The Engineering Commons Podcast

This episode of The Engineering Commons dives into the importance of “soft skills” to engineering professionals. A fictional giant from the 1984 Ghostbusters movie, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is the chosen form of Gozer the Gozerian. We use the LinkedIn article “Top 5 Must-Have Soft Skills for Professional Engineers” as a framework for our … Continue reading Episode 117 — Soft Skills →

Adam, Brian and Jeff discuss the electrical grid in this episode of The Engineering Commons. The difference engine, conceived of by J. H. Müller in 1786, and designed by Charles Babbage in the 1820s, is often considered the world’s first computer. Brian notes that electric furnaces are increasingly used in steel production. Adam and Brian … Continue reading Episode 116 — The Grid →

Carmen and Jeff discuss mechanical bearings in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Carmen has a pretty good sense of his navigational bearing, but is less knowledgeable about mechanical bearings. U.S. interstate highways are numbered with even numbered roads going primarily east-west, and odd numbered roads passing mostly north-south. Differences between skateboards and longboards … Continue reading Episode 115 — Bearings →

Brian leads our discussion of electric vehicles in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Carmen notes that a single resting electron has a mass of 9.11 x 10-31 kilograms. Brian suggests some form of positronic vehicular propulsion might be possible, although radiation issues would make it impractical for most earthbound applications. One of the … Continue reading Episode 114 — Driven Electrons →

Chris Welch joins Adam, Brian, Carmen, and Jeff to talk about the field of chemical engineering. Jeff believes in unicorns, even though he’s never seen one! From his childhood, Jeff recalls watching a DuPont film about “Better Living Through Chemistry.” Our guest for this episode is Chris Welch, a chemical engineer from New Brunswick, Canada, … Continue reading Episode 113 — Chemical Engineering →

The gang discusses opportunities and challenges of dealing with Baby Boomers as they depart the engineering field. Adam is aware of the “retirement cliff,” which describes an impending loss of skilled workers, nearly all of them Baby Boomers, in a short period of time. Americans tend to derive much of their self-identity from their jobs, … Continue reading Episode 112 — Boomer Exodus →

Bronwyn Bell joins Adam, Brian, Carmen, and Jeff to discuss the challenges and responsibilities of an environmental engineer working in the mining sector. Carmen likes to help out local beer brewers in harvesting hops, but he’s not sure what makes for a good hops growing season. Environmental engineers plan, design and manage projects associated with … Continue reading Episode 111 — Environmental Engineering →

Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff discuss the activities they enjoy when escaping the workplace for a few days. Brian enjoyed reading Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” on a recent vacation. Adam’s vacation time is more likely spent making home repairs than traveling to the beach. Vacation spots of possible interest … Continue reading Episode 110 — Engineering Vacation →

Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff discuss theoretical and practical aspects of the design process, as well as the emotional states they experience when engaged in design activities. Carmen is starting to gain confidence in his design abilities. Jeff notes that a lot of his colleagues wanted to be design engineers, but the number of available … Continue reading Episode 109 — Design Process →

Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff discuss an engineer’s sense of right and wrong, and why that worldview may conflict with organizational priorities. A recent article in Engineering & Technology Magazine addressed the issue of whether engineers are “made,” or “born.” Brian references the classic spherical chicken joke. A discussion ensues about how often engineers see … Continue reading Episode 108 — Engineering Sensibilities →