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Lead Tennessee Radio features conversations with the leaders who are moving Tennessee forward. Topics include rural development, broadband, technology, legislation, policy and more. The podcast is produced by the Tennessee Broadband Association.
Intro:
The following program is brought to you by the Tennessee
Broadband Association.
Lead Tennessee Radio, conversations with the leaders moving our
state forward.
We look at the issues shaping Tennessee's future: rural
development, public policy, broadband,
healthcare, and other topics impacting our communities.
Carrie Huckeby:
Hello everyone.
Thank you for joining me on this episode of Lead Tennessee
Radio.
I'm Carrie Huckeby, executive director for the Tennessee
Broadband Association.
National Engineering Week is February 18th through the 24th.
And I learned something that I didn't know about Engineering
Week.
It's designated that this particular week, because of
President's Day, George Washington.
He's considered the nation's first engineer.
And this year's theme is "Welcome to the Future." It's to
highlight the achievements, while also looking where the field
of engineering is going.
And who better to talk to about engineering than my guest,
professional engineer and PhD, Matthew
Boynton from BTC Fiber.
Welcome, Matthew.
Matthew Boynton:
Well, thank you and thank you so much for having me.
And that was a great introduction about George Washington.
I think I just learned something.
Carrie Huckeby:
Well, I didn't know that.
It makes perfect sense, but I thought, oh, never too old to
learn something.
Matthew Boynton:
Sure, I think, I think I knew if I'm not mistaken, he was
considered a surveyor as well.
Carrie Huckeby:
I think that's right.
Matthew Boynton:
A pretty impressive fella.
Carrie Huckeby:
Yes, he was.
So before we dive into all things engineering, tell us a little
bit about BTC Fiber, for those that aren't familiar with the
company. And then follow that by telling us how long you've been
there at the cooperative.
Matthew Boynton:
Okay. Well, BTC Fiber was founded as Bledsoe Telephone
Cooperative.
We've recently sort of done a little rebranding to the name BTC
Fiber.
But it was founded on April 14th, 1953.
In 1986, Bledsoe Telephone ran its first fiber optic cable to
all of its exchanges,
where they converted to digital switches.
Building the foundation for not only telephone, but also for, at
that time would have been in the
90s, would have been dial up internet.
Leading us to today where we're trying to connect everyone with a
fiber optic connection.
We're in the middle of that process, and we've changed our name
to BTC Fiber.
I came to Bledsoe Telephone Cooperative as an intern when I was
doing my school work at Tennessee Tech,
as a summer intern in 2005.
I worked full time for the year of 2006.
I left and went to work for a consulting firm in order to work
under a professional engineer.
And that was the experience needed to obtain my professional
license.
In the middle of all that, I went back to school, went back to
graduate school, went on to Virginia Tech and engineering
education. Graduated there in 2014 and returned, and I've been
here from 2014
until now in the engineering department here at Bledsoe
Telephone Cooperative or BTC Fiber.
Carrie Huckeby:
Wow. So your cooperative has a rich history, and you have got,
you know, an interest in history too, of how
you landed at BTC Fiber.
So your journey here in engineering, before we talk about how
you landed there and how you came back to BTC, what
inspired you to become an engineer in the first place?
And there's so many specialties in engineering.
How did your path take you to telecom engineering?
Matthew Boynton:
It ultimately was the internship, but how I came about the
internship is kind of an interesting, definitely
fitting rural Tennessee story.
But as far as engineering as a profession, I'll have to say that
that was
heavily based in my grandmother.
Her name was Mrs.
Thelma Boynton, and she was a a science teacher as a profession
here in Bledsoe County.
Prior to that, she came into her love of math and science,
particularly science in World War II
. She was an attaché to the Air Force.
You know, in that period of time, understanding from her, you
know, everyone wanted to do
something toward the efforts in World War II.
She was a civilian attaché, but they sent her through what she
said
was basically a crash course in electrical engineering.
