Akron Physics Club
Archive 1990
| 1990 | |
| September | Charlie Wilson - Organizational Meetings (10 attendees) |
| November | Bryon Anderson - A Short Tour of the Planets (KSU Planetarium) |
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Newsletter
Minutes: September 17, 1990
At 6:00 PM on Monday, September 17, 1990, the first meeting of the Akron Physics Club in more than ten years was held at Nikki's Restaurant on North Main Street, with the objective of reorganizing the club. Present were Tom Dudek, Bob Harrington, Ernst von Meerwall, Charlie Wilson, Leon Marker, Harry Pinnick, Dan Galehouse, Mark Dannis, Irv Prettyman, Jack Gieck, and S. L. Aggie Aggarwal. [See Membership Roster w/minutes of 10-15 meeting.]
Leon Marker asked astronomer Mark Dannis his views on the Hubble telescope fiasco [secretary's word, not Leon's]. We are all somewhat more knowledgeable about large-diameter optics as a result.
Meeting organizer Charlie Wilson had prepared a decision list of ten items for the group to discuss and vote upon. These are reviewed on the pages which follow.
1. Should the Akron Phyics Club in some form be reactivated at this time? The group decision was a unanimous, resounding YES.
The next three questions on Charlie's list, all interrelated, took up most of the evening with spirited discussion!
2. Should the Physics Club be a "supper club?"
After sorting out what "supper club" meant, etc., etc., the consensus of the group was that we should come as close to the format of the original Physics Club as possible, i.e., have dinner before a program for those who want to attend, and have a scheduled speaker whenever possible afterward. The speaker might be a member of the Club, or he might be a visiting lecturer. (The old Physics Club used to meet at Sanginiti's for dinner with the speaker; the group then moved to a reserved room at the University of Akron for the after-dinner program -- thus accommodating students and others who did not wish to attend the dinner).
Since a high-quality formal lecture every month constitutes a considerable burden for any program committee, it was agreed that we would establish a goal of having a speaker half the idea of an informal discussion on a pre-announced topic.
A regular meeting of the Club on the third or fourth Monday of each month was generally accepted as a schedule that most of us could make on a regular basis. But it was agreed that if a promising lecturer happened to be in town at other times, we could be flexible enough to change our meeting night to hear him/her.
3. Should the Physics Club have a formal, lecture-type presentation at each meeting? Or should the standard fare be a panel discussion -- or even a general bull-session about some pre-announced topic?
4. How often should we meet, and where and when? Specifically, when will be our next meeting?
5. Should we have a new name? AKRON NATURAL PHILOSOPHERS is one possibility, to suggest that our interests might extend to include astronomy, geology, chemistry, biophysics, polymers, technology, energy, ecology, medicine, etc .
Some thought that the public perception of the Club might be that we are a little full of ourselves if we adopted such a moniker. But all seemed to feel that a broad spectrum of topics, in the spirit of the "natural philosophers" of earlier eras (including all those Charlie's listed) -- was appropriate for our group.
6. Should members pay $10 annual dues?
The question was settled by having the new treasurer, below, collect $10 each from all present, thus providing our newborn treasury with $100. The money will be used to buy speakers' dinners, for postage (if we fail to find an institutional angel) and like expenses. We agreed, however, that anyone might attend meetings without financial obligation; but to earn the esteem associated with representing one's self as a member costs ten bucks.
7. Should we appoint interim officers such as [we did]...
Chairman = Charlie Wilson
Vice-Chairman = Ernst von Meerwall
Secretary = Jack Gieck
Treasurer = Harry Pinnick
Program Chairman = Leon Marker
Program Comm. Member = Tom Dudak
Program Comm. Member = Bob Harrington
Program Comm. Member = Mark Dannis
Membership Chairman = Dan Galehouse
Memb. Comm. Member = Irv Prettyman
Finally, getting to Charlie's last three questions, we agreed that for our first program with a speaker -- aimed at attracting new members -- we need an outstanding program. To this end Ernst von Meerwall suggested to Leon Marker that NASA provides astronaut speakers without charge -- and they bring spectacular slides.Joey's Place (formerly Sanginiti's) at 207 East Market.and other regional (and University?) publications when we are ready.
Membership chairman Dan Galehouse is to develop a mailing list with Irv Prettyman's help. Jack Gieck offered to prepare a news release for the Beacon Journal, Sun Newspapers,Our next meeting is to be on Monday evening, October 15, at 6:00 PM at at Joey's Place (formerly Sanginiti's) at 207 East Market.and other regional (and university?) publications when we are ready.
Jack Gieck
Secretary pro tem
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Newsletter
Minutes: November 1990
For its last meeting of the year, the Akron Physics Club met for dinner with the speaker at Henry Wahner's German restaurant in Kent. After dinner, Dr. Bryon Anderson, professor of physics and Director of the Kent State University Planetarium, treated us to "A Short Tour of the Planets" -- a delightful show he personally presented for us in the celestial dome of the planetarium.
Those of us who cared also had an opportunity to examine the pin-hole optics and ancillary lens systems of the planetarium instrument itself -- a sphere about half a meter in diameter perforated with thousands of precisely- located, barely macroscopic holes, each projecting an individual image from the single 75-watt xenon arc lamp at the center. The meeting included a free-wheeling (that's a 1930's Nash-Kelvinator word) discussion with Dr. Anderson on cosmology, which ultimately gravitated (no pun intended) into a typical Akron Physics Club bull session.
In line with our October minutes, our January meeting will also constitute a check-out of the Tangier, 532 West Market, as a regular meeting place for the Club. We will meet for a social [half] hour at 6:00 PM, with dinner at 6:30 (chef's choice; price $11.00 including tip -- any social hour attitudinal-adjustment fluids individually extra; and I would ask Treasurer Harry Pinnick to collect our dinner funds and pay the restaurant.
Please call in your reservation (or your regrets, please):867-2116. If I'm away, Cinemark's friendly answering machine will be pleased to receive your call.
Jack Gieck
Secretary PT