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It’s Here! The 5th Edition of Engineering, Go For It

axb — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:46:37 +0000

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.

Nicholas Silva

axb — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:38:02 +0000

Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pa.

Electrical Engineering

“After my father taught me the mechanical ins and outs of my first car, I took it upon myself to study the electrical system. I developed an interest in car stereos, and before I knew it, I was designing speaker boxes and upgrading my vehicle’s electrical backbone. The fact that I could use my car’s engine to spin a pulley on an alternator and generate current really pushed me towards the study of electrical power.”

Three Year EcoCar Competition Wrapping Up

jxh — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:00:24 +0000

For the past three years, students from all over the country have been competing to design the ultimate vehicle that balances performance, safety and consumer appeal with fuel efficiency and emissions-reduction.

The 16 university teams participating in EcoCar: The NeXt Challenge recently tested their cars in Ann Arbor, MI, as they geared up for the Competition Finals.

Teams chose a variety of approaches in building their EcoCar Chevy: some opted for an all-electrical model; others used hydrogen as the fuel; and a number of teams built plug-in hybrids, using an electric motor to drive the vehicle before a gasoline engine takes over.

The competition is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the vehicles were donated by General Motors. The winner of the EcoCar challenge receives a trophy and $7,000, and two faculty members will each receive $10,000 for their respective engineering programs.

Introduction to EcoCAR from EcoCAR on Vimeo.

Replacing Internal Combustion Engines

jxh — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:16:42 +0000

While this spacey-looking disk will not allow your car to time-travel, it might replace its internal combustion engine

Here’s a new approach to decreasing the environmental impact of cars: a new auto motor could make them 20 percent lighter and reduce emissions by 90 percent.

Michigan researchers have built a prototype of a disk-shaped shock wave generator that could replace the current internal combustion engine in cars. The generator is about the size of a saucepan and does not need a transmission, cooling system, or emissions regulation fluid, which would reduce the weight of a vehicle by 1,000 pounds.

The current prototype (not a full-scale model) consists of a rotor carved with wave-like channels. Fuel and air enter through central inlets and the rotor spins to block their exit through a separate outlet. The build-up of pressure generates a shock wave, compressing the fuel mixture. After ignition, the rotor keeps spinning, the outlet opens again to let the hot gases escape.

The generator would use about 60 percent of fuel for propulsion, which is a dramatic improvement over typical car engines, which only use 15 percent of fuel for forward movement.

Michigan State University recently showed off the new motor prototype at a meeting with the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency and received a $2.5 million ARPA-E grant to develop the technology. The research team plans to have a car-size engine working by the end of the year, and hopes to eventually market it to makers of hybrid vehicles.

Watch Professor Norbert Mueller of the MSU Department of Mechanical Engineering discuss the wave disc generator:

Images: Michigan State University

Best of 2010: Our Top Stories

axb — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:05:15 +0000

This year was a busy one for engineers all over the world. From inventing bendable computer screens to unlocking a secret room in a 4,500-year-old pyramid, scientists and engineers broke new ground in numerous ways.

We at eGFI have also been busy chronicling the most awe-inspiring innovations and stories, so without further ado, we present:

The Most Popular, Interesting, Weird, or Just Plain Cool eGFI Blog Posts of 2010

	Dubai Raises World’s Tallest Building
	Chilean Miners Rescued With Help From Engineers
	Neuroengineering: Illuminating the Brain
	Printing in 3D: From Toys to Organs
	Underwater Sculptures Revive Coral Reefs
	Flying Car Approved and Ready for Takeoff
	BP Oil Cap Holds
	Science and Engineering of the Winter Olympics
	Follow the Solar-Brick Road
	Meet Computer Engineer Barbie!
	Electricity Borne on the Shoulders of Giants
	Searching for Alien Earths: The Kepler Space Telescope
	Oil Reserves to T-Pain: The Story of Auto-Tune
	New Mall in Kazakhstan is World’s Largest Tent
	Glowing Trees Could Replace Street Lights

Cars That Drive Themselves

jxh — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:53:21 +0000

This country is in desperate need of road safety – in 2008, 37,000 people died in car accidents in the United States. The greatest threat to drivers is other drivers, as the leading causes of accidents are distractions such as texting, rubbernecking, or gazing at the scenery.

