This year’s 10 honorees carry on the tradition: a pen that can screen for prenatal diseases for less than a penny, a machine that uses a boat’s exhaust to treat onboard waste, and even a jet-propelled body board light enough to carry from your car to the water. Each of this year’s inventions takes on a different challenge—and solves it in its own ingenious way.

The Stark Hand

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John B. Carnett
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Popular Science

Created by Mark Stark, The Stark Hand prototype provides an ingenious, comfortable, and very inexpensive alternative to the hook his friend Dave Vogt had worn all his life. With the new hand, Dave can now catch balls and grip wine glasses.

You can read more about the Stark Hand, and watch the video of its throwing and catching abilities, here.

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The BodyGuard

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John B. Carnett
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Popular Science

David Brown designed The BodyGuard, a crime-fighting armored glove, as built-in self protection. The demo model has a camera, a wrist mounted stunner and lots of room for future improvements. The idea came to David while talking to his friend, Kevin Costner.

Check out our full feature, and awesome video, on the BodyGuard here.

The PrintBrush

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Jonathan Worth
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Popular Science

Weighing in at less than a pound, Alex Breton’s PrintBrush easily fits in a laptop bag and prints on any flat surface, from wood to fabric to plastic. Alex worked on the project for 11 years, but a version with a bonus built-in camera comes out early next year.

Want to see this handheld printer in action? Check out our feature — and video — here.

The Katal Landing Pad

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Jussi Grznar

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Popular Science

Aaron Coret and his friend Stephen Slen came up with the Katal Landing Pad after Aaron had a nasty snowboarding accident. The board, which was used during the 2010 Winter Olympics, provides a giant cushioned landing for snowboarders and helps make the sport safer.

Check out our feature on the Katal Landing Pad, with bonus video interview, here.

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Dynamic Eye Sunglasses

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John B. Carnett

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Popular Science

Unlike regular sunglasses, Chris Mullin’s glasses block glare instantly with liquid crystal lenses that darken the most where the sun’s light is the brightest. A particularly sunny commute inspired Mullin’s invention.

Want to see these glasses in action? Check out our feature, and video, here.

The Bed Bug Detective

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John B. Carnett
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Popular Science

Built to imitate a dog’s nose, the Bed Bug Detective sniffs out bedbugs quickly. Chris Goggin plans to create a model that can detect other pests, too, including mice and cockroaches.

Read more about this bedbug detector here, and check out our video of the sniffer in action.

A Prenatal Marker to Screen for Pregnancy Complications

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John B. Carnett
 / 

Popular Science

Designed by a college student and his classmates, the Prenatal Screening Kit, or safety pen, helps detect complications in pregnancies at an early stage. The pen will be quite cheap, costing only a third of a cent per use, making it a perfect tool for hospitals in developing nations.

Click here for more info on this amazing medical advance.

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The Zero Liquid Discharge

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John B. Carnett
 / 

Popular Science

With a pleasant name for a gross procedure, the Zero Liquid Discharge, or ZLD, completely oxidizes and evaporates sewage from boats, airplanes and RVs. After flash evaporation, the waste leaves as a harmless, odorless aerosol.

Click here to read more about the ZLD and see a video of its waste-fighting in action.

Kymera Motorized Body Board

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John B. Carnett
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Popular Science

The lightweight Kymera Body Board is Jason Woods’s solution for a timeless problem (for lucky people): how to have fun at the lake without the hassle of lugging a boat around. The latest version of his motorized body board hits speeds of 25 mph.

Want to see this part-boat, part-body-board in action? Check out more info (and a video) here.

The Medical Mirror

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John B. Carnett
 / 
Popular Science

While it can’t tell you if you’re the fairest of them all, the Medical Mirror can tell you your heart rate, which is probably more valuable in the long run anyway. A webcam behind the mirror captures variations in reflected light on your face, and an algorithm translates that into heartbeats.

Read more about this futuristic mirror here — there’s even a video of it in action.

