Do you know about - power - The Next Frontier For Engineers
Dallas Eye! Again, for I know. Ready to share new things that are useful. You and your friends.There are three kinds of people in this world:
What I said. It isn't outcome that the true about Dallas Eye. You read this article for information on a person want to know is Dallas Eye.How is power - The Next Frontier For Engineers
1. Those who make things happen
2. Those who watch things happen; and
3. Those who wonder what happened.
I will hope that you are all in the first group.
In this description I'll discuss the U.S. Economy and what I see as the traditional drivers; what I think are great opportunities in the future; your potential role as an engineer in this economy; as well as my company, my vocation and how I came to my current position.
Let's start with a brief story of some men who met to produce a consensus document. If you have worked on teams you have experienced the fierce disagreements in the middle of these men: an creator and scientist from Philadelphia; an economist and banker from New York; a farmer/philosopher from Virginia; a merchant and lawyer from Boston and his cousin with whom, as a college student, I am sure you are very familiar; Samuel Adams. I am talking of procedure about his cousin John Adams, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of those influential men, who despite bitter differences about how to invent a new government, met to produce one of the many documents in history, "The declaration of Independence."
In that document they produced a magnificent sentence that I suggest to you easily established the foundation for what would become the world's many economy:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with definite unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
What I pose to you is that this was easily a code written by men who had left a land where government had stifled creativity and oppressed firm with onerous taxes. The code they used was in the word "Happiness." What they easily meant was "Money." "The pursuit of Money". They had come to a frontier land to make their fortune and they did not want government to interfere with any man pursuing their fortune. This principle set the foundation for the U.S. Economy.
Throughout history, the Economy has stalled and thrived and ebbed and flowed. With few exceptions, the Economy has leapt transmit on the back of innovation. At the center of most of those innovations has been an exceptional engineer or inventor.
In 1805, about 150 miles East of Syracuse, Robert Fulton, an engineer, converted steam power to energy to drive the first commercially victorious steamboat operation on the Hudson River in the middle of Nyc and Albany. This innovation provided a great leap in transportation and stimulated commerce.
Twelve years later, engineers began work on the Erie Canal, cutting transportation costs by 95% and establishing Nyc as the center of commerce for the new country. Westward Expansion grew in leaps and bounds and the Economy and America itself surged westward.
Steam locomotive railways wide from 40 miles of track in 1830 to 30,000 miles of track by 1860. Engineers drove the process.
Innovation in machine tools drove the commercial Revolution, allowing human workers to be more efficient, marking the starting of a convert in the Economy from agrarian to industrial-making thousands of people a fortune in their "pursuit of Happiness".
In 1879, Thomas Edison captured light in a glass, and later engineered what is now the galvanic Power Distribution Network.
In 1905 Willis Carrier, you may have heard that name if you have attended Syracuse University basketball games in the Carrier Dome, invented air conditioning. Carrier roughly invented a new commerce manufacture our lives more comfortable by heating and cooling the indoors where we spend 90% of our time (more on this later).
The 20th Century saw more engineers lead the way with mighty inventions and innovations that drove the economy. None more prominent than: William Shockley and the transistor; Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers establishing modern transportation methods; and then the explosion of computers and the internet flattening the world, manufacture Bangalore and Mumbai a suburb of Boston, and manufacture human beings exponentially more productive-well documented in Thomas Friedman's book, "The World is Flat."
The list of engineers and innovators goes on and on. The point I am trying to make is that the skills that you have learned in requisite thinking, qoute solving and determination prepares you well to operate in the 21st century economy. In developing worlds, engineers are held in the top esteem because those countries that perceive they need to grow their economies to enrich their populations, understand that engineers and innovators provide the skills to grow those economies.
How and where can you function as you go out to partake in this Economy of the 21st century? While many of you will be satisfied to work in your cubicle and grind out the 9-5, I encourage you all to think big. Be audacious. You have the education and skills to convert the world. While the past century saw astonishing advances in communications, transportation and technology, I easily believe that this century will see equally astonishing advances in energy; the way we use it; the way we produce it, and the way it is delivered. I would encourage you that there are great opportunities to learn and ply your trade in order to partake in the energy or "Green" economy.
There are four areas in which I think engineers will have a profound effect. These are:
1. Agriculture and the production of food
2. Transportation
3. The delivery of electricity and,
4. Green Buildings.
Within these areas, I believe your education will be put to good use and you will find the opportunities that will drive the Economy and help convert the world.
