Wonders of the Universe
Dick Boynton
Club member and Engineer
June 8, 2010

It's 4½  billion years old, has a circumference of 25,000 miles and sustains nearly 7 billion people. So the Earth is a pretty big deal, right? Well actually no, at least not when you consider its size within the Universe. It is one of our solar system's smaller planets and is dwarfed by our Sun. But that Sun is tiny, compared with many giant suns within our galaxy, the Milky Way. And our galaxy is only one of billions!

Speaking to 68 Y's Men of Meriden at their final meeting of the season on June 8, Dick Boynton, club member and engineer, provided narrative and projected photos showing the vastness and beauty of the Universe. With its probable origin as an enormously dense bit of matter, perhaps as small as a grain of sand, the "Big Bang" theory explains how our Universe is expanding, with galaxies at the outer edge of space moving away the fastest, consistent with a primordial blast of incalculable force. Even "empty" areas of space, when scanned by the Hubble Space Telescope, are found to contain additional millions of galaxies 

At the center of many galaxies are "black holes" perhaps the size of our solar system, so named because of their enormous gravitational pull which sucks in billions of stars and prevents light from escaping. Other elements of the Universe include quasars (powerful radio wave sources and the brightest objects in the Universe), Cepheid variables (pulsating stars), and dark matter (invisible matter that is inferred to exist based on its gravitational pull on visible matter, and which may actually form 80% of the Universe). Stunning images captured by the Hubble telescope include the Whirlpool Galaxy, colliding galaxies, the Eagle Nebula (with young stars forming at the tips of hydrogen clouds) and the Horsehead Nebula.

Boynton discounted the possibility of extraterrestrial life forms coming to Earth from beyond the solar system, noting the enormous distances involved. However, he did point out the possibility of other life within our solar system, with the best bet being on Jupiter's moon Europa which contains liquid water beneath its icy surface.

 
Left - Earth and new moon from outer space    Right - Venus

Advanced Propulsion Strategies for the  21st Century
Chris Colquitt
Driver Relationship Manager, GM Fuel Cell Program
June 1, 2010

Speaking with 10 years' experience in fuel cell technology while at General Motors, Chris Colquitt, Driver Relationship Manager for GM's Fuel Cell Activities, spoke to 71 Y's  Men of Meriden on June 1. And he drove himself to the meeting in a hydrogen powered vehicle.

Noting that 96% of the world's transportation energy needs are met by petroleum products, he pointed out the high cost of that dependence: global warming, air pollution, dependence on foreign oil, increasing demand from the burgeoning automobile populations in China and India, and the current Gulf of Mexico oil spillage disaster. While it may take decades to phase out petroleum fueled automobiles, General Motors is advancing on a number of fronts.

For starters, improvements to the internal combustion engine include variable valve timing, active fuel management (with which some of the cylinders are shut off while cruising), direct fuel injection and engine downsizing (such that a 1.4 liter 4-cylinder engine may provide more power and less pollution than its bigger cousins). The use of biofuels, especially ethanol, has not worked well to date because expensive corn is the source; the future may lie in the use of cellulosic ethanol, derived from discarded plastic, tires, and municipal and industrial waste. Biofuels reduce auto emissions by 75% and reduce dependence on petroleum.

The next step up is the  use of hybrid propulsion, using a combination of electric and gasoline-powered engines. Some vehicles have a second electric motor that slows the vehicle when braking, recapturing some of the electricity. These vehicles often provide a 50% improvement in city driving mileage and a 30% overall improvement, but suffer from heavy batteries which take up considerable space.

Colquitt stated that the ultimate goal is to have all-electric vehicles, energized by plugging into your home outlet or by using on-board fuel cells which turn hydrogen into electricity. Fuel cell driven engines use no petroleum, have zero greenhouse emissions and zero tailpipe emissions. However, they currently are quite expensive, due in part to the cost of platinum which is required to strip electrons from the hydrogen. But watch for that price to drop in the next few years.

Experiences in Iraq and Preparedness for the Drawdown
Lt. Col. Martin Piech
Deputy Commander, U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Support Team
May 25, 2010

After 34 years of service, Lt. Col. Martin Piech, Deputy Commander, U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Support Team, has a pretty good handle on the massive job of supplying U.S. troops worldwide with everything from meals to tank parts. Speaking to 69 Y's Men of Meriden on May 25, Piech, a resident of South Meriden, detailed not only the structure and complexity of the DLA but also the current challenges during the drawdown in Iraq.

The DLA mission is to act as the logistics support agency for the Department of Defense (DOD), managing alliances with suppliers and creating supply chains, forming logistics partnerships, and administering a worldwide storage and management network along with reutilization and disposal of materials. With a budget of $36 billion and using more than 25,000 staff operating in 28 countries, the DLA provides 84% of the DOD repair parts and 100% of food, fuel, clothing, medical supplies and construction supplies.

Citing both progress and remaining challenges in Iraq, Piech described the formidable tasks ahead as the Iraq withdrawal date (Dec. 31, 2011) approaches. In addition to supplying the material needs of the U.S. Military, the DLA is responsible for "reverse logistics capabilities" with which excess military materials are sent for reuse elsewhere, or sold or donated to the Government of Iraq.  Hazardous materials must be removed, precious metals recovered, and disposal of scrap accomplished (currently 13 million lbs./month, often by sale to local vendors).

Piech also noted that the DLA has another mission: disaster relief in the U.S. following non-military disasters such as Katrina. He also showed several slides taken during his six-month deployment to Iraq in 2009, including one of the sandstorms which can shut down air traffic and confine troops to bases.

