2011 was another busy year for engineers all over the world. From inventing a device that turns air into water to exploring the oceans in a tiny submarine, scientists and engineers are exploring uncharted territory.

Like last year, we at eGFI have chronicled the most awe-inspiring innovations and stories, so in case you missed one, we present:

The Most Popular, Interesting, Weird, or Just Plain Cool eGFI Blog Posts of 2011

	Turning Air into Water
	Jetman: Flying Soon to a Landmark Near You
	Vertical Forest Coming Soon to Milan
	And Now: Flavor-Shifting Ice Cream
	Solar Decathalon 2011 Powers Up
	The World’s Sweetest Printer
	Water Bottles to Illuminate a Million Homes
	Airbus Presents a Futuristic Vision of Air Travel
	Students Create an App to Diagnose Malaria
	Berkeley Engineers Help Student Walk
	Underwater Scooters are the New SCUBA
	Virgin Oceanic Goes Many Leagues Under the Sea
	Cynthia Breazeal Wants You to Make Friends with Robots
	New Shirt Measures Athletes’ Performances
	Watson vs. The World

Scholarships that target students interested in engineering provide an excellent way to help pay for the rising costs of higher education. Since engineering scholarships are plentiful and come from a variety of sources, such as corporations, non-profits, foundations, institutions, and governmental bodies, future engineers have a host of opportunities available to them.

Below is a list of the engineering scholarships we’ve found, as well as collections that other websites have compiled. (NOTE: Links go directly to scholarship pages.) Unless otherwise noted, the scholarships are related directly to engineering. You can use the navigational links below to jump to individual sections.

ASEE | Collections | Companies | Government | Non-Profits | Universities

Administered by the American Society for Engineering Education

• NASA AERONAUTICS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM – Undergrad and graduate awards, internships, support.
• NAVAL RESEARCH ENTERPRISE INTERN PROGRAM – Intern research program with Office of Naval Research.
  
• SMART SCHOLARSHIP – Undergrad and graduate, $25,000 – $41,000, internships, support, and more.

Collections and Lists

• EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY-FLORIDA – A short list of sources for finding scholarships.
• FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION – A collection of scholarships and grants, as well as search websites.
• FIRST ROBOTICS – Large list of scholarships associated with participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition.
• NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS – Scholarship repository: corporations, organizations, regional, pre-college, alumni, etc.
• SCHOLARSHIPS.COM – Good list of names and descriptions of engineering scholarships; does not provide application information unless you register and pay.
• UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI – Database of science and engineering scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN – List of national and internal scholarships.

Companies and Corporations

• AES ENGINEERING – $500 scholarship, high school seniors and higher.
• BMW – Renewable $1,500 scholarship.
• CATERPILLAR – “Engineers for Tomorrow” scholarship program.
• GENERAL MOTORS – Scholarships, for minority groups especially.
• INTEL – Science Talent Search competition, $7,5000 – $100,000 college money for winners.
• NORTHROP GRUMMAN – Engineering scholars program, $2,500 per yer for four years.
• RAYTHEON – Scholarships.
• XEROX – Minority group scholarships, undergrads, $1,000 – $10,000.
• YANMAR AMERICA CORPORATION – Renewable $1,000 scholarship; partnership with SAE.

Government

• CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION – Scholarships and awards.
• DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE – List of scholarships, including SMART.
• ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION – Civil engineering scholarship, $7,000.
• INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION – Scholarship, $3,125 per semester.
• KENTUCKY TRANSPORTATION CABINET – Civil engineering scholarship, $4,400 – $4,800.
• NASA – Aeronautics Scholarship Program: undergrad and graduate awards, internships, support.
• NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY – Stokes Educational Scholarship Program:  computer science, electrical or computer engineering.
• OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH – Internship for research, with ASEE administering.
  
• UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE – Scholarships and internships.
• VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION – Scholarship program, $3,500 per semester.