The failure wall was part of our efforts to create a company culture where employees can take risks without fear of reprisal. As NPR’s Here and Now reported earlier this year, we started by collecting inspirational quotes about failure. Among my favorites:

“Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
“I have not failed, I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison
“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” – Sophia Loren
One random Thursday night, I returned to our corporate headquarters afterhours with a bottle of wine and a box of acrylic paints. My assistant and I used stencils to paint about three dozen such quotes onto a large white wall in our break room. As first time stencilers, this project itself seemed destined to end up a byline on the (slightly gloppy) failure wall until we gratefully accepted some much-needed painting assistance from my wife.

After we finished painting around 1:00AM, we fastened a dozen Sharpies to the wall alongside these simple instructions: (1) describe a time when you failed, (2) state what you learned, and (3) sign your name. To set the tone, I listed three of my own most memorable (and humbling) failures.

In the beginning, the wall was met with surprise, curiosity and a bit of trepidation. We didn’t ask anyone to contribute and we didn’t tell people why it was there, but the wall quickly filled up. Some of the entries are life lessons: “After 7 years of practicing, I quit playing violin in high school to fit in. Lesson learned — who cares what other people think.” Some are financial mishaps: “I thought buying Yahoo at $485 a share was a good idea.” Many are self-deprecating: “My successful failure is working in online marketing when I came to LA to work in showbiz.” Some are more than a little amusing: “I thought it was spelled ‘fale.’”

I’ve said this before but it bears repeating: success by failure is not an oxymoron. When you make a mistake, you’re forced to look back and find out exactly where you went wrong, and formulate a new plan for your next attempt. By contrast, when you succeed, you don’t always know exactly what you did right that made you successful (often, it’s luck).

We don’t just encourage risk taking at our offices: we demand failure. If you’re not failing every now and then, you’re probably not advancing. Mistakes are the predecessors to both innovation and success, so it is important to celebrate mistakes as a central component of any culture. This kind of culture can only be created by example — it won’t work if it’s forced or contrived. A lively culture is nebulous, indefinable, ever-changing. Try to package it in a formal mission statement and you just may suffocate it.

The best way to shape culture is of course to focus on hiring the people who will ultimately make up that culture. Yet this is often overlooked, replaced with corporate values, slogans, and mission statements. It took billions of years to create and define all of the world’s great cultures — through failure after failure — so it is with arrogance alone that we executives think we can create and define one for our company. To be blunt, cultures are not created or defined by executives; they evolve around the people who make up a company.

I personally interview every candidate at our corporate headquarters. By the time a prospective employee’s resume reaches my desk, the department heads are convinced that the candidate can do the job. But for each person we end up hiring, I still end up interviewing countless other highly qualified candidates who were vying for the job. I’m mainly looking for cultural fit, and there is no more important job for a CEO.

If we hadn’t hired people who cherish failures, my entries on the failure wall would be very lonely. Often when interviewing, I poke around and see if I can get the candidate to acknowledge a failure. It’s a red flag to me if a candidate can’t admit a mistake with a bit of self-deprecating humor. The tendency to dodge direct questions with a Miss America-style answer may indeed be a great asset to someone else’s company, but it’s not a great fit for success at mine.

The folks at Bridgestone hope to change that. At the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show earlier this month, the company unveiled its “non-pneumatic” Air-Free Tire Concept, which is constructed with a complex web of spokes made from moldable thermoplastic resin.

Both Michelin and Yokohama Rubber have developed similar tires in the past, but neither gained any traction (pardon the pun) in the market.

Bridgestone, however, hopes to achieve mass market success with a tire that can be easily recycled, while reducing maintenance and the risk of punctures.

The initial tires are 9-inch models and designed for golf buggies and electric carts. Airless tires for full-size vehicles are still under development, but could conceivably eliminate the need for a spare tire — reducing weight and freeing up storage space in next-generation electric/hybrid vehicles.

You can see a video of the tires in action below:

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and the U.S. Army are in the early stages of a far-reaching Science & Technology effort designed to engineer, build and deliver a next-generation helicopter with vastly improved avionics, electronics, range, speed, propulsion, survivability, operating density altitudes and payload capacity, service officials said.

The Army-led Joint Multi-Role, or JMR program is a broadly-scoped Pentagon effort, including input, officials and working group members from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, other military services, Coast Guard, Special Operations Command and NASA, among others.

