Synthesis Post

Ten weeks ago I made this blog about engineering. I knew that engineering was a broad field with different categories and it was used to make a lot of things people use on a daily basis. However the blog requirements made me search deeper into the profession and when I did I noticed some pretty interesting things about engineers as a whole.

Problem Solving:

Frist as engineers problem solving is the central part of the profession.  I found from my research that all engineers deal with problems every day and at every moment of their work. The problems allow engineers to create new solutions. They are constantly challenged to think outside the box to create better more efficient solutions. In Week 10 Free Post Perfume companies had to come up with new ways to create popular smell after the main ingredient was restricted. The engineers working on the problem had to be creative and use unusual ingredients to attempt to make a solution.

Communication:

Communication is a very important part of engineering. Engineers have to take the problem at hand and use various types of math and science to create solutions. Then they have to take the data and final solution and present it in a way that a person whom has never seen the project would understand.  In my Week3 Prompted Post interview with a Civil Engineer she, explained the various types of communication she used and why she used it. For instance she explained her report on a water tower project. The report had to be detailed and clear so she could communicate what the project was in a way her boss and his superiors could understand what was going on.

Design:

Engineers also design a lot for their field. Engineers constantly go through some design process. In the video from my Week 9 Free Post, the IDEO video showed the team making multiple designs of the object/solution and then going back and changing or combining designs. They do this because to minimize materials used and get an idea of what the object/solution will be. Also they do this to save time because the project may have a deadline that has to be met.

Language:

Working on this blog has showed me that engineers have their own standards for the language they use.  Engineers have to use a detailed yet brief critical writing. They write reports, memos, emails, and more to a wide variety of people like bosses, concerned citizens, and press so; the engineer has to be able to effectively explain what’s going on in the project. Week 3

Week 3 Prompted Post I asked a civil engineer what they typical styles of writing is used by engineers and she explained that whatever she writes has to be clear concise and sometimes brief. Later that week during class our professor said almost the exact same thing.

This blog has allowed me to explore engineering in deeper detail. I feel I have a better understanding of what it is to be an engineer and I found some interesting facts about the field that I previously didn’t know.

 

Resources:

Courtney Humphries. "Engineering Replacements for Essential Perfume Ingredients.".21 Oct 2011 Wired. web. 30 Mar 2014.

 

Week 10 Free Post

I found this really interesting article about engineering and perfume. It said perfume ingredients are being "regulated out of existence" and companies are trying to find new ingredients to replace the old ones. Oakmoss was the main ingredient talked about and used by many popular perfume industries. after finding out it was an allergen it was restricted and led to the engineering of perfume that smell closely to it.

I thought it was very interesting that companies would go to such lengths to create the oakmoss sent using different ingredients because the sent was so popular. I also feel as though the engineers have a hard task of trying to make the smell almost exact because of article saying how people who buy the perfume will be very hard to trick because they are so familiar with the sent.

In many of my posts engineers are trying to create solution to problems at hand. They try new ingredients and try to modify or in this case replicate a product. I find that really fascinating and interesting that that people can create something almost exact to the original but they use different ingredients.

If you want to read the article here's the link:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/10/ff_perfume/

Courtney Humphries. "Engineering Replacements for Essential Perfume Ingredients.".21 Oct 2011 Wired. web. 30 Mar 2014.

Week 10 Prompted Post

For this weeks prompted post I had to find a source like a website or brochure that used information and presented it in a new/useful way. Then evaluate it based on the RAIDS method. RAIDS stand for:
Revision
Arrangement
Invention
Delivery
Style
I found this website that was made for college students and I went to the mechanical engineering part and it had a bunch of facts and tips about the practice. The website uses a bunch of information that they must have gotten from surveys and other resources. Then took the information and put it into a website.
The website revises college students perception of the occupation and change the beliefs of the students about engineering.
The arrangement of a website is very  smart and beneficial to the college student because they can easily navigate for specific information about engineering.
The makers of the website used a lot of invention to relate to college kids with the color scheme and the arrangement.
The website navigations and the short paragraphs help with the delivery of the remixed information. It make the information more appealing and more people will read it.
The style of the website popular and middle diction which reaches the most people.

