Design lessons from the Mars Climate Orbiter

Artist's rendition of the Mars Climate Orbiter. Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Artist’s rendition of the Mars Climate Orbiter. Image courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Alexander Pope famously wrote that “to err is human.” In doing so, he was probably referencing Seneca the Younger who said something similar about seventeen hundred years earlier: errare humanum est. Both quotes suggest that mistakes are a fundamental part of the human experience. If we are honest, all of us would confess to having erred on many occasions. Most of those mistakes were small. Some were large. Thankfully, few of us will ever have to admit to a mistake that cost over $125 million! [1] Continue reading

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Project planning, Henry Gantt, and cookies

Image by ccarlstead via flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Image by ccarlstead via flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

It has been said that “a good plan is like a road map; it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.”[1] Of course, we all know what it is like when we try to get things done without a plan. Perhaps we have done poorly on a school project that was left to the last minute. Or we have endured disorganized meetings that were a waste of everyone’s time. Or maybe we’ve been forced to make an “emergency” purchase that could have been avoided with a little forethought. We understand the important of good planning, if only because we know the consequences of proceeding without it. Continue reading

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Design lessons from the silent snap

Image  by Eoin Gardiner via flickr (CC BY)

Image by Eoin Gardiner via flickr (CC BY)

Football stadiums can be incredibly loud places. On September 29, 2014, the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs set the world record for the loadest roar at a sports stadium.[1] The crowd noise was recorded to be 142.2 dbA, or roughly equivalent to the sound you would hear standing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Continue reading

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A newbie’s reflections on SAE Baja California 2016

#BajaSoCal, because it is not an official event without a hash tag.

#BajaSoCal, because it is not an official event without a hash tag.

Better late than never, they say.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of SAE Baja; however, it is only the first time that I’ve had the privilege of attending an event. I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on the four-day competition and provide a newbie’s wide-eyed take on the engineering awesomeness involved. Continue reading

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Multi-variable decisions, Stuart Pugh, and donuts

Image by Ruth Hartnup via flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Image by Ruth Hartnup via flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Decisions can be difficult. We often must choose the “best” option from a list of possible alternatives that each possess a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. When buying a car, for example, we will consider factors such as affordability, size, fuel efficiency, appearance, and quality. Rarely is there one alternative that clearly represents the strongest option for every criterion. Instead, we attempt to find an optimal choice that gives us the best mix of qualities based on those factors we deem most important. Continue reading

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