the 21st Century
Carl Pasciuto will be giving an in depth look of the history of manufacturing and High Precision machining. Carl is the CEO and one of the owners of The Custom Group Inc. a Contract Manufacturing organization based in Woburn Ma. The Custom group specializes in low volume high precision components and assemblies for diverse markets including but not limited to: Aerospace, Defense, Medical instrumentation, Green energy solutions, Space and countless others.
Established in 1969 Custom Machine has been an industry leader in innovation and process control. Now as a second-generation owned business it is profiting and growing, utilizing advanced technologies to bring their customers products to market better faster and cheaper than their competition.
This Interactive presentation will cover:
Bio:
Carl Pasciuto’s Career in Manufacturing began in 1983. His career began as an apprentice machinist for his father Cosmo Pasciuto and still continues today. After completing his education in engineering technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology he began his professional Career as an engineering assistant at Laser Science in Cambridge MA from 1988 to 1992. He then became a production manager for Custom Machine 1992. He has held most all of the managerial positions in the company and in 2004, he became president and Owner. Today with more than 35 years of Manufacturing experience he is the CEO of the Custom Group Inc which employs more than 70 people locally here in Woburn with a global customer base and annual sales of $15M.
The Evolution of High Precision Machining into the 21st Century
Carl Pasciuto will be giving an in depth look of the history of manufacturing and High Precision machining. Carl is the CEO and one of the owners of The Custom Group Inc. a Contract Manufacturing organization based in Woburn Ma. The Custom group specializes in low volume high precision components and assemblies for diverse markets including but not limited to: Aerospace, Defense, Medical instrumentation, Green energy solutions, Space and countless others.
Established in 1969 Custom Machine has been an industry leader in innovation and process control. Now as a second-generation owned business it is profiting and growing, utilizing advanced technologies to bring their customers products to market better faster and cheaper than their competition.
This Interactive presentation will cover:
- A brief history of High precision manufacturing
- Designing for manufacturing and concurrent engineering
- New technologies in Metal working
- The future state of manufacturing
Bio:
Carl Pasciuto’s Career in Manufacturing began in 1983. His career began as an apprentice machinist for his father Cosmo Pasciuto and still continues today. After completing his education in engineering technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology he began his professional Career as an engineering assistant at Laser Science in Cambridge MA from 1988 to 1992. He then became a production manager for Custom Machine 1992. He has held most all of the managerial positions in the company and in 2004, he became president and Owner. Today with more than 35 years of Manufacturing experience he is the CEO of the Custom Group Inc which employs more than 70 people locally here in Woburn with a global customer base and annual sales of $15M.
Friday, September 13, 2019
September 13th 10:45 am Restoring the Earth’s Climate: An Elegant Solution by Dr. John Keller, PhD 20190913
September 13th 10:45 am Restoring the Earth’s Climate: An Elegant Solution by Dr. John Keller, PhD
Bio/Introduction
John L Keller, PhD, CCM
Dr. John L Keller’s career in atmospheric science research & development goes back to the early 1970s. As a Senior Research Meteorologist at AIR Worldwide in Boston, Dr. Keller developed and implemented a model for the extreme wind climate of Northwest Europe. This model is part of AIR's "EuroCAT" modeling system, widely used by the property and casualty insurance industry to manage climate risk. Prior to joining AIR Worldwide, Dr. Keller was a staff meteorologist at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA. At Lincoln, he provided scientific support for the FAA's Integrated Terminal Weather System and NASA's Wake Vortex Program. In 2005 Dr. Keller was the founding scientist of Weather Analytics (now Athenium Analytics), a company that provides data and analytical tools, including those for managing climate risk. In addition to giving numerous conference and public presentations, Dr. Keller has published in many scientific journals, including Nature, the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences and Monthly Weather Review
Promo: Community group version
Restoring the Earth’s Climate: An Elegant Solution
Dr. Keller will be giving a non-partisan, hopeful, expert presentation on climate change. He is a volunteer with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a national nonprofit organization whose activities include offering speakers for community organizations. Advisors to the Citizens’ Climate Lobby include former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz and former NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director Dr. James E. Hansen.
This talk is designed to educate, enable, and entertain. It may include short videos, slides, stories, and time for audience input and questions after the talk. In his talk, Dr. Keller will address a number of questions, including:
1. How is global climate change expected to impact life here and around the world for us and future generations?
2. Are there technical solutions that could significantly alter the climate's current trajectory?
3. What specific actions can I take to speed up the deployment of these solutions?
After participating in this meeting, members will feel (1) hopeful for a future stable climate, (2) energized, (3) inspired to get involved!