Here's the link the website:
http://www.collegegrad.com/careers/proft17.shtml

Week 9 Free Post

So in my engineering class my professor showed us a three part video on a group from the company IDEO that had to re invent a shopping cart in five days. The video was a little older but it showed the steps and methods used to accomplish the task of creating  new shopping cart. The group made a really cool shopping cart and completed the task given in the allotted time frame.

I felt I learned quite a bit from the video. The group working on the new design consisted on other majors than just engineers. They had business majors, psychology majors, a linguist, marketing, biology major, and more. That makes sense because you want other perspectives recognized in the design rather than just one view. Also I like how the group had no hierarchy the positions were filled based on how well the people did their job and how they worked with others, for instance the project manager only worked their for six years. compared to some of the others. He was chosen because we worked well with groups. Also I learned that you have to do a lot of research on the problem/ item and go through many designs in order to make the best fitting designs.

Lastly I loved the work area of IDEO. The group was encouraged to be out of their desk and surround themselves in creative environment.

Week 9 Prompted Post

This week I had to find a news article about engineering and its importance. Engineering is liked to many different fields. Engineering is important because an engineer solves problems using different methods and materials. Like my last post I found an article about the recently hot topic of engineers creating a new tissue that can keep a pulse out of different materials and methods to solve the problem of restoring damaged cardiac tissue in patients.

 The article explained the medical advances the engineers created and how the new tissue is very beneficial to the medical field and to people in general. They created a starting block for tissue that mimics the pulsing action of cardiac tissue. The breakthrough of the new tissue will greatly modify how doctors handle cardiac patents and the prospect of new tissue helps give hope to a lot of people suffering with heart problems and potentially other problems involving skin, organs, and even bones.

Resources:
 American Chemical Society."Building heart tissue that beats: Engineered tissue closely mimics natural heart muscle.". 18 Mar 2014 ScienceDaily. web. 18 Mar 2014.

Here's the link to the article:
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140318154723.htm.

Week 8 Free Post

So this week I found an interesting video engineering tissue:

The video talks about how our modern way of finding cures for diseases are too slow, too costly, and tests on animals. then she showed a video of live cardiac tissue that they made in a lab. After the video talked about the benefits and possibilities of tissue engineering.

I thought it was very interesting how the engineers used a different skin cell instead of stem cell and were able to avoid the controversy of stem cells. I also liked how the organs grown for the patient are from the patients cells so there is little chance of the body not accepting the organ.
P.S. It also would reduce if not eliminate animal testing which I think is good.

The video makes tissue engineering sound very safe and effective. I think it would be a good Idea to look into tissue engineering further and maybe incorporate it into medical practices.

What do you think?

week 8 Prompted post

For this post I have to do a hands on activity pertaining to mechanical engineering. Today was actually the perfect day for this post because today in my engineering class we got to use the lab and go over all the skills needed for the lab and the safety rules along with getting our second project. In the lab all students had to complete hands on tasks as a quiz. We had to use various machines such the table saw, drill bit, and other equipment. these types of labs are used by other engineers students and professional engineers and for our second project will need to use the labs often. I feel as though I understood how to do the specific tasks better than if I would have by just reading about the machines in the lab. I feel it was more thorough and better explained the machines when they did the task and talked about it.

Week 7 Prompted Post

One topic in engineering that raises controversy is genetic engineering in humans. One side of the argument says its worth it because of the medical advantages possible because of the engineering. The other side says its unethical and people shouldn't alter with the complicated genetics and its not others choice on what people look like and alter their genetics. What do you think?

here's a link to an article about the topic:
http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-inequality-human-genetic-engineering-768

Week 6 Prompted Post

For my week six prompted post I have to find a scholarly article about my profession. I found one called "Mechanical Engineering in the Information Age". The author makes a point that engineers have to constantly adapt to the new information and technology advancements. My engineering classes and the engineering sessions I have attended all say something similar if not exact thing. engineers need to be able to use the technology effectively and keep up to date with the constant stream of new information. the author argues  this point through out the article and I agree with them. I think engineers need to be able to use modern technology because our field deals so closely with it.

