Salk  

Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Dr. Evans and I had a delightful lunch today with Dr. Rich Murphy, president of The Salk Institute in La Jolla. Salk is an amazing place, housing many of the finest researchers in the world all dedicated to solving some of the most challenging health issues facing humans. The research done at Salk may someday end up saving your life or at least making a difference to the world in which we all live. Dr. Murphy has a terrific sense of humor and uses it to project a more colorful outlook for our collective futures. Any spare dollars you have will be wisely invested at Salk so if you are thinking about donating, Salk is a natural. Thank you for your insight, Rich…and for lunch!

Plastic RFID. 

Plastic RFID Technology

Ever see the TV commercial where a questionable looking man dressed in a trench coat enters a grocery store, begins loading up his pockets with goods, walks out of the store only to be followed by security who simply says, “Sir you forgot your receipt?”

If The PolyIC company has its way that reality is not far off. PolyIC, based in Germany, recently introduced a 600 kilohertz integrated circuit printed on plastic which should eventually allow vendors the ability to cheaply track virtually anything while replacing bar codes. Phased in circuits over time shall have the capacity to store 128 bits of memory with several thousand transistors all printed on a flexible substrate. The chip will cost….about a penny so Wal*Mart should be pleased.

Ultrahigh-Speed Chromatography and Virtual Chemical Sensors for Detecting Explosives and Chemical Warfare Agents

Abstract
Chromatographic separation of organic compounds is a well-known method of producing time-resolved chemical spectra or chromatograms. Whereas conventional chromatography using 10–100-m columns is slow, often requiring minutes to hours, ultrahigh-speed chromatography with short resistively heated metal columns requires only seconds. The performance of an ultrahigh-speed gas chromatograph using a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator to measure the mass of eluted chemical compounds is described. Closed-loop temperature programming of a resistively heated 1-m capillary column at rates as high as 20$^circhbox C$/s produces near real-time, 10-s chromatograms with chemical spectra peak widths measured in milliseconds. Eluted chemicals are physically adsorbed on an uncoated SAW resonator and frequency deviation versus time produces an eluted mass versus time chromatogram. The derivative of frequency versus time produces a mass/unit time chromatogram of column flux, which is used to measure the retention times of eluted compounds. This paper describes the instrument and process where independent database of chemical spectra are produced by indexing the retention time of specific target chemicals (e.g., explosives and chemical warfare agents) to the retention times of n-alkane standards. It is also shown that assigning time windows centered about specific indices can be used to create arrays of nonoverlapping virtual sensors for specific compounds. Repeated high-speed chromatographic measurements enable virtual sensor readings to be updated in near real time. This work clearly proves that arrays of virtual chemical sensors specific to explosive and chemical warfare agents can detect part per trillion levels of these compounds with high probability of detection and low probability of false alarm.

Staples, E.J. Viswanathan, S.
This paper appears in: Sensors Journal, IEEEPublication Date: Aug. 2005Volume: 5, Issue: 4On page(s): 622- 631ISSN: 1530-437X ISBN: Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/JSEN.2005.850990Posted online: 2005-07-18 08:16:51.0

Trevor (my son in sunglasses) pictured here with Ramon Delgado, The Newport Beach Breakers MVP. 

Although I did not take this picture it is the view from our seats.
 

Breakers Tennis / Maria Sharapova

One of my sons is an avid tennis player who is currently being coached by Ronald Agenor. This last weekend we arranged a trip to Newport Beach to see the Breakers play World Team Tennis. It was the first time I have ever been to a live pro tennis match and I found it extremely exciting. The Breakers did well winning on Saturday but lost several sluggish games on Sunday placing them in a tie for first place with Sacramento.

From an engineering point of view I find the technology in tennis to be truly amazing. These include cutting edge rackets that almost do the thinking for you to shoes that provide superior traction yet protect player’s feet, heels, ankles, and legs.

As I watched the men’s singles it made me wonder how much more power can be delivered to that ball and what engineer will develop the technology to make that happen? Seeing Maria was nice too.

Surfer / Model Carolyn Murphy pictured in Vogue. 

Surfing in Vogue

My wife handed me an article from Vogue entitled, “Catch the Wave,” which questions could surfing be the new yoga? The author, Abigail Walch, heads for Costa Rica’s Vista Guapa’s surf camp only to discover that in the process of learning to surf she lost her troublesome “Botticelli Belly.” Carolyn Murphy, the model, actually took time off to move to Costa Rica to surf. Although people thought Carolyn was crazy to give up modeling to surf she claims, “But I’ve never felt so stress-free, so pure, so good.”

What does all this have to do with engineering you ask? I think that technology is ultimately behind surfing becoming in Vogue. I am fascinated with the evolution of say the board itself. Boards that started out as balsa-wood-water-logged-hard-to-manage-barges, morphed into sleek fiberglass models and now can be had in epoxy with carbon fiber fins. Technology offers up durable, lightweight, and great maneuverability to the modern designs. I doubt that Carolyn Murphy would “rip it” on a balsa barge. Technology has allowed for major improvements in wetsuits which are extremely warm yet thin and flexible. I am sure the Maverick’s surfers greatly appreciate the new materials. The list goes on and on. I see this article as a great endorsement for Sports Engineering at SOET.

Two Images.....One Screen 

Sharp Vision Sounds Great

Admit it, more often than not you want to watch something on TV that is different than your friend, roommate, special friend, spouse or child. Sharp Corporation has solved the problem with a two-way viewing-angle liquid-crystal display that sends out pictures viewed separately from different angles. You can sit next to someone and watch your own movie or surf the internet while the other person enjoys their choice of programming. Add to this mix audio technology Woody Norris invented that generates focused sound and you both can share the same space yet be in two different worlds. With a little discipline I guess you can pretend to watch the chick-flick with your girlfriend while focused entirely on the ball game or let your husband watch the game while you watch whatever you want. Isn’t technology wonderful.