“Our overall philosophy from a program perspective is to leverage what we are learning from the user communities and establish what technologies will provide the desired new capability. Right now the Future Vertical Lift community is working on developing the capabilities document,” said Ned Chase, chief, Platform Technology Division, Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, and science and technology lead for the JMR Technology Demonstrator Program.

VISION OF CAPABILITIES

Building a helicopter able to sustain speeds in excess of 170 knots, achieve an overall combat range greater than 800 kilometers (combat radius of 424 kilometers) and hover with a full combat load under high/hot conditions (altitudes of 6,000 feet and 95 degrees F) are among the many capabilities sought after for the JMR. Plans for the next-generation aircraft also include having a degree of autonomous flight capability or being “optionally manned,” successful weapons integration and compatibility, a core common architecture in terms of next-generation electronics, sensors and on-board avionics, manned-unmanned teaming ability and shipboard compatibility.

“We’re trying to create a vision,” Chase said, referring to the effort to harness technological innovation with a mind to looking beyond current force technology and identifying possible next-generation solutions in a range of areas such as propulsion, airframe materials, rotor systems, engine technology, survivability equipment and Mission Systems, among others.

The JMR program, which seeks to begin designing several “demonstrator” aircraft by 2013 and conduct a first flight in 2017 as a series of first steps toward developing a next-generation fleet of helicopters, is a subset of the Pentagon’s Joint Future Vertical Lift effort squarely aimed at exploring emerging technologies and best identifying the realm of the possible with respect to future aircraft and helicopter capabilities. The DOD plans to begin fielding a new fleet of next-generation helicopters by 2030.

TECHNOLOGY TO YIELD SAVINGS

“The JMR Program is a key part of our strategy to modernize vertical-lift capability long term. With current budget pressures, it is critical that a strong industry-government-academia team be fleshing out the technology enablers in integrated relevant contexts to establish a solid case for both the operational and fiscal benefits of these advanced aircraft,” said Army Chief Scientist Dr. Scott Fish.

“This team will be leveraging not only lessons learned from recent conflicts, but a broad spectrum of Army and DOD basic and applied research investments made in areas which include: engine and driveline efficiency and cost reduction, advanced materials including polymeric and metal matrix composites, sensor/weapon/other payload integration cost reduction, and very high-performance aerodynamic and reliability modeling and simulation. These investments position us well for risk and cost reduction in our vertical-lift endeavors,” Fish said.

JMR CONFIGURATIONS

Planned mission sets for the JMR include cargo, utility, armed scout, attack, humanitarian assistance, MEDEVAC, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, land/sea search and rescue, special warfare support, vertical replenishment, airborne mine countermeasures, and others, according a Nov. 9 Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Phase 2 Mission Systems Demonstration Request for Information, or RFI.

The over-arching JFVL efforts span a range of four classes of future aircraft, ranging from light helicopters to medium and heavy-lift variants and an ultra-class category designed to build a new fleet of super-heavy-lift aircraft. The ultra-class aircraft will be designed to lift, transport and maneuver large vehicles around the battlefield such as Strykers and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles known as MRAPs. The ultra-class variant, described as a C-130 type of transport aircraft, is part of an Air Force led, Army-Air Force collaborative S&T effort called Joint Future Theater Lift, or JFTL.

TWO PHASES

The JMR Technology Demonstrator effort is broken down into two distinct, measurable phases; phase one includes an 18-month Configuration and Trades Analysis, or CT&A, designed to explore technological possibilities for a new platform or Air Vehicle. Phase one also includes the design, fabrication and test of several demonstrator aircraft, Chase explained.

Phase two will be focused on trade studies and the development of mission systems. The idea is to build several “Technology Demonstrator” helicopters as a method of refining and informing the requirements for the new aircraft, requirements which will likely evolve and change as technologies mature and emerge over time, officials said.

The JFVL effort, which includes both the JMR acquisition program as well as the JMR Technology Demonstrator effort, is designed to incorporate findings from a series of OSD-led studies and analyses on Future Vertical Lift directed by the secretary of Defense in 2009, including a Rotorcraft Survivability Study, a capabilities-based assessment, an S&T plan and a strategic plan.

