Susan Kristoff's Blog
Posted by Susan Kristoff
People are getting back to work and school, and starting to read up on engineering topics again, now that the summer is over. Here are a few articles that I've written this summer that you may have missed while vacationing.
Introduction to Data Acquisition
Financing an Engineering Education
An Introduction to Refrigeration
An Introduction to Railway Engineering
I have many new article ideas planned for the fall. Is there an engineering topic you want to read more about at Suite101? Please send me your article ideas!
Posted by Susan Kristoff
Last week I wrote an article on financing an engineering education. It turns out that paying for school is getting even harder. The Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), who provided over $500 million in student loans last year, would not be issuing any loans this school year due to lack of financing. It seems that the credit crunch has extended to the student loan market, and students will have to find other sources to pay their tuition bills.
Since many engineering schools are private schools, their tuitions are far higher than state schools, and it takes more loans and grants to fill the gaps. As someone who has only recently paid off her student loans (ten years after graduation), I would hate to be in the shoes of students who are not only stressing out about their classes and projects, but how to pay for it all in the first place.
If any of you readers have any ideas about sources for student loans and grants, especially those specifically for engineering students, please let me know so I can share them here.
Posted by Susan Kristoff
As reported in the July 31, 2008 issue of Science, researchers at MIT have developed a method that uses electricity generated from solar energy to create hydrogen and oxygen gasses from water. The gasses can be stored as needed, then used in fuel cells to generate electricity whenever it is needed.
The downside of solar power is that it can only be generated during the day. Energy storage for solar power, as well as other renewable energy sources, has been a perplexing challenge in bringing alternative power into the mainstream.
Daniel Nocera and Matthew Kanan of MIT created a process, inspired by photosynthesis, that uses non-toxic materials to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. These materials include cobalt, phosphate and platinum, which are far safer than the materials used in traditional electrolyzers.
Energy storage has been the key sticking point in the arena of alternative power. It is refreshing to see that this research is being performed (sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Chesonis Family Foundation), and that successful breakthroughs are being reported. It is work like this that will help reduce the cost and accessibility of electricity both in industrialized nations and in remote third world villages.
Posted by Susan Kristoff
Do you have a soldering iron on your desk? When something you own doesn't work, do you take it apart and fix it? Do you salivate over the idea of hacking new electronic products to do your bidding? Make Magazine is the publication for geeks, hackers, hardcore do-it-yourselfers, and probably MacGyver if he wasn't a fictional character.
The magazine and its richly complementary website are chock full of ideas, tutorials, and examples of reader accomplishments. Some projects are amazing, some are useful, some are wacky, and some are downright silly. But the point is to show that people have the ability to make things and fix things, traits that have been declining since the mid-20th century when every self-respecting man had a full toolbox, and perhaps some metal working equipment in his garage.
The site also hosts podcasts, video clips, and a community forum for tinkerers to get together and share ideas. To all you engineers out there, get off your theory and get your hands dirty! The satisfaction of creating something with your hands is such a satisfying experience, and Make Magazine is bringing that experience to life.
Posted by Susan Kristoff
It seems ironic that an oilman is bringing more attention to wind power as an energy source than environmentalists and politicians have in recent years. T. Boone Pickens recently announced his plan for taking advantage of the wind conditions in the central US and dramatically reducing America's dependence on oil. While wind farms are currently in place in locations throughout the US, PIcken's vision includes an integrated, nationwide system.
The concept is to replace 20% of the electricity generated by natural gas in the US with wind-generated electricity by building large wind farms in the Great Plains, from Texas north through the Dakotas. Our natural gas resources can then be redirected to fueling natural gas-powered vehicles, reducing our dependence on oil. Pickens is already putting his money where his mouth is. His company Mesa Power is already constructing what will be the largest wind farm in the world in Pampa, Texas.
Pickens claims that "building new wind generation facilities and better utilizing our natural gas resources can replace more than one-third of our foreign oil imports in 10 years." He also claims that many jobs can be created in the US for the manufacture and installation of wind turbines.
Of course, there are challenges. The central US lacks the power transmission infrastructure to transmit electricity from potential wind farm locations to population centers on the coasts. While a wind component in our energy policy would have low costs over time, a massive initial investment is required to plan, build, and install the wind farms and associated power transmission.
Despite the potential challenges, it is a "breath of fresh air" to hear someone like Pickens talking about making wind power a significant portion of our energy portfolio.
Sources
PickensPlan website
"Questions for T. Boone Pickens", CNN SciTech Blog, July 10, 2008.