Resources: 

Bar-Cohen, Avram. "Mechanical Engineering in the Information Age." Mechanical Engineering 117.12 (1995): 66. ProQuest. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

Week 7 Free Post

My other free post is about a blog I found. I found this interesting article called "Solving Problems or Creating Solutions?" about engineering mindsets. Here's the link: http://blog.engineersimplicity.com/2009/06/solving-problems-or-creating-solutions.html

I thought it was interesting how the post went on to say engineers ways of doing things. The problem solving way or the more solutions way. The post goes on to say what both are and the positives and negatives of both. I think the post was right when it said engineers have one of the two mindsets when faced with a problem. I think it is hard to determine which mindset is best to use for various types of projects. What do you guys think is it better to have a Problem Solving mindset or a Creating Solutions mindset?

Recourses:

 

Duncan Drennan. "Problem Solving or Creating Solutions." The Art of Engineering Blog. N.p. 17 June 2009. Web. 22 Feb 2014.

Week 6 Free Post

This week is going to be a little different. This week I'm going to post two free posts and next week will be two prompted posts. I found an interesting issue on a blog that I wanted to share. It's about minerals regulation and how electronics companies have to make adjustments.
Here's the link:
http://www.engineering.com/Blogs/tabid/3207/ArticleID/6980/Many-Companies-Ill-Prepared-for-Compliance-with-Conflict-Minerals-Regulation.aspx

I thought it was interesting that a lot of companies have no plans for after the regulations take effect.
This affects many people because electronics are widely available to the public and these regulations causes engineers to come up with new ideas for minerals. It also could be seen as a bad thing too. for instance where are companies going to get the minerals they need after the regulations are put in place?

Resources:

 

Kyle Maxey. "Many Companies Ill-Prepared for Compliance with Conflict Minerals Regulation." Engineering.com Blogs. N.p. 17 Jan 2014. Web. 19 Feb 2014.

Week 5 Free Post

This week is based on ethics and I found this web site that has a detailed code of ethics for engineers and it basically explains how engineers are supposed to act. I realized that engineers have to deal closely with ethics on a daily basis. They deal closely with the public and have to be truthful and honest when on a project because the project will affect many people. They have to deal with ethical decisions multiple times every day and those decisions are heavily weighted because they will affect the public and/or the customer so the product needs to be the best possible solution. 

Who else has a field that deals closely with ethics?

here is a link to the code of ethics:
http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics

Resources:

 

"NSPE Code Of Ethics For Engineers." National Society of  Professional Engineering. NSPE. 2014. web. 16 Feb. 2014

Week 5 Prompted Post

This weeks post is about ethics relating to our field. Ethics is big part of engineering. we as engineers have to constantly make decisions that affect a large number of people. Engineers have a code of ethics. My Engineering textbook, Thinking Like an Engineer, devotes a whole chapter to ethics. The chapter talks about how to make ethical decisions, consequences, perspectives, plagiarism, engineering creed, and social responsibilities. We deal so closely with other people and the goal for our products is to make the best possible product. It goes without saying ethics is a very important to engineer. The key points in the chapter corresponds almost exactly with my own set of ethics. They stress making the best possible ethical decisions. A few ways I make ethical decisions in college relating to my field are:

• Working on the robot
• Surveys in engineering 100
• Completing my own honest work

 How does your field deal with ethics?

Resources:

 

Stephan, Elizabeth A., Bowman, Park, Sill, Ohland. Thinking Like an Engineer: An Active Learning Approach(Custom Edition for Michigan State University). New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. Print

Week 4 Free Post

 I found this video on the CoRe program that I posted about last time and I really like how the video portrays the program and how hands on the program is. I feel as if others can get a better idea of how this program creates a community for first year engineers.
What do you guys think about this video?

