UML ASCE Website Update

Hello all!

Today is a personal celebration day for me. Aside for that, this summer has been going really well. I'm loving my experience at Bond Brothers. The team, the work scope, the environment are just simply fantastic. Even though Phil Mauch will think I dislike Mondays, he couldn't be any more wrong. I do dislike the fact I have to wake up so early, but even the long drive (1 hour at least, and occasional almost 2 hour driving) aren't as painful as they were at first. I'm still trying to take the train inside, all I need is to go to bed early in order to wake up at 5. Yet, I'm very happy, and I'm enjoying all the learning I'm having. I do enjoy the fact I'm able to help people however I can, and I love sometimes just sitting and listening to the many engineering things that they are talking about and that I can understand.

But, one of the biggest things going on outside of work right now for me, is a project I've got started a couple of months ago for our UML ASCE Student Chapter.

The idea was born with my own troubles. There I was, a junior trying to figure out what specialization I was going to take. When I talked to the people that surrounded me, I realized that they were in the same boat. Yet, as I talked to younger students at school I realized that they just had gone through a doubt that I had by the time I was finishing high school "What career should I choose? What degree do I want to pursuit?"

Yes, chances are that most of us will go through questions like that as we try to define our lives. The decision that defines our lives, career, money, satisfaction, objectives, goals, passion, education, learning... how do we know we are making the right choice?

Feels like, most of the time, we'll know what a decision is after we live through it. I can now tell, that my decision to going to UMass Lowell, was very well done, as a short & long term economic investment, and as the amazing community I've came to find there. At the Civil and Environmental Department, I'm home. And I'm not the only one. We accept & make our best efforts to grow as a team, as a community, as the family we are.

Yet, looking at the past that is not a definite answer for what life & things are still going to be and as a member of the community I entered, I saw the potential of improving our Professional Development opportunities. Though I had my initial ideas, those ideas were better perfected, and advised by many people around me, including professor Dr. Hajduk.

From one of Dr. Hajduk's adviced, I noticed that our school website needed to be updated, but instead of just trying to update it, I decided to also improve it, reduce the amount of maintenance at the same time that I can make it easy and accessible for new students to proceed in maintaining and keep updating it. Giving it a sleek new design that shows our value and attitude. Lastly, in order to update I'm choosing to not solely delegate tasks, but include students that are open to the opportunity of writing articles and also be a part of this project.

To me in the end, I am not just solving my questions by helping other people improve their lives, academics & career. Through others participation, and by the broad range & potential public that will come to this website and benefit from the information about what is Civil and Environmental Engineering, or information about the projects and events we have, & also relevant information that can help their careers we are together making each other better.

That, is definitely something I want to do in my life & career. Improve, Develop, Learn, Work with and for people (like I always like to joke, I'm Brazilian, and I can keep on talking...).
To all of those that are part of this journey, and have been committing to help, I really, honestly, appreciate your intent. :)

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Albert Einstein 
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Bioengineered bacteria to produce oil alternative

This is a very interesting article I found on Yahoo today:

"A humble soil bacteria has become a genetically engineered factory capable of making fuel for cars. But the project still has to get out of the lab and scale up to industrial-size production.

The MIT project aims to make transportation fuels 10 times more efficiently than existing biofuels derived from living organisms. Researchers swapped out the genes of the R. eutropha bacterium so that it can create isobutanol — an alcohol that can replace or blend with gasoline used by vehicles.

"We've shown that, in continuous culture, we can get substantial amounts of isobutanol," said Christopher Brigham, a biologist atMIT.

Many similar projects use microbes that make the biofuels within their bodies, so that researchers must kill the microbes to get the fuel out. But the MIT effort has succeeded in making the bacteria spit gasoline out into the surrounding liquid medium for easy harvesting.