FOUR INDUSTRY TEAMS

The JMR S&T effort, led by the Army’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, or AMRDEC, at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., has awarded “concept trade and analysis” deals with four industry teams tasked with examining the set of attributes, designs and technologies needed to build a new, more capable attack or utility helicopter, said Dave Weller, science and technology nanager, Program Executive Office – Aviation.

“The real focus of JMR is to get at the three major tenets: improve the performance, improve the survivability and significantly reduce the operating cost. The next-generation aircraft will have to be a whole lot less expensive to operate than the current fleet,” Weller added. “Also, a big issue is increasing reliability and shortening the supply chain to get the logistical benefits of commonality of parts. When we did an adjunct capability-based assessment done to identify gaps – we came up with some 55 gap areas. The number one gap was reliability.”

While the JMR program includes the exploration of light, medium and heavy-lift helicopter variants, the effort will initially focus on medium-lift options.

The Army’ s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, or AATD, at Fort Eustis, Va., which leads the execution of the tech-demo effort on behalf of AMRDEC, awarded 18-month Technology Investment Agreements to Boeing, a Bell-Boeing team, Sikorsky and a 15-month contract to the AVX Corporation. The first phase of the process will be for the government and its industry partners to conduct analytical studies and trade assessments designed to articulate the scope of what might be technically possible. These initial findings will help inform the specifications to describe the rotorcraft demonstrator vehicles which will then be built.

TWO DEMO AIRCRAFT

“Right now the plan is to go through the first phase to define what the state of the possible would be, followed by a down-select to build two demonstrators. The idea is to identify, develop and demonstrate the best trade solution that covers the attribute matrix. The government is doing the same kind of analysis that industry is doing, so we plan to compare our results,” Weller explained.

Initial results from these efforts are due by the end of next year, Weller said.

“We’re doing these trade studies to figure out the best way to optimize aircraft. We are working very closely with our user committees who have identified the types of capabilities they would like these future aircraft to have,” Chase added.

Building a new aircraft from the ground up is part of an overall strategic effort to harness the best new technologies, allow for the platform to be upgraded as new technologies emerge, integrate systems into a common architecture and, perhaps most of all, drive down costs.

AFFORDABILITY IMPORTANT

Affordability is the utmost priority with the JMR effort, Chase and Weller emphasized. “It is envisioned that some of these novel ideas may not only drive down the acquisition cost, but also allow much easier and cheaper incorporation of upgrades to the aircraft and its systems,” the JMR RFI documents state.

With these Configuration Trades and Analysis studies, Army S&T has taken the lead in exploring the operational benefit and technical feasibility of advanced vertical lift air vehicles, working in concert with the Army’s acquisition and requirements communities, said Mac Dinning, AMRDEC aviation liaison for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology).

“While this program is currently wholly funded by the Army, other services are actively participating to define and develop a Joint Service Air Vehicle system that might replace the existing Black Hawk/Seahawk and Apache medium fleet aircraft,” Dinning said.

PHASE I – Air Vehicle

The goal of the JMR S&T program is to leverage the S&T needed to successfully influence the development of a program of record, Weller explained. The program plans to have an approved initial capabilities document by April 2013.

The areas of S&T focus on the JMR Technology Demonstrator program span a wide spectrum of emerging technologies from composite materials to electronics and various rotor configurations designed to increase speed without compromising hover ability, Weller said.

For example, one of several existing “compound helicopter” technologies under examination is the potential use of a coaxial rotor system. With this technology, the idea is to place auxiliary propulsion technologies or “thrusting” devices at the back end of the aircraft to provide extra speed, Weller explained.

Another example of these so-called configurations is to build a helicopter which uses two turbo-shaft engines and two small fixed wings on each side of the aircraft fitted with a pusher-propeller for extra propulsion.

TILT-ROTOR TECHNOLOGY

Also under examination is the potential use of tilt-rotor aircraft technology such as that currently used for the V-22 Osprey; with this design, the aircraft can reach high speeds in airplane mode and then maintain its ability to hover successfully in helicopter mode.