Bio/Introduction
John L Keller, PhD, CCM
Dr. John L Keller’s career in atmospheric science research & development goes back to the early 1970s. As a Senior Research Meteorologist at AIR Worldwide in Boston, Dr. Keller developed and implemented a model for the extreme wind climate of Northwest Europe. This model is part of AIR's "EuroCAT" modeling system, widely used by the property and casualty insurance industry to manage climate risk. Prior to joining AIR Worldwide, Dr. Keller was a staff meteorologist at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA. At Lincoln, he provided scientific support for the FAA's Integrated Terminal Weather System and NASA's Wake Vortex Program. In 2005 Dr. Keller was the founding scientist of Weather Analytics (now Athenium Analytics), a company that provides data and analytical tools, including those for managing climate risk. In addition to giving numerous conference and public presentations, Dr. Keller has published in many scientific journals, including Nature, the Journal of Atmospheric Sciences and Monthly Weather Review
Promo: Community group version
Restoring the Earth’s Climate: An Elegant Solution
Dr. Keller will be giving a non-partisan, hopeful, expert presentation on climate change. He is a volunteer with the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a national nonprofit organization whose activities include offering speakers for community organizations. Advisors to the Citizens’ Climate Lobby include former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz and former NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Director Dr. James E. Hansen.
This talk is designed to educate, enable, and entertain. It may include short videos, slides, stories, and time for audience input and questions after the talk. In his talk, Dr. Keller will address a number of questions, including:
1. How is global climate change expected to impact life here and around the world for us and future generations?
2. Are there technical solutions that could significantly alter the climate's current trajectory?
3. What specific actions can I take to speed up the deployment of these solutions?
After participating in this meeting, members will feel (1) hopeful for a future stable climate, (2) energized, (3) inspired to get involved!
Friday, March 22, 2019
Nuclear Waste Management and Supercritical Water Oxidation of Chemical Wastes
Ronald M. Latanision, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Exponent Inc.
Professional Profile
Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Latanision was the Director of The H.H. Uhlig Corrosion Laboratory in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at M.I.T., and held joint faculty appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. He led the School of Engineering’s Materials Processing Center at MIT as its Director from 1985 to 1991. He is now an Emeritus Professor at MIT.
In April 2015, he was appointed an Adjunct Professor in the Key Laboratory of Nuclear Materials and Safety Assessment of the Institute of Metal Research of The Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a Fellow of ASM International and of NACE International. From 1983–1988, Dr. Latanision was the first holder of the Shell Distinguished Chair in Materials Science. He was a founder of Altran Materials Engineering Corporation, established in 1992. Dr. Latanision has served in several capacities at Exponent: as Principal and Director of the Mechanics and Materials Practice, Exponent’s largest practice; as Corporate Vice President and, currently, as its first Senior Fellow.
Dr. Latanision’s research interests are focused largely in the areas of materials processing and in the corrosion of metals and other materials in aqueous (ambient as well as high temperature and pressure) environments. He specializes in corrosion science and engineering with particular emphasis on materials selection for contemporary and advanced engineering systems and in failure analysis. His expertise extends to electrochemical systems and processing technologies, ranging from fuel cells and batteries to supercritical water power generation and waste destruction. Dr. Latanision’s research interests include stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement of metals and alloys, water and ionic permeation through thin polymer films, photoelectrochemistry, and the study of aging phenomena/life prediction in engineering materials and systems. Dr. Latanision is a member of the International Corrosion Council and serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Corrosion Reviews, with Raul Rebak of GE Global Research. He is Editor-in-Chief of the National Academy of Engineering Quarterly, The Bridge.
Dr. Latanision has served as a science advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. He has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Massachusetts Office of Science and Technology, an executive branch office created to strengthen the Commonwealth’s science and technology infrastructure with emphasis directed toward future economic growth. Dr. Latanision has served as a member of the National Materials Advisory Board of the National Research Council and now serves as a member of the NRC’s Standing Committee on Chemical Demilitarization. In June of 2002, Dr. Latanision was appointed by President George W. Bush to membership on the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. He was reappointed for a second four-year term by President Barack Obama.
Presentations by Ron Latanision:
TOPIC: NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT
Presented January 25, 2019
Nuclear electric generation should remain an important part of our energy mix in the future. It is safe, reliable and green. But, the U.S. failure to deal with spent nuclear fuel is problematic. While the policy associated with the management of nuclear waste exists we have not as a nation shown the public or political will to implement that policy. The waste should be buried in a deep geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. My opinion is that we should impose a moratorium on the construction of any new fission-based nuclear power plants until the License Application is back on track at the NRC, Congress approves the funding for construction of a repository and construction begins. This may seem draconian, but it is not. With an identified site and a policy road map in place, what is required is the will to go forward. That could happen in a fraction of the time required to design, build and commission a new NPP. There are technical and social challenges that can be solved (the latter with the involvement of social scientists), but the major obstacles have been and remain political.
