Applied Mechanics Reviews Podcast Features Engineering Design ...

Applied Mechanics Reviews Podcast Features Engineering konzept ... Applied Mechanics Reviews Podcast Features Engineering Design ... Applied Mechanics Reviews Podcast Features Engineering Design Expert Wei ChenApplied Mechanics Reviews recently posted the latest in its series of podcasts, featuring engineering design authority Prof. Wei Chen of Northwestern University, on The ASME Digital Collection website. The interview with Prof. Chen, who is a professor of mechanical engineering and the Wilson-Cook Professor in Engineering Design at Northwestern, is one of mora than 20 podcasts that are currently accessible on the AMR podcast page.During the course of the one-hour podcast, Prof. Chen looks back on her distinguished record of professional service, including her current role as editor of the ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, and offers her observations regarding the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in promoting advances in predictive science, the integration of design in u ndergraduate engineering curricula, and how consumer choice may be influenced by purposeful design.Prof. Chen, an ASME Fellow who served as chair of ASME Design Engineering Division in 2013-2014, has been the recipient of a number of honors during her career, including the Design Automation Award from the ASME Design Engineering Division, the ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal, the Ralph R. Teetor Education Award from the Society of Automotive Engineering, and the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Award.ASME Fellow Harry Dankowicz, the editor of Applied Mechanics Reviews since 2012, conducted the interview with Prof. Chen for the podcast. Dankowicz, who is professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also served as chair of the ASME Technical Committee on Multibody Systems and Nonlinear Dynamics.Visit the Applied Mechanics Reviews podcast page now to hear the interview with Prof. Chen or listen to one of the other AMR po dcasts from the series.

Innovation Helps Process Baobab Fruit

Innovation Helps Process Baobab Fruit Innovation Helps Process Baobab Fruit Innovation Helps Process the Baobab FruitIn dahomey and elsewhere in Africa, rural villagers depend on the fruit of the giant baobab tree as a much-needed cash crop. But processing the large fruit, about the size of an American football with a shell as hard as a coconut, is laborious and time consuming, requiring workers to beat the fruit with large mortars and pestles. Now, working with a womens cooperative in Benin, a group of Penn State University engineering students has simplified the task by developing a machine that separates the pulp from the seeds.Working over the course of the 2010 2011 and 2011 2012 academic years, the students planed and fabricated three versions of the machine, tested it, and refabricated it in Africa using local tools and materials to ensure it could be repaired or replicated by local villagers. It welches an exercise in engineering, manufacturing, and cultural awareness.It wa s a lot of trial and error, says team leader Matt Zellers, a June graduate who earned his bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. We were able to create a entwurf that was effective for someone else.Students Collaborate with Co-OpAs designed, the machine is powered by a 120-V AC motor that rotates a milled grinder against a stationary mesh to grind the fruit pulp into powder and separate it from seeds and fibers. It can process about 100 kg per day of the fruit, which is high in many vitamins and is in demand in Europe as an ingredient in food products, including as a sweetener or a thickener for jams and jellies. It has a tart, tangy taste, and is used in drinks throughout Africa.PSU students have been investigating solutions to baobab processing since 2008, when engineering Professor Rick Schuhmann became aware of the situation. Schuhmann, director of PSUs Engineering Leadership Development Minor, Leadership Innovation and Global Resource Challenges, says it was an ideal way t o engage students in hands-on, problem-based learning.Students produced a website on the baobab project, and in 2010, a member of a baobab cooperative in the village of Natatingou, Benin, e-mailed Zellers looking for help. I was kind of blown away by that, says Zellers, who took the request to Schuhmann. He gave the go-ahead, but insisted the students work with the co-op to understand the local operation and how it fit into the community.Students at the Penn State College of Engineering assemble the baobab processing machine.We began by assessing what their needs were, Schuhmann says. We wanted to be careful. We could design a big machine and destroy the jobs of 30 workers, so we moved slowly through the process.The teams first design produced a large machine, fabricated on campus at PSUs machine shop, from student-produced CAD images. Zellers says it took the team eight weeks to develop the prototype. After on-campus testing, the students disassembled the machine and shipped it in five boxes to Benin, where they were to reassemble it over winter break in 2010.Unfortunately, one of the crates containing most of the key assembly parts was lost in transit. Although the students could not test or operate the machine, they used the time to work with the women of the co-op to further determine needs and conditions later used in tweaking the design.Seven thousand miles from home and we couldnt do anything, recalls Zellers. But it was a good lesson.Improving the DesignThe team went back again in December 2011, this time with a smaller machine but troubles came again. We didnt have the correct motor, says Zellers. The students used a 120-V motor, but We blew it out after plugging it in, he says.The team salvaged the 220-V motor from the original machine but still needed to fabricate new parts for those damaged in the mishap. Fortunately, one of the villagers found a machine shop with a lathe, drill press, and welding material. On the last day of their stay, the studen ts finally got the machine operating.Mechanical engineering senior Matt Zellers (left) discusses some issues with the baobab processing machine with Rick Schuhmann (center), Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership.The goal was to get them finished by December, says Zellers. The processing season goes from January to April.By the third iteration, the team had reduced the machines size by half, says Zellers. This time, however, they took it to Ecole Mohammadia dIngenueurs (EMI), a Moroccan university with which PSUs engineering leadership development minor program works to promote cross-cultural collaboration. Prior to the visit over spring break in March, the PSU student design team worked remotely with their Moroccan peers via computer hookup.At the campus in Rabat, students from both schools replicated the machine in four days using equipment and material available locally. The idea, says Zellers, was to build the machine with African parts on the African continent to con firm that it could be repaired and maintained by the co-op.It wasnt easy. The Moroccan equipment was not as advanced as PSUs computerized water jet and other tools. We had to do things by hand, and that obviously is not as accurate, says Zellers.In the end, the students produced two machines a processing operation in Togo bought one, and the Benin co-op the other. Although Zellers has graduated, another group of engineering students will plektrum up the project again when school begins in September.We began by assessing what their needs were. We wanted to be careful. We could design a big machine and destroy the jobs of 30 workers, so we moved slowly through the process.Prof. Rick Schuhmann, Penn State University

