The amazing and complex worlds of high-tech engineering, technology, and medicine are coming together in ways that could never have been predicted years ago! Eons removed from the simplicity of the basic printer and copy machines, 3D printers were originally developed as a form of additive manufacturing technology, where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material, such as plastics or metals.

Comment by Allen G. Taylor
A few days ago there was a report of an experiment in Europe where it appeared that neutrinos generated at the CERN laboratory arrived at the Grand Sasso detector in Italy sooner than a pulse of light would have arrived if it could have traveled between CERN and Grand Sasso through a vacuum. If true, this could be the most significant change in 95 years in our understanding of how the universe works.

For Engineers Who Hate Networking…
by Gary Perman
Sometimes it seems like I hit two or three networking events a week. One might think so much networking would come natural to me. Some might even think I have the “people gift.” Not so. There are times I dread going. At times I even search for ways to get out of attending them. So even a guy who makes his living networking and people- matching can have the networking “jitters.”

Most engineers I know share a common dislike for networking. Really, though, it is not so much “dislike” as it is fear. Remember high school? Getting up the nerve to ask someone to a dance? Or standing in line during P.E. waiting to see who picks you for their team? It’s the same kind of fear that many of us carry as we approach a networking event. Well, this isn’t high school; it’s real life, and your career depends on networking.

Steve Wetterling

President and Founding Member of Servenger LLC

For this topical series of feature articles “About Your Own Business”, let me make an important distinction:

ð If you want to do the next big technology start up aiming for the first $100 Million IPO of 2015, then please help yourself to the assistance of the several “Start Up Nurturing Centers” in Oregon and Washington such as:

ð If you want to use your talents setting up and running a smaller business with the intent to make a good income while having time and energy to enjoy your life with family and friends, then read on.

“(The following in this section is the author’s own opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the IEEE or any of its members.)

A Stagnant Industry Ripe for Disruptive Change

By Allen G. Taylor

Recently, Elon Musk of SpaceX gave some insight into his business philosophy. He noted that many people considered the space industry to be moribund. The United States has been using essentially the same rocket technology for decades. This past week NASA sent its Curiosity rover to Mars on an Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V and the Delta IV are the most capable launchers we have and they are both almost old enough to collect Social Security benefits. I can vividly remember walking through the Atlas factory in the 1960s in San Diego, which was the building next to the one that housed my cubicle. There was a row of gleaming metal rockets in varying degrees of completion.

(The following in this section is the author’s own opinions, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the IEEE or any of its members.)

WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON IN OREGON’S HIGH TECHNOLOGY SECTOR (an opinion)

Leonard Forbes, Ph.D., Life Member IEEE, Prolific living inventor in electrical sciences and technology

I remember my first visit to Oregon, upon arriving from California along Interstate 5. There was a sign that basically said, “Welcome to Oregon, have a nice visit, but don’t stay.” I wasn’t sure who’s idea that was, or the implicit message, but thought it decidedly unfriendly, if not a bit arrogant. It was a mindset I later learned had very ominous consequences for the very industry it needed for economic survival.

IEEE members check out the exciting science lectures you can attend right here in Portland’s own Schnitzer Theater.
Second lecture is Gabe Zicherman talking on ” The tremendous appeal that games have over the younger generation. Learn why games have such power and how you can use these same highly effective techniques when motivating particularly young people” Lecture is 7:00pm Thursday November 17th, 2011

LAST DAY TO ORDER TICKETS FOR THIS LECTURE IS NOVEMBER 3RD.

Through your IEEE you can conveniently order tickets right here at really deep discounts and with NO Ticketmaster charges. Check out these amazing science topics!!

IEEE GOLD

Engineers who recently graduated will soon be assuming leadership positions within IEEE. Here is what is happening with these graduates over the last 10 years and how they will be affecting your IEEE.

I had a client that built a transmitting device with filters that he had completely modeled in SPICE and it worked perfectly from anywhere in the building to any other building location. It overcame any shielding built into the walls. He was very happy with it until he took it outside because he wanted to see how far it would transmit line of sight.

Well he was originally getting some good range but then the range started to fall and after about 15 minutes it started to really act strange and the filters developed a mind of their own.

He dropped it off at my place and we talked about some other issues and then we fired it up. Again it worked perfectly.

From all my working experience I learned, the first place to look when you experience this type of flaky performance is temperature. It was 37 degrees F the time he took it outside, and he had tuned it indoors where it was 67-72 degrees. Taking a little can of “Freeze-it” I cooled various parts of his circuit. When I got to the power supply regulator, sure enough, it really started to act up.

Will Electric Vehicles Replace Gasoline Powered Vehicles, and if So When? Just the Facts and Figures

Regardless of how one feels about electric vehicles, the major questions to be addressed are whether they are a (a) “bump in the road,” with more technological and financial problems than we can never resolve satisfactorily, (b) viable and valuable [...]

Personally meet each of them if you buy Patron Level tickets!

IEEE Members, don’t miss this one! You can buy tickets at incredible discounts and experience four unforgettable evenings with world level opinion shapers!

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We have made arrangements with this prestigious organization to offer members of the Oregon Section an opportunity to hear these four world-class speakers, and at significantly discounted prices. All lectures will be held at the Rose Schnitzer Auditorium in downtown Portland. The first lecture, with Jim Lehrer, is on February 3, 2012; the fourth, with Sima Samar, concludes the series on April 27, 2012. You’ll not only hear these world-renowned speakers, but for those who obtain Patron Level tickets, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet with each of them after the lecture at a small, specially arranged catered reception, and ask any questions that come to mind!

Painting Science Abstracts By Lynne Taylor, ISEPP cover artist Conceptual ideas can be presented in photographs, but paintings offer an opportunity to leave the real world and create a new image based on evidence, theories and insight. While engineers may need to ultimately force their output to comply with reality, the artist’s imaginative process requires leaving the “step by step” real world and jump into both the creative and conceptual parts of one’s mind, bypassing all the “how it should be”s. Becoming familiar with this creative process can be valuable to technical minds, particularly when venturing into new areas or projects where engineers are not exactly sure where to begin. Examining art based on science, engineering and mathematics can expand the creative process even in the most left brained of engineers.

MORE THAN ONE FORM OF KINETIC ENERY

A Second Set of Eyes

Bob Niemeyer

There are some projects that engineers become so focused on that they can no longer “see” the solutions to simple problems. One of the many talents of a good engineering manager is recognizing when such situations arise, and time becomes an issue that overrides ownership of engineering tasks.

I had just started a new job at a company that designed and built digital plotters. We were in constant competition with other companies for sales and spec-man-ship, and in the plotter world of that time, acceleration was the most important selling point for how fast a plotter could draw lines on paper.

by Bob Niemeyer

One of the most difficult aspects of being an engineer is working with people who have no idea how to produce what they want. They come to you with a “statement of objectives” rather than either a design criteria, or even a list of requirements. For example, I had a client (you could substitute “boss”), tell me, “I want something that will somehow detect if the velocity is so slow that it will not be able to make it up an incline.” To make matters worse, some potential clients simply cannot get an idea out of their head in a way that would make sense to those who could produce their objectives!