Free Republic

By imposing tariffs on certain Chinese imports, President Trump has followed through on a significant campaign promise to address his entirely understandable concerns about Chinese unscrupulous trade practices and in that nation’s theft of U.S. intellectual property, otherwise known as espionage. China ceaselessly and belligerently hacks U.S. computers, including corporate computers and government computers.  China constructed an artificial island in the South China Sea and has threatened military action if our vessels approach too closely. Even as China rattles its sabers at the United States, it is arguably building up its military forces faster than any other country on earth...

Engineering experts say investigators looking into the collapsed ‘instant’ bridge in Miami will want to know why a central tower which is usually built to support a suspension bridge was not in place when it collapsed onto Tamiami Trail on Thursday afternoon. Last week, Florida International University’s official Twitter account posted a rendering of the bridge in its completed form as envisioned by the planners before its opening to foot traffic in early 2019. The rendering shows a tall central column with cables connecting it to the main span. Engineers say the design is known as a ‘cable-stayed bridge,’ which...

An increasing number of insiders say, contrary to the multitude of studies and seminars we've slogged through, that there is not a shortage of Science Technology and Engineering Majors (STEM) but a glut. "It turns out that new PhDs in science have a hard time getting a job like their mentor's: tenured faculty in a research university," John Staddon a Professor of Psychology and Professor of Biology, Emeritus, at Duke University writes in an essay distributed by the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. "Fifty years ago, in my own area of experimental psychology, things were very different." "Postgraduates,...

International design and innovation firm Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) is collaborating with ANAS, an Italian government-owned road construction and maintenance company, to design a smart highway system that will stretch across more than 1,500 miles of roads and highways in Italy. Dubbed ANAS Smart Road, the project aims to manage the traffic and enhance road safety, according to a firm release. The system will utilize drones and "flying poles"—a series of grounded smart poles that are equipped with sensors and in-motion Wi-Fi connectivity. The drones can take on various tasks, ranging from "monitoring tunnels, viaducts, or other remote pieces of...

For decades the idea of electronically controlled electromagnetic, hydraulic, or pneumatic valve actuation has been studied, developed, and ultimately abandoned by big-name engineering firms such as Lotus and Ricardo - as well as familiar automakers including BMW, Fiat, Ford, GM, and Renault. Now a spinoff of hypercar maker Koenigsegg called Freevalve appears poised to bring the concept to production.

At a measly 17 cents a gallon, Missouri’s fuel tax is woefully inadequate to fund the state’s growing need for transportation-infrastructure improvements. The more the system deteriorates, the worse our state’s business climate will become. Gov. Eric Greitens could put some muscle into his determination to attract business and generate more jobs by embracing a long-overdue fuel tax increase. The Missouri 21st Century Transportation Task Force, created by the Legislature and approved by the governor last year, proposes to boost the tax by a dime, and by 12 cents for diesel, which is only about half of what’s needed to...

The nearly $30-billion Gateway program to overhaul Northeast Corridor rail lines between Newark and New York City, an array of tunnels, bridges and viaduct over wetlands has two main thrusts: rehabilitation and expansion. These objectives are deeply intertwined—the project team must build new structures in the huge effort before it can upgrade old ones. That’s why digging two 1.4-mile, 28-ft-dia train tunnels under the Hudson River—an estimated $12.9-billion project component—isn’t just an expansion job but a lifeline to free a pair of 107-year-old tubes heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and in need of a rebuild. It’s also why...

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in June 2012 and has been updated with the most recent information. After the construction of the Bay Bridge in 1933, San Francisco began considering duplicating the bridge and running a second one further south across the bay. Enter Frank Lloyd Wright, a little-known architect whose idea and design for a second Bay Bridge never came to fruition. The noted architect hated the idea of a second steel structure similar to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. Partnering with engineer Jaroslav J. Polivka, Wright proposed a concrete "Butterfly Bridge,” spanning from Army Street (now...

I have created a solar oven with an old satellite dish and about 250 small mirrors. My thermometer reached >600 degrees F in about one minute. I'm trying to think of a way for it to automatically track the path of the sun. Any suggestions?

There are two very different pictures of the students roaming the hallways and labs at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. At the undergraduate level, 80 percent are United States residents. At the graduate level, the number is reversed: About 80 percent hail from India, China, Korea, Turkey and other foreign countries. For graduate students far from home, the swirl of cultures is both reassuring and invigorating. “You’re comfortable everyone is going through the same struggles and journeys as you are,” said Vibhati Joshi of Mumbai, India, who’s in her final semester for a master’s degree in financial engineering....

