After retiring from the IU School of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Hospital three years ago, Dr. Robert Yee was searching for meaningful activities.
So, the Carmel resident joined the Indianapolis Scientech Club, which holds weekly lectures and luncheons Mondays at the Northside Knights of Columbus Hall, 2100 E. 71st St., Indianapolis.
Yee said the audience at each meeting includes mostly retired engineers, physicians, lawyers and other professionals who are interested in learning about science, technology and history.
“The knowledge and professional experience of the audience are impressive,” Yee said. “Lecture topics range from the great flu epidemic of 1918, the significance of the latest Nobel prizes in science, history of Indiana’s Central State Hospital, to Kurt Vonnegut.”
The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a banquet Oct. 20 at the Woodstock Club in Indianapolis. Eli Lilly, founder of the pharmaceutical company, was among the club’s charter members. During the cocktail hour, hit songs of 1918 will be presented by Carmel resident and club member Alison Brown, accompanied by Kevin Purrone, a professional pianist and club member. Ray Boomhower, senior editor at the Indiana Historical Society Press, will be the speaker.
Carmel resident Gonzalo Chua, a physician and radiologist, retired in 2009 and joined Scientech Club the same year.
“The speakers are drawn from friends and acquaintances in our state and occasionally from out of state,” Chua said. “Information from the talks are frequently stimulating for members who may have never had the desire or opportunity to go out of their way to attend lectures of that caliber. Personally, I have learned so much about other sciences like water management, history, astronomy and nuclear physics, plant and animal DNAs that I would not have tried to read or learn on my own. They opened my mind to new information.”
Chua said the club, through its foundation, also finances and grants scholarships to high school students interested in science, nursing and business. Members volunteer to be judges in area high school science contests. It also finances science teacher summer teaching conferences.
There are four outings a year to areas of interest like water plant management facilities, wind farms, medical facilities and engineering firms.
Carmel resident James Dillon, a retired Indiana University professor of medicine and board-certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, has been a member of Scientech for approximately 10 years. He has had stints as president and vice president and is now the treasurer.
Dillon said the foundation encourages young men and women to go into science.
“We have started a workshop for middle and high school science teachers to improve their ability to teach their subjects and most of all recruit young people to science,” Dillon said. “Classroom teachers have too much education courses, and that’s not science. There is no substitute for knowing math, chemistry, biology or physics.”
The club has more than 275 members, approximately 50 more than in 2012.
“Our group is consistently growing,” Dillon said.
For more, visit scientechclub.org.