The natural bacteria usually stores carbon by creating carbon polymers similar to petroleum-based plastics. Brigham and his colleagues — Jingnan Lu, Claudia Gai and Anthony Sinskey — managed to remove several genes while adding another organism's gene so that the bacteria made isobutanol rather than the carbon polymer.

For their next trick, the MIT researchers hope the genetically engineered bacteria could eventually transform carbon dioxide into fuel — a way of using up the greenhouse gas that contributes heavily to global warming. The bacteria already naturally use hydrogen and carbon dioxide for growing.

Additional modifications could allow the bacteria to use carbon from sources such as agricultural field waste or city waste. The research received about $1.8 million from ARPA-E, the U.S. Department of Energy's research arm for high-risk, high-reward projects, from July 2010 until July 2013.

The MIT research is detailed in the August issue of the journal Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bioengineered-bacteria-pump-fuel-cars-152840053.html

Daily Life Engineering

How many are our most sincere interests? In a time where Sustainability became a popular theme among our scientists, societies and companies, who is really working for it because of a real belief in it, and its very likely consequences?

Nowadays, sustainability is a hot-topic, and that we won't argue. Many companies, even food and drink packaging, claim to be natural, or to be doing everything to reduce, reuse, or "re-affirm their places in the market." Seriously, go to Mc Donald's take a paper bag, or even a drink, and Mc Donald's will there be claiming action. I'm a firm believer that every little action, independently of the reasons behind it, that motivate it, is good, if it does indeed contribute to a major positive goal.

I've already taken plenty of sustainability, environmental courses, read many articles in the area, done projects related to it and so on. But, this summer of 2012, I've decided to give sustainability more practice. I started biking to Bunker Hill Community College, my school, for my chemistry classes, in a way to save gas (which not only costs a lot - but pollutes our environment), care for my health (stay fit and release the stress that driving into a big city causes), and save time!

I started biking about 2-3 times a week, biking a distance of 6 miles each way, a total of 12 miles a day. The best part of it, was that I took about the same time I would take in the car, maybe a little bit more, but instead of having to spend time at a gym, I would get my work out done at that time, and later I was free to do anything else I needed.

For this adventure I took my "mountain bike." It is just a regular, simple bike. However, for many times I was biking, I noticed that people in their road bikes and so, would pass me with an agility that I could not describe.

Despite the slight embarrassment - that almost, first-time at the gym after a long time away feeling - I noticed that it wasn't really my potential that was causing that. I really worked hard to keep going, but something else was being responsible for these other bikes agility!

ENGINEERING THOUGHT MODE ON: If the users had little difference in the difference of agility of both bikers - a mountain biker and a road biker - what was the difference then, but the bikes?
Before I reached to google or some other source, I started thinking, wondering what were the reasons behind it all.

The first thing I thought, came from noticing the difference on the tires of both types of bikes. Mountain Bikes have a larger tire than road bikes. Friction, one of the most basic principles in physics, should certainly be playing a role.

On another day, as I moved my body slightly forward, I noticed that with my legs a little bit forward than usual, the impulse my body was giving to the bike came from my thighs, a stronger muscle, than my shins, and I could go slightly faster than normally - or so I felt. Then I realized that there was a difference in the shape between road/mountain bikes. In a way, road bikes favor the bikers body to be in a more forward position, giving that considerable impulse, and the easiness to keep going on, faster.

By that point, it was already the end of my 2-month, summer semester, and I already could not sleep without finally researching and finding the reasons behind it.

Yes, I was right, the difference of tires and shapes do play a role. Moreover, the shape in the frames, for the road bike also helps with the aerodynamics of it. It does causes some back pain in its new riders, however.

Moreover, something that I could not take from looking, was that the difference in weight also plays a role. Road bikes are just so much lighter than mountain bikes! Obviously, reducing its normal force, and the friction it has with the pavement, associated to the aerodynamics of the frame, you'll find that, well, bikers on road bikes are that much faster.

In the end, my little sustainability project ended up giving me some gains, the gas savings, the boost it gave to my health, the way I could partake in helping the environment on my daily life, and most of all, the boost it gave to my brain in applying some daily-life engineering.

Hope you all keep-engineering & contributing more and more to our world.
Your web-host:

5 Biggest Worker Shortages... good news for us Engineers-to-be

Help-Most Wanted is the titled of this article written by Paul Bomberger for Yahoo! Finance.
So among, skilled trades, IT staffers, Sales Representatives & Accounting & Finance Staff, Engineers are needed!

Here is what Bomberger posted about Engineers:

"Engineers

Engineering has been a hot profession for many years, accenting the need for more students to pursue math, science and technology studies. Plus, employers needing engineers complain that they can't find candidates with industry-specific qualifications or certifications.

Certain industries, such as aerospace and electronics, have cut engineering jobs in recent years. However, jobs are growing in more traditional fields, such as civil engineering, and fledgling businesses are creating new avenues for engineers in the biomedical and environmental industries.

George Zobrist, professor emeritus of computer science at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, expects engineering consulting firms to expand their services in coming years, which will lead to new opportunities for engineers in several areas.

"The highest growth areas in engineering are projected to be: environmental, biomedical, industrial and civil engineering specialties," Zobrist says. He also expects electronics manufacturers to increase research and development spending, adding even more engineering opportunities.

If engineering sounds like the right career for you, you'll need a formal education. To land an entry-level position, you typically need a bachelor's degree in engineering, and some jobs require specialized training. To qualify for a management job, you'll likely need a master's degree."

Apparently this is good news for Engineers and Engineers-to-be. 

To read more see : Help-Most-Wanted

Good luck to you all, and hopefully I'll soon be back,

Your online host,

Wage Inequality [Career 101]

Today I came across this article about Wage Inequality in the U.S., a persistent, but fortunately changing trend. I still remember when years ago I heard for the first time about wage inequality between men and women, I also remember how shocked I was, perhaps because I'm a woman, but being a person that seeks argumentation to understand a certain topic, this is certainly one that shows how our society is still bind to certain traditions.


While many may argument that men have been earning more since in most families they are the head of their households, present data shows that more and more women are becoming "breadwinners." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: U.S. Census Bureau, in 2009, 9325000 women earned more than their husband, approximately 29% of married women in a family with two incomes. Yet, this data alone cannot argument for the fact that men aren't the solely responsible for their households since, in most families, both women and men are working. 


The question in this problem then is: Are men better than women? Do they pursue more qualifications than women? Are they, at least, better negotiators when it comes down to pay and salary? Why such discrepancies are still present in a world, and a country, that we so much call for respect and equality? Looking at the figure, you may see that the difference in wages vary accordingly to different sectors and states. 


Yes, luckily, this discrepancy has been changing and diminishing over the past years, yet, is it going on a slow pace? According to the most recent study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, if the overall U.S. annual wage gap ratio -- which stands at 77 percent according to the Census Bureau -- continues to close at the current pace, male and female incomes on average will not be on equal footing until 2056 (Yahoo). TWENTY-FIFTY-SIX may not seem so far away when we look at the numbers, but just think about this: A baby born this year, will be 44 years old in 2056! -- I honestly don't even want to think about how old will I be in 2056 but I know that If I'm still alive at that time I'll probably be retired and probably not directly enjoying the fruits of the hard labor that women are taken at the present to overcome these disparity that seems more like an archaic habit.


More than just recognizing these differences in the U.S., how can we compare them to other countries? and how can we eliminate them? Below is the table with the current information about the wage discrepancy in the U.S:

Another night --- a little off topic -- but online, fellows!
Write to you soon,
Your web-host,
Ana Clara Keough

College life, General Education & Genetic Engineering

College life is for most of us hard, despite the wonders that many seek in it. In my case, I opted out the easy way college was at first for me. While attending university for the first time in Brazil, I was a student at one of the most renowned Brazilian colleges in Civil Engineering, UNESP, besides this fact, my college was also a State college, which different than in America, they are completely free. Taking the hard lane, I came to the US, to work (at this moment three jobs at one time) and to stay full-time in college. Perhaps this is a reason that  many people may believe engineers have a few less bolts (or perhaps indeed we have some more than others given the logical thinking, and the weigh out of the long-term cost benefits of our investments).

