SUV safety to the forefront
An alliance of auto manufacturers and the insurance industry has come to an agreement to make pickups and SUVs safer in accidents with autos by making the SUV's a little lower and padding the interiors with air bags. Read more in the Boston Globe and other papers...
- posted by Paula Porter @ 9:15 AM

 
Quieter cars on the way?
Gotta admit, I like the rumble of the engine of a muscle car and the distinct, patented sound of a Harley as it roars down the street. But not everyone appreciates motor music. And now Ohio State University researchers have come up with a new muffler design using glass fiber -- not that it muffles better, but it's lighter and less prone to corrosion. Check out the prototype..

Speaking of muscle cars, who wouldn't love to work on a NASCAR team? Well, Stock Car Racing mag offers some hints on how to get in and on a team. Vavavaroom
- posted by Paula Porter @ 9:44 AM

 
Baseball season starts in 3 months
Meanwhile, a mechanical engineering grad student and a couple of profs have published a new study of the science behind hitting a homer. Every ball player from Little League up knows you can hit a fastball further than a curve...and it's all about the spin.

And from Georgia's Institute of Technology, comes a new technology to remove heat from laptops and PDM via synthetic jets that rely on turbulent air puffs and a system that uses vibration to atomize cooling liquids. Check it out at http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/process_engineering/report-23810.html. By the way, Innovations Reports is a pretty good site to check out the latest information from more than 5,500 publication from companies and scientific institutions.
- posted by Paula Porter @ 9:12 AM

 
Engineering students giving
It's the time of year when most of us think about giving, but University of Wisconsin (Madison) engineering student help others all year long. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal offers a pretty good article how the students focus on 3 areas - Habitat for Humanity; rehabilitation engineering and medicine; and "Moo-v-ability," which works on assisting people with mobility projects.

And for some news on the shuttle, the Washington Post has an article this a.m. about some of the new maneuvers and devices being tested for future shuttle launches. In fact when the next two shuttles launch, the main objective will be to test the new devices, etc. One of the primary objectives -- crew replacement or repair of the tiles covering the shuttles -- has not even come close to a resolution.
- posted by Paula Porter @ 2:21 PM