Rings of Gold

As the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver near their end, we can’t help but reminisce about some of the memorable moments that made up this epic event. USA hockey beats Canada in that Sunday night thriller. Shaun White rides to the gold while executing his signature Double McTwist. There was even the story of Joannie Rochette, the female ice skater from Canada whose mother had died just days before she competed. It was impossible not to root for her.

I’ve noticed this year that I no longer watch the games solely for the reason of watching athletes display their physical abilities. It occurred to me this year that only certain athletes make the Olympics. Okay maybe this isn’t such a ground breaking revelation. What I’m trying to say is that only certain athletes, rich athletes, make the winter Olympics; which in turn means that there are more athletes who have at least one engineer as a parent in the Winter Olympics than in the Summer Olympics.

How did I come to this conclusion? Simple. It’s not as if winter Olympic athletes have to necessarily jump high, or run fast, of lift unbelievable amounts of weight. Winter Olympians compete in all of the expensive sports. Go skiing some time. By the time you’ve purchased a lift ticket, skis, ski clothes, etc… you’ve probably spent close to 500$, and this is not including the fee for a hotel room. What about ice hockey? All those pads! I spec’d out some hockey equipment for close to $600. I never paid more than $50 for a basketball jersey. And there was no ‘court fee’ for basketball, which if existed would be synonymous to what people pay to use an ice skating rink, also not cheap.

So it could only be that the parents of winter Olympians are fairly well off financially. Engineers make pretty good scrap last time I checked. Naturally, studies should show that my speculation is in fact truthiness. All I have to do now is get someone to conduct the study. Why they would want to? I can’t answer that, I just have to continue to hope someone one day has a ridiculous amount of time on their hands.

Engineering Week Continues...

Yesterday marked my second time to attend the Engineering and Computer Science Career Fair, or ECSCF, which is pronounced phonetically, Ehk-siff. Warning: Use of this acronym in daily conversations may result in your peers thinking you have swine flu! So you may just want to say the entire phrase instead.
The career fair this year was very informative for me. Being a Mechanical Engineer, I was looking for companies who I thought would need my specialized skills. I stumbled upon some premier players of industry such as Bell Helicopter, DRS Infrared Technologies, and Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc.  Let the handshakes commence!  I'm a fan of the 'wink-and-the-gun' greeting myself.

Every booth had its respective free trinkets. Frito-Lay was passing out their plastic potatoes and single-serve bags of chips, which was nice because I hadn’t had lunch yet, and I had recently lost my other plastic potato. Across the aisle, Bell Helicopter had its helicopter-shaped pencil erasers and temporary tattoos like you would get out of the vending machines from CiCi’s…what am I, 8 years old? But the real reason the companies and I were here at this moment, was not because of the free-stuff. The reason we were here was so underclassmen could gain valuable experience at networking with potential employers, and upperclassmen could possibly find a job or internship upon graduating.

I, being a junior in the MEE program, was looking for an internship and was especially glad to stop at the DRS booth, because they seemed sincerely interested in my knowledge of a certain program called Pro Engineer. They even talked about the possibility of full-time Co-Op, which is similar to an internship. A Co-Op, for those of you who don’t know, is when you work for a company, get paid a salary, while at the same time receiving course credit towards you major…Deal. With an internship, no course credit is given. I’ll have to check back with them soon.

Above all, very glad that I attended this year. I think I’ll get lucky, and should be on my way very soon to gaining some quality experience in industry. Thanks UNT CENG and fellow Career Center cohorts for organizing this great opportunity!

Solar Crown Rests in ETEC

This past Tuesday, for the third time in its recent history, the College of Engineering at UNT held the Solar Powered Winch and Cart Race, which makes up a small part of the Engineering Week at UNT. Other activities this week include catered lunches from a local barbecue called Metzler’s, a gaming competition, and the always interesting poster competition. Dr. Matthew J. Traum, Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department, officiated the solar powered race. For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Traum is the creator of the increasingly popular engineering competition that challenges participants to couple their design and building skills with alternative energy sources.

The competition was stacked high with several participants from the Mechanical and Energy Engineering department, but for the first time, one group of students from the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department decided to enter the race. I could see from their design that they would have a good run. Their winch was made out of welded together steel and their cart was made with the same material, only much lighter. Their knowledge of welding and access to materials was clearly evident.

At first the atmosphere in the room was laid back; students chatting, sizing up the carts, while at the same time having a laugh. But after the time trials...things got a little more serious. What’s this? The ETEC boys had the fastest time in the trials! MEE now had reason for concern. We don’t want to let our professor down. Surely one MEE student would have a faster cart than ETEC.

After several more runs, it was clear that the ETEC cart was the best. Hopefully in the future, ETEC can bequeath some of its unused materials and resources for other departments to use.