“When you develop capability like these, however, you give up some hover ability. A main focus of the research is to look at ways of increasing speed without sacrificing the ability to hover,” Weller said. “Part of the Science and Technology program is to look at different configurations.”

One of the options being taken up through this effort is the exploration of multi-speed transmission capability, a unique configuration designed to increase speed while avoiding the aerodynamic phenomenon of transonic shock, Dinning explained.

“All of the helicopters we develop now are built with a single-speed transmission. We are looking at how we can leverage technology and put in a multi-speed capability,” he said.

NEW MATERIALS

In addition, the new Air Vehicle may contain composite materials and or items now in development, Chase explained.

“We are exploring how to get the most efficiency out of the new structure that we can. One way to do that may be by using composite materials,” he added.

Increasing Air Vehicle speed can shorten the response time for these extended missions or combat radius, a critical necessity for saving lives through MEDEVAC operations, and getting supplies such as food, water and ammo to forward-positioned forces, Dinning explained.

“Current helicopter systems are designed to operate for about two hours without refueling. Typical cruise speeds of 140 knots limit the range that these aircraft can operate in,” Dinning said.

Short of off-loading payload (troops, weapons, cargo) to add extra fuel bladders, extended-range operations must rely on Forward Arming and Refueling Points, or FARPs, where fuel and armaments are pre-positioned. “The Army recognizes the need to reduce the manned footprint of these forward operation positions,” Dinning said.

Non-linear, asymmetric or counterinsurgency-type environments, such as the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, underscore the need to reduce the risks associated with having deployed units travel to potentially hostile pre-positioned locations to set up FARPs, he said.

Phase 1 will be followed by a Phase 2 extensive Mission Systems and Aircraft Survivability Equipment, or ASE S&T developmental effort.

See the original article HERE.

(Source: US Army; issued Dec. 9, 2011)

The top 4 U.S. ice-cross downhill athletes from Red Bull Crashed Ice, Saint Paul, will represent team USA throughout the remaining 2012 world series events.

The challenge:


Show us how you’d wrap the heads of team USA. Submit your unique helmet design by 1/08/12 for a chance to win fame, glory and cool Red Bull Crashed Ice privileges.

The glory:


If your design is chosen to wrap the heads of team USA, here’s what you’ll win:

· First honors of skating down the actual Red Bull Crashed Ice course in Saint Paul on Saturday, January 14th 2012

· An authentic Red Bull Crashed Ice helmet featuring your own design

· Official Red Bull Crashed Ice merchandise prize pack

· The lasting admiration and envy of all your friends

The rules:



· No submission fee.
· Winner must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Must present id to accept prizes.
· Submissions due by midnight 1/08/12.
· Winner notified by 1/11/12.
· Paper or electronic submissions accepted.
· Play nice. No profanity.
· Designs with personal identifiers or branded items will not be accepted.
· All entries will be judged by a panel of professional designers.
· Enter as many designs as you’d like – as long as they’re all your own.
· Remember this needs to represent usa – patriotic themes are a must!

Submit entries:

Mail your entry to:

Attn: rbci helmet design

4850 W 35th St.

Minneapolis, MN 55416

Email your PDF entries to:
 helmetdesign@canyoumakethecut.com

CLICK HERE to download the Helmet Design PDF.

For more about the event, visit HERE.

Benstead’s “02 Pursuit” motorcycle is based on the geometry of a current-spec 250 cc motocross bike and uses running gear from a WR250F and Engineair’s DiPietro air engine as its power plant. In its current form it can hit speeds in excess of 62 mph (100 km/h) and, given that the first prototype was developed with a focus on design rather than engineering, Benstead believes that performance can be improved with further development.

“The concept evolved from research to sketches to computer modeling before the chassis and bodywork was built and fabrication at local manufacturer, Rinlatech Engineering, began,” says Benstead.

“I wanted to explore the viability of compressed air as an alternative fuel, and my childhood experiences riding dirt bikes led me to design the motocross bike based around the Engineair engine.”

Benstead also sees the possibility of a marketable model based on the prototype emerging down the track.

“The next prototype would involve a total re-style, different material choices over the current steel tube chassis, such as aluminum or even a futuristic printed titanium, reducing the weight comparable to a heavy-duty mountain bike.”