And she went to Wrightfield and worked in what they called test
section.
They were testing radio communication, trying to make different
– the tubes would
break with the changes in altitude, the changes in pressure and
temperature in the planes or a hard landing.
And they saw it as part of their mission to try to make a
better, a better tube for the
radio so the pilots could communicate.
So that was kind of her contribution there, but it also gave her
a real experience and background in
science and engineering that she brought back.
And they did, you've heard heard lots about it.
They took students to the national science fairs and all of
that, during her time.
So she definitely, probably, encouraged, pushed me toward math
and science
fields, and particularly engineering.
My dad is a land surveyor.
And so between the two things, civil engineering seemed like a
good fit.
That definitely, you know, from a high school students
perspective, I saw that
as being outside, building that kind of a field.
Just like you said, as I found when I entered the actual school,
there are so many, even within just the field of
civil engineering, that doesn't really narrow it down.
You know, you've got transportation structures, environmental,
which is water and wastewater.
So the even once you enter, what you might think of as a field
of engineering, there's still just so many different aspects of
that. So as a student, that's what I made my focus.
Now, how did I come to telecom engineering?
That was standing in line at our local funeral home with my
dad during my senior year.
It took me four and a half years to finish, so I had one extra
semester in a fifth year.
And during the spring of 2005, we were standing in line with
Mr. Greg Anderson, who was the manager here at Bledsoe Telephone
Co-op at that time, where my dad looks at him and says, "I
bet Bledsoe Telephone needs a summer intern engineering
student."
And he said, "You know, I believe you're right." And here we
are.
So that's kind of how I branched into telecom engineering,
strangely enough – in
line at a visitation at the local funeral home.
Carrie Huckeby:
And I think that probably many of us that ended in telecom or
have had careers in telecom have very
similar stories.
Where, you know, in our communities, we ran into someone and that
conversation led to other things.
So, it sounds very familiar.
Matthew Boynton:
What's interesting about that is one, I guess, a bit of a
concern.
I'm thinking back several years now, but, you know, I really
didn't anticipate finding a career in engineering
in rural Tennessee, in my hometown.
I didn't anticipate finding that career here.
I anticipated having to live elsewhere and/or commute.
Now, I guess you might have that career here as a telecommuter.
Because of what? You know, mainly because of our rural
cooperatives, that's possible.
But that definitely wasn't a reality then.
Carrie Huckeby:
Well, it's certainly a good story, and your grandmother sounds
like such an interesting lady.
And I'm sure she had stories to tell.
And that must have been – I mean, that's awesome that she was
such an encourager to you of what she learned in her
experience. And, you know, those stories she could tell you
about.
Matthew Boynton:
For sure. I know she told once that at the time, she had special
privilege to carry what we would
think of now as a walkie talkie.
She had special privilege to take it out of the test lab.
Only certain people could carry it across the base.
It was a top secret item, you know.
And I know she told me once that you could go to any store and
buy a better one than they had then, but that was a
top secret instrument.
Carrie Huckeby:
Wow. Yeah, very interesting, I'm sure.
So just talking.
How has the engineering landscape changed, Matthew, from just
when you started as that intern
at Bledsoe and later as you earned your degree and your
PhD.
How do you envision it?
And too, how has it changed?
And how do you envision it changing with AI or other technology
in the next few years?
Matthew Boynton:
You know, in thinking about that question, I know that that the
engineering landscape,
it has to have changed with technology since since I was in
school.
Let's say, I graduated with my bachelor's in 2005.
Goodness, if you think about how basically our online and our
computer
dependency or the presence of that technology in everything.
So I worked for about three years before going back to Tennessee
Tech in a very
interesting opportunity through their extended education office
to go back and do my master's
in engineering, and that's under Doctor Susan Elkins.
And she's from Jackson County.
Her husband, Tommy Elkins, was a retiree of Twin Lakes Telephone
Co-op.
