Dr. Tolbert will be discussing the principles of transactive energy management (TEM) and the challenges ahead for electric power generators and distributors to manage the technology for reliable delivery. The evolving smart grid — with increased use of renewable energy and distributed energy resources (DER) — offers the potential for significant efficiency improvements through market-based transactive exchanges between energy producers and energy consumers. “Transactive Energy” is the term used to describe this new approach.

TEM is crucial to the rapid evolution and economic success of DER, including microgrids, commercial structures; even individual homes. A recent report by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) found that a transactive energy system could reduce daily load swings by 20 to 44% and peak loads by 9 to 15%. That is highly significant because it is most costly to satisfy peak power demand — in economic terms and even more in environmental impacts. Until recently, only natural gas fired power plants were capable of responding quickly enough to avert impending brownout and balckout risks from spikes in demand. In a time when we hasten great efforts to reduce greenhouse gases it would be counterproductive to build new peaker plants — and pipelines to supply them — that require capital investments amortizable over decades only.

The PNNL study concluded that consumers could save about 15 percent on their annual electric bill by coordinating with their utility to control devices that use large amounts of electricity, such as heat pumps, water heaters and electric vehicle chargers. Advanced TEM software suites, particularly Athena by Stem, Inc. and Autobidder by Tesla, Inc. have seen exponential growth in the last three years. Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP) goes one step beyond demand control. Already in use in Australia, the UK, and several U.S. areas, including California and Texas, it leverages not only customer choices on the demand side. PowerWall battery owners can subscribe to join the supply side by choosing parameters in Autobidder under which conditions they are willing to sell some of their stored energy to the grid when the utility offers to pay up to multiples of average kWh prices.

Dr. Tolbert received the Bachelor’s, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. He worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) from 1991 until 1999 on electric distribution and power quality projects. He joined the University of Tennessee in 1999 and is a founding member and thrust leader for CURENT, the NSF/DOE Center for Ultrawide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks. He served as head of the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from 2013 through 2018. He also is a faculty member in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research at UT and an adjunct participant with ORNL’s Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Research Center.

Dr. Tolbert is a Fellow of the IEEE and a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Tennessee. He conducts research in utility applications of power electronics including microgrids, interface with renewable energy sources, medium voltage multilevel converters incorporating silicon carbide power devices, and electric vehicles. Read more about his outstanding professional service in IEEE and his many awards and recognitions on his University of Tennessee web page.

* This meeting is offered as a professional development hour for Tennessee-licensed engineers and architects, who attend in person. 

The presentation meets the TN State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners’ continuing education requirements. It will consist of at least 50 minutes of prepared presentation with discussion reserved for the time after the meeting. TSK does not guarantee approval, but strictly meets the Board-specified requirements and issues a Certificate of Attendance. (Certificates for virtual attendance cannot be issued yet.)

The State Board does not pre-approve such hours. It is the responsibility of each PE or architect to determine whether the topic conduces to proficiency in her or his field of professional practice.

Everything from food waste to paper and plastic can be mixed together. In the 185′ long, 12′+ diameter continuously rotating digesters, air and bacteria break down the mixture into an organic material that can be used as compost. Careful screening helps prevent non compostable material from entering the mix. The operation has been in existence since 1988.

The material collected used to go into a landfill but that is not an option you want to use in a tourist area like Sevier County. Landfills require lots of land and are expensive to operate. The digestion and composting option diverts 70 percent of the entire waste stream, saving money and land. It produces over 50,000 tons of Grade A, nutrient-dense compost each year.

SSI compost is available free of charge to the public to spread on local farms, use for erosion control, enhance vegetation, or apply to topsoil mixtures.

The SSWI website shows many examples of how the compost is used in the region.

Tom Leonard took charge of the original composting facility, almost 25 years ago, after the company that had built it was unable to run it profitably and a contracted big waste management corporation also failed to do it economically. With enormous persistence and great skill he succeeded to improve and tune the process such that it became less expensive than hauling all the waste to a landfill or incinerator, as is done almost everywhere else. Visitors from all over the world have come to study his operation.

With the addition of new equipment to break down plastic bottles as well as aluminum and tin cans, SSWI now anticipates to decrease the landfill portion of the waste stream to as little as 15 percent.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email the secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.

