The Engineering Commons Podcast

We answer nine questions about the engineering profession, gathered from a quaint little website called Reddit, in this episode of The Engineering Commons. You may notice a common thread in our responses, as there is rarely a clear-cut solution, and the answer often depends on the situation! Carmen turns to application (app) notes or textbooks … Continue reading Episode 64 — Reddit Questions →

Michael Lachman, who started his career as an aerospace engineer, leads us through the pros and cons of following up an engineering degree with an MBA. Adam doesn’t have much interest in business, so he doesn’t think he’s a likely candidate to pursue an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree. Our guest for this episode … Continue reading Episode 63 — Engineering MBA →

Electrical engineer Meagan Pollock explains how engineers can be more effective role models. We also learn about promoting equity in the workplace, discover how digital movie projection technology is used to improve medical care, and consider whether or not software engineers deal with entropy. Jeff doesn’t recall any technical role models growing up, but benefited … Continue reading Episode 62 — Role Model →

Our conversation with Dr. Janusz Kozinski, Founding Dean of the Lassonde School of Engineering, covers the trials and tribulations of starting a new engineering school, as well as the the attributes and mindset of a “renaissance engineer.” Additionally, we learn a little bit about the skill sets that will be expected of tomorrow’s engineering professional. … Continue reading Episode 61 — Renaissance Engineer →

Geological engineer Pamela Rogalski shares her insights about using social license to enact change in organizations and communities during this episode of The Engineering Commons. Adam notes that bureaucracies seem rather opposed to the concept of change. Our guest for this episode is Pamela Rogalski, a licensed professional engineer from Canada who has worked as … Continue reading Episode 60 — Social License →

We talk with aeronautical engineer Mark French about degrees and careers in Engineering Technology, as well as delving into wind tunnels, guitars, and how to launch a ping-pong ball at supersonic speeds. While Carmen is unsure if he’s a technologist, he’s pretty certain that Daft Punk is Technologic. Our guest for this episode is Mark … Continue reading Episode 59 — Engineering Technology →

In a completely off-the-cuff discussion, Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff wander through subjects including finite state machines, power circuit wiring, and the economic implications of technological advances. Jeff is busy preparing to teach a Software Carpentry course, as well as revising the Mechatronics course he taught the past two years. Although there are certain conceptual … Continue reading Episode 58 — Miscellany →

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, we discuss engineering skills and duties learned in the workplace, rather than from a textbook. Brian tells young engineers that an engineering degree is a “learner’s permit.” Once in the workplace, engineers have to teach themselves to solve an entirely new class of problems. A gold-fish shaped retention … Continue reading Episode 57 — What Engineers Do →

We discuss the legendary engineers of analog electronics with Linear Technology’s Todd Nelson. Jeff and Brian discuss how analog computers have been replaced by digital computers, but digital signals have to be treated as analog waveforms as the bandwidth increases. Brian references the video game Asteroids in making an analogy about the relationship between analog … Continue reading Episode 56 — Analog Footsteps →

Aeronautical engineer Clay Coons explains the most common types of engines, and why each type is optimal in certain applications. Antidisestablishmentarianism is the longest non-technical word in the English language. “Suck, squeeze, bang, blow” is a mnemonic phrase for remembering the stages for a 4-stroke engine. For engineers not dealing with computers or software, an … Continue reading Episode 55 — Engines →

Biochemical engineer Kai Zhuang walks us through the evolving relationships between technology and humanity, especially as it relates to engineering education, in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Jeff and Adam discuss the high salaries being offered to software engineers in Silicon Valley. Adam notes that the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) placed a … Continue reading Episode 54 — Brain on a Stick →

We talk with mechanical engineer, product designer, educator, and executive consultant Craig Sampson about the importance of storytelling in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Carmen likes the universality of engineering stories, in that all engineers eventually encounter similar difficulties in dealing with customers, managers, and organizations. In a prior episode of this podcast, … Continue reading Episode 53 — Storytelling →

In this episode we talk about engineering pranks through the years. We seem to have a new focus for this podcast; as we will apparently be talking about “Tar Roads!” Tar is a black, thermoplastic material produced by the destructive distillation of coal, and was widely used in the early and mid 20th century for … Continue reading Episode 52 — Engineering Pranks →

In this episode we talk about product development with electrical engineer Dave Young, who is an author, educator, and small business owner. Brian has been fortunate enough to be involved in new product development for much of his career. Many firms try to avoid a technology push, in which a novel technology is introduced to … Continue reading Episode 51 — Product Development →

We talk with systems engineer Mike Parks about the intersection of art and engineering in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Adam finds that his beer brewing talents exceed his drawing and singing skills. Our guest for this episode is Mike Parks, a systems engineer, Navy veteran, and licensed professional engineer with over 16 … Continue reading Episode 50 — Art of Engineering →