Resources:

 

Michigan State Univeristy, prod. College of Engineering CoRe Experience. YouTube. YouTube, 16 Jul. 2012. Web. 9 Feb 2014. 

Week 4 Prompted Post

For this post I have to find a local organization that is based on my profession. I thought of the CoRe Program that I am in. The CoRe program consists of upperclassmen that are engineers and is for freshman engineers living on campus. This organization hosts a multitude of events like wacky Tuesdays and tutoring, and informational events to help students to have fun and gain more knowledge about engineering opportunities and new projects they can be apart of.

Here is a link to their web page:
http://www.egr.msu.edu/core/

I went to a wacky Tuesday a while ago and it was carnival night. I found out about this because they handed out flyers to our floor and they sent an email about it. At carnival night they had all sorts of booths for different activities like cotton candy, a cartoonist and a DJ. They also had booths about engineering scholarships, internships, and other helpful information.

The CoRe program focuses on first year engineering students and helping them succeed in engineering. they value academics and finding opportunities for freshman who don't have as much experience as a junior would. Personally I really enjoy this program and it does help not only find help and opportunities but find other students how are doing the same thing as you, which helps for making friend and creating study groups.

Week 3 Free Post

 

In my last post I interviewed a civil engineer but I'm major in mechanical engineering, so I thought I would find a video that gives an insight to what a mechanical engineer does.

This YouTube video is like an interview with a person in my specific engineering field. I learned quite a bit from this video. I learned that mechanical engineers can work on a variety of projects and work a wide range of jobs. I realized the constant theme through all of his work is new projects or designs are aimed to help others and in my engineering class we just started talking about why engineers do what they do. It was really interesting to see this principal into action.

Week 3 Prompted Post

This week I had to interview a professional in engineering. I picked my cousin, Karen, who is an assistant to public service director. She has a degree in civil engineering.
A few topics we covered were:
Her job:
As Assistant to public service director she is in charge of oversight of environmental storm water project, benchmark city operations with municipals, meets with governor and city council, answer questions from residents, reporters about public services. she works 40 to 45 hours a week dealing with water main breaks, budgeting issues, complaints, and contract construction. I asked why she wanted to pursue engineering and she gave me a really heartfelt reply. When the Exxon oil spill happened in 1989 the crisis made her want to help and do something to help the wildlife and the environment. So she became a civil engineer.
What she writes:
She writes emails, letters to correspondents, reports, letters to clients or reporters, specifications plans.
Why she writes:
she writes these because the job or project deals with large amounts of money and she has to communicate and document everything the job/project consists of.
Projects worked on:
some projects worked on were detention pond, retrofit, a dam removal and stream restoration (the project won an award from the state).
She is currently working on the new water tower for Farmington Hills.

Week 2 Free Post

I found this other article that was very interesting. It talks about a solution to sensor technology. Before sensors used to be big and expensive but now engineers are making the technology more efficient, smaller and cheaper.
This made me truly realize that engineers constantly try to find the best possible solution to problem. the article also made me realize that we work closely with other people and work to make other peoples lives easier. In my engineering classes my professors always talk about how engineers try to makes solutions to life's problems and make other people's life easier, so it was reassuring to see actual articles about new technology engineer's made that help other people. Also the innovation is very impressive too. 

Resources:

http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/7020/LIDAR-Lite-Distance-Measurement-Sensors-for-Drones-and-Bots.aspx

Week 2 Prompted Post

I found a blog related to engineering which I found very interesting.
Here's the link:
http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/category/engineering/

I also found an article online written by a professional engineer
Here's the link to that as well:
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/01/flexible-electronics-get-more-bendy-still

Both are about engineering new engineering projects and have an identical purpose but have slightly different audiences.

The blog is about multiple engineering projects which uses average diction and explains what the project's about. He also takes a stance about the whole thing, whether he likes it or not. the blog uses articles and videos on the subjects it talks about. This makes me think that the blog is aimed to explain to the average person about engineering projects but it is made to let anyone who reads it understand what's going on.