This talk will give a broad overview of the work and mission of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS) and focus on the use of advanced scanning probe microscopes and scanning transmission electron microscopes to characterize not only the structural properties of materials but also reveal their functional properties from nanometer to atomic scales. We specialize in integrating novel control and data acquisition methods into our microscopes to increase the precision, reliability, and breadth of information we can gather. Furthermore, we utilize to the highly concentrated stress, electrical, and thermal fields that these microscopes can generate in materials to both see how materials behave under these extremes and to modify materials to imbue them with new properties.

Dr. Vasudevan's research is focused on smart, autonomous synthesis and characterization tools driven by improvements in machine learning and tight integration between theory, automation and individual instruments. Specific sub-focus is on applications and development of scalable reinforcement learning for scanning probe microscopy, to optimize, manipulate and better characterize ferroic materials at the nanoscale, and upgrade scanning probe microscopy from a standard characterization tool to one capable of autonomous physics discovery by connecting algorithms, edge computing, and theory in end-to-end automated workflows.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email the secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.

When President Bill Clinton announced the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) in January 2000, he said its research goals may take twenty or more years to achieve. Four years later, President George W. Bush propelled the initiative into the billion dollar sphere with his signature on the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act. President Joe Biden's request of $1.99 billion for 2023 would bring NNI spending since its inception to $40.7 billion.

The National Science and Technology Council coordinates research strategies and policies across the executive branch. Twenty federal departments, independent agencies and commissions work together to advance discovery and innovation through NNI efforts that span the entire technology development pathway, from early-stage fundamental science through applications-driven activities. The evolution of the “internet of things,” three-dimensional printing, COVID-19 vaccines, more flexible textiles, and surface coatings that reject water and dirt are just a few examples of developments benefitting from NNI achievements. Better catalysts may make it possible to use methanol fuel cells instead of batteries for long range transportation.

Research continues for quantum materials that promise to drive device fabrication toward atomic precision. A nanotechnology-inspired Grand Challenge for Future Computing was launched in 2015 to create a new type of computer that can proactively interpret and learn from data, solve unfamiliar problems using what it has learned, and operate with the energy efficiency of the human brain

The U.S. Department of Energy plays a key role by operating five Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs). These are open to the research community on a peer-reviewed basis. Each NSRC is located at a DOE National Laboratory, providing users with access to many other facilities and additional opportunities for collaboration.

• Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory
• Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies at Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory

Before returning to her native Knoxville last year, Dr. Parker led national artificial intelligence policy efforts for four years in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, serving as Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Founding Director of the National AI Initiative Office, and Assistant Director for AI. She also served as co-chair of the Congressionally-directed National AI Research Resource Task Force, which is working to democratize access to the computational and data infrastructure needed for AI research. She served for two years (2015-2016) at the National Science Foundation as Division Director for Information and Intelligent Systems.

In these roles across three Administrations, Dr. Parker led the development of numerous landmark national AI policies bolstering research, governance, education and workforce training, international engagement, and the Federal use of AI.

She now also spearheads the AI Tennessee Initiative, the university’s strategic vision and strategy for multidisciplinary artificial intelligence education and research. The initiative is designed to increase UT’s funded research, expand the number of students developing interdisciplinary skills and competencies related to AI, and position the university and the state of Tennessee as national and global leaders in the data-intensive knowledge economy.

Dr. Parker first joined the UTK faculty in 2002 as an expert on distributed and intelligent robot systems, human-robot interaction, and AI, having published extensively in these and related areas. She previously worked for several years as a Distinguished Research and Development Staff Member and Group Leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researching multi-robot and human-robot systems.

She is a member and fellow of several national scientific associations, including the IEEE; recipient of many prominent research, teaching and service awards; and has a B.S. from Tennessee Technological University, an M.S. from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, all in computer science.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email the secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.

Mr. Bohanan is an international award-winning patented inventor, researcher, lecturer, and writer, a Certified Latent Print Examiner (one of 860 in the world, and a certified police instructor with 55 years in the practical study and application of forensics in thousands of violent crime scenes. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from East Tennessee University with further studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mr. Bohanan created the first Internet Crime Against Children (ICAC) task force in Tennessee in 1998 and worked in an online undercover capacity until he retired in May 2001 as a Police Specialist III, former AFIS Manager, and Senior Forensic Examiner with the Knoxville Police Department (26 years).