Vietnam: Past and Present
Frank Donovan
Y's Men member
May 18, 2010

It was with mixed emotions that 70 Y's Men of Meriden on May 18 viewed a PowerPoint presentation by club member Frank Donovan, chronicling a trip he took with his wife Phyllis to Vietnam in late 2007. Many in the audience remembered the tragic stories of American casualties during the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, including the loss of 58,000 American lives, but were also beguiled by the smiling and welcoming faces of present day Vietnamese children as they excitedly welcomed their American guests just several decades later.

The visit to this land of 88 million people, with a median age of 27.4 years and more than one half of the population having been born since the end of the war (there referred to as the "American War"), began in Saigon, now renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Images of this vibrant city included numerous buildings such as the Saigon Opera House built in French architectural style during decades of French occupation. Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels, part of a 200-mile network of narrow tunnels along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, revealed how they could hold up to 6000 Viet Cong fighters as they infiltrated the South.

The Mekong River Delta, at the end of a 2600-mile-long river beginning in the Himalayas, is home to a profusion of rice production, helping make this country the world's third largest rice exporter. Then a stop at the coastal city of Nha Trang, endowed with pristine beaches, provided images of tiny fishing boats which venture at night onto the South China Sea, using powerful lights to attract fish. Travelling north by ship, the Donovans then visited Danang (previously home to a huge U.S. Air Force Base), Huế (featuring the dramatic Huế Citadel, the Forbidden Purple City and numerous open air markets and pagodas) and Halong Bay (with its striking karst limestone islands and caves, pearl cultivation farms and floating villages).

The journey ended in Hanoi, featuring pedicab tours of the old city section, modern department stores and the renowned Water Puppet Theater. And then a visit to the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton"), home to about 250 downed American pilots including John McCain, with views of tiny solitary confinement cells and text about the good treatment that the American prisoners received. 

North to Alaska
Jack Brooks
Y's Men member
May. 11, 2010

"North to Alaska" generally evokes memories of the 1960 movie featuring John Wayne, Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs and Fabian, as well as the familiar Johnny Horton hit song by the same name. But on May 11, it was the title of a journey taken by 72 Y's Men of Meriden as they went on a virtual trip with club member Jack Brooks from Vancouver to Denali, a trip actually undertaken in August 2009 and captured in the magic of a PowerPoint presentation.

Travelling by bus, boat, train and plane, the group first left Vancouver for the Tracy Arm fjord, an area studded with gorgeous waterfalls and glaciers. Next stop was Juneau, the car-free (and care-free) capitol of Alaska and a great jumping-off locale to see the famed 12-mile-long Mendenhall glacier with its spectacular calving of icebergs.

After disembarkation in Skagway, the entry point for gold rushes in 1898, travel in glass-domed train cars provided exciting views of trestles, tunnels, and scenic vistas of turquoise-colored lakes and rivers as Brooks and his wife Barbara made their way to White Horse, the starting point of the 1422-mile Alcan Highway. It was here that they viewed the beautiful Yukon River and the world's longest fish ladder built for migrating salmon. And here, as everywhere else along this trip, colorful wildflowers grew in abundance, encouraged by the extra long summer days.

Magical names like Beaver Creek, Denali Depot and Fairbanks marked the next stops for Brooks (and his accompanying Y's Men); in Fairbanks, they witnessed a dramatic sled run powered by trained huskies, making everyone realize that these sled dogs are trained for resilience, strength and speed. And here, the land around these vast mountains, lakes and rivers was studded with log cabins (some with sod growing on their roofs).

After a successful "panning for gold" experience that netted Brooks over $20 and a visit to the Alaska Pipeline (supported by Teflon-coated sliders that move with the frost heaves), the journey concluded at Denali National Park which covers almost 10,000 square miles and features Mt. McKinley, more than 20,000 feet in elevation and bearing glaciers up to 4000 feet in thickness. A distant view of a family of grizzlies provided the icing on this cake.

Special Olympics in Connecticut
Changing Attitudes...changing Lives
Rob Gerowe
Regional Director, Northwest Office, CT Special Olympics
May 4, 2010

He was a sickly kid beset by asthma, very unathletic and still using training wheels on his bicycle well beyond the years when other children were riding free. But by his senior college year in 1984, he was competing on a national championship Division I track team and in 2005 was riding in the Tour de France. "It's never too late. 

This was the message delivered to 63 Y's Men of Meriden on May 4 by Rob Gerowe, one of three regional directors of Special Olympics Connecticut, as he described the origins and remarkable growth of the Special Olympics movement. Assisted by a DVD video, he noted its origin as a summer day camp for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, built by Eunice Kennedy Shriver at her home in Maryland. In 1968, the first International Special Olympics Summer Games were held in Chicago, at which 1,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada competed in track and field and swimming.

Since then, the movement has spread to include all 50 states and many countries. World Games are currently held every two years, alternating between summer and winter sports, with Greece being the host in 2011. Connecticut, which joined the movement in 1969 and thus was one of the earliest states to participate, is currently celebrating its 40^th anniversary of participation and hosted the 1995 World Games in New Haven. Athletic training and competition occur year round, involving regional, state and national events in this country. These 10-30 year old competitors participate in 35 Olympic-style individual and team sports, including skiing, track and field, and aquatics. In the 2007 World Games in Shanghai, China, some 7291 athletes from 165 countries participated.

Gerowe recalled with pleasure an autistic child named Kurt who couldn't focus on his skills while skiing; with encouragement and training from Gerowe and his family, he overcame distractions and proceeded to win the downhill slalom race with a perfect run. Fund-raising is crucial, with funds coming from sponsoring corporations and individuals. In Connecticut, Gerowe helps organize "Penguin Plunges" each winter, with 150-400 sponsored participants going into icy waters at each of the 10-12 plunges held yearly around the state.