Sports Engineering: Making the world fun!

Sports engineering fascinates me! I mean just imagine the creativity that goes into designing a new tennis racket or a new inline skate. How about the technology that goes into new helmets, shoes, or what can be done with carbon fiber materials? If you’re interested in the construction side of the business there are needs for sporting facilities, stadiums, arenas, tracks etc. Sports engineering offers a terrific introduction into how the human body works and stimulates interest in bio-mechanics, anatomy, physiology, and nutrition. Study in this field provides students a solid understanding of materials, equipment, technology, along with a familiarity of sports in general. Sports engineering crosses over various branches of engineering, culling aspects from mechanical, civil, materials, electrical, chemical, bio-medical, industrial, computer, and manufacturing engineering. Yet it seems to do so in a fun way that readily helps others. A couple of examples are the direct concerns of using technology to prevent injury and addressing environmental problems. Nike, “re-uses” two million old pairs of shoes annually. The rubber soles are ground up to become football, soccer, baseball fields and weight room floors. The granulated foam mid-soles are used in basketball courts and playgrounds. The fabric becomes the padding under hardwood floors. Sports engineering bridges the gap between classical engineering and modern day science.

This could tie together several schools inside of National University; Sports engineering and Nursing, Media and engineering, Business and engineering. Makes for interesting thoughts; after all, engineers make our world work. Sports engineers make it fun!

The Mathematician's Son

Mona, a mathematician, talks to her son

Mona: "I want you to marry a girl of my choice."
Son: "I will choose my own bride."
Mona: "But the girl is Bill Gates’ daughter."
Son: "Well, in that case..."

Next Mona approaches Bill Gates

Mona: "I have a husband for your daughter."
Bill Gates: "But my daughter is too young to marry."
Mona: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank."
Bill Gates: "Ah, in that case..."

Finally Mona goes to see the president of the World Bank.

Mona: "I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President: "But I already have more vice-presidents than I need."
Mona: "But this young man is Bill Gates’ son-in-law."
President: "Ah, in that case....."

Never underestimate the power of mathematics...it is logical.

Attacks – The 12 Minute Virus.

According to Sophos, a London-based security company, they have detected a 59-percent increase in new viruses just in the first half of 2005. Some of these 7,944 new viruses can infect a computer in a much shorter time span than previous viruses. In fact, if your computer is not maintained with the proper updates it can become infected in 12 minutes by a variety of malicious code designed to attack Windows based computers. Each successful attack can infect your computer with multiple Trojans, create back-door breaches and add spyware. Additionally, May showed an increase of 33-percent over the previous month in infected email traffic; 30-percent of all emails contain some form of virus and 69-percent of inbound email contained spam. It is a good reminder for all of us to maintain our computers.

Stem Cell vs. Stem Sell

Recently I attended a lively luncheon discussion where the question of stem cell research in Japan became the focus of an interesting debate. Most of the participants are scientists and a couple of them are medical doctors who pointed out that Japan is quietly becoming the leader in stem cell advancements and unless something is done to advance the cause here in the United States the Japanese will be the worldwide provider of organs. The most outspoken doctor in the group complained bitterly that the Bush administration needs to change their policy or we will loose billions to countries like Japan, Korea, and China who are proceeding full speed ahead in the cell race. In addition to the pure monetary loss, this country is suffering a collective brain drain as researchers move toward more supportive environments including financing and strong social approval. The luncheon participants overwhelmingly supported U.S. funding of stem cell research. I am strongly conservative in most areas but in this case I agree. What do you think?

Judge Gets Bum Rap in Press

The press loves to twist the facts. Last time I checked judges have to obey the law like everyone else. In the following case the law clearly states that a person’s record “shall” be expunged, or wiped clean if they have fulfilled all of their legal obligations. In this case Judge Trentacosta had no choice in the matter and according to the law he had to expunge the record of this woman. Some accounts also stated that this judge barred the press from getting into the court on this case. This judge banned camera’s in the courtroom to avoid a circus but did not ban the press. When will the press start reporting the facts?

Note: For the record Judge Trentacosta is a “friend” of SOET and has spent his valuable time attending and evaluating some of our students’ CAPSTONE or final projects prior to them graduating. We have found Judge Trentacosta to be thoughtful, thorough, insightful, and most of all fair. This blogger believes that Judge Trentacosta got a bum rap in the press on this one.

One press account....

Over prosecutors’ objections, a judge Tuesday expunged the record of a woman who pleaded guilty to a DUI-related crash in Pacific Beach in 1998, which left a San Diego police officer without most of his left leg.

Judge Robert Trentacosta said that Monica Thayer had completed all the requirements of her six-year probation and paid restitution in full.

Thayer, who was 27 when she struck Officer Dan Toneck on Grand Avenue near Ingraham Street on Aug. 13, 1998, had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily injury.

Toneck, a traffic officer who was investigating a separate accident, was retrieving a camera when he was pinned against his patrol car by Thayer’s vehicle around 1:20 a.m.

The officer was rushed to a hospital, but his leg had to be amputated above his knee.

Free iPod Competition

For any of you that are interested in receiving a free iPod mini, I want to upgrade this blog. Make it more “engineerish” if that means something. I want it to snap out at viewers so when they visit the first impression is WOW! I want them to stay for a while, enjoy themselves, and retain something useful for their lives. I want them to come back often and bring their friends. If you think you know how to do this simply leave a comment with your email address. I will forward you the current template code; you do your magic, and send me back the revised code so it can be judged. The winner will receive their iPod upon signing a release of the code to SOET. Let me know.

NOTE: This site is not in any way associated with Apple Computer.