Non-Profit Organizations and Societies

• AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY – Scholarships for chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering.
• AMERICAN INDIAN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING SOCIETY – Range of scholarships, $1,000 – $5,000 per year for undergrads; $2,000 – $10,000 for graduates.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERS – Awards, scholarships, student info.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS – Scholarships and fellowships.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATION, AND AIR-CONDITIONING ENGINEERS – Scholarships, grants, and aid.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS – Large list of scholarships, some internationally available.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NAVAL ENGINEERS – Scholarships, undergrads and grads.
• AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS – Large amount of scholarships and awards for undergrads and graduates.
• THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY – Awards, grants, and fellowships.
• GREAT MINDS IN STEM – HENAAC Scholars Program. Goal of more than $200,000 in scholarship funds available. NEW!
• ILLUMINATING ENGINEERING SOCIETY – Scholarships and grants.
• INSTITUTE OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS – Scholarships and fellowships. See also: IEEE Computer Society $2,000 scholarship.
• INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS – Large amount of scholarships and fellowships.
• KOREAN-AMERICAN SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION – Scholarships, undergrads and grads.
• MATERIALS RESEARCH SOCIETY – Scholarships, fellowships, and internships.
• THE MINERALS, METALS, AND MATERIALS SOCIETY – Range of scholarships, $2,000 – $5,000.
• NATIONAL ACTION COUNCIL FOR MINORITIES IN ENGINEERING – Pre-engineering scholarships, related fields, $1,500.
• NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO – Range of scholarships, $500 – $5,000.
• NATIONAL SOCIETY OF BLACK ENGINEERS – Scholarships; must be paid, active member.
• THE OPTICAL SOCIETY – Fellowships, grants, and two scholarships.
• SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS – Scholarships, high school seniors to Ph.D. See also: Siegel Service Technology scholarships for Montana residents.
• SOCIETY OF MANUFACTURING ENGINEERS – Scholarships for high school students, undergrads, and graduates.
• SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS – Scholarships and fellowships.
• SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS – Range of scholarships, $1,000 – $10,o00.
• SPIE – Scholarships: optical engineering, available internationally.
• TAU BETA PI – Engineering honor society Maryland scholarships.

Universities and Colleges

The absence of a school on this list does not mean that it has no engineering scholarships. Some schools offer scholarships to students only after they have applied. Contact institutions or engineering departments directly to learn if aid is available and what policies are in place.

TIP: For links to lists that contain different types of scholarships, try using your internet browser’s Find function (ctrl+F in Firefox) and searching for the word “engineering.”

