Volume III Issue 7
July 2007 |
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 Grand
Challenges in Engineering
 The
National Academy of Engineering is inviting the public to brainstorm
about ways engineering can help shape the world's future. A new website,
Grand Challenges for
Engineering, seeks input about innovations that you think will
contribute to building our future and addressing world needs.
The site includes essays on some engineering hopes and innovations, and
an opportunity to participate in a moderated discussion to surface those
global needs that engineering can help address.
 In
September, 2007, the NAE will announce the twenty Grand Challenges for
Engineering that have surfaced through the site and also through the
expertise of a committee of experts they have convened for the project.
The committee's task will be to identify the grand challenges for
engineering --- problems and opportunities --- facing those born at the
dawn of this new century.
Find out more...
Boeing's
Fuel Cell Demo Airplane
In an effort to develop environmentally progressive technologies for
aerospace applications, Boeing engineers, researchers, and industry
partners throughout Europe plan to conduct experimental flight tests in
2007 of a manned airplane powered only by a fuel cell and lightweight
batteries.
The Boeing Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane uses a Proton Exchange
Membrane fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an
electric motor, which is coupled to a conventional propeller. The fuel
cell provides all power for the cruise phase of flight. A fuel cell is
an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into
electricity and heat without combustion. Fuel cells are emission-free
and quieter than hydrocarbon fuel-powered engines. They save fuel and
are cleaner for the environment.
Find out more about career paths in
aerospace engineering...
Getting
a Feel for the Nano World
 When
it comes to research at the nanoscale, vision is not necessarily an
advantage. The subjects are so small, no one can see them. To encourage
people with visual impairments to pursue fields in nanotechnology,
educators have developed a way to craft accurate, detailed and
touch-friendly models of nanoscale objects like carbon nanofibers,
allowing the students to "see" those objects for the first time. While
students have learned from abstract models of chemical structures for
decades, the new technique creates 3-D versions of objects as they
actually are. Developed by educators at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), the models are about the size of a
textbook and are formed using rapid prototyping, a process that "prints"
3-D objects. Each model is a scaled-up replica of tweaked data from a
scanning electron microscope. The creators hope they will soon be able
to apply the same process to data from other instruments, including the
patterns of atoms revealed by atomic force microscopes. The approach was
conceived by Andrew Greenberg, education and outreach coordinator for
the National Science Foundation Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
on Templated Synthesis and Assembly at the Nanoscale at UW-Madison and
for the university's Institute for Chemical Education.
Find out more at www.nsec.wisc.edu.
Degree
Profile: Computer Engineering
 Computer
engineers analyze, design, and evaluate computer systems, both hardware
and software. They might work on system such as a flexible manufacturing
system or a "smart" device or instrument. Computer engineers often find
themselves focusing on problems or challenges which result in new "state
of the art" products, which integrate computer capabilities.
They work on the design,
planning, development, testing, and even the supervision of
manufacturing of computer hardware -- including everything from chips to
device controllers. They also focus on computer networks for the
transmission of data and multimedia.
 Computer
Engineers work on the interface between different pieces of hardware and
strive to provide new capabilities to existing and new systems or
products. The work of a computer engineer is grounded in the hardware --
from circuits to architecture -- but also focuses on operating systems
and software.
Computer engineers must
understand logic design, microprocessor system design, computer
architecture, computer interfacing, and continually focus on system
requirements and design. It is primarily software engineers who focus on
creating the software systems used by individuals and businesses, but
computer engineers may also design and develop some software
applications.
Find out more about careers in
computer engineering.
Life
Can Be a Strain
 Powered by mere vibrations or the movement of magnets, novel sensors and
transmitters developed by a small company in Vermont are changing the
way engineers are looking at fatigue. Communicating wirelessly via the
Internet to engineers halfway across the world, the embedded sensors
developed by MicroStrain -- a small business based in Williston, VT and
supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) -- are revealing how
objects as diverse as enormous mining trucks and human knees respond to
daily use.
By monitoring strain levels and tracking the cumulative effects of
fatigue, the researchers' ultimate goal is to supplant the nearly
universal system of "replace by this date" with a smarter approach of
replacing components based upon the actual operating loads components
experience. "By calculating the amount of fatigue that a component has
been exposed to, it is possible to repair or replace the component only
when required," said engineer Steve Arms, president of MicroStrain.
"Properly implemented, this can significantly reduce costs."
The latest generation of sensors and transmitters are now in place on
wheeled loaders used in construction and mining operations. And, they
have also been incorporated into an artificial knee to record and
transmit data about the stresses human knee experience each day.
Researchers were able to watch how every action, from climbing stairs to
walking, directly impacts the knee. Most recently, MicroStrain has
developed a 12-channel, remotely powered monitoring system, which
surgeons implanted in four patients over the last two years. Now, in
addition to getting compression data, the sensors are recording moments
and force, information that will ultimately lead to the next generation
of orthopedic implants.
The company envisions the technology finding uses in bridges, heavy
military equipment, ships, unmanned vehicles--anywhere objects are
subject to fatigue.
Find out more about career paths in
engineering.
Clean
Snowmobile Challenge
 Snowmobiles
long ago replaced dogsleds for hauling people and cargo in the polar
regions, particularly in remote research stations and field camps such
as those on the Greenland Ice Sheet and in Antarctica. But for all their
utility, snowmobiles are not very environmentally friendly. So, this
year, four National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported teams competed in
the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Clean Snowmobile Challenge in
Houghton, MI, to produce a zero-emissions snow vehicle. The challenge
attracts teams of undergraduate engineering students from across North
America with the goal of designing a snowmobile with lower environmental
impact, less noise, fewer emissions and a lighter footprint -- all
without sacrificing the performance snowmobile enthusiasts love.
The competition grew from
the demand for cleaner snowmobiles in national and state parks and
forests. One alternative to restricting or banning snowmobiles on public
lands is to find appropriate technological solutions to noise and
pollution problems. Now in its fifth year, the challenge is a
competition to encourage young engineers to design quieter machines that
produce low emissions, but still "smoke" in the performance department.
The students are given the opportunity to apply their engineering skills
to a difficult problem, working in teams to develop real-world
solutions.
Cleaner snowmobiles may
benefit science in these places, where locally produced snowmobile
emissions can interfere with data from instruments sampling global
atmospheric constituents, global transport of soot, and other highly
sensitive measurements.
Find out more...
Help
Wanted for the Moon and Mars
 In
the coming years, NASA will face one of its biggest challenges ever. The
agency plans to establish an outpost on the moon in preparation for
human journeys farther into space. While accomplishing that goal will be
challenging, doing so will require achieving something perhaps even more
difficult -- maintaining a technical workforce capable of making those
missions possible. According to NASA, about 28% of the agency's
engineers and 45% of its scientists will be eligible to retire in the
early years of Vision implementation. Less than 20% of the agency's
overall workforce, and 10% of its scientists, are currently under the
age of 40. As NASA veterans leave the agency, new employees will be
needed to replace them. Unfortunately, national trends indicate that
this could be a problem. According to recent research, the number of
technical jobs in the U.S. is growing more rapidly than the overall
labor market average. However, the number of students earning degrees in
those fields is not keeping up with that level of growth. To place the
need into perspective, the effort to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond
will be carried out by today's elementary and high school children, and
must be a major focus if the nation is to succeed in the bold endeavor.
Find out more about careers in
aerospace engineering and
other fields in science,
mathematics, and
engineering that can
lead to the moon and mars.
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