You know, she had I went back with and taught engineering
classes in rural high schools.
So I taught through a program called Project Lead the Way.
They had a grant and needed someone to go and to fulfill that
grant, they needed a teacher to teach engineering classes.
And that was at Jackson County High School.
And we expanded that up to Clay County High School.
It was just a fantastic experience.
I did that, that was my graduate student work, while working on
my master's there at Tennessee Tech.
Actually extended that into an EDS program so we could continue.
And I continued as a student at Tennessee Tech.
But we just had a great experience.
We did all sorts of projects, a very hands on, project based
class.
We built cardboard boats and did some little robotics
simulators.
And we took all of those kind of projects, and then applied the
math and science behind why they worked.
It was really a fun class to teach.
But during that time that I was, just in that short period of
time that I was out of school, and then
back. When I went back, our assignments that I had to do were
all on a computer.
It was very different.
We literally went from pencil and paper to our assignments,
being basically on a computer in that period of
time. But, you know, so I know that the engineering landscape
has definitely changed with
technology. Probably more tools available, more computer-aided
design or CAD,
is definitely, continues to advance, and the things you can do
between that and GPS systems.
But if I think about how it has changed from 2014,
in telecom engineering, particularly here in Tennessee, I would
say that the state of
Tennessee and the ECD, or Economic and Community Development,
they have completely changed the landscape in
that through the state grant program.
I know they've really changed what we're able to do through the
grant application process.
So, you know, when I first came back, we were obviously staking
our lines to new homes and doing those
things. But now in the past few years, we've been working with
ECD to apply for grants to expand
fiber optics into rural Tennessee.
I guess it's given us the ability to expand.
Yes, to expand our fiber optic program, and to be able to reach,
affordably
reach, our service area with a fiber optic connection.
So they've completely changed.
May not be from a technical standpoint, a technology standpoint,
but they've allowed us the ability to,
I guess, fulfill our goals.
Carrie Huckeby:
The funding.
Matthew Boynton:
The funding aspect has really, it's really been beneficial to BTC
Fiber.
So that's changed our engineering department greatly.
So right now, a big part of what we do is, is work on fulfilling
our state grants that we've been
awarded. And we're on track to be finished in 2024 with the our
entire service area.
Everyone will have a fiber optic connection.
Carrie Huckeby:
I get that. I think what you're saying is you would be on a
slower pace probably.
Matthew Boynton:
Yeah.
Carrie Huckeby:
Without the funding.
You might have the technology, but you probably wouldn't be
turning out as much work and getting as many
people connected without the extra funding.
Matthew Boynton:
Exactly.
Carrie Huckeby:
And so, it's been a mixture of technology changing, but it's also
been having that funding
aspect that has kept it going faster or made it happen faster.
Matthew Boynton:
Or made it made it affordable to fulfill our goals.
Carrie Huckeby:
Yes. Okay, I get that.
Do you feel like that AI – you know, you talked about going from
pencil and paper to
laptops and computers and, you know, that's really moved things
along and helped you create things or get things done
faster. How do you see AI fitting into the engineering field?
Do you feel like it'll change processes or again, just speed up
things?
Matthew Boynton:
As far as decision making, I'm sure that it will.
How will it change the landscape?
I don't know that I have that answer.
I had a coworker several years ago.
He talked about, he went to a conference and realized after
attending that conference that, you know,
our copper networks that we were using – and this may have been
20 years ago.
He said they didn't have new tools and new t
hings in the copper industry.
That all the vendors were showing off their things associated
with fiber optics.
And he said, I realized right then that that's where we were
headed, even though we were still a little bit
behind that as far as fiber to the home.
He said, I realized copper was a thing of the past.
They weren't really making any advancement.
So I kind of take that same sentiment when I go to the
conferences.
I thought that was interesting.
And I, you know, I see what is the the newest thing that's being
talked about.
And last year it was definitely AI and also quantum networks.