• ALFRED UNIVERSITY – Various scholarships.
• AUBURN UNIVERSITY – Scholarships divided by engineering type (use left-side list of types to navigate).
• BAYLOR UNIVERSITY – Sizable list of scholarships.
• BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY – Large list of scholarships and awards.
• BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY – Large list of mixed field endowed scholarships with many for engineering.
• CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-FULLERTON – Academic Catalyst for Excellence Scholarship: up to $2,000 per semester for seven semesters, other benefits.
• CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-LONG BEACH – In-house and affiliated scholarships.
• CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-SACRAMENTO – Table of scholarships.
• CALVIN COLLEGE – Mixed list of scholarships.
• CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY – Blog of scholarships.
• CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK – STEM scholarships; (scroll down to appropriate section).
• CLARKSON UNIVERSITY – Engineering scholarships, including for participation in Project Lead the Way, and awards.
• CLEMSON UNIVERSITY – Science and engineering scholarships; (click “Restricted” circle).
• CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY – Mixed scholarships, includes engineering.
• DARTMOUTH UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, awards, grants, and programs.
• DREXEL UNIVERSITY – Mix of specific scholarships, providers, and scholarship search engines.
• EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY-FLORIDA – General information on internal scholarships offered, list requires sign-in.
• FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY – College of Engineering scholarships (hit search without entering any fields to see all scholarships). See also: College of Engineering Sciences, Technology, and Agriculture scholarships.
• FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY – Two scholarships in list: Hicks Scholarship Endowment and Milton and Gladys Meisner Scholarship Fund.
• FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY – Scholarship listing (click departmental links for each list).
• GANNON UNIVERSITY – Engineering-based scholarship range: $500 – $3,000.
• GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY – Scholarship search engine, use keyword: engineering.
• GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY – General information about GWU scholarships, includes engineering.
• GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Internal and external scholarship information.
• GROVE CITY COLLEGE – Engineering scholarship, $2,500 (scroll down).
• HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE – President’s Scholars Program features engineering component.
• ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Mixed list, contains engineering.
• INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY-INDIANAPOLIS – Major-specific scholarships for Indiana residents (scroll down to School of Engineering and Technology). See also: Non-Indiana Residents scholarships.
• IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, grants, and loans.
• JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY – Engineering scholarships under separate section and mixed in.
• KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships and information.
• LAMAR UNIVERSITY – Scholarship, $15,000 per year.
• LeTOURNEAU UNIVERSITY – Scholarship, computer science and electrical engineering.
• LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship information.
• LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY – Scholarship information, organized by departments.
• MARSHALL UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, internal and external.
• MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship, Engineering Dean’s Top Scholar Award.
• McNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, engineering.
• MIAMI UNIVERSITY OF OHIO – Scholarship, paper science and engineering.
• MILWAUKEE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING – Scholarship list, mixed internal and external.
• MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship list.
• MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships and information.
• NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Two engineering scholarships in mixed list.
• NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships and information.
• NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship list and information.
• NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship information and contacts.
• NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY – List of scholarships by department.
• NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY – Large list of scholarships and outside resources.
• OHIO UNIVERSITY – Large mixed list, contains engineering.
• OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Mixed list of scholarships, includes engineering.
• OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships and information, multiple levels.
• PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY – Search-able database, select “Maseeh College of Engineering and
  Computer Science.”
• POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY – Scholarship and grant information.
• PURDUE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships and awards. See also: Purdue Civil Engineering.
• RICE UNIVERSITY – Engineering scholarship (in mixed list), renewable $6,500 – full tuition.
• ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Scholarship in mixed table list (scroll), $6,000 per year.
• SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, .doc format.
• SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY – List of scholarships by engineering major and information.
• SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY – Dean’s Scholarship contains engineering.
• SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY – Scholarship, engineering.
• STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK – Environmental, paper science and engineering scholarship.
• STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY – Mixed scholarships, including engineering.
• STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY – Scholarship, Women in Engineering (scroll down).
• SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY – Mixed scholarships, (use right-side list).
• TEMPLE UNIVERSITY - Science and engineering fair-related scholarships (scroll down).
• TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY – Scholarships information (use links to go to individual lists).
• TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY – Large list of scholarships.
• TRINITY UNIVERSITY – Several engineering scholarships in mixed list.
• UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-SANTA BARBARA – Scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI – Scholarship search engine (select engineering college).
• UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO-BOULDER – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT MERCY – Dean’s Scholarship includes engineering, $14,5000 per year.
• UNIVERSITY OF EVANSVILLE – Toyota Scholarship (scroll), minimum $14,000 per year.
• UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I – Search engine, large list of scholarships (keyword: engineering).
• UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON – Information on automatic engineering scholarships, interns program.
• UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO – Large list of scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-CHICAGO – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF IOWA – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY – Scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE – Scholarships, information, and contacts.
• UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE – Scholarship information (scroll).
• UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND – Scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS-AMHERST – Scholarships, must be enrolled in engineering college.
• UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA – College of Science and Engineering scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN – Scholarships, information, and external list.
• UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE – Large list of scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA – Scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS – Dean’s Scholarship.
• UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA – Scholarships and information.
• UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND – Scholarship and contact information.
• UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS – Scholarships, endowments, and funds.
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA – Scholarships, undergrads and above only.
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA – Scholarships, separated by department.
• UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA – Scholarships for currently enrolled students.
• UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA – Scholarship search (keyword: engineering).
• UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC – MESA Scholarship, $2,500 – $4,200.
• UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO – Large list of scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF UTAH – Range of scholarships.
• UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON – Scholarship information.
• UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON – Scholarships and information.
• UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY – Large list of scholarships.
• VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC AND STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY-ST. LOUIS – Scholarships and fellowships, including full tuition.
• WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarship information.
• WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY – Scholarships, general and by department.
• WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE – Scholarships in mixed list.
• WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.
• WIDENER UNIVERSITY – Scholarship information and free laptops program.
• WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY – Scholarships.

Know one that you don’t see here? See a broken link or error? Email us.

IMAGE: flickr – stevendepolo | CC 2.0

Like our new magazine cover? Snatch up the 44″ x 25″ poster

What do the blockbuster movie Avatar, high-performance sports gear, the Angry Birds phone app, and pollution-eating bacteria have in common? They are among a host of fascinating innovations developed by engineers and featured in the newest edition of the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Engineering, Go For It magazine.

The publication is now available in our online store. You can find a free preview of the magazine here.

The kid-friendly magazine is part of ASEE’s campaign to inspire more K-12 students, particularly young women and underrepresented minorities, to pursue engineering careers. Illustrating how engineers make a difference in the world, the new edition includes:

• Stories featuring robots that imitate animals, Hollywood special effects, clean energy innovations, and technological advances giving athletes a winning edge.
• Engaging profiles on an array of engineering careers and disciplines.
• Fresh, cutting-edge examples of engineering innovations that are transforming fields from aerospace and medical care to architecture and materials science.
• Interviews with eight students currently participating in the Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship sponsored by the Department of Defense and administered by ASEE

In addition to producing a print magazine, eGFI blogs weekly for students and teachers, and can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Researchers at Britain’s University of Exeter have developed a 3-D printer that Willy Wonka would die for. Instead of using metals or plastics as its “ink,” Exeter’s uses chocolate.

Sometimes called additive manufacturing, 3-D printing technologies work off a three-dimensional CAD design of a product, then construct the item by laying down one very thin layer of material at a time. But this is the first time researchers have used chocolate as a medium.

It’s not proved easy: Chocolate doesn’t flow properly unless it is heated and cooled to precise temperatures. The team, led by Liang Hao, a materials scientist in Exeter’s College of Engineering, developed new temperature and heating control systems to make the prototype printer work. Hao envisions the day when consumers can download CAD software, create a design (or modify an existing one), send it to a shop, and pick up their self-designed sweet treat 10 minutes later. Not surprisingly, several chocolate retailers are already expressing interest in the invention. Although chocolate is hard to work with, it is much tastier than plastic.

Image:

David Martin/University of Exeter

The Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion.

Participants in the SMART Scholarship for Service Program receive:

• Full tuition and education related fees
• Cash award paid at a rate of $25,000 – $41,000
• Paid summer internships
• Health Insurance reimbursement allowance up to $1,200 per calendar year
• Book allowance of $1,000 per academic year
• Mentoring
• Employment placement after graduation with the Department of Defense

The SMART Scholarship for Service Program is open only to citizens of the United States, and students must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible. For more eligibility information click here.

Applications for 2011 open on August 15 and will close December 1 2011.

Website: http://smart.asee.org/

Image: RDECOM/Flickr

In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, lack of electricity keeps millions of the city’s poorer inhabitants in the dark. Metal rooftops on the city’s slum houses also block natural daylight, but students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a cheap and elegant solution to the problem: plastic water bottles.

By filling a plastic bottle with water and bleach (to prevent algae from growing), students and residents can fashion a solar lamp that fills even the gloomiest shelters with light. It works thanks to phenomenon you may have learned in physics class – refraction. When sunlight passes through the bottle and hits the water, its rays bend and disperse in many different directions.

Installation is as simple as cutting a small circular hole in the metal roof, placing the bottle in the opening, and sealing the edges to stop rainwater leakage. After the lamps are fitted, they provide light equivalent to a 60 watt light bulb and can last up to 5 years without needing to be replaced.

Volunteers have already installed over 10,000 of these lamps all over Manila through the Isang Litrong Liwanag (“A Liter of Light”) project.

Led by Filipino MIT alum Illac Diaz, A Liter of Light is an organized initiative to bring light to over one million homes by 2012. Their Solar Bottle Bulb is “based on the principles of Appropriate Technology – a concept that provides simple and easily replicable technologies that address basic needs in developing communities.”

Watch this news report on the bulb installations:

For more information on the Appropriate Technology movement and the inventions it has spawned, check out this blog. Also, be sure to read our profile of MIT mechanical engineering professor Amy Smith, founder of the school’s D-Lab, which offers “different courses at the intersection of technology innovation and international development.”

Images:

A Liter of Light

Would you like your silly putty to be able to stick to the fridge, eat magnets, and creepily ooze without your assistance? If so, you should definitely check out this DIY activity from Instructables.

Silly putty was invented by accident when James Wright, a Scottish engineer working for General Electric, mixed silicone oil with boric acid in an attempt to make artificial rubber. By 1949 the bouncing putty was packaged and sold as a toy, and was met with instant popularity.

Today silly putty is characterized as a non-Newtonian viscoelastic polymer (or a dilatant fluid), which means it can be stretched, reshaped, and, with enough force, torn or shattered. Most crucially, however, it bounces.

So, how do you magnetize the stuff? The secret ingredient is ferric iron oxide, a black powder typically sold in art stores to be used as pigment. Once mixed with silly putty (instructions here – don’t forget to use gloves and a safety mask!), your new substance will take on a darker color as well as special magnetic properties.

Here’s a video illustrating some of the crazy things your new, supercharged goo will be able to do:

Follow these links for more info on the amazing ways engineers can manipulate stuff:

Explore chemical engineering

Explore materials engineering

Images:

killbox/Flickr
ShellyS/Flickr

Chemical Engineer

Even though I came to the conclusion on my own, my parents knew since I was a little girl that I would pursue engineering. My dad, an electrical and mechanical engineer, used to make me recite algebra equations while in line at amusement parks and my mom used to call me “her little engineer.”

Now I am a 3rd year chemical engineering student at the University of Virginia, and I am double minoring in Engineering Business and Science & Technology Policy.

This summer I am working as a marketing intern for Lilly Pulitzer. Engineering is all about solving problems, being creative, and collaborating with others, and those skills can be applied to clothing development as well as pharmaceuticals and nanotechnology. Because of my background in engineering, I am always looking at situations in a different perspective, and instead of asking “why doesn’t this work?” I often ask “how can we make this work better?”  Interning at Lilly has given me the opportunity to explore the crossroads between fashion and engineering, and that is truly a dream come true for me!

People in the United States consume 400 million cups of coffee per day, and many often face the dilemma of either scalding one’s mouth with coffee that is too hot or waiting… and waiting… for it to cool to proper temperature.

In order to keep coffee at a perfect 140 degrees Fahrenheit, two 20-something mechanical engineers who were childhood friends have designed bean-shaped steel shells called Coffee Joulies that cool down coffee and keep it at a warm, drinkable temperature for up to five hours.

A special proprietary substance called a Phase Change Material, or PCM, is sealed inside the polished shells. Like ice, the PCM inside the Coffee Joulie changes from a solid to a liquid and absorbs any excess heat, cooling down the temperature of the coffee. As the liquid cools, however, the PCM starts to solidify again and releases the absorbed heat back into the liquid to keep the drink at a near-perfect, warm temperature.

About the size of an egg, Coffee Joulies are coated with durable stainless steel. To determine how many Coffee Joulies are needed, it is recommended that one Coffee Joulie be used for every five ounces of volume (so a double espresso would need one, while a mug would need two and a tall coffee would need three.)

The creators launched their idea on the grassroots-fundraising web site Kickstarter.com with the goal of raising $9,500. The product was so successful, however, that they made over $300,000 and are now rushing into production to meet demand for the 10,000 sets ordered by investors from Kickstarter.

Coffee Joulies should be available to the public later this summer.

Images: Joulies.com