Left: the pneumatics system

middle: keeps the chain moving

right: unfinished programming of light censors 

Glide to Victory

1) An image of your completed glider design.

2) Your Glider Challenge: Design Phase notes.
We decided on making a glider with a fairly large wingspan with triangular support structures within the wings. We did our best to make the equilateral triangles so that the force would be distributed evenly. We also settled on a double tail design in hopes that it would keep the glider in a straighter path while it flew. The wood was put together using both tape and glue, and we used thin layers of the adhesive to connect the tissue paper to the aircraft.
3) Your Glider Challenge: Test Phase notes.
Without the added weight to the nose, the glider would flip around and fall to the floor in a somewhat oscillating pattern much like how a leaf would fall from a tree on a cool autumn day. Wrapping a thick layer of tissue paper to the tip helped stabilize this issue. We also noticed that the size of the wings may have been too big because they were bending with just their weight. This was not a huge problem during the test phase, but was a big problem during the actual challenge.  

4) Your Glider Challenge competition day results. How did your glider perform? What would you change if we competed again?
When we first walked into the engineering room on the day of the competition, we were horrified to see that our glider's wings were broken. With some tape and spare wood, we were able to patch up the wings. In terms of distance, our glider was rather unimpressive since it failed to go in a straight flight path but rather flipped over itself due to the air resistance. The strong air current also re-broke the wings in our later attempts. Luckily, our wounded-warrior excelled in staying in the air for a long time. This is probably due to the fact that the wings gave the glider a very large surface area allowing it to simply float to the ground in a relatively time consuming manner. 

Egg Drop Challenge - Iteration #1

Total Number of Achievements Earned: 26

Idea Generation Achievements

Brainstorming
-Create a sketch of one possible solution. Include labels.
-Create a sketch of another possible solution. Include labels.
-Create a sketch of a third possible solution. Include labels.
-Use a decision matrix to justify the approach you chose.

Material Prep
-Generate a list of materials required for build day.
-Document a plan to ensure materials are brought in on block day.

Build Achievements

Material Size:
(your egg is not included in the material size)
(air is ubiquitous and not included in material size. "Rare" commodities like helium are.)
-Your materials fit inside a printer paper box
-Your materials fit inside a shoe box

Material Weight:
(your egg is not included in material weight)
-Your materials weigh less than 500 grams.
-Your materials weigh less than 300 grams.
-Your materials weigh less than 200 grams.
-Your materials weigh less than 150 grams.
-Your materials weigh less than 100 grams.

Drop Achievements

Drop Accuracy:
-You hit the butcher paper!
-You hit inside the third ring!

Egg Resilience:
-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)
-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)
-Your egg didn't break in any way! (awarded three times)


Calculation Achievements
-Describe an aspect of the event using arithmetic. (234g-149g)=85g
-Describe an aspect of the event using geometry. A=pi r^2 A=36pi
-Describe an aspect of the event using algebra. x + x + x =85; 28.33g per plate
-Describe an aspect of the event using calculus. 1/2 a t^2; t=1.01s; integrate 1/2 a t^2= at; (9.8)(1.01)=9.9 m/s


Other Achievements
-Help set up the Bullseye. Ana did it
-Come up with a clever name Mr. Olson uses for an existing Achievment. Don't Scramble the Egg (Egg didn't break)
-Design an Achievement Mr. Olson approves for next year's Egg Drop Challenge. Use only one type of material.
-Suggest a redesign to the activity that Mr Olson confirms he will use for next year's Egg Drop Challenge. Obstacles and challenges; like blindfolded drops, spots on the tarp that do not count for any points, AESTHETICS SHOULD COUNT

University Engineering

http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/Why does this institution appeal to you?:
UCSD is near my home and it is very well known.


Which engineering program is most interesting to you and why?:
I am interested in Bio engineering because I have always liked biology. Also people with Bio engineering degrees can get a really good job.

Which undergraduate engineering elective is most interesting? Describe the course and its appeal to you:
I like the sound of the team engineering lab because it seems very group oriented and based more on building things rather than listening to lectures.

Ted

1) TED is a global organization dedicated to compiling the "ideas worth spreading." Their conferences are used to spread innovative ideas that shed light on many fields including technology, business, entertainment, design, science, and global issues.


2) What is the purpose of their website and how does the functionality of their site support that? The website efficiently organizes the videos based on which categories they fall under and their popularity. The different tags can be viewed on the left and the videos are in the center of the screen in different sized rectangles. Under the videos there is space for people to leave comments. 

3) As Engineers and Problem Solvers, which topic areas (the choices from the "Show talks related to:" section on the sidebar) are of most interest to us? Justify your answer. I am most interested in Technology, Science, and Design. I have always had an affinity for new inventions in the scientific field, and I enjoy seeing new ways to design the world around us. 

4) Based on your previous answer, what are 3 talks (videos) on the site that appear like they would be of most interest to you as an Engineer/Problem Solver? Justify your choices. For technology, Theo Jansen creates new creatures because it he has a really out of the box idea and uses simple components to create amazing masterpieces. For science, JR's TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out, because the artist shows that simple paintings can have a tremendous impact on people's emotions. For design I like Jason Fried: Why work doesn't work because he discusses the inefficiency of the modern workplace.  


5) Each student will watch a unique video. Claim your video on the following period specific posts: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th. If no one else has claimed your video, leave a comment on that post to call the one you want. If someone else has already claimed the talk, go back and pick another one. Watch the video. Embed the video in your blog post and create a bulletized outline of the key issues presented in the talk.


 Using only plastic tubes and bottles, Theo Jansen hopes to create creatures that are able to walk on the beach by being powered by the wind. His pursuits combine elements from both art and engineering resulting in creations that are visually fascinating and are capable of passing multiple obstacles like detecting the sea.


6) How could you get involved in the field/technology/issue you chose to hear about? What experience/skills/training/education would you need to learn to get involved with this field?

Subprograms

The subprogram Bro is used at a delay for the light in the main program. After the subprogram runs through, the main program proceeds with the rest of the main program.

Funny Joke

A math and engineering convention was being held. On the train to the convention, there were both math majors and engineering majors. Each of the math majors had his/her own train ticket. But the Engineers had only ONE ticket for all of them. The math majors started laughing and snickering. The engineers ignored the laughter.

Then, one of the engineers said, "Here comes the conductor". All of the engineers piled into the bathroom. The math majors were puzzled. The conductor came aboard and collected tickets from all the math majors. He went to the bathroom, knocked on the door, and said, "Tickets Please". An engineer stuck their only ticket under the door. The conductor took the ticket and left. A few minutes later, the engineers emerged from the bathroom. The math majors felt really stupid.

On the way back from the convention, the group of math majors had ONE ticket for their group. They started snickering at the engineers, who had NO tickets amongst them.

When the engineer lookout shouted, "Conductor coming!", all the engineers again piled into a bathroom. All of the math majors went into another bathroom. Then, before the conductor came on board, one of the engineers left the bathroom, knocked on the other bathroom, and said, "Ticket please."