Looking Towards the Future

It seems these days that anything anyone could think of is already done already. I am here to tell  you that world is far from creating new things that will enhance our future. What you are about to see is amazing piece of technology that will be able to treat water for a whole city.

        Engineers and scientist have been working in San Diego since 2008 on a major water treatment process that will enable treated water for the expanding population of San Diego. It can filtrate up to  800,000 m³ of water every day, which will be double the size as when it was first built. The facility has been built in phases in order to maximize its productivity, with a few more stages still needing to be built(Schilling). This revolutionary machine has taken engineers a little less than 10 years to make, but the pay offs will be worth it in the end.

By  Ethan Gaskey

Source(s):

Industry Tap: 5 Of The Most Exciting Civil Engineering Projects Happening Right Now

Engineering Degree

      What can we do with an engineering degree? There are many possible professions aside from an engineering oriented job. A degree in engineering allows people to succeed in almost any profession they would like to pursue. Engineers have the ability to think critically about problems and solve them in the most efficient and fastest way possible which gives them the upper hand in almost every profession. This ability is very appealing to employers looking for the best candidate in a business profession, law profession, or any other type of engineering profession. Below is a graph of the different types of professions that people use with an engineering degree.

      There are limitless possibilities of jobs that fall under the title engineer, including: electrical, mechanical, industrial, safety, chemical, aerospace, petroleum, biomedical, ocean and mining. With the endless possibilities, engineers have the opportunity for a suitable job that meets the interests and criteria of the job they're looking for. Furthermore, within those fields of engineering, graduates have the opportunity to take many different approaches towards their job including: transportation, energy, entertainment, medicine, consumer products, agriculture, telecommunications, computer, power, shipping and food processing. The field of engineering is endless, with all of the different possibilities and job opportunities, engineering graduates could pursue any career they would like!


Sources: What Can I do with an Engineering Degree?
Percentage of New STEM Jobs by Area Through 2018


Blog by Brooks Beattie

Topic #6: Evaluating Sources

Within the next few decades, there will occur many dramatic changes on our planet. One of those being the increasing temperature due to global warming. This is having more of an effect than just more people getting sun burn. It is actually hindering peoples lifestyles.

A article, by Alex Hamer and Caroline Peters, describes how the effects of global warming could really affect civil engineering projects in the future. They make claims that these new climate changes  could extend the life a civil engineers project due to increase risk of harm from the elements, such as hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and much more. These could put these engineers and other people in harms way. So civil engineers need to protected for things like these to occur in the future (Hamer and Peters). These two believe that these civil engineers could be at risk and they want to do anything they can to help them. 

Previously, I have read that civil engineers are trying to do a lot in the future to try to be more environmentally conscious and make the world a greener place. This is a great thing for everyone to be doing, but if these men and women are going to be working when it is over 90 degrees out they are  at risk of being hurt. No one wants this to happen to anyone. 

These authors are correct, things in the future will change. This is why civil engineers, and everyone, need to be prepared now for what could come in the future, because they are usually the ones that find out at last moment. It is better to be safe than sorry.  

By Ethan Gaskey

Source: Hamer, Alex and Peters, Caroline: A Changing Climate for Civil Engineering Claims.

Top Thrill Dragster

     The Top Thrill Dragster in Cedar Point, OH is one of the fastest and tallest roller coasters in the world. The complexity and ingenuity that went into this coaster is something that the engineers are extremely proud of. From the 1,300 blueprints to the 5,400 bolts that went into making this roller coaster, the Top Thrill Dragster was noting but an easy task. Below is a photo of construction workers building this massive roller coaster.