A Day for Guiness

February 11, 2010. A day that usually meant that spring was right around the corner. It was not to be this year as a torrential record setting downpour blanketed the city of Denton with a flawlessly white helping of snow. From the weather reports I saw in the early morning, I was sure that UNT would cancel its classes, especially since Denton ISD had done so just minutes before. But as each sip of coffee and minute passed, UNT remained open.


Oh bother. I guess I was gonna have to make the trek up to campus, UNT had not yet canceled classes. I understood however, because the weather channel predicted the high to be in the mid 30's throughout the day, which meant that driving would be no concern. So I made my drive to campus up I-35, all the while my windshield being pelted with millions of snowflakes. At this point the roads were normal.

I got to school around 9:30am, did some work on the laithe, sanded down the mount for my groups’ friction brake dynamometer, and talked to anyone I could find really. Discovery Park was a ghost town. The door to my major’s office was even locked. It was slowly starting to look as if even though the authorities chose to keep the university open initially, they might soon change their mind. Sure enough, soon after this thought I got a text from the ‘Eagle Alert’ system on my phone saying, “the university will close at 12 noon”. Are you kidding me? I drove all the way up here and NOW you want to close it?!

Above all I couldn’t be that upset. I had homework due that day and now I knew that I wouldn’t have to turn it in until next week. This made everything even out. When I went to leave I quickly realized the magnitude of what had happened over the last three hours. As I made my way to my car, my boat shoe-covered feet were engulfed with almost six inches of snow that had the consistency of a 7-Eleven slurpy! This university is in Texas folks. It was even more funny after I got behind the wheel of my car. There was virtually no traction as I began to drive, or rather hydroplane, out of the parking lot. Lot 3 actually.

I knew that I was witnessing a record setting day in the city of Denton. When I got home I noticed a note on the door of my apartment. It said, “Warning: Car port may collapse from accumulation of snow.” Wow, you got to be kidding me, now I have to park 10 miles from my apartment to keep my car safe. This gave me an idea though. Heated Car ports. See you put solar panels on top of the car ports. Not only can they power the lights, but they can collect energy that can be used to heat the roofs in times like this. See, this engineering thing is really paying off. I better hurry up and patent that idea before one of you takes it!

Jaws 14

Lots 3 and 4. A vast and seemingly treeless frontier, these lots make up the two biggest areas to park at Discovery Park. They also require the cheapest parking permit, roughly 27$ for a full year, but like any parking lot, the people who arrive the earliest get the best spots. Now don’t get me wrong, there are no really “bad” spots per say, a token to the civil engineers who designed the layout, but it’s always nicer to get the premium spots…VIP if you will.

Sometimes I think that if I don’t arrive to school before the sun rises that I will never get one of these coveted VIP spots. Some of the people that work up here are super dedicated! I have started to figure out a strategy to acquire one of these spots.

Think for a moment of the way a shark might hunt its prey. The sharks hang back and observe from a not-too-close, not-too-far base, hunt strategically and learn from previous attempts. We too must be like sharks. It goes like this. Pull slowly into lot 3. Scope the horizon for potential departures, typically around 1:50pm the noon classes should be getting out. When you spot someone, drive slowly in the general direction you suspect they are walking. Monitor your breathing…stay steady…patient.

If this is freaking anybody out I’m sorry, but it’s a legitimate strategy. One that can only be a result of our inherent human instincts. Anyways back to the strategy. Sometimes this person who you think is leaving will end up going to the bus stop. It’s okay. Don’t be discouraged, more will come.

When you see someone make a b-line towards the ocean of cars, then it’s time to move in. Follow slowly behind them because there’s a lot of other sharks out there. As a rule of safety keep a 50 ft distance between you and the target, and, if you follow this procedure exactly as I say you may just luck out. Now if this does not work, revert to the classic “circling” method, but again as a rule of thumb, keep your speed under ten miles per hour.

In conclusion, think like a shark. A shark that has a human brain of course…yeah, that just happened. Just the other day I had a successful hunt, and was fortunate enough to park in the first row! I plan to hone my skills but now I guess since I revealed the tricks my competition will go up. May the best nerd win!

P.S. And don’t even think about trying to get away with the excuse displayed below!

Identifying the Engineer

There are certain traits that must be inherent in order to be considered a legitimate engineer. Yes of course there should exist a keen sense of math skills, as well as an ability to concentrate even when the walls are falling down around you. But there are some criterion for proper identification that tend to go unchecked and need to be reiterated, and the avenue for such reiteration shall be, what I like to call, the Engineer’s Tactical Course.

Obstacle One - Problem Solving Strategies Simulation. The process here is simple. Take a picture on a wall in your living room and make it crooked, then invite one of your friends over. Your friend will most likely choose one of three options: straighten the picture, ignore the picture, or buy a copy of Pro Engineer and spend the next 48 hours (5 of them sleeping) designing a solar-powered picture straightening device. Obviously, if he or she chooses the last option then you’ve got yourself an engineer.

