Intellectual Property (IP) and Marketing Road Blocks
As engineers, we like to talk about the latest gadget or, more importantly, about our latest designs. I personally get very passionate about my designs and the stuff I have done. For example, I enjoyed talking about my involvement with Formula Engine Control units in a recent blog. I also talked about ways in which I have used differing technologies like I2C. However, there are time when we can’t talk about things, things that cover Intellectual Property (IP). Over a year ago, I attended an RS Components sales show ( or known better as Allied Electronics in the US). This is where I and my company get to sell and introduce our new products to the RS sales force. In the evening, I got talking to a number of RS internal people about the lack of engineering communities and how this IP stuff, in my view, is a road block. IP…
The Daily Grind
Chris Gammell and I were chatting the other day (well, five minutes ago) about the hours that a professor works. And in that discussion, I was reminded of a post by GMP a few months ago, basically describing how no one cares about your work life balance. Now, I’ll pause for a minute for you to read her post. … Pause for effect… … Ok, so first I’ll hit the hours question and then tie in my little figure in above. The hours that I’ve worked so far haven’t been crazy. That’s probably because it is the middle of the summer and because I’m only supervising one student. My daily schedule is roughly: up at 5:45 am, leave house at 7:15-7:30 (Myself, DrWife, and NanoGEARS), get on campus ~8, work until 5, NanoGEARS in bed by 7, sleep sometime between 10 and 11. Most days, I drop NanoGEARS off and…
Your Way is Not the Only Way
One of the beautiful things about engineering is that there are many, many solutions to each problem. In school, it was comforting to realize that there was a correct answer to every homework problem. I think engineers are stereotypically wired to like a precise, logical, correct answer. A SINGLE answer. But then, I got to graduate school. And suddenly, the problems that I encountered didn’t HAVE an answer. (Yet, at least.) That was scary in itself. And even scarier, was the notion that even if I did find AN answer – it might not be the only one. Which means, my answer might not be the best one. Yowza! Eventually I learned that in the real world, it’s not always about having the best answer. You can almost never prove which answer is best, and even if you could, it’s usually not worth the time it takes. It’s about having…
Machine Shop FAIL
One of my favorite aspects of being an mechanical engineer is that I get to build things. When I was a young kid I took apart my potty training chair, and ever since I’ve had a penchant for both destroying and putting things back together again (the latter much to my mother’s relief). My Dad has the same tinkering tendencies, and so I grew up with plenty of places to work on projects. Being so mechanically minded, I sometimes forget that it is a character trait – but not the only one, or the best one, or even a common one. Much of the population has no feel for mechanical things at ALL. (And please note, my mother is one of them – this is not to criticize or put down, but simple observations.) And the best place to witness this, to me, is the machine shop. Most mechanical…
Buckingham Pi Across the Nth Dimension
Paul’s entry yesterday about an engineering competition he’s judging brought back memories of my experiences competing on our high school’s engineering team. We participated in a competition called JETS, which basically involved showing up to a place with a bunch of other teams and solving various engineering problems – from all types of engineering. In particular, I remember my team delegating problems. After spending some time working on my problem, I said I was clueless. One of my team mates scowled at me and said, “Try to figure it out using the units!” This was my first (in)formal introduction to the concept of dimensional analysis. Until I got to college, I don’t remember too many of my teachers stressing the importance of units when solving problems. I don’t think I was alone as this was what caused me to have my worst group project ever. Once I got into college…
Emergency Engineers
As engineers we are often asked to drop everything and work of some other task because its crucial to the business. Sometimes, one has to dash off to production to fix something thingy-me-bob so they can make a shipment date. However last week I got some training for some engineering types that know the true importance of being Emergency Engineers. My three day course started on Wednesday last week and to be honest I was a little nervous as to what would be involved. I mean it’s not like the product we would be trained on was new to me or to any of us that turned up. However being in a situation were its critical how long you have to fix it really adds pressure. It’s important when looking at emergency engineering however not to look at the product as a whole but the part within they system and…
Weekend Journal: Vegas for Engineers
I’m in Las Vegas for the 3rd time in my life. This time and the time before, going to Vegas wasn’t necessarily my first vacation choice; but I tend to roll with the punches, and I feel I could enjoy myself just about anywhere. This time I’m here for a good friend’s wedding. And as I got on the plane, I realized that I’ve never seen any kind of engineering info with regards to “Sin City” before. So how about I describe Las Vegas from the point of view of an engineer? The odds People think Las Vegas and they think gambling. And rightly so. Where else can you find an industry based almost entirely on a mathematical model that guarantees that the customer will (happily?) hand over their cash? What drives me as an engineer is the math behind each game. If I’m going to give up my money,…
Keeping Track of Work – Lab Notebooks
Just today I turned over the first fresh page in my brand new lab notebook, having filled up my last one. This is lab notebook number four for me, in my four years so far in grad school. It’s a fantastic feeling when you have accomplished enough (or, at least WRITTEN enough) to fill another notebook. In my undergrad Intro to Engineering class, I remember we spent an entire class period on documentation and proper lab notebook protocol. At the time, I mostly assumed that keeping good notes was important so that a) YOU could remember what you were doing, and b) so OTHER people could figure out what you did after the fact. Then in grad school, I took a product design class, and we again spent an entire class on lab notebooks. Now, though, the reasons were different. It’s imperative to document well so that a) if you invent…
But They’re Just So…DIFFERENT!
Yup, this week on Engineer Blogs, we’re talking about cross-functional engineering teams and working with engineers that aren’t like our own field. And in the true nature of someone that writes articles at the end of the week, I’d like to discuss the things that all our other wonderful writers haven’t mentioned yet (like my post reversing how the world looks at engineers). I mean, I need to keep the topics fresh and snappy, ya know? Anyway, this week, I’d like to talk about those engineers in a group that a bit “off”. That sub-group of the engineering fraternity that no one seems to understand. The group that had a really strong period, but now have started to fade into the background. The group? Surely, it must be civil engineers, right? Or what about chemical engineers, who needs those guys anymore? What about those crazy mechanical engineers, machine shop is so…
The Swiss Army Knife Engineer
So yes, it is that time again when the slightly odd electronics engineer posts another blog. Having got this weeks theme via email again I stopped and asked myself – do I always have a totally different view about things from everyone else? Well, in short, yes I do! As an electronics engineer I tend to interface with others like mechanical engineers and software engineers or departments like production or maintenance. However, I don’t think I’ve had problems talking to them or getting them to understand me. This is mainly because I have worked in other areas of business and engineering other than just magically appearing as an electronics design engineer. In other blogs I have talked about my education and progress to becoming an engineer and you will see I started off in production and did a mechanical engineering course at college. So I’ve become one of them ‘Jack-of-all-trades’…