That’s why Google engineers have been working on vehicles that can drive themselves, using artificial-intelligence software that mimic a human driver.

Autonomous cars would be safer than human drivers for a number of reasons – they react faster than humans, have 360-degree perception, and do not get sleepy, distracted, or intoxicated.

The technology could double the capacity of roads by allowing cars to navigate with greater agility, while closer together. Once cars were deemed safer, they could be built lighter, which would reduce fuel consumption.

Like the idiot-proof cars we reported on previously, Google’s autonomous cars know when to stop for lights and stop signs. They also make vocal announcements such as “approaching a crosswalk,” to warn the human driver, as well as other alerts to let the car occupants know if there’s a malfunction with the sensors or the master control system.

Watch as a reporter from Good Morning America goes for a ride in a Google car:

Development of this game-changing technology is at least eight years away. But already, seven Google test cars have driven 1,000 miles without human intervention, and 140,000 miles with only occasional human control.

The cars have also successfully merged onto highways and navigated some of San Francisco’s steepest and curviest roads. Technologists believe that these vehicles could transform society as significantly as the Internet has.

We’ve posed this question before, but we ask again: How does artificial intelligence strike you? Do you feel more inspired or spooked about a world filled with autonomous ‘bots?

Blast from the Past: A Vintage Engineering Video on Differential Gears

axb — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:55:58 +0000

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!

Watch and be enlightened (the tutorial starts around 1:50):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Image via CGoulao/Flickr

Undergrads Build World’s Fastest Electric Car

jxh — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 19:59:05 +0000

If you need examples of cool things engineers can do in college, consider this: mechanical engineering students from Ohio State University work together building alternative-fuel race cars as part of the Buckeye Bullet team.

Not cool enough? Well, the team just broke the electric car land speed world record with their most recent vehicle, the Buckeye Bullet 2.5.

Racing on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last week, the Bullet 2.5 reached a peak speed of 320 miles per hour and logged a two-way average speed of 307.66 miles per hour.

The Ohio State team has been racing electric cars for more than a decade, but their latest design is the first to run purely on battery power.

Last year, their hydrogen-powered Buckeye Bullet 2, set a world record for fuel cell-propelled land vehicles by speeding at an average of 302.87 miles per hour.

Even though the body, chassis, and electric traction system of the Bullet 2.5 match that of its predecessor, it took the students 11 months to swap the Bullet 2’s fuel cell for the lithium-ion batteries that power the Bullet 2.5.

That world record still needs official certification, but it soared past the previous record for an electric vehicle by more than 60 miles per hour.

What’s even more phenomenal is that the Bullet 2.5 is simply a test vehicle for its successor, the Buckeye Bullet 3, which will build upon the team’s battery technology and is expected to once again shatter all previous records.

Watch the Buckeye Bullet 2 break the world record in 2009:

Image: blog.BuckeyeBullet.com/Ohio State University

Human-Powered Car Would Make Fred Flintstone Jealous

axb — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:21:11 +0000

You’ve no doubt heard of electric hybrid cars, but a human-powered hybrid? Not only is it real and most likely coveted by the Flintstone family, but you may be able to own one as soon as next year.

With four passengers cranking the handles, the HumanCar can run on kinetic energy alone, and with fewer participants it relies partially on electricity.

How much more fun (and social!) would highway driving be if everyone used a car like this? Can we get a Yabba-Dabba-Doo?!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Image via HumanCar

And Now: Hop Aboard the Magic Jet-Powered School Bus

axb — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:11:37 +0000

Ever wish your ride to school didn’t take so long? Try climbing aboard this jet-powered school bus, and you may have a few more minutes to sleep in this morning.

Made by master mechanic Paul Stender (of speeding port-a-potty fame), this school bus is made of aviation grade metals, fitted with a jet engine, and can reach speeds up to 367mph! Watch it in action below: