2007 - 2008 Meetings

September 24th, 2007 - Biofuels
Daniel Geller will discuss biodiesel fuels for the September meeting.  Topics will cover biodiesel / ethanol basics, production and research, and challenges.
Dan is a Faculty Engineer in the University of Georgia's Engineering Outreach Program. He has over 10 years experience in Biodiesel and Biofuels research and has published numerous papers on the subject. He holds an M.S. in Biological Engineering and a B.S. in Biochemistry both from the University of Georgia. He is currently developing new feedstocks for the Biodiesel industry in the Southeast and exploring value added uses for Biodiesel and its byproducts.

October 29th, 2007 - Energy Savings Assessment (ESA) Program - Department of Energy
Debbie Weems will discuss the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and Industrial Technologies Program (ITP).  She will also discuss energy challenges, the Save Energy Now Initiative, state activities, and technology delivery through the industrial assessments centers.  Presentation is here (2.4MB)

Debbie is the ESA Coordinator for the Southeastern Region of the U.S. and works in the ITP in the DOE offices in Golden Colorado.  She worked a number of years in the environmental field for the State of Colorado and the DOE, Rocky Flats Office, prior to joining the DOE Golden Office in 2005. The Golden Office supports the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Debbie is a graduate of Colorado State University.

November/December 2007 - No meeting

January 28th, 2008 - Wireless Metering by Kelly Waters   

Kelly will discuss wireless metering/measuring for industry.  He will cover security, protocols, and integration of the wireless technologies.

Kelly Waters graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of South Carolina. He has 23 years of instrumentation and controls experience. Kelly spent five years working with Johnson Controls before joining Rosemount as a Sales engineer. In more recent years, Kelly has been the corporate account manager for Eastman Chemical. He later moved into and currently works as the Business Development and PlantWeb manager for the South Eastern area.

February 25th, 2008 - Local SEES and USGBC Chapter Presentations

March 31st, 2008 - Energy Markets - Randy Bitsky from Constellation Energy. 

Randy will discuss the energy markets (natural gas, coal, etc) and current and future price drivers. His presentation will cover historical information and the current market trends.

Randy Bitsky is a Vice President of Portfolio Management and Market Strategy for the Constellation Energy Group. Randy manages gas trading for Constellation as well as risk within the Ercot region. He has expertise in cross-commodity hedging as well as generation management. Randy’s background includes derivative trading in equities and soft commodities. His tenure includes 14 years of risk management and trading experience, nine of which are in the energy complex.

Randy's presentation is here. (3MB)

April 28th, 2008 - Pressure Independent Control Valves - Robert Walker from Belimo

Bob will review pressure independent valves and their performance.  Topics will include:

Control Valve Sizing:
--The equal percentage flow characteristic and its effect on control
--Valve authority and its effect on control
--Effect of valve sizing on control
--The effect of rangeability on control

Overview of Pressure Independent Control Valves
--Hydronic design considerations
--Theory of operation
--Evaluation of PI Control Valves vs. Globe Valves

Advantages of Pressure Independent Control Valves
--Evaluation of energy consumption PI Control Valves vs. Globe Valves
--Evaluation of costs PI Control Valves vs. Globe Valves
--Specification considerations

Mr. Walker has over 20 years of experience in the temperature controls industry working as a Senior Application Engineer with a major controls manufacturer followed by stints with a Kansas City based consulting firm designing temperature control systems and energy management upgrades and as a Project Engineer working on the management of the temperature controls, fire and security systems installations at Chrysler World Headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI. Currently, Mr. Walker is a Regional Application Consultant for BELIMO Americas and holds a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) designation from the Association of Energy Engineers.

Bob's presentation is here

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The chapter holds their meetings on the last Monday of the month in September, October, and January through April.  Each meeting features a speaker that relates to the energy field.

Where: Steak & Ale, off Lavista Road & Northlake Pkwy., Tucker (770.939.3582)
When: Last Monday of the month; Seating for lunch starts at 11:30 am and topic presentation starts at noon.
Cost: $20, includes lunch 

Contact our chapter officers if you plan on attending a meeting or are interested in speaking at a future event.

2006 - 2007 Meeting Notes

2005 - 2006 Meeting Notes

2004 - 2005 Meeting Notes

2003 - 2004 Meeting Notes

2002 - 2003 Meeting Notes