The article on the other hand is about one project and uses a more formal diction and short paragraphs. it also has pictures and a short video to help readers understand what the membrane does and looks like. The article aims to tell people what the new project is but the audience familiar is more familiar with the resources used in the projects.

Resources (the links again)

 

http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/category/engineering/

 

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/01/flexible-electronics-get-more-bendy-still

Week 1 Free Post

Here are the questions I didn't already answer in my first post.

• What do I need to study for this major?
• What jobs do engineers have?
• What is a professional engineer?
• What's a typical day for an engineer?
• What's new in engineering?
• Who are some famous people with engineering degrees?

I looked up frequently asked questions on the Internet and this one website can up that was very useful.

   The website answered What is a professional engineer? by saying"Professional engineers have fulfilled the rigorous education, examination, and experience requirements, which, under state licensure laws, permit them to offer engineering services to the public. Although engineering licensure laws vary from state to state, in general, to become a PE an individual must be a graduate of an engineering program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, gain four years of experience as an intern, and then pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam. PEs take legal responsibility for their engineering designs, being bound by a code of ethics to protect public health and safety."
  It also had a question similar to What's new in engineering and  the website answered with "From the mass production of the automobile to space travel, from the telephone to the Internet, and from bioengineered foods to clean water, engineers have applied their expertise to improve the quality of our lives"
   The website also listed a few famous people who have engineering degrees. Some of which are Bill S. Nye, William S. Harley, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Tom Scholz from "Boston".
It also had other questions I didn't ask that were very interesting.
Here's a link to the website I found:
http://www.nspe.org/resources/media/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-engineering

Now I have two more questions to get answers to.
I used the Michigan State Engineering website and when to degree requirements for mechanical engineering and saw exactly what classes I need to take in order to receive a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. Here's a link to the page you can view all of the engineering degree programs and their requirements.
http://www.egr.msu.edu/undergraduate/academic/degree-programs

My last question is a little harder to answer because its more of an interview question and there are many fields of engineering which makes this question subjective to what engineer you ask.

All in all the Internet was very helpful in answering my questions.  I got quick answers and additional information about engineering.

 

Work Cited

"Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering." National Society of  Professional Engineering. NSPE. 2014. web. 17 Jan. 2014

"Degree Programs." Michigan State University College of Engineering. Michigan State University. 2013. web. 17 Jan 2014




Week 1 Prompted Post

For my first post I have ten questions about engineering that I am going to try to answer with a single book. I am going to use my engineering 100 textbook to try and answer as many of  my questions as I can.

1. What is engineering?
2. what do engineers do?
3. what are the types of engineering majors?
4. what do I need to study for this major?
5. what types of jobs do engineers have?
6. what is a professional engineer?
7. What's a typical day for an engineer?
8. what's new in engineering?
9. What kinds of project will I be apart of?
10. Who are some famous people who have engineering degrees?

1. According to my textbook, Thinking Like an Engineer an Active Learning Approach (Custom Edition for Michigan State University), "engineering is a broad field requiring knowledge of science mathematics and other fields to turn idea into reality"(Stephan et al. 3).
2.  I can also answer the second question with "engineers solve real-life problems, their ultimate motivation is to work toward making life better for everyone"( Stephan et al. 3).
3. The Thinking Like an Engineer textbook gives several engineering majors but it doesn't give all engineering majors. The majors it does list are Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Material Science Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
9. For my ninth question the textbook writes a section internships, study abroad, and research programs that students can be a part of.

My Textbook was somewhat useful in answering my questions but I will definitely need more resources to answer my other questions the textbook didn't. I think I will use the Internet to look up and answer the unanswered questions. Another approach maybe an interview with someone who is an engineer, they could answer  questions like what a typical day for them would be like?

Work Cited

 Stephan, Elizabeth A., Bowman, David R., Park, William J., Sill, Benjamin L., Ohland W. Matthew. Thinking Like an Engineer: An Active Learning Approach(Custom Edition for Michigan State University). New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. Print