He acknowledges that engineering is vital in ensuring human social-economic development.  The role that engineers continue to play in solving development issues (transporation, housing) cannot be underestimated. However, he concurs that there is an increased shortage of engineers around the world.  This reality is compounded by the fact that the profession is not attracting as many students, especially in light of the numbers needed to allow us to meet the social-economic obligations around the world.

Obviously the profession should increase its public awareness efforts and rebrand itself as the profession that promotes humanitarian development.  Unfortunately, given the fact that we still lack safe water, sanitation and electricity around the work; Perhaps we as engineering professionals are not doing enough to deliver solutions to problems we are mandated to solve.

Do you concur with Dr. Marjoram assessment? In your opinion, how can engineering be adequately applied to be more effective in delivering solutions for these problems?

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The projects below are our carefully researched list of some of the most interesting projects that commenced ended between 2000 and 2010. Notably three of the entries are from China, which led the world with several of their projects pushing engineering boundaries over the last ten years. The rest equally, pushed engineering boundaries and are equally impressive in their own right.

1. Millau viaduct

The Millau Viaduct is presently the tallest vehicular cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. The height of the bridge is an impressive 1,125 feet, 62 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower. The bridge was opened in December 2004 and crosses the Valley of the River Tarn close to Millau in the South of France.

2. Burj Khalifa

The Burj Dubai, which was christened Burj Khalifa at its Jan. 4, 2009 opening, achieved instantengineering marvel status before it even opened. This is not because it was long projected to achieve the world tallest building status upon completion, but because the height proposed has never before been attempted, and especially not in the type of environment it now sits on. The construction of Burj Dubai therefore necessitated the the building be designed to withstand the tough and windy terrain, plus the projected human demands of the building.

3. Three gorges dam

The dam is located near the mouth of the lowest of the Three Gorges, where the current was divided in two by an island. In November l997, the first stage was completed with the blocking of two-thirds of the river’s width. The waterleaves had risen l8 metres (59 feet) by the end of l998, will rise a further 52metres (171 feet) by 2003, 30 metres (98 feet) more up to 2009, and a final ten metres (33 feet) that year, when the dam will come into operation. Smaller ships will use a single stage lift, and larger ones a stair of five locks. The waters in the Three Gorges will rise a total of l l0 metres (36l feet), gradua1ly changing the scenery forever.

4. Langeled pipeline

5. Qingzang Tibet railway

6. Taipei 101

7. Hangzhou bay bridge

8. Big Dig aka the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T)

On our recently featured compilation of the top 10 most impressive engineering projects, the Boston Big Dig project made it at number four, well ahead of The Millau Viaduct and The Channel Tunnel. What impressed us most about this Boston wonder was the audacious approach to solving a congestion issue. Where most people would have been content with wider lanes or maintaining the status quo, the project engineers sought to go under the city, marking the beginning of one of the most complex and technologically challenging highway projects in the history of the United States.

9. Ras Laffan gas trains

10. Large hadron collider

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• Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain fx-115 in its model name.
• Hewlett-Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models, but no others
• Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models. Any Texas Instruments calculator must contain either TI-30X or TI-36X in its model name.

Calculators not listed above will not be permitted in the exam room.  According to NCEES,  Examinees possessing unapproved calculators during the administration of an exam are  subject to dismissal from the exam site.

Click here for a complete list of calculators available through Amazon.

To purchase a specific calculator, simple click on the buy button below each calculator.

Casio

Hewlett Packard

Texas Instruments

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Over the years, the tendering process has remained unchanged as well slow in its transition to a web-centered modus operandi. Given the advancement in web technology, one can argue that a traditional newspaper is no longer the ideal mode for dealing with tenders in part due to the following shortcomings:

1. The cost of posting a single entry on a single-day newspaper is in the range of $200.00. This amount is not only prohibitive for most small companies, but also a newspaper is
2. highly untargeted in that you broadcast to an entire nation in the hope that your ideal readers will see your tender. Furthermore,
3. communications following the posting of the tender are equally prohibitive because companies are compelled to utilize the same medium to provide addendums, corrections or cancellations. With each correction, then a,
4. series of letters are usually necessary to ensure that all bidders are similarly advised.

