In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’d like to bring you some of our favorite stories about engineers going green. Read up and don’t forget to wear the right color today!
With mobile devices perpetually shrinking, touchscreen space is starting to become the next challenge for makers of cell phones and music players.
Luckily, Microsoft’s research lab has come up with a solution to the surface area problem: the human body. Researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon have created an interface that allows people to use their arms and fingers like touch screens. The system, called Skinput, works by recognizing a variety of acoustical (vibration) patterns that happen when you tap your arm. Video after the jump.
More great news for all you future engineers: chances are good that you’ll soon be bringing in the benjamins. According to a recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, graduates of engineering programs have higher starting salaries than those of any other discipline, Business Week reports.
Here are their stats for the top 10 best-paid majors (after the jump):
When it comes to helping the global community recover from natural disasters, engineers are at a distinct advantage. Not only can they build survivor-seeking robots and provide food and clean water for those affected, but they also have the ability to analyze the aftermath of a storm or a quake and help communities be better prepared for such events. Engineering students and professionals across the country are now using their skills to help rebuild the countries of Haiti and Chile after their recent devastating earthquakes.
Looks like OK Go has jumped on the engineering bandwagon – their latest music video, “This Too Shall Pass” features the Rube Goldberg machine to end all Rube Goldberg machines.
In a recent LA Times blog post, lead singer of OK Go Damian Kulash said of the giant mechanism: “Its only purpose is to be awesome…When I was a kid, all I did was play with Legos and Transformers.”