Carnegie Mellon University (milesgehm/Flickr)

Wow! That’s Engineering! Signature Event

Location: Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213
Level: Girls in grades 6-8
Date: September 18, 2010

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Filed under: e-News, Grades 6-8, K-12 Outreach Programs | Comments Off on Event: Engineering for 6-8 Grade Girls. Carnegie Mellon U. Sept. 18, 2010

Ever wonder how cars can make turns without skidding? Well, you have engineers to thank – more specifically, those who invented the differential (a device which allows the wheels of a car to turn at different speeds).

This vintage engineering tutorial, made by the General Motors, clearly and engagingly explains how differential gears work. Posted on YouTube last year, it has now received close to a million views – not bad for something made in 1937!

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Filed under: e-News, e-Videos, Mechanical, Transportation | Comments Off on Blast from the Past: A Vintage Engineering Video on Differential Gears

Tags: Cars, Engineering in History, Mechanical, Transportation

Swedish researchers are making photovoltaic technology come alive – literally. Zackary Chiragwandi and his colleagues at Chalmers University of Technology have found a way to create cheaper solar cells using special proteins harvested from bioluminescent jellyfish.

These glowing proteins, known as green florescent proteins (GFP), are inserted between two aluminum electrodes, where they form strands connecting the two plates. When exposed to UV light, the GFP generates current by absorbing photons and emitting electrons.

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Filed under: e-News, Environmental | Comments Off on Solar Cells from Bioluminescent Jellyfish

Tags: Energy, Environmental, Solar

The road to becoming an engineer is rarely easy, but for Dr. Pamela McCauley-Bush it was especially challenging. A welfare-supported teenage mother in high school, Bush was repeatedly told that higher education and a successful career were too much to hope for. Undaunted, she worked persistently towards her goal of becoming an engineer, ultimately earning a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. of Industrial Engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

After serving on the MIT faculty and acting as a management consultant for NASA, Dr. Bush and a female colleague decided to found their own company. Tech-Solutions, Inc is a small engineering consulting business that helps government and private agencies develop solutions to management and efficiency issues.

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Filed under: e-News, Explore Engineering, Industrial / Manufacturing, Trailblazers | 1 Comment »

Tags: Industrial

As upsets continue to shock viewers of the US Open, engineers at Prince Sports are watching their patented O-Technology hit winners up and down the court.

The concept seems simple – tiny round, oval, or trapezoidal holes placed strategically along the frame of a tennis racket.

But this subtle design feature has many benefits. Not only does it make the racket lighter, but it also reduces drag and enlarges the area on the strings referred to as the sweet spot.

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Filed under: e-News, Mechanical | 2 Comments »

Tags: Mechanical, Sports