Mr. Bohanan twice received the Knoxville Police Officer of the Year award. He was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in Atlanta, sponsored by the Inventors of America, with two distinguished awards plus a doctorate in science and technology for pioneering research involving children’s fingerprints. He has responded to many major disasters, including the Columbia Space Disaster, the World Trade Center, and Hurricane Katrina. He has assisted in eight airline crashes to help identify human remains. He is currently researching to locate lost graves and determine the gender of the long-dead in 20 seconds or less.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email the secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.

Arthur M. Bohanan’s books — including a historical fiction series about

Henry Bohanan, his great, great, great grandfather,

a veteran of the American Revolution — are available from Amazon or his Facebook page.

The Tennessee Science Bowl is a fast paced academic competition that offers teams of high school students from across the state of Tennessee a chance to match their wits in math and science. The winner of the Tennessee Science Bowl will advance — all expenses paid — to the National Science Bowl in Washington D.C. in April 2023.

Jennifer Tyrell is Associate Manager for K-12 STEM Education Programs at Oak Ridge Associated University (ORAU). She has a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Tennessee and a master's in curriculum and instruction from WGU Tennessee. She is a former teacher for AmericCorps as well as a former math teacher.

Manon Fleming is a K-12 STEM project manager at Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). She has a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering as well as an MBA from the University of Tennessee. She is a former teacher and worked previously for Y-12. 

Both presenters enjoy working with and developing young people for futures in math, science and engineering.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email the secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.

Volunteer opportunities at the 2023 Tennessee Science Bowl

The Tennessee Science Bowl Regional is hosted by ORAU at the Friendsville campus of Pellissippi State Community College.

It will be a two-day in person event beginning with registration and welcome on Friday, February 24, 2023 and competition on Saturday, February 25, 2023.

Please volunteer your time and skills to help make this year’s Science Bowl a success.

Dr. Cherry conducted North America’s first electric bike sharing pilot program, using the UTK campus as a research test bed. It also was the subject of his first presentation to The Technical Society of Knoxville.

He advised and analyzed the City of Knoxville’s three-year shared dockless scooter pilot program, which resulted in the Knoxville City Council’s approval of the present Shareable Powered Micromobility Vehicles and Systems Ordinance, last December, which most recently was revised to permit shared e-bikes, too.

Chris Cherry received his BS and MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Arizona and received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007.

His research interests include multimodal transportation planning and operations, public transportation systems, travel behavior and demand, transportation economics, sustainable transportation and transit security. Since coming to UT in August 2007, he has embarked on a research and education program that focuses on sustainable transportation, including aspects of transportation safety, economics and environment.

Much of his research work has focused on rapid motorization of Asia, including research projects in Vietnam, India, and China, for which he received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award to study motorization and sustainability in China.

Cherry has explored behavioral and environmental aspects related to electric bikes, scooters, and larger electric vehicles. He has published articles related to the growth of electrical two-wheelers.

He’s also interested in the role of technology in commercial vehicle safety as well as bicycle transportation planning and safety.

He studies bicycle and pedestrian safety investments, which are often difficult to prioritize in traditional highway safety funding mechanisms.

Cherry received a 2009 Faculty Environmental Leadership Award from UT for his commitment to environmental stewardship on campus as well as the CEE Research Recognition Award in 2012 and 2009.

* This meeting is offered as a professional development hour for Tennessee-licensed engineers and architects.

The presentation meets the TN State Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners’ continuing education requirements. It will consist of at least 50 minutes of prepared presentation with discussion reserved for the time after the meeting. TSK does not guarantee approval, but strictly meets the Board-specified requirements and issues a certificate of attendance.

The State Board does not pre-approve such hours. It is the responsibility of each PE or architect to determine whether the topic conduces to proficiency in her or his field of professional practice.

• Disney World monorail tire sensors
• Automatic oxygen systems for airliners
• U.S. National Centrifuge Program
• Dampening devices in the transmissions of automobiles
• Controls on the distiller in Jack Daniels distillery
• Automatic control of the Yugo automobile engine’s air-fuel mixture
• Bellows as part of the fuel control system for NASA rocket engines
• Device that helps control the blood temperature of open-heart surgery patients
• Automatic deployment of parachutes of pilots ejecting at high altitudes
• Automobile thermostats for Nissan Motor Company
• System for providing water for astronauts in space
• Star Wars propulsion system