     The engineering that went into this ride is revolutionary to the world of roller coasters and is something that will be used in many rides in the future. These engineers had to figure out a way to accelerate riders 0mph to 120mph in 3.8 seconds. To do this, they thought of a hydraulic system to act as a sling-shot in order to reach these high speeds. The hydraulic system works by pumping oil into nitrogen filled tanks. The nitrogen compresses and acts like a spring, sling-shotting the cart while the hydrogen oils acts like potential energy. On the other hand, stopping the zooming carts was a hard task to achieve. Engineers used magnets as a stopping mechanism for this ride. As the cart descends, it triggers sensors in the tracks which raise magnets and allows the cart to stop. These were only a few major engineering concepts that went into the building of this ride, many more tricky and complex designs were used during building. The crazy and wild ingenuity or this ride makes for one of the most thrilling rides in the world. Below is a point of view video to getan idea of what this 10 second ride feels like. 

Sources: Official Top Thrill Dragster POV in HD
The Coaster with the Moster

Blog by Brooks Beattie

Renewable Fossil Fuels

Researchers form the US Department of Energy’s laboratory in Oak Ridge have developed a new mechanism that converts ethanol into hydrocarbon that can be an alternative to fossil fuels.

Researchers have been experimenting for years to create a more efficient way to create hydrocarbons. Older processes required way too many steps. These excessive steps caused the processes to be to expensive for them to reproduce for mass production. These new processes can be used at high temperatures rather than low temperatures. The new systems are more efficient and more robust.

This new technology is important because we are slowly becoming less dependent on fossil fuels. This dependency is becoming an issue because they are not efficient and decreasing in the amount available. This new technology should help with this decline.

http://www.tcetoday.com/latest%20news/2015/november/efficient-reaction-drives-biofuel-conversion.aspx#.VkATqnibJmA

Topic 5 Observing Community

Earlier this semester I attended a meeting/informational session covering Civil and Environmental Engineering.  The session covered the basics of what each of these programs essentially are at Michigan State University.  The two presenters were professors that teach within the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  The beginning of the presentation was all specifics about which classes are needed to gain entrance into the College of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Not many people know what Civil Engineers actually do so this meeting would be a nice intro to what Civil Engineers do within their profession.

The main points that were covered were specifics about what someone with a degree in Civil Engineering can do.  Before going into Civil Engineering specifically the presenter covered a bunch of things that engineers in general do. These included planning, design, testing, construction and other things engineers in general are tasked with doing.  From there the presentation went to specific to what Civil Engineers do.  These sub categories were: structural, geotechnical, highway, transportation planning, pavements, water resources, and environmental.  Because most people aren't fully aware of what Civil Engineers actually do this would be an eye opener for most people breaking many of their own misconceptions about what Civil Engineering.

Finally the presentation ended with students talking about a few of the students speaking about different academic organizations and groups that are associated with Civil Engineering at Michigan State University.  The first was the MSU Steel Bridge team.  This prepares for a completion where the team goes and must design and build a steel bridge which is then judged and awarded the appropriate place.  The next was the Concrete Canoe team which spends the year designing and creating a full sized canoe that is built only using concrete.  The third and final group was the American Society of Civil Engineers.  This group is a specific organization for Civil Engineers that has meetings where outside companies come and present to the group and sometimes look for employees from the organization.  Overall the experience of the meeting was very friendly and made me excited about my next four years and beyond as a Civil Engineer.

By: Quinn Foster

Look Towards the Sea

Looking for new renewable energy source is on every engineers mind these days. Looking back, people already take it from the ground using geothermal and from the sky using wind and solar energy, but there is one frontier left untouched, the sea. Yes, engineers are beginning to look at the sea for ways in generating some form of renewable energy source.

Surface Ocean Currents

Coming together, engineers and scientist have considered using the Earth's ocean currents to generate energy. Even though ocean currents move much slower than wind currents, the density of water allows for a greater amount of energy to be produced("Ocean Current Energy"). Using designs similar to windmills today, engineers will create a form of wind turbine that would be turned my the flowing of ocean currents through its blades, causing them to rotate. 

This would allow from a more reliable energy source, compared to wind which could go away. Putting hundreds of these underwater windmills throughout the ocean could generate power for entire countries.  Making for a much cleaner future for the entire planet. 

By Ethan Gaskey
Source: BOEM: Ocean Current Energy