While newspaper-posted tenders provide newspaper companies with an almost guaranteed revenue stream, to the end user, the process remains old-fashioned and ineffective. Unnecessarily so given that tendering would have with far-reaching benefits if entirely performed through a website. Here is why:

Not even discussing the obvious benefits such as reduction in cost, reduction in paperwork, global and twenty-four hour access to tenders, etc, an adequately optimized tenders management website would enable the following;

1. A wider more diverse group of bidders given the wider reach;
2. More informed bidders through access to real-time information;
3. Ease in managing and communication with bidders,
4. Opportunities for long term business growth through embrace of technology; and most importantly
5. With the advancement in technology, it would now be easy to send instant updates either via emails, smses or desktop alerts. So you have a last minute change of submission time, the client simply updates the tender and the changes are automatically submitted to all interested parties. Try doing that with a newspaper.

TENDER.AFRICA

Few websites have attempted to provide applications for posting tenders. Many have under-delivered. Often driven by a short-sighted need to obtain many fee-paying subscribers, the websites fail to comprehend value of the internet a medium for productive and beneficial collaboration. Luckily, a new website by Touch Web-Services takes a different more interactive approach to tendering. While, tenders.africa is primarily a tenders management website catering to the entire continent, it also provides a platform for involved parties to interact through access to actionable information. One of the unique features of tendersafrica.com is the supplier, contractor and client pages which allow companies to showcase details about their company. In these pages, companies are at liberty to provide pertinent details that describe their company and the goods and services. A client on the other hand has the ability to post tenders and solicit bids from other companies. So, tendersafrica.com is essentially an online marketplace for productive interacting with all parties involved in a tender.

Case in point

So if a particular client is preparing to post a tender on say the construction of a bypass in Juba, all they have to do to review the contractors registered and determine which ones are best suited for the job. Once the tender been posted, the client can invite these contractors to review the tender. The contractors and the clients can then communicate though the Tender Messaging System (TMS) on any request for clarifications, status changes, change of scope etc.

Design and Usability

The website is design with the end user in mind, providing and easy to use interface. Best of all, the website is free to join and access tenders. They are currently in beta phase until the end of the year, during which time they make community-upgrade changes on their website so as to be able to cater to the varying types of tenders and register as many companies as possible.

Start connecting today, visit the website and register.

Kenneth Kabaki is the founder and lead designer of TendersAfrica.com. He is a civil engineer by profession. Tender.Africa is his contribution to the future development of Africa.

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Such a moment, which I like to call the ‘moment of genius’, is typically the culmination point following a series of ideas, research and study. During this moment of pure glory, everything suddenly makes sense and deeper insights into a sought after solution is achieved. The insights from some of these moments of genius have had long lasting applications, such as the theory of universal gravitation.   Other such moments have served as moments of extreme joy upon the realization of a previously elusive idea. According to some accounts, Archimedes was so eager to share his eureka moment realization that he leapt out of his bathtub and ran through the streets of Syracuse naked.

Archimedes

It is fitting then that we begin our tally of the five famous moments of genius with none other but Archimedes.  Archimedes is widely credited with the term eureka, an interjection regularly used in celebrating a sudden discovery. The word comes from the Greek word meaning “I have found it.” Archimedes found it when he stepped into a bathtub and noticed that the level of the water consequently rose.  At this moment of genius, Archimedes suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced had to be equal to the volume of his submerged leg.  This new discovery now meant that the volume of irregular objects cold be precisely calculated.  More about Archimedes.

Isaac Newton

In 1666, while the University of Cambridge in England was closed due to a plague, Newton escaped to his family’s estate in Lincolnshire. It is here during a stroll around the farm that Isaac Newton observed an apple falling to the ground. It is said that this moment of genius evoked a myriad of questions in Newton’s mind, amongst them, why did the apple fall down instead of remaining suspended in the air?  Following this experience the young Newton embarked on a quest to develop his theory of universal gravitation.

