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Contact Us
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For more information, e-mail us at techsocknox@yahoo.com
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Mission Statement
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The Technical Society of Knoxville is a group of persons interested in technology and science, and their effects on society, and in particular, on the community. The Society was founded in 1921 by Charles E. Ferris, dean of the UT College of Engineering.
The hallmark of the Technical Society is its Monday Luncheon. Every Monday, the program features a speaker on a subject of technical, scientific, or general interest. Forty-five meetings were held in 2005.
It is estimated that some 3740 luncheon meetings have been held over the past 84 years. The presentations are planned to be informative and educational, and provide person to person contact with experts in the field. Meetings take place at the Crowne Plaza on Summit Hill Drive in downtown Knoxville. Complimentary self parking is available in the hotel garage. Meeting attendees receive a token for exiting the garage without charge after the meeting. Members and guests begin arriving around 11:30 and go through the buffet line. Cost is $12 per person payable in cash or by check in the meeting room to the designated collector. Meetings are called to order at 12:00. After a brief transaction of Society business, the guest speaker is introduced. Normally, presentations take about 40 minutes. Time is usually allocated for questions from the audience. The meetings are adjourned at 13:00. Some programs are scheduled as professional development hours (PDH) to meet the State of Tennessee’s continuing education requirements. These special meetings consist of at least 50 minutes of prepared presentation with discussion reserved for the time after the meeting. The State Licensing Board does not pre-approve such hours; the TSK does not guarantee approval, but strictly meets the Board-specified requirements and issues a certificate of attendance. Monday meetings are announced in the Sunday News Sentinel Business Bulletins. See also our web site. Guests are welcome.
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The TSK Board
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President, Richard Berry
1st Vice President, Jean-Pierre Granju
2nd Vice President, Bill Haynes
Director, Bill Gardner
Director, Sam Rudder
Past President, Steve Levy
Sec./Treas., Walter Wunderlich
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Letter from the President
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The Technical Society is now 75 years old, or perhaps 75 years young is a better way of stating it. That is over 3,000 meetings. That's a lot of talk and a lot of thought at the same time.
Our scope is whatever is important in Knoxville, in the state, and sometimes in the country.. It matters not whether the topic is technical, political, or sometimes it is just fun. We gather with other inquisitive minds to think through ongoing events so that we can better understand the directions our society is taking.
Last year our overriding topic was energy. That interest continues because saving energy will remain one of our biggest dilemmas through at least the next fifty years. The global situation will hang over our heads with dramatic changes in the way we live likely.
Another equally rewarding topic for thought is the shortage of clean water for ourselves and for our agriculture. Seemingly, with the vast open spaces we have, there should be lots of water. Yet we have drawn the water table so far that even in our largest reservoirs the pumping costs have become so great that we are considering technology that is being used in desert areas. The connected topic of using vast amounts of fertilizer to grow our primary crops leads to poisoning the runoff into our rivers accompanied with salt rising to the surface through evaporation makes any solution very complex. Adding to that dilemma, some 80% of antibiotics go into agriculture through feed additives. Some of these additives travel to us humans as we now have autoimmune reactions increasing the rise of infections that won't go away.
This year, we are going a bit off the single theme and broadening our scope into some of the important social issues such as medical advances vs. the costs, educational programs that work, honesty in government with perhaps a return to an open and ethical state of affairs. All this presents the fun and the challenge of living in the world today.
We will be happy to have you join us at our weekly meeting every Monday noon in downtown.
Dick Berry
865-671-2925
e-mail berry@rembco.com
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Achievements
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An old institution with a young spirit, the Technical Society of Knoxville has built an enviable record of contributions to the public welfare of Knoxville, Knox County, and the surrounding area. Always concerned with education in engineering architecture, planning, and physical sciences, the Society has supported many of the programs of the University of Tennessee, from career guidance for pre-freshmen to furnishing Judges for Engineers Day. The Society has selected advisors for the Pellissippi State Technical Community College staff, and sponsored the formation of Junior Engineering Technical Societies (JETS) in area high schools. Speakers are provided, upon request, for high school career days. Since 1953 TSK has sponsored awards and assisted in management of hte annual Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair.
The expertise and advice of the Society's membership is made available, upon request and without cost to the departments of local governments as well as UT, Pellissippi State and other institutions of higher learning. The membership has established a scholarship fund at the University in honor of its Founder, Dean Charles E. Ferris of the College of Engineering. The advisory capabilities of the membership cover a wide field: planning, building codes, flood problems, parking and traffic problems, to name only a few.
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