Michael Pollan has written extensively on the branch of human's many food choices and "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals" is a must read for those interested. Right now the agriculture commerce in the United States is a very energy intensive firm based on petrochemicals (read; Oil). Today we naturally will not be able to provide cusine to the world's people based on the current model. Engineers will be part of developing solutions that go back to the use of free solar technology and off of finite energy resources now being used up to produce cheap food.
Right now something nearby 70% of energy in the U.S. Is consumed by transportation. That energy is fossil based, finite and polluting. In your lifetime, engineers will invent innovations that will expand the global Economy and convert the way we converyance humans-just as Henry Ford and the Wright Brothers did in the last Century.
Remember we talked about Thomas Edison developing the galvanic infrastructure back in the late 1800s and early 1900s? Well, as we like to say, 100 years and counting unimpeded by progress. That might be a minute harsh, but the current infrastructure in the U.S. Is antiquated and inadequate. Innovations in how and where we produce and use electrical power is near the tipping point of sea change. Converting naturally occurring phenomenon to mechanical and electrical power and delivering it to users is a rich frontier. Look no further than solar power, wave power, wind power and such to see these are solutions waiting for innovative thinkers to deliver them to a mass market.
Whole developing countries are repeating the commercial Revolution based on fossil fuels. As an example every 7 to 10 days, a coal-fired power plant big sufficient to serve all the households in Dallas is built in China.
Whatever source of data that you use, the people growth in Asia is staggering. In the last decade in India and China there have been about 200 million people who have risen from poverty to the middle class. They now have disposable income! Guess what they want... The same things that you want. Cell phones, iPods, cars, color Tvs. The examine on the world's galvanic power systems will grow exponentially along with these demographic movements. Fossil based galvanic generation systems naturally will not be able to retain that growth. In India alone, 291 million more people will move out of poverty within the next two decades and just communications spending among them will grow 13.4% a year.
How many people have seen any of the "Back to the Future" movies? There is technology today that can take virtually any organic feedstock, garbage, woodchips, etc, and through chemical process, convert the feedstock to hydrogen. Mechanical processes will then convert that hydrogen to produce power, for electricity, to drive cars fuel buses, trains, and the list is only minute to the human imagination and ingenuity.
Many will pursue their happiness and help save the world by advent up with solutions to provide energy to the people on this small planet.
Finally, I would like to discuss the firm I am in. That is buildings and building systems. I work for a mechanical undertaker of a package deal in a very conservative industry. Willis Carrier's 100 year old invention has changed minute since its invention.
As the Green building Movement has taken this commerce by storm, there will be winners and losers. The losers will be looking in their rear view mirror while the winners will be looking nearby the bend in the road to see what is next.
Does everyone know what the Green building Movement is? Let me produce a visceral example, work with me here. Close your eyes and fantasize where you would most like to be right now. Don't worry; I am not judging you, you don't have to pretend it is here reading my article. With this exercise, at least 97% of you thought of some place outdoors! Since on average, we each spend 90% of our lives indoors, there is the rub the Green building Movement is trying to solve: How can we make the indoors more like the outdoors so people can thrive and be happy in the space where they spend 90% of their lives?
It is also captivating to note that buildings in the U.S. Use about 40% of the energy and something like 70% of the electricity consumed. So the opportunity to bring more of the outdoors inside and use naturally occurring phenomenon to provide comfort should consequent in lower energy use and more frugal use of natural resources.
I know that Engineers will invent the innovations that will lead the Green building Movement as the commerce strives to build net-zero buildings. Think about that. buildings that claim comfortable conditions for people who want to be face while producing no carbon emissions. convert the world!
Okay now let me bring it down a notch from the theoretical to what a firm does as energy engineers.
At its core, energy services are about analyzing and quantifying alternative building systems. What does that mean? It means that building systems are modeled and the costs to setup and the costs to operate alternative systems are compared so that building owners can decree the best alternative for their business. The determination is taken and converted to financial decision tools so that firm people can decree on the best building systems for their project, be it a new building, or the reparation and upgrade of an older building.
So the role of energy engineers in a typical scenario is to go into an existing building; derive all of the information on the existing systems, along with lighting, mechanical, building envelope and building controls, water and sewer use; and model how the whole law is operating. The historical utility use trends are compared to the model and then adjustments are made to the assumptions of the model to accurately reflect the gathered historical data. Once an precise model of the building is made, alternative, more sufficient building systems are introduced into the model to decree what impact the new systems would have on the operation of the building, primarily as it relates to operating costs. Engineers then decree facility costs from building "design" engineers and a cost benefit determination is run based on the installed costs and the operating costs of alternative systems. Primarily these teams are comprised of mechanical engineers but electrical engineers are also employed.