Watch the story of science and how the likes of Isaac Newton shaped history.

Albert Einstein

In 1907, the 28-year-old Einstein was working in the patent office in Bern, Switzerland. According to his own account, one day a “breakthrough came suddenly”. Instead of keeping his mind on his work, his thoughts wandered to one idea that, “If a man falls freely he would not feel his weight.” Einstein’s response to his thought was immediate: “I was taken aback. This simple thought experiment made a deep impression on me.” By linking accelerated motion and gravity, Einstein eventually created his masterwork, the general theory of relativity. However, it took him eight years to work through the mathematical details.

Jules-Henri Poincaré

In a famous essay titled “Mathematical Creation,” the mathematician Poincaré recalled his moment of genius moment involving a particular kind of mathematical construct known as “Fuchsian functions.” For two weeks, Poincare had struggled to prove a particular property of these functions. Based on his account, he “tried a great number of combinations and reached no results.” A few days later he left his home in Caen, France, to join some colleagues on a geological excursion to Coutances, where he recalls boarding an omnibus. “At the moment when I put my foot on the step the idea came to me, without anything in my former thoughts seeming to have paved the way for it,” he wrote. “On my return to Caen, for conscience’s sake I verified the result at my leisure.”

Nikola Tesla

From the first time Nikola Tesla saw the demonstration of how a direct current (DC) circuit, he knew there had to be a better way.  But he could never quite figure out what the suitable alternative would be.  So one day he was out for a walk when it just came to him. He used his walking stick to draw a picture explaining how alternating current would work to his walking partner.  Nikola developed the AC-current generation system which comprised of a motor and a transformer, making him arguably the greatest electrical engineer of all time.

So, when was your moment of genius?

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This quest is an ambitious journey to answer questions of existence: Who are we? What is the world made of? How did we get here?

This story is part of that quest to show how history made science and how science made history, and how the ideas which emerged made the modern world.

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Benefits

The report analyzes four cities, Albany, N.Y.; Chicago; Los Angeles; and Orlando, which represent metropolitan areas impacted by planned HSR.  According to the report, HSR will add roughly $1.125 billion combined annual revenue by 2035.  The annual revenues referred to in the report encapsulate, job creation, improved market access, connectivity; travel time savings; and income and business sales in each of the subject cities.

In addition the economic benefits, the report also touts the following benefits associated with HSR:

• improved access to labor markets;
• driving higher-density, mixed-use development at train stations;
• gains in travel efficiency;
• expanded visitor markets; and
• supporting the growth of technology clusters;

Recommendations

This report clearly provides a compelling case for added financial involvement by the Federal government.   This impetus will not only enhance America’s infrastructure to match that of Japan et al, but might also spur economic development as estimated in the report.  However, is the report overly ambitious in its analysis of the potential economic benefits considering that high speed rail carries obstacles that might take years to address?  If that is the case, are we not better off analyzing proven competing modes and optimizing those existing modes to serve us better?

What are your thoughts on the economic potential of high-speed rail?

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… this oil crisis has me thinking that it might play out to be just another political game, where both sides will try to exploit the situation in order to sell a predetermined narrative.
I am sure that in the months leading up to the November elections, Democrats will have a so-called energy strategy that will promise to take us off oil. The Paliners on the other hand will maintain their Obama’s Katrina narrative in an attempt to undermine the current administration. After the elections, nothing will change and we will still have oil in the Gulf chocking the ecosystem. The bigger issue of ending our dependence on oil will once again be shoved to the bottom of the list.

Politics aside, Martinez does bring up a good point, one which appears to have been put off the table following the issue with BP and Advanced Fluid Dynamics. In light of the obvious and unforeseen environmental and economical impact resulting from the BP screw up, it is understandable that a critical look at the bigger picture might be a distraction; however, let us not ignore the 800 lb gorilla in the room. The Gorilla of course is now-evident discovery that the oil exploration industry is highly unregulated and our thirst for oil appears unquenchable.

