Every two years we get to marvel at the speed, skill and artistry of the world’s top athletes and watch increasingly lavish opening and closing ceremonies, yet few of us ponder the work that goes on behind the scenes at the Olympic Games. In a recent post on her engineering education blog, Celeste Baine estimates that there were about 4,000 engineers involved in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, doing things like planning the pyrotechnics of the torch lighting and creating the fastest and most efficient running shoe.

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Filed under: Biomedical, Chemical, Computer, e-News, Industrial / Manufacturing, Materials, Mechanical | 1 Comment »

Tags: Olympics, Sports

Last year we blogged about injury-detecting football helmets, but that’s not the only place where engineering and football collide. This Sunday, the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will face off in Florida for the 44th Superbowl. In honor of that, we turn your attention to a couple of stand-out college athletes who also happen to be engineers.

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Filed under: Aerospace, Computer, e-News, Electrical | Comments Off on Engineers in the End Zone

Tags: Aerospace, College, Computer, Electrical, Sports

Over the years, Barbie has had many careers, from an astronaut to a race car driver.

This year the public gets to choose Barbie’s next career path: environmentalist, surgeon, architect, news anchor or (our favorite) computer engineer.

Visit http://www.barbie.com/vote/ to make Barbie an engineer. Voting ends Feb. 12th.

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Filed under: Computer, e-News | 1 Comment »

Tags: Computer, Entertainment

When it comes to accurately representing the world in 3D, animators face many challenges. Phenomena in the natural world (think water, plants, fire, clouds, etc.) often move in complex and unpredictable ways that can be difficult to mimic virtually. That’s why software engineers at the University of Bath have developed an animation program that helps animators model the movement of windswept trees. [video after jump]

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Filed under: Computer, e-News | 3 Comments »

Tags: 3D, Computer, Entertainment, Software

This year marks not only the beginning of a new decade, but also the 50^th anniversary of the creation of the laser. Though we tend to take them for granted, lasers have revolutionized the way we live. They allow us to surf the web, watch movies on DVD, and scan barcodes at the grocery store; they also enable eye surgery, study the planet, target weapons, and facilitate worldwide communication. And, of course, can create dazzling displays of light for your band’s next performance (cool laser videos after jump)

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Filed under: Computer, e-News, Electrical, Environmental, Nuclear | 4 Comments »

Tags: Computer, Electrical, Energy, Environmental, Nuclear, Technology