The Decline in Electrical Engineers

By: Sadab Bahar

            To recall, electrical engineering deals with the application of electronics and electricity. They are sometimes referred as invisible engineers because they deal with things people do not notice, such as wiring in cars and behind walls. Electrical engineering is a plentiful field of engineering. Job opportunities are always growing for electrical engineers and they are generally given higher wages than when compared to other engineers. Soon, thousands of power industry workers will become eligible for retirement. This will result in many skilled engineers leaving the work place and it will leave a shortage of engineers. According to the Economic Specialists International, about 25% of today’s electrical engineers are over the age of fifty-five (Carnovale). This is a big problem, but also a good opportunity for future engineers. There is already demand for electrical engineers, however, with the drop in electrical engineers coming the demand will be even higher.

            A problem that rises with the drop of electrical engineers includes electrical companies struggling with mentoring younger workers. Another problem is the decreasing number of apprenticeship programs. This will cause problems because new talent will need to be trained which is time consuming and expensive. Many students do not pursue careers in electrical engineers because of the difficulty. In order to attract more students to study electrical engineering, industries must make engineering exciting and shift from theory to real life application (Carnovale). One of the problems with studying engineering is the lack of experience students face. They spend too much time in class rooms and not in the field learning the real skills that are needed every day. If universities can accomplish, industries will not have to spend as much time training unskilled engineers. 

Carnovale, Dan. "The Coming Engineering Shortage." Consulting-Specifying Engineering. Consulting-Specifying Engineering, 31 Oct. 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

Transparent Solar Concentrator

By: Kevin Chung

              Engineers at Michigan State University have created a transparent luminescent solar concentrator, that can turn windows and cellphone screens into solar-power generators. The material works by bending light into a certain surface are that can absorb light in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and reemitting it in infrared. The infrared light is then channeled to the edge of the clear surface, where the thin strips of photovoltaic cells generate power.

Picture Credit: msutoday.msu.edu

              The reason this material is clear is due to the light being emitted isn’t on the visible spectrum, it is infrared. Previous luminescent solar concentrators have been created, but they emitted light from the visible spectrum, giving off various colors and creating stained-glass effect, which was very inconvenient if used to create windows.

              The reason this creation is such a big deal is that its technology can be implemented in the creation of skyscrapers. Every window on a building can be turned into a power source, turning our cities into solar cities. So, any building can become a solar collector now. This technology can also be applied to automobiles, glasses, and smart phones.

              But this design isn’t perfect. Luminescent solar concentrators are less efficient than traditional photovoltaics because they absorb a larger range of wavelengths. And engineers say the solar conversion efficiency is around one percent. Although, researchers say this can be improved to five percent. If you like this article or have something to add, then leave a comment, and Ill respond as soon as I can.

Sources

Boehrer, Katherine. "Researchers Develop Transparent Solar Concentrator That Could Cover Windows,
            Electronics." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.       

Debbie Sterling in Tedx

by: Noemi Melo
Prompt post #7

                                                   

I recently stumbled across a TedX video done by the CEO and Creator of GoldieBlox, Debbie Sterling. Sterling, who has an engineering degree from Stanford, realized that part of the discrepancy between the number of male and female engineers might start at a very young age. The focus of her idea was that toys marketed towards girls don’t encourage them to learn the basic concepts of engineering and that means they have no interest in it when it comes time to pick a career.

               The thing that caught my attention is the first question that Sterling asks the audience. She asks them to close their eyes and picture an engineer. Then she polls the audience to see what they were thinking about. Some pictured a nerdy guy sitting at a computer, others a train driver and some a “Mark Zuckerberg”-type in a hoodie. The striking part came when she asked how many pictured an engineer who looked like her, and there were not many hands raised. But, as Sterling points out, nearly 50 percent of the population is female, so it would be beneficial to have the female perspective when it comes to designing things that are changing the world. The problem is figuring out why this is happening and figuring out how to solve the problem.

                Girls lose interest in math and science around age six, but a new study suggests that this is a cultural norm rather than a biological effect. Researchers tested boys and girls from 65 different countries on science skills. In all the countries except for the United States, the girls outperformed the boys. The problem, she suggests, is that girls lack a true understanding of engineering and what it means to be an engineer. After all, Sterling only tried engineering on the advice of a high school math teacher. But why should it take until high school or later to realize that you have an interest in engineering when girls can start liking engineering so much earlier by providing the right tools? Showing girls that engineering isn’t just a “boy thing,” rather than just a career pathway that allows you to design and invent is what they need.

                Sterling also tells us how she struggled in her engineering drawing class. She talks about struggling with the material and wanting to quit before a classmate stuck up for her and promised help. She ended up passing the class and earned her degree. Later she learned that many women struggle with spatial skills, a main component of perspective drawing in engineering. Kids who play with construction blocks or Lincoln logs while they’re growing up have strong spatial skills. Those toys are what gets kids interested in engineering, not the dolls and makeup kits that are considered “girl toys.

                You can watch the entire video on YouTube to get a clearer understanding about what the whole video is about.  She sums up her video by saying that she doesn’t fit in, and that it is not fair, but she believes that future women will.

Brain Organoids

By: Sadab Bahar

            In the last year, engineers around the world have made serious scientific breakthroughs. Whether it be the simple Apply Pay, Google’s Project Loon, or quick blood tests for cancer, engineers are creating different ways in order to ease the lives of people all over. One of the most interesting innovations in the last year was the creation of Brain Organoids. It may sound confusing and strange, but Brain Organoids allows scientists to study phenomena from basic brain functions to causes of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, and autism (Juskalian).

            The science behind this phenomenon begins with a single skin cell sample taken from an adult. This skin cell is then turned into a pluripotent stem cell and finally it becomes a neuron (Juskalian). This new process allows scientists better understand neurons and how they are effected by things such as drugs. The ability to study neurons allows scientists to create accurate models of the brain with a wide range of conditions. An example would be taking a skin cell from an adult with a mental illness. Scientists can explore the human brain like never before as a result of Brain Organoids.

Picture Credit: nextbigfuture.com

            Learning about Brain Organoids is very interesting. The ability to study the growth of mental illnesses in the brain is a huge step forward in finding remedies for such diseases. This is why Brain Organoids are considered to be one of the biggest breakthroughs in the last year. I agree with this claim because of the amount of new information it allows us to obtain. Mental illness is a serious issue and it needs to be addressed. Many people do not regard mental illness as an issue unless it causes someone physical pain. One way in order to gain more attention toward mental illness are Brain Organoids. If scientists can understand the causes of serious mental issues, then more and more people will understand and realize the importance of mental illnesses.

Juskalian, Russ. “Brain Organoids.” MIT Technology Review. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.