So, can we really ever end our dependence on oil?

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We are all glad that you are now part of our profession.

Over the past year, I am sure you have been keenly aware of the realities on the ground pertaining to the current state of our economy. You obviously know about how the bursting of the housing bubble triggered a domino effect of which the engineering industry was not spared. As a result, projects were eliminated while others were placed on hold, a perfect recipe for job losses. Such has been the uncertain economic climate that engineers have had to deal with over the past two years; however, current trends appear to indicate that we are no longer in that downward decline and that the  economy is in fact stabilizing. This is certainly good news for engineers and graduates because at least it confirms that the worst is behind us.

A stabilizing economy only means that jobs created outweigh the jobs lost. The next crucial step becomes integrating the unemployed and recent graduates into the workforce. While it is undesirable that you are joining the workforce in light of these less idyllic conditions, such conditions might provide you with an opportunity to determine exactly what course of life you would like to take. The following guide is intended to provide you with insightful tips to help you with your quest for your next engineering job.

Network, Network, Network

As a new graduate, networking will become a crucial part of your professional development and advancement. Much more so in an environment such as this in which the competition is more intense and the job search period might be longer than anticipated. Given this intense climate, we offer the following non-traditional networking strategies which might play a crucial role in getting you closer your dream job:

1. Join community-level engineering associations;
2. participate in various activities in the professional community; and
3. Attend professional conferences – entry to some of these conferences might be free or cheap for students and unemployed engineers.

Strategic job search

Strategic Job Search

Dire market conditions such as these call for an out-of-the-box approach to job search. While the conventional, responding-to-a-newspaper-ad type of job search might work for some people, such tactics have not been fruitful for most engineers I have interacted with. The following strategies might serve you better:

1. harness the power of LinkedIN;
2. search for internships as well as full-time positions;
3. focus on small and medium-sized companies;
4. follow the money – watch the news and determine where the money is being spent and then find out which companies are receiving those funds;
5. pick a growing sector such as energy, transportation ;
6. create job-specific resumes which highlight your best and unique attributes; and
7. take the interview seriously and make sure you avoid these common interviewing mistakes.

Spend your time wisely

It might be easy to get distracted. Focus and spend your time wisely. For starters, stop using Facebook and spend more time on LinkedIN instead.

Better yourself

Learn something that will better your professional career. For example, study Microstation or AutoCAD, public speaking etc.

Congratulations again and we wish you all the best in all your future endeavors.

Yours Truly,

The Engineering Daily Community

Additional guides for new graduates

Guide for New Engineers
Best job search websites for engineers
10 things you must do before you start looking for an engineering job
10 résumé tips for engineers
10 common interviewing techniques used by engineering companies

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According to the Businessweek article, the JPMorgan analyst lifted his rating on the stock to

“Overweight” from “Neutral,” suggesting Jacobs’ margins should stay stronger than most of its peers, despite a heavily competitive industry. He raised his earnings forecast for this year and next, citing his expectation of improving construction demand and a belief that Jacobs should see its margins hit their worst point within the next few quarters. Levine also noted the company’s strong balance sheet should allow it to pursue acquisitions. Recent partnerships should also position the company for growth in new markets, he said.

Such news is promising in what has been an otherwise chaotic and unpredictable period for engineers. We can only hope that this positive analysis is the first in a series of many to follow.

Has your company recovered from the recession?

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So the question then becomes, what should be done now and in the near future to ensure that the basic needs for water, sanitation, nutrition, health, safety, and meaningful work are fulfilled for all humans? The National Academy of Engineering has called engineers to action by identifying the 14 “Grand Challenges” that need to be solved to ensure the planet’s survival.