That work is what energy engineers do. There are also process engineers doing very similar work for commercial businesses determining better, more sufficient ways to produce their products.
Mechanical engineers mostly work to understand great ways to use existing technology to lower the cost to operate systems and deliver those cost savings to businesses. Most of the work that I do is translating the work of the engineers into the language spoken by the economic buyers, the financial people at business, the bean counters, comptrollers, Chief Financial Officers, basically whoever authorizes the building improvements.
This may be a good time to tell you about the arc of my vocation and why I strongly suggest that any engineer make a conscious decision in their vocation to get a firm education and understand the finances linked with running a business. In the energy services business, we can do the many engineering, but businesses won't buy our solutions until we demonstrate the impact those solutions have on their businesses. This is done 100% of the time through solid economic analysis, commonly going deeper than the easy payback methods you may have been exposed to.
Anyway I graduated college with a bachelor's degree in journalism. I had attended easily to please my parents. I felt a bit guilty that my parents had spent a lot of money on my education only to see me go to work in the trades as an electrician. I just didn't want to sit behind a desk and easily wanted the delight of building things with my hands and being able to look at my work at the end of the day and be proud. Well, I went on to ply what my fellow tradesmen called the "tools of ignorance" for about 16 years until I got tired of working outdoors in the winter and decided I want to make a living using my head. So I started to try to get interviews with no luck. Not many businesses were concerned in an electrician with a degree in journalism....go figure. I decided to take 5 years to get my Mba from Rpi where I learned how firm worked and was lucky sufficient for a man to take a opportunity on hiring me at an energy services firm (Esco).
I did very well in sales because I had easily built things and knew what the equipment was and understood what it would easily take to perfect a project. I was selling electricity and natural gas, products I knew very well from my days building the infrastructure that delivered these commodities to users.
In any event, I have been fortunate to be victorious and work for an commerce that values what I do. Without my college education, and my Mba there is no doubt in my mind that I would still be face in the winters plying a trade.
Which leads me to my point-even though you might not find a job right away, or you may not be able to go right into the field that you want to, the college education that you and your parents have paid for will all the time do you well. Just find some good honest work where you can build a career, and somehow, as my example demonstrates, it all seems to come together and make sense.
The last things that I would like to leave you with are some thoughts I have for those entering the job force, so here are my top ten:
1. Read a good newspaper every day. Pick one, the Wall road Journal, New York Times, Investors Daily, Washington Post, just read one. This will allow you to understand the world nearby you and not just operate in your cubicle. Hopefully well rounded knowledge of general trends will make you more requisite to your employer.
2. invent and permanently feed your intellectual curiosity. all the time ask, "Why?" If only to yourself.
3. Be on time. Show up daily for work. Work until your work is done and don't all the time join the stampede out the door at 5:00 Pm. By doing this you will automatically rise above 90% of your peers.
4. Prepare for work assignments and especially job interviews. opportunity favors those who prepare.
5. If you don't like your job, find one you do like. Life is too short to get up every day and do work you don't like. Don't just be a rat in the rat race. If you are easily lucky, you will find a job you love and then it won't be work
6. Learn to listen. invent your listening skills. God gave you two ears and just one mouth for a reason.
7. If you ever get to administrate people, remember, you work for them.
8. Outline out who the customer is for whatever you do, and serve the customer
9. claim balance.
10. Be an optimist, claim wholesome skepticism and perceive there is all the time a explication to the problem!
The economies of the world all the time have been and all the time will be driven by innovation and engineers roughly all the time drive innovation. Find your place in this Economy and think big. Don't be afraid to convert the world, one step at a time. Engineers will make the Green building movement a success. If you have a passion for manufacture the world a great place the building commerce is a great place to be. Remember, opportunity favors those that prepare. An adaptation of a lecture given to a group of senior Engineering Students at Syracuse University on October 30, 2008.
I hope you receive new knowledge about Dallas Eye. Where you'll be able to offer used in your day-to-day life. And above all, your reaction is Dallas Eye.Read more.. power - The Next Frontier For Engineers. View Related articles related to Dallas Eye. I Roll below. I have suggested my friends to help share the Facebook Twitter Like Tweet. Can you share power - The Next Frontier For Engineers.
No comments:
Post a Comment