TOPIC: SUPERCRITICAL WATER OXIDATION OF CHEMICAL WASTES
Presented March 22, 2019
In the early 1980's the practicality of supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) technology for destroying hazardous materials was explored, and the possibility of extraordinarily high destruction efficiencies was recognized. Diverse types of aqueous waste that incorporate relatively dilute (≈1-20%) quantities of organic components may successfully be treated by utilizing this methodology. The two primary classes of waste that are being considered for destruction by SCWO are (i) military and, (ii) industrial wastes and wastewater sludge. The former tend to present a severe challenge with respect to corrosion and solids handling while the later are relatively innocuous. The opportunities and challenges of SCWO will be discussed.
Senior Fellow, Exponent Inc.
Professional Profile
Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Latanision was the Director of The H.H. Uhlig Corrosion Laboratory in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at M.I.T., and held joint faculty appointments in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and in the Department of Nuclear Engineering. He led the School of Engineering’s Materials Processing Center at MIT as its Director from 1985 to 1991. He is now an Emeritus Professor at MIT.
In April 2015, he was appointed an Adjunct Professor in the Key Laboratory of Nuclear Materials and Safety Assessment of the Institute of Metal Research of The Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a Fellow of ASM International and of NACE International. From 1983–1988, Dr. Latanision was the first holder of the Shell Distinguished Chair in Materials Science. He was a founder of Altran Materials Engineering Corporation, established in 1992. Dr. Latanision has served in several capacities at Exponent: as Principal and Director of the Mechanics and Materials Practice, Exponent’s largest practice; as Corporate Vice President and, currently, as its first Senior Fellow.
Dr. Latanision’s research interests are focused largely in the areas of materials processing and in the corrosion of metals and other materials in aqueous (ambient as well as high temperature and pressure) environments. He specializes in corrosion science and engineering with particular emphasis on materials selection for contemporary and advanced engineering systems and in failure analysis. His expertise extends to electrochemical systems and processing technologies, ranging from fuel cells and batteries to supercritical water power generation and waste destruction. Dr. Latanision’s research interests include stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement of metals and alloys, water and ionic permeation through thin polymer films, photoelectrochemistry, and the study of aging phenomena/life prediction in engineering materials and systems. Dr. Latanision is a member of the International Corrosion Council and serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Corrosion Reviews, with Raul Rebak of GE Global Research. He is Editor-in-Chief of the National Academy of Engineering Quarterly, The Bridge.
Dr. Latanision has served as a science advisor to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in Washington, D.C. He has also served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Massachusetts Office of Science and Technology, an executive branch office created to strengthen the Commonwealth’s science and technology infrastructure with emphasis directed toward future economic growth. Dr. Latanision has served as a member of the National Materials Advisory Board of the National Research Council and now serves as a member of the NRC’s Standing Committee on Chemical Demilitarization. In June of 2002, Dr. Latanision was appointed by President George W. Bush to membership on the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. He was reappointed for a second four-year term by President Barack Obama.
Presentations by Ron Latanision:
TOPIC: NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT
Presented January 25, 2019
Nuclear electric generation should remain an important part of our energy mix in the future. It is safe, reliable and green. But, the U.S. failure to deal with spent nuclear fuel is problematic. While the policy associated with the management of nuclear waste exists we have not as a nation shown the public or political will to implement that policy. The waste should be buried in a deep geologic repository at Yucca Mountain. My opinion is that we should impose a moratorium on the construction of any new fission-based nuclear power plants until the License Application is back on track at the NRC, Congress approves the funding for construction of a repository and construction begins. This may seem draconian, but it is not. With an identified site and a policy road map in place, what is required is the will to go forward. That could happen in a fraction of the time required to design, build and commission a new NPP. There are technical and social challenges that can be solved (the latter with the involvement of social scientists), but the major obstacles have been and remain political.
TOPIC: SUPERCRITICAL WATER OXIDATION OF CHEMICAL WASTES
Presented March 22, 2019
In the early 1980's the practicality of supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) technology for destroying hazardous materials was explored, and the possibility of extraordinarily high destruction efficiencies was recognized. Diverse types of aqueous waste that incorporate relatively dilute (≈1-20%) quantities of organic components may successfully be treated by utilizing this methodology. The two primary classes of waste that are being considered for destruction by SCWO are (i) military and, (ii) industrial wastes and wastewater sludge. The former tend to present a severe challenge with respect to corrosion and solids handling while the later are relatively innocuous. The opportunities and challenges of SCWO will be discussed.
Friday, February 8, 2019
TOR for Security
Djilpmh Pi talks about using TOR (the onion router, the technical name for the Dark Web) for legitimate purposes including security. The slides are included here:
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