Clean water

Economical solar energy

The challenges are:

1. providing access to clean water;
2. preventing nuclear terror;
3. engineering better medicines;
4. advancing health informatics;
5. making solar energy economical;
6. developing carbon sequestration methods;
7. securing cyberspace;
8. reverse-engineering the brain;


Reverse engineering the brain



Improving urban infrastructure

9. managing the nitrogen cycle;
10. providing energy from fusion;
11. restoring and improving urban infrastructure;
12. engineering the tools of scientific discovery;
13. enhancing virtual reality; and
14. advancing personalized learning.

So, which one will you tackle?

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The following engineering projects qualify as some of the most remarkable, because many of them achieved what was at one point deemed to be impossible and fulfilled the needs of modern day life by implementing audacious approaches to solving complex challenges. This article is a celebration of all those engineers who played the crucial roles in creating these amazing engineering feats.

9. Panama Canal » 8. Burj Dubai » 7. Millau Viaduct » 6. The Channel Tunnel

10. Moon Landing

1969 Apollo Moon Landing

Neil Amstrong’s famous 1969 moon landing was surely “a giant leap for mankind,” forever changing how we approach what other consider hard and the impossible. The Apollo 11 mission placed two astronauts (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) onto the surface of the moon, successfully defeating Russia in the rush to the skies. This event marked a definitive point in the 20th Century and at the time helped cement the United States above Russia as the ‘greatest superpower’ whilst firing the imagination of generations of children.

9. Panama Canal

Panama Canal

Before the Panama Canal was opened on Aug. 15, 1914, a ship traveling from New York and San Francisco would have had to sail around Cape Horn, a 67-day, 12,000-mile journey. The Panama Canal provided shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, reducing the same New York to San Francisco by 4,000 miles. Clearly, much the same way the Transcontinental Railroad reinvented shipping, the Panama Canal was a colossal engineering project which greatly impacted shipping between the two oceans by reducing the journey times immensely.

8. Burj Dubai

Burj Khalifa

The Burj Dubai, which was christened Burj Khalifa at its Jan. 4, 2010 opening, achieved instant engineering marvel status before it even opened. This is not because it was long projected to achieve the world tallest building status upon completion, but because the height proposed has never before been attempted, and especially not in the type of environment it now sits on. The construction of Burj Dubai therefore necessitated the the building be designed to withstand the tough and windy terrain, plus the projected human demands on the building.

The design of the structure is just as impressive as the height, having many of the building’s sub-systems being record breakers themselves, such as the observatory lifts breaking the record for the longest travel distance between lowest and highest stop. The Burj Dubai towers above the surrounding landscape at a huge 818meters tall and has been built as a centerpiece of an urban development that will include homes, hotels and parkland.

The 160-plus-story Burj Dubai Tower is the centerpiece of a $20 billion multi-tower development located just outside of downtown Dubai. The Burj Dubai project consists of the tower itself, as well as an adjacent podium structure, and separate six-story office annex and two-story pool annex. The 3 million-square-foot reinforced concrete multi-use tower is predominantly residential and office space.

7. Millau Viaduct

Milau Viaduct

The Millau Viaduct is presently the tallest vehicular cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. The height of the bridge is an impressive 1,125 feet, 62 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower. The bridge was opened in December 2004 and crosses the Valley of the River Tarn close to Millau in the South of France.

The bridge was designed by Michel Virlogeux, a structural engineer. The project’s architect was Norman Foster, who was quoted as saying that the bridge looked “impossibly delicate” and was a “dialogue between nature and the man made.” Delicate it is, because driving atop this engineering feat makes one feel as though they are suspended in the sky. Rightfully so because the Millau Viaduct bridge deck is the highest in the world.

See a video on the construction of the Millau Viaduct.

6. The Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel is the longest tunnel with an undersea section in the world. The length of the Channel Tunnel is 32.4 miles  and links Folkestone, England to Coquelles, France. The tunnel itself was bored through a chalk marl stratum which was deemed a good material for tunneling as it is both strong and easy to excavate. The actual tunnel consists of three separate tunnels connected together by cross-passage links. Construction of the tunnel began in 1988 and opened in 1994 and has been rated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Video: The Construction of the Chanel Tunnel

Next

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