Obstacle Two - Wardrobe Selection. Take the candidate to a department store. A Marshall’s, or a TJ Maxx, something that has a wide selection of brands. Tell them to pick out an outfit. What we’re looking for here for example would be a combination of boat shoes, a Slazenger button up shirt (tucked in), and jeans. This is a typical outfit for an engineer. Similar derivations will also fit into engineer wardrobe category, just be sure to use careful discretion.

Final Stage - Place a computer in front of the subject that’s only possible function is to play games of Galaga. While it is tempting to just give in and play the classic video game, the real engineer will most likely get more satisfaction out of breaking the machine down into its smallest possible functioning components. Sick I know, but true.

In conclusion, as engineers, we are not the most “normal” people, but who cares. Without us, the world would still be trying to roll cars on square wheels, or even worse, we would still be drying all of our meat so that it would last the entire winter. Nough said. That’s all folks.

 

The Born Identity

I could hear my heart almost beating out of my own chest. Something was obstructing the system, which was clear from the high amount of friction. I knew I was short on time, but the fact still remained: what could be stopping my system from achieving its goal? Immediate action was necessary, but how could I solve something when I was unaware of my own abilities? The shrill sound coming from the other room of, “You’re a mechanical engineer! You should be able to do it!” echoed through my head. The pressure was on. I proceeded to the closet to grab the only thing that I could think of…my toolbox. As I turned the machine over, something seemed to take over...my hawk eye vision kicked in as I pin-pointed each screw that held it together. My arm shot out as if it had a muscle spasm…a carefully calculated muscle spasm that led to my Phillips head screw driver being clutched in my white knuckled hands. I loosened the screws, and pulled the bottom off the machine, careful not to damage it.

What I saw next was simply horrific. Someone or something had snapped the drive belt! The mission was now to determine the closest Home Depot, Lowes, or any home care oriented organization for that matter. My target…a new vacuum belt for my upright Dirt Devil Bagless Breeze! After the target was collected, I quickly rushed home so as to not allow for one more wasted minute to pass that the carpet might remain unclean. My girlfriend’s eyes lit up as I came through the door, wielding the newly purchased flawless rubber belt. After a few minor cuts on the fingers, the machine was now fixed, and the apartment was full of the harmonious sound of a fully functioning vacuum cleaner.

What began as a personal proclamation of, “I’m not a vacuum repair man!”, quickly turned into a realization that my problem solving skills have drastically improved since starting my engineering studies at UNT. Much like Jason Bourne in the highly acclaimed action series, I was unaware of exactly just what I was capable of doing. In his case, he realized he was a highly specialized assassin/martial artist, where as I determined I would make a good home appliance repair man. Close enough.

The main point I’m trying to get across here is that studying engineering has in fact refined the way I look at things that are “broken”. It’s almost like I’ve been brainwashed to see a problem through until I deem the solution satisfactory. It’s a cool epiphany, and one that I look forward to utilizing the next time I’m playing a video game on a Sunday afternoon and hear a cry for help.

My Jacket's Not Working!

Who is a fan of Man vs Wild? If you are then you’ve seen the extreme weather conditions that star host Bear Grylls, the youngest man to ever summit Mount Everest, is subjected to on a weekly basis. The modern day MacGyver must keep his body at a survivable temperature even in sub zero environments. Being that he’s a former member of the British Special Forces I’m sure he is familiar with what materials to wear in order to keep himself alive. But think about the common man…or woman…that goes out for that weekend of fun to a local state park for a little camping, hiking…a little R&R if you will. And let’s say that the temperature suddenly drops to freezing temperatures. Will he or she know how to properly bundle up?

The reason I pose this question is due to a topic that was recently introduced in my Heat Transfer class. Heat Transfer is an extension of my Thermodynamics classes in that it explains the behavior of heat on a smaller, more detailed scale. By this I mean, in Thermo we just learn how to quantify a certain amount of heat, Q that goes into or out of a system. In Heat Transfer we learn the definition of Q, for example Q = -kA dT/dx…so basically we now know all of the little parts that make up the entire Q value.

What really got my attention the other day in class was a thing called the Critical Radius. The Critical Radius is a distance from a heat source at which if you were to stop your insulation barrier, you would lose the largest amount of heat; Which means that if the critical radius of a certain material is 2 cm, you would lose more heat from applying 2cm of insulation than if you were to supply 1.5 cm of insulation. Counter-intuitive yes I know. Some of the things I learn in this major never cease to make me think.

Which leads to the tangent I’m perusing right now. Is it possible that you could be lost in a cold climate, a camping trip gone bad if you will, and actually put on too many clothes? While you think you are doing what we call “bundling up,” you’re actually putting on the clothes that will make up your soon to be deathbed! It doesn’t get much more ironic than that, don’t you think?