Heres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn Profiles

Heres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn ProfilesHeres Why You Shouldnt Have 2 LinkedIn ProfilesAsk Amanda Can I Have 2 LinkedIn Profiles?Two LinkedIn profiles may seem like a good idea, but heres why it will trip you up.Q Do I need two LinkedIn profiles for two careers?My experience is diverse enough at this point that I could go in a couple different directions with my next career move. Should I create a LinkedIn profile for each of these paths while Im looking for work?While it may seem like a good idea to have two LinkedIn profiles if youre considering two very different career paths after all, we advise folks to create multiple versions of their resume if theyre interested in pursuing job opportunities in completely different fields the rules are a bit different when it comes to LinkedIn.LinkedIns platform welches designed to help professionals all around the world connect with one another, exchange valuable information, find new job opportunities, etc.But the true power of your LinkedIn profile is derived from the sheer size of your network. The more people with whom you connect on LinkedIn, the easier it will become to find and connect with others who can help you reach your career or job-search goals. If you create two separate LinkedIn accounts, then you are dividing your connections between two profiles and diluting the strength of your LinkedIn network.In addition, managing and maintaining your LinkedIn profile takes time and energy. Looking for a new job is already a full-time job do you really want to double your workload on LinkedIn?If this wasnt reason enough, it is against LinkedIns User Agreement to create two profiles. While youre allowed to publish your profile in more than one language, creating more than one profile for the saatkorn individual is against the rules. If another user notices you have multiple accounts and reports you, LinkedIn reserves the right to shut down all of your profiles without notice.If you have two careers, youll n eed to decide which one should take the lead on your LinkedIn profile. You can work in information that supports either career, but realistically, one of those careers will need to take the back seat on LinkedIn.Create a summary for your LinkedIn profile that marries both of your careers into one cohesive narrative. As youre brainstorming the content for this section of your LinkedIn profile, think about what led you to pursue both of these career paths. Are there aspects that both fields have in common that you find particularly interesting? Do they require you to rely on any of the same soft or hard skills?Not sure how to consolidate your two LinkedIn profiles or just feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to your LinkedIn profile in general? We can help Check out our LinkedIn-writing services today.Amanda Augustine is a certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW) and the resident career expert for Talent Inc.s suite of brands TopResume, TopCV, and TopInt erview. On a regular basis, she answers user questions like the one above. Have a question? Take a look at her career advice or ask a question on her Quora page.Recommended ReadingResume and LinkedIn Profile Writing How Different Should They Be?How Do You Contact Recruiters on LinkedIn?Heres How to Get Noticed on LinkedIn