Our partners and neighbors over at EPB Fiber Optics in
Chattanooga have created a quantum
laboratory using real fiber in the field.
And they're inviting people to come and try to get their quantum
computing up and working on just real
field based fiber optics instead of a laboratory based fiber
optics.
So, you know, if we think about how those two things are going
to possibly come together and change
computing, change data transmission, you know, I don't know.
But those were the two notable things that I noticed last year
at conferences was quantum computing and AI
were definitely being talked about.
Carrie Huckeby:
Yeah. I think there's no way right now that we can really tell
where it will take us, and if
it will all be good or not.
But it's definitely going to change the landscape for a lot of
fields and careers, I believe.
So we'll have to sit back and kind of watch it.
Engineering education, of course, is so important to our
nation's infrastructure.
And I mean, it's in everything.
It just, it's what makes the world go round, pretty much.
And for the next generation of professionals that are coming up
behind you, Matthew, what advice do you have for those students
that might that may be considering engineering as a career, or
those that haven't even thought about it.
Now, I mean, your intern program must be great with tech where
they come in and actually, you know, hands on, and they
learn about whether they want to stay in it or not.
But if I'm a high school student or a college student, I haven't
thought about engineering yet.
What would you say to them?
Matthew Boynton:
So, your question is great.
And it really stands out when you say those students that
haven't thought about it.
And that kind of leads back to my PhD program at Virginia Tech,
and even to that program that that Doctor Elkins had at
Tennessee Tech that we were trying to reach out – the goal of
that program was to reach out into those rural high schools
and introduce engineering as a career choice.
And that led me to Virginia Tech and where we were fortunate
enough that my research
and dissertation was funded through a National Science
Foundation grant to study engineering career choice in rural
Appalachia. We interviewed students in Tennessee and Virginia in
rural high schools.
And, you know, a lot of students hadn't thought about
engineering.
We had a very open interview protocol, where we didn't lead into
engineering
necessarily. We were talking about careers and to see if
engineering was even.
And in a lot of cases those students didn't know an engineer.
So, actually, the title of my dissertation became "People, Not
Print: Exploring Engineering
in Rural Appalachia." And we found that that connection with a
person, with a real person that was in that field
was really the difference maker in whether they considered that
a possible path.
You know, so many times I think it's presented to students that
to be an engineer, you got to be good at math.
And they don't know a whole lot more about it than people have
told them you got to be, you know, extremely good at math.
And to those students, I think I would say that it is so much
more.
And I've had the opportunity to now use this profession in my
home area
to help bring a fiber network to this area.
We have created, I think ultimately a department, we've got two
other young men
who are we've got Trey Colvard and Webb Allen who both have
engineering degrees.
It is possible to use that to do things for your, even your home
area.
And engineering s a definition.
Merriam-Webster defines it as the application of math and
science by which the properties of matter and sources of energy
are made useful to people.
And I think that's the part that sometimes gets left out, is
that you don't only need to be good at math.
I don't do complex math on a daily basis.
But you're taking those concepts and you're trying to make
things that are useful to people.
Most everything we interact with or touch on a daily basis has
some form of engineering behind it.
And that was also another finding is that students really wanted
their careers.
They wanted to help others.
They wanted to do things that were good for people or for
society.
And I think engineering is a great fit for that, even though
it's not always portrayed in that way.
So I think that advice I would have is, is to look at it in a
very broad fashion, that it is a lot more than
just being good at math.
Carrie Huckeby:
Well, I think it's one of those careers, as you said, that it's
very hard to envision what it looks like.
Sometimes if you're in high school and you think, oh, well, I'm
terrible at math and that just seems too hard, but
unless you have an opportunity to meet up with someone that is
an engineer and kind of see what it's
really about, it is difficult to envision it.
And, you know, I've always looked at engineering as problem
solving, whether that's water, wastewater, whether that's
something with the environment getting fiber to every
Tennesseean and whatever it is, building bridges for
transportation. I mean, it's problem solving for the day to day
living quality of life, I
believe.
