From the editor's desk

Long-time readers of Machine Design will recall several of our editorials about the lack of training facilities for industrial workers. (One in particular that seemed to resonate with readers can be found here: http://community.machinedesign.com/forums/thread/1475.aspx)

So we are heartened to see that another institution devoted to industrial training is getting into the headlines. The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) is a training, assessment and certification system focused on production and supply chain logistics workers. Recently Illinois State Senator Dan Cronin visited gearmotor manufacturer Bison Gear & Engineering Corp. to explore Bison’s successful implementation of the MSSC Program for his cable television series, “Illinois Education.”

The 25 minute “Illinois Education” video can be viewed at the BisonGear.com website, along with two related short videos entitled, “Implementing the MSSC creates a better skilled workforce at Bison” and “Employees benefit at Bison with the MSSC program.”

There was a catch-phrase used by the staff of candidate Clinton running for his first term in office: It’s the economy, stupid. It kept campaign workers from getting distracted from the main campaign issue. Well, we might be well served by a take-off on that phrase when it comes to why more kids aren’t pursuing careers in science or math-related fields: It’s the jobs, dummy.

At least that is a conclusion that can be drawn by a recent report from Rutgers and Georgetown University researchers. They contend that there are plenty of kids talented in science and math coming out of high school, but most of them tend not to pursue advanced degrees or careers in these fields. And the reason seems to track back to a lack of career opportunities in math and science.

The authors write that the fall-off in top-performing high school grads pursuing studies in STEM “may indicate that the top high school graduates are no longer interested in STEM, but it might also indicate that a future in a STEM job is not attractive for some reason.”

You can read an Education Week write up of the report at this link, which also contains a link to the full report:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/28/10engineer.h29.html?tkn=ZQ[FHhMHPmR0MnDTN3v8WfWt%2FKowJkPYxxn2

Here is a new use for a super-high-speed video camera: Studying coin flip biases. It turns out that the mechanics of flipping a coin with your thumb introduces a frisbee-like action that makes the facing-up side of the coin more likely to come up when the coin stops. The results have implications in NFL overtime decisions as well as any other issue decided with a coin flip. Physorg.com has an item that goes into the details:

http://www.physorg.com/news175267656.html

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1478-full.html#201319

The folks at AVWeb did some back of the envelope calculations about whether it was feasible for a six-year-old to be lifted 8,000 ft by a relatively small helium balloon. Their conclusion: doubtful. You can see their analysis at the link above.

Here’s an interesting bit about some of the evidence used to make the case for global warming. We’ll quote exerpts from a post by the author of “Climate of Extremes: Global Warming Science They Don’t Want You to Know” on the National Review site:

“……the weather data that go into the historical climate records that are required to verify models of global warming aren’t the original records at all. Jones and Wigley, however, weren’t specific about what was done to which station in order to produce their record, which, according to the IPCC, showed a warming of 0.6° +/- 0.2°C in the 20th century.

Now begins the fun. Warwick Hughes, an Australian scientist, wondered where that “+/-” came from, so he politely wrote Phil Jones in early 2005, asking for the original data. Jones’s response to a fellow scientist attempting to replicate his work was, “We have 25 years or so invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it?…………..

………….Roger Pielke Jr., an esteemed professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, then requested the raw data from Jones. Jones responded:

Since the 1980s, we have merged the data we have received into existing series or begun new ones, so it is impossible to say if all stations within a particular country or if all of an individual record should be freely available. Data storage availability in the 1980s meant that we were not able to keep the multiple sources for some sites, only the station series after adjustment for homogeneity issues. We, therefore, do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (i.e., quality controlled and homogenized) data.

The statement about ‘data storage’ is balderdash. They got the records from somewhere. The files went onto a computer. All of the original data could easily fit on the 9-inch tape drives common in the mid-1980s. I had all of the world’s surface barometric pressure data on one such tape in 1979.”

So, did the evidence really ever exist? You can read the whole item here:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10578

I took a lot of heat a few years ago when I said it probably made more sense to pitch many recyclable materials in land fills rather than consume energy in recycling them:

http://community.machinedesign.com/forums/thread/1458.aspx

Now there’s validation of this viewpoint from researchers in Singapore and Switzerland. They say biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol derived from processed urban waste, may offer dramatic emissions savings without the environmental catch.

“Our results suggest that fuel from processed waste biomass, such as paper and cardboard, is a promising clean energy solution,” said study author Associate Professor Hugh Tan of the National University of Singapore.

You can read more about it in an item posted on Pysorg.com:

http://www.physorg.com/news173440496.html

The journal article itself is available online, but unfortunately you’ll have to pay to view it if you don’t subscribe:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122199998/issue

Psychologists are now claiming there is a link between psychosis and creativity. Hungarian researchers found a gene associated with a greater risk of developing mental disorders among research subjects that scored high on creativity tests.

Here is a synopsis of the work:

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/media/releases/2009/keri.cfm

Long-time readers of Machine Design may recall an editorial I wrote a few years back about the economics of recycling.

http://community.machinedesign.com/forums/thread/1458.aspx

The last line from that editorial stands out: “….curbside recycling might make sense someday. You’ll know that day has come when someone knocks on your door and offers to pay you for your paper and plastic.”

That day may be getting closer if the Smart Trash idea gets traction:

http://www.physorg.com/news172418366.html

The thing to note, though, is the economics of the effort are nowhere discussed. Getting paid for your old Pop Tart boxes is a great idea, but not if a ten-cent payment to you results in a one-dollar increase in your taxes or diminishes your buying power by a dollar through larger federal deficits.

We all know what a big hit the Cash for Clunkers program was in autos. The Department of Energy liked the idea so much it will implement a similar idea for appliances this fall:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/environment/2009-08-25-appliances-cash-for-clunkers_N.htmOnly problem is that the DoE has succeeded in making its program hopelessly complicated — appliances eligible for the program in one state may not be eligible in another due to differing energy priorities that vary state to state.

Anyway, the clunkers idea is catching on in other industries as well. You can even trade in an old motor for a new one thanks to a clunkers-inspired program from Lin Engineering:

http://www.linengineering.com/line/contents/stepmotors/CFC.aspx

Expect to see more promotions like this as the idea permeates industry.