iPost about iCheckpoint

So the one and only iCheckpoint was last week! It was pretty cool, it was pretty fun actually, instead of being all serious. One of the people that graded our presentation emailed the iTeam afterwards and said not to get too worried about the presentations, they were informal and we could lighten up. So now we know for sure that we don't have to be all business. It's nice to know that you can relax and not be perfect. I tend to do better that way, anyways (in terms of giving a presentation)...

So the secret's out: we can do whatever we want in iFoundry. I didn't know that it was actually that, but I knew it was something close. That's cool, I like how we can be creative. The risk by the higher ups is that us students don't really have to do much, then... But trust me we are. I'm actually a bit worried if we are above our heads at the moment in ESS. Our project is very ambitious, but I am also really excited about the possibility of actually accomplishing it.

In eng 198, we had the demo day for our steam cars. It went alright for my team. We won the boiler competition, where the goal was to for your boiler to begin to churn out steam first. On the other hand, we came in last in the race. Something went wrong, and it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it was because of all of the variables.

It could have been because:

1. the steam didn't come out powerful enough from the boiler.

2. the steam was missing the turbine.

3. there was too much friction in the system, either the turbine or the rubber band or the front wheel or any of the axles.

4. something else?

Either way, we learned a bit about steam engines and how to work as a team and for the next project, I'm sure we'll do better.

By the way, I can't wait for basketball season!!!!

BRUUUUUUUUUUUCE!!!

We decided on a project!

We finally decided on a project in Engineering in Service to Society! We decided to install solar panels on a homeless shelter. I love the proposal, since I was focusing on finding information the solar panels for the proposal and as a EE major, I'd love to work with some solar panels! Who doesn't? Another proposal that I liked (mostly because it seemed to be on a smaller scale) was composting, but incorporating solar panels into it because the compost "wheel" would need to be turned. Either way, I love our project and am glad that we picked something that I care about. It mixes an engineering side (setting up and installing the panels), a business side (working with companies and government for grants and any sort of help possible in paying for it), and a social side (helping homeless people!). Honestly, it seems like a huge test for us. We are going to be talking about a LOT of money pretty soon, and loans seem very likely. In addition, we haven't necessarily found out if there is a homeless shelter that NEEDS solar panels. But I know replacing any power from power plants with solar energy is good, plus it would save money for the public, whose tax money pays for that electricity. Hopefully it will help the homeless have a less inconvenient lifestyle. David came up with the project idea and the team seems really excited about it!

In Eng 198, my team has basically finished the car. There is a picture of it above, with Derek improvising on the front wheel and Kevin working on the back, probably the boiler. On Monday, our final paper will be due and we will test the car. It really came along nicely by the end, though just by testing out how fast the turbine will have to turn for the car to move, it will probably be underwhelming. The car would probably beat a snail, but an ant would have decent chances in a race against the car. It just seems like the car wasn't made to go fast. A lot would have to be changed for it to get moving. In class, Eng 198 seems pretty pointless. It's all common sense. No offense to the lecturer, Dr. Goldberg, but we all already knew that a label can change to a name over time. I think my iTeam chair Kevin said it best in his blog by saying that everybody in iFoundry ALREADY has the skills necessary to be a successful engineer. And I'll take it one step further, every engineering major that I've met so far here at the U of I is a very good communicator. So many of my classmates are impressive in their knowledge, communication, and ability to solve problems that I can't help but think that if I were hiring somebody to work for me, I would have many exceptional candidates right here at the U of I. Honestly I think that it's a pretty big knock on us all to assume that we don't know these sorts of things.. networking, communication, writing. I just think that there's a bad stereotype of engineers being nerdy and unsocial, but it is so rare to find somebody like that that it's hardly the case. Just because we happen to be good at math and science doesn't mean that we are automatically terrible at English and social skills!

Fall has hit and my homework is adding up a bit. Wow I just realized that that rhymes haha! It's all the same homework homework, but now I have tests, projects, and activities mixed in with it.

Why did I want to join ESS? That is a question that my fellow ESS teammate David asked himself, and he got me thinking about exactly what I liked about ESS. I think that the simplest reason to why I joined ESS is the "Service to Society" part. "Engineering" wasn't an option to get out of.. haha. No actually I love the idea of using engineering to help people. I think that that will be my focus throughout my career. It certainly won't be "How can I make the most money?" Money is not the meaning of life, no matter what the media tells you. I am Catholic, and I WANT to use my abilities to help others. It's actually pretty straightforward like that. There are a lot of things in life that don't really matter, but helping others sure is one of the most important ones for me, so I am happy to get involved with ESS and I look forward to all that we can achieve!