Engineering services company Axiscades and governor of Indiana Eric Holcomb have agreed to sign an agreement to establish its North American headquarters in Indiana and invest $10 million to create 500 senior engineering jobs in the US over the next five years. Holcomb, who is on a week-long visit to India, has been meeting business leaders and heads of states to broaden business opportunities between the two countries. The governor on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen economic and cultural relationship with the Karnataka government....

What Are My Healthcare Rights? What are my rights in health insurance?The Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”) prohibits most health insurers from discriminating based on gender identity and transgender status. Insurance companies that receive federal funding or that have one or more plans on a federal or state Marketplace have to comply with this requirement. That includes all major insurance companies and the majority of smaller insurance companies, but some small health insurance companies may not be covered.Here are some policies or practices that would be illegal under the ACA: Excluding transition-related care from coverage: Insurance companies can’t have automatic or...

The Gintong Pamana Awards Foundation has presented Illinois Tollway Deputy Chief of Program Implementation Clarita Lao with its 2017 Panday Pira Award for Outstanding Achievements in Engineering. The award recognizes “Filipino Americans nationwide whose accomplishments inspire, motivate and sustain others in the Filipino community.” The group recognized Lao for her engineering career accomplishments spanning more than three decades, her leadership and management skills and dedication to engineering excellence. As deputy chief of program implementation, Lao is responsible for providing overall project management and support for multiple engineering projects from inception to completion, including projects that are part of the Tollway’s...

MOLINE -- Building the new Interstate 74 bridge will take years, but certification to bid on the jobs building it should only take about 90 days. The Illinois Department of Transportation held a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certification and supportive services workshop Monday evening at the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St. At the workshop, officials from IDOT shared information on how those who are in presumed disadvantaged groups can bid on contracts associated with the project. To qualify for DBE certification, the business owner must have a personal net worth of less than $1.32 million. Engineering consulting businesses must average...

Indrek Wichman, a mechanical engineer professor at Michigan State University, has eyed a troubling trend of social justice warriors making their way through the humanities and social sciences and, to his despair, they now have their sights set on leveling their destruction on engineering. WichmanHaving spent 30 years teaching mechanical engineering, Wichman acknowledges things have changed dramatically and is concerned that “feelings” and “micro-aggressions” have taken a predominant role, much to the detriment of the hard sciences. “The world we engineers envisioned as young students is not quite as simple and straightforward as we had wished,” he states in a...

Conventional jet engines generate thrust by mixing fuel with compressed air, then igniting it. As the burning mixture rapidly expands, it gets blasted out of the back of the engine, propelling the craft forward. On the other hand, a plasma jet engine does away with the standard air and fuel mixture. Instead, it makes use of electricity to compress and excite gas into a plasma — an extremely hot, dense ionised state comparable with the insides of a fusion reactor or a star — then generate an electromagnetic field from it. Plasma engines have remained in experimental stages for quite...

Dive Brief: •International engineering and construction giant AECOM on Wednesday announced a six-month hiring initiative that will aim to add more than 3,000 workers to support its North American infrastructure operations. •The open positions range from skilled labor to architects and engineers, and the new hires will work on the company's transportation, building, environment, water, defense and energy projects. •AECOM said the massive hiring spree is in response to the country's renewed focus on repairing its highways, bridges and other public assets. Dive Insight: This announcement comes on the heels of the company's decision to form a federal contracting division,...

Think this is some fancy display case for your child's Hot Wheels? Think again. What looks like a toy car dispenser is actually the world's largest and most expensive "vending machine" for real, life-sized luxury cars. More incredibly, the state-of-the-art building is located in Singapore, at Jalan Bukit Merah, to be exact. Boasting a display of dream cars such as Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and more, it is no wonder a video by luxury and lifestyle magazine Senatus has gone viral, garnering more than one million views on Facebook. on Facebook The Autobahn Motors (ABM) building was built just to...

DWR just turned the main spillway off as the Reservoir Elevation reaches 836' (Mean Sea Level), the minimum level of the Main Spillway.

McDonald’s is known for its Big Mac, Happy Meals, and creepy clown mascot, but not for trying to be innovative with technology. Yet, the fast food chain restaurant teamed up with aerospace and robotic engineering firms to reinvent the straw and make it easier to drink its Chocolate Shamrock shakes.