by Ellen Ullman, 1998

"The overwhelming response of Japanese engineering to the challenge posed by an earthquake larger than any in the last century was to function exactly as designed. Millions of people are alive right now because the system worked and the system worked and the system worked."

Many a nerd has dreamed of exploring space—the final frontier—as a child. Despite visions in books, comics, TV, and film of a future where space travel is commonplace, that dream is still far from reality. But a handful of "self-admitted nerds" from the interactive design firm Sevnthsin are taking to the skies with a weather balloon, a hacked cooler, and the latest in mobile technology.

Calling their project Yavin IV (after a rebel base in the Star Wars universe), the small group from Minneapolis, Minnesota completed their first full launch on Friday. Ars was on the scene to capture the event, and we spoke with project leader Jamey Erickson to understand what the project is trying to accomplish, and what's in store for its future.

We are used to considering engineering ethics largely a critical enterprise. By pointing out ethical issues and by raising concerns about a technology, ethicists usually criticise rather than promote the technology in question. Of course, from a utilitarianist perspective, an ethicist might come to the conclusion that a certain technology is better than another one or than doing without. However, such conclusions are rare in philosophy and would not be considered uncritical promotion. In this essay I argue that engineering ethics, almost unavoidably, turns into the promotion and popularisation of a technology if that technology does not exist yet but is considered to be emerging in the near future. In other words, ethics of emerging technologies is not only prone to but almost destined to play a propaganda role in the public sphere.

Video lecture library from Indian Institutes of Technology and Science.

Most of my research is focused around the Globus project™, a joint research project with Ian Foster's group at Argonne National Laboratory. Globus is developing the basic mechanisms and infrastructure for grids. One major result is the development of the Globus Toolkit®, the underlying infrastructure used by most major grid projects.

and other rare earth elements

Could humans at any point in history, given the right information, construct an electronic communication network? To test this hypothesis, Substitute Materials will attempt to build a functional electric battery and telegraph switch from materials found in the wilderness, using no modern tools except information from the internet. The telegraph will be a first step towards an ahistorical internet.

musings on Brooklyn Bridge.

...Historians of science have always had a soft spot for the history of theoretical physics. The great theoretical advances of this century -- relativity and quantum mechanics -- have been documented in fascinating historical accounts that have captivated the mind of the cultivated public.

There are no comparable studies of the relations between science and engineering. Breaking with the tradition of the Fachidiot, theoretical physicists have bestowed their romantic autobiographies on the world, portraying themselves as the high priests of the reigning cult.

Citizen Engineer is an online video series about open source hardware, electronics, art and hacking by Limor (Ladyada) Fried of Adafruit Industries

Employing electromagnets and magnetically-charged microfine particles suspended in oil set in motion through a computer controller, Kodama, who is associate professor at Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications, explores an entirely new territory where the seductive glossy black liquid seems to turn into rows of solid spikes impeccably organized around a spiraling cone, only to dissolve abruptly into obvious liquidity once again

Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ieee-earth.org

science and engineering indicators from the NSF

The primary goals of InnoWorks are to (1) provide students from underprivileged backgrounds with an opportunity to explore the real-world links among science and engineering disciplines,

The world’s urban infrastructure needs a $40 trillion makeover. Here’s how to reinvigorate our electricity, water, and transportation systems by integrating finance, governance, technology, and design.

article on recent changes in CD mastering, toward more loudness through compression