Within the term college life, in the United States students are required to a certain number of General Education credits. That includes studying English and becoming a critical thinker, and a few other classes in areas that are not related to your majoring area. Fun? Apparently, most students would argue that "GenEd" is a "waste of money and time." I still believe in its potential. What can I say, I've chosen Engineering, "GenEd" is the relief of my readings. It's the fun, sunday morning newspaper for interesting general knowledge. Interestingly enough, I end up learning more about Engineering.

Photo: Choi Byung-kil/AP Source: Mother Nature Network

I ended up coming back here today to share this article I've recently read about Genetical Engineering. If you think the world is advancing at great pace, after reading this article you'll realize that there's so much more we haven't yet acknowledged, more than that, you'll probably see yourself asking "What else is there to come?" If you are like me, someone who seeks new ideas, you would ordinarily imagine that the world has gotten it all. Think glow-in-the-dark cats are a sci-fi fantasy? Think again! You are wrong because they truly exist. The advancements made by Genetical Engineering are so incredible that they range from apparently crazy made ideas, like the glow-in-the-dark cat, to some other ideas that seem beneficial to the world we live --- like for example some genetically modified plants that attempt to address the concern of food demand in our globe, and other animals and plants that address environmental damage/sustainability.



What is more intriguing about these researches? It's the fact that we are stuck by the light of our days. About 100 years ago, when vaccines were being created, many people thought that they were going to end up dead because of these "injections", yet, it was one of the greatest breakthroughs of our days. Or was it? Did we, perhaps, change the natural balance that our world has had in terms of population? At the coming of years, we see suggestions that earth cannot "hold" the increasing population. More babies are being born, and the older are getting older.

Are we, then, looking at this genetic modified animals and plants from a "scared" perspective? Are they truly dangerous? With the amazing scenes and prospects that these "creations," if I so may call them, to the worries of what are the future, unpredictable results of this science, What do you think?

Take a look at the link: Green-Tech or Mad Science? to read the article completely, and tell me what to do you think! Do you feel that Genetic Engineering is a new, good development of our days? Or do you think we should be worried about its results and content?



See you soon,
Your web-host,
Ana

What job are you looking for?

Many of us sound almost as if we are 40 years old and haven't found the love of our lives. "I'll take anything" is what I hear from a lot of people. We hear and see evidence about economic fragility but good prospects for we have faith in college education and our "pre"-career decisions. Is job hunting after graduation, or even internships before so, a desperate act? Yes, many of us are graduating caring out negative balances and hopes for better lives... Wake up in a decent time, work for a good amount of hours, have free time to live out our other hobbies, nonetheless to receive a decent paycheck at the end of the month and pay the bills... live free of our college-days worries.

How many of us have wondered about "What job are we REALLY looking for?" Experience is certainly a must, and perhaps that's what leave us a little crazy in this process, for we all are somewhat inexperient! For instance, awhile back, I was discussing with a Professor about an internship position, and he stated "You know... Company X, is a great place... but I feel it would not be the right place for you... for your personality."

It made me think of who I am, and how I tackle my life and things in general, and to realize how important it is to understand and gain a knowledge of each place we are searching for a position. After all, not only each one of us have different personalities, but companies are formed by different individuals, and it is likely that most of the employees that stay in these places form the core of each company's "personality."

I may be wrong, after all, I'm a rookie!
How about you --- What do you think?

Do you think that the job we are looking for should be a desperate search, or something that we should put more thought into? Consider the different opportunities around us and narrow it to what would be