The 02 Pursuit will be revealed in a working demo at the Sydney Motorcycle & Scooter Show in Australia on Friday November 25.

First and foremost, if asked about the process of getting into a company , I will be straight forward : there are thousands of students just like you or me or even better , who apply and do not get an answer. Why is that?

I can tell you from the “inside” the mass of applicants is overwhelming, and with time being a key factor in design, who would spare some for reviewing endless portfolios? Getting a placement or a job is more than sending an email, is more than making a phone call. I have heard some send cup-cakes by post along with a somewhat inventive portfolio, but reality has showed me they usually end up in the bin, except the cupcakes of course.

Then how do we attract attention towards ourselves? What makes you better than others? I believe we developed a handicap of communication, whereas designers should have their professional nucleus in communication.

The medium on which you do it bears only half of the story. People gather around other people when they believe what others believe. Our common target is not industrial design; the human being is built to group around common, fundamental beliefs, expressed through personal or professional actions. A solid studio has a team based on its beliefs, it is a dynamic organism that accepts other members based on more than just a skill-set. Always ask yourself what drives you, what`s the “why “that makes you do what you do, and the channels of communicating that to your future team will be clear and obvious.

I have spent 5 months amongst people with whom I had nothing in common, designing products that had no rationale behind them other than cost-effectiveness. Ask yourself what type of a designer you want to be. Are you sure you want to give 9 hours/day of your life to a chair with a computer screen in front of it? Is the outcome of your work even worth remembering after its finished? Why does the world need another kettle, or chair? Different studios have different design approaches, but there is a high chance that if not chosen wisely, you will be no more than a CAD robot designing for the injection moulding machine. That being said, always visit your future team and environment before signing any contract, human interaction is vital to assess if you will be able to grow on all levels. Don’t rush it!

The last thing I want to talk about is reward. Passionate as you may be, Maslow`s pyramid of needs will always apply to you. Enthusiasm alone keeps you working until the inevitable downgrade on the scale of fulfillment happens. Platonic principles of working for the sake of the experience wear off quickly , and it is a fact you must face early on. Reward is not only about money, but it should include a tangible outcome. Always negotiate your way into a form of reward. I believe that a company leader without such principles is not even worth considering as a future boss. As strange at it may seem, demanding reward in the right circumstances can even decisively separate you from the servile student typology, and on the long term , may even give you a job. I close urging you to ask yourself over and over again, “Why?”, and eventually everything will fall into place.

About the author: Julian C. Caraulani is a romanian Product Design student  from Coventry University, UK.  His design approach relies on a interdisciplinarity that seeks gathering people with shared beliefs, passion and visions towards professional , meaningful projects. His website is www.caraulani.com and email caraulani@yahoo.com

According to RWDC Director Dr. Ralph K. Coppola, “the Real World Design Challenge is a public-private partnership dedicated to sustainably increasing the STEM workforce – that’s really our goal”.

This year the competing teams must tackle the complex design challenges of the aerospace industry.  In a nutshell, the students must design an efficient, low-carbon-emission and environmentally friendly personal light sport aircraft.

The industry of focus and design project for the contest vary every year but the objective remains the same – encourage and inspire the next generation of problem-solving engineers.  RWDC “keeps it real” in five key areas:

• REAL PROBLEMS – Provides a practical application of classroom curriculum
• REAL TOOLS – Inspires students by showing them what is at their fingertips
• REAL ROLES – Requires teamwork, leadership and problem solving skills
• REAL DESIGNS – Fosters creativity, critical thinking, and innovation
• REAL CONTRIBUTIONS – Students can make a difference

Amongst other solutions provided, participants will design their proposed “green aircrafts” within a complimentary edition of Creo . Using commercial-grade professional tools like Creo is one of the cornerstones of the competition.  These teenagers get to access the same design tools being used at some of the top companies in the world.  To help them along the way PTC also provides connections and access to mentors from its partner organizations across America.

The winning teams from the participating states will receive all expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at the National Challenge Event in April 2012. For additional information contact Dr. Coppola at rcoppola@ptc.com or check out the Real World Design Challenge website www.realworlddesignchallenge.org.