Matthew Boynton:
Absolutely. And I think one of the things you come out, you
know, you do work and solve a lot of problems, as far
as engineering education goes.
And I think it gives you, as much as anything, it gives you that
ability to work through a
complex problem.
And that may not always be, you know, as it's portrayed that
you're sitting down with a calculator to do that.
Carrie Huckeby:
Right. Well, if you could share one message with the audience
about the impact or the importance of engineering
and just how it affects us in our daily lives, what would it be?
Matthew Boynton:
You know. I thought about, thinking back as far back as in my
undergraduate, I'm not sure I
can say that I went into engineering fully understanding what it
was.
As you said earlier, I'm not sure any of us went into our
careers fully understanding where we were heading.
Carrie Huckeby:
That's true, very true.
Matthew Boynton:
I remember, we had a little group, it's called the American
Society of Civil Engineers and had a lunch
meeting, maybe monthly.
And they brought in a graduate that was a structural engineer.
And so you think about, you know, your first thought is that
those those folks go and design a high rise in a city.
But he brought back artificial implants.
I think, he had knees and hips.
And he worked for a company as a structural engineer designing
artificial knee and hip
joints. And he told about the different features and
functionality of those.
And so if we think about the importance of engineering and how
it affects our daily
lives, you know, that was really an eye opener that I never
would have thought about the concepts of structural engineering
going into an artificial knee or hip, so that that helps people
on a daily basis.
Carrie Huckeby:
Very important.
Matthew Boynton:
Very important.
And and you know, that's not, definitely not, how an engineer is
typically portrayed that they might be working on that.
I also had the opportunity to hear a NASA pilot.
He had flown a couple of missions.
And at first I was very disappointed because I really wanted to
see a PowerPoint with all the great pictures he took from
space, but he had none of that.
He just stood up and talked.
And he said, he was talking about NASA, but ultimately
engineering.
And he said – kind of on your same question.
He was talking about the importance of the development of the
NASA program.
And he talked about the hydraulics.
He talked about the automatic transmission, helicopters, G.P.S.
location. He just went on and on with all these things that we
take for granted and use every day in our daily lives, even down
to a synthetic truck bedliner.
And all those things had been developed out of the NASA
program, and ultimately developed by engineers.
And I think back on that sometimes that, that so many of the
products that are all around us, that we take for granted and use
on a daily basis are developed by engineers.
And going back to even the definition, which is the application
of math and science, by which the properties of
matter and sources of energy are made useful to people.
And I think the last part right there is what we leave out of
engineering from time to time, that you are doing
things that are useful to people, whether you said, is that
clean drinking?
That's your clean drinking water, your wastewater treatment that
keeps our environment clean, or
designing a fiber optic network that allows people to do their
work from home
and make a living in the comfort of their home.
All of those things are very useful in our daily lives and has a
big impact.
Carrie Huckeby:
Well, we can certainly agree that engineering touches far more
than we give it credit for or think about
on a daily basis.
And, it certainly deserves its own week, the National
Engineering Week in February.
Well, Matthew, I thank you for your time.
I appreciate it.
Learned a lot. Learned not only that George Washington was
considered the first engineer, but
a lot of other things I've learned about engineering.
Matthew Boynton:
Well. And I thank you for asking me to join you on this podcast.
And I hope that we've definitely helped people understand a
little bit more about engineering.
And, hey, maybe we'll, reach a potential student and give them a
little something
to think about from our discussion.
Carrie Huckeby:
Maybe so. That'll be our goal, for sure.
Well, my guest has been Matthew Boynton.
He is a professional engineer and PhD for BTC Fiber in
Pikeville, Tennessee.
You've been listening to Lead Tennessee Radio, produced by the
Tennessee Broadband Association, cooperative and independent
companies connecting our state's rural communities and beyond
with world class broadband.