Engineering

Against Geopolitical And Engineering Odds, Plans Emerge To Build A Red Sea Bridge

Meet the next great gonzo engineering project: A 20-mile Red Sea-spanning bridge connecting Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The bridge has been spoken about for years and multiple attempts to begin work on it have fallen through; overcoming the odds now will be a feat of both political finesse and engineering. READ»

New Idea for Mars Exploration: Roaming Robot Swarms With Honeybee Instincts

Forget sending huge, expensive, remote-controlled robot probes to Mars--could a swarm of smaller, cheaper units that roam the surface using honeybee-like thinking actually do part of the exploration better and more cheaply?READ»

Make This Product: MIT Students Fix Wheelchair Shopping with "Grocery Mate"

Students in MIT's Product Engineering Processes class created a basket that attaches to wheelchairs and holds up to 40 pounds. It's so simple, we're surprised no one thought of commercializing it before.READ»

105 Companies Join Forces With Obama to "Change The Equation" for Education

More than 100 companies are joining forces--from Facebook to Microsoft, DreamWorks to Google--to increase student literacy in science, technology, engineering, and math, which will account for some 8 million jobs by 2018. READ»

Adventures in Product Development: Avoiding the Six Major Pitfalls

It's a pleasure and pain salad. It's a game of risk and reward. It's an adventure. What drives successful entrepreneurs and product developers? After nearly 20 years in this business, I opine it's the adventure. Those who imagine and ...READ»

With Sketchbook for iPhone, Autodesk Wants to Democratize High-Tech Design

A company known for niche design programs ventures into the mass market. But why?READ»

Zero-E Adds Eco-Bling to Architectural Modeling

Woods Bagot and Buro Happold have invented a design program that helps architects and engineers create zero-emissions buildings.READ»

The Innovations of Microsoft’s New Research Building

Over the past two years Microsoft has been building a new building to house all of its Redmond, WA-based researchers. The researchers themselves helped design the building and Kevin Schofield, General Manager of ...READ»

Infographic of the Day: An Engineer's Guide to Drinking

What, you thought they just polished their pocket protectors on the weekend? READ»

How To Make Your Next Career Move

So you’re feeling like it’s time for a career move but with a slowing economy and a daunting unemployment rate, now seems like the worst possible time to leave a secure job? As it turns out, deciding to stay put in your current position to wait for it all to blow over may be the riskiest move of them all. By staying put while everything’s falling down around you and not even exploring your options, you run the risk of ending up with no position or prospects if your company has to resort to downsizing, regardless of your position or performance. So seize the moment and set your sights on your next move! Use this simple professional development plan to make your next career move.READ»

Mobile Lounges and Development Methodology

I recently flew into Washington Dulles airport, and I was struck anew with the sheer impracticality of the Dulles “mobile lounge.” It’s like something out of Star Wars. I can only imagine the glee of the Chrysler salesman who, ...READ»

Good Intention and Rounding Errors: Occupational Hazards of Sustainable Design

An occupational hazard of working in sustainable design is the constant reminder that everything has impact. For everything in your field of view, materials and energy were wrestled from the ground and shipped around the earth in ...READ»

Force Your Competition To Defend Multiple Fronts

One of greatest Union generals in the U.S. Civil war, William Tecumseh Sherman, described the goal of effective military strategy as maneuvering so that the opposing general finds himself “on the horns of dilemma.” That ...READ»

Find Inspiration And Create Aspiration

Most successful people are somehow inspired to do things differently. For some it is an innovative idea, and for others it is identifying a need and filling it. For Ajit Prabhu, the co-founder and chief executive officer of QuEST ...READ»

Ten Mac Apps That Make Windows Users Drool

// Used to be that Windows users could admit the Mac was easy to use--they just complained there wasn't any software for the platform. Apple knew their weakness, too, so they endeavored to turn their developer tools into the envy ...READ»

Robots Help Trains Stay on the Rails

Union Pacific's wheel-defect detection systemREAD»

• Personalized Airspace

Stepping Out With Honda's New Robotic Legs

Next week, when car designers convene for the Detroit Society of Automotive Engineers Congress, Honda will unveil two strap-on robotic prosthetic devices that help the wearer walk or squat without ever getting tired--a miracle for ...READ»

Why the Concorde Still Matters, 40 Years Later

The supersonic icon would have turned 40 today. What made it aviation's favorite flier?READ»

The Fabled Robotic Future Is Nearly Here [video]

Sitting in my spare bathroom is a large device dubbed a Cat Robot, and though it's not as sophisticated-looking as, say, an automobile production line spot-welding robot, let alone a Transformer, this robotic gizmo is a blessing ...READ»