A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives

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As the world eagerly looked forward to the dawn of a new millennium, the turning of the calendar also represented an opportunity to pause and reflect on the tremendous ingenuity and invention that marked the previous hundred years. Electricity, automobiles, telephones, radio, television, computers… these are a just a few of the innovations the decades had introduced – all compliments of the world’s engineers. Celebrating a century of innovation, the National Academy of Engineering and a consortium of professional engineering societies present the most significant engineering triumphs of the era. While the achievements encompass many dramatic and highly visible engineering feats, from the first flight at Kitty Hawk to the birth of the Internet, the lineup is largely composed of more commonplace advances that had a truly profound and widespread effect on all of society. Indeed, most of the achievements profiled in this book are so much a part of our lives that we have come to take them for granted. But to learn the stories behind these great achievements is to behold and appreciate them anew. Topping the list is electrification. More than half of the “Top 20″ would not have been possible without it. Abundant and available electric power helped spur America’s economic development and distributed benefits widely, from cities to farms. This achievement clearly shines as an example of how engineering has changed the world. But often we take the likes of air conditioning and refrigeration for granted even though they have significantly improved our sense of comfort and contributed to our physical health, giving us the ability to transport and extend the shelf life of food. Radio and television are so much more than mere entertainment devices. Indeed, they have changed the way we view the world and our place in it. The telephone has made the whole planet a smaller but much more connected place for all of us. And underlying and enabling many of these technologies is the computer – from room-sized super computers to palm-sized devices. Each chapter tells the life story of a specific engineering achievement. Each chapter also features a personal reflection by a notable engineer involved with the achievement. Among them: Bill Gates, who brought the personal computer into our home; Charles Townes, inventor of the laser; Robert Kahn, one of the originators of the Internet; Bill Anders, the Gemini 8 astronaut who took the famous “Earthrise” photograph while in lunar orbit; and Wilson Greatbatch, inventor of the pacemaker. The engineers’ commentaries capture the excitement, imagination, vision, and tenacity that ultimately made each achievement a reality. Timelines trace the evolution of the achievements while dramatic illustrations depict how things actually work. Replete with photographs and drawings, the drama of invention and discovery is brought vividly to life. More than a simple tally of engineering achievements, A Century of Innovation is proof positive that the genius and the talent of the world’s engineers have truly transformed the way people live.

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The Future Of Dentistry As We Know It

Our mouths are very important centers of social, psychological and physical health – we communicate, attract and seduce with it in addition to its vital functions in nutrition, digestion and overall good physical health. As such, we must focus a fair share of attention on oral health care.

Unfortunately, this might not be the case for many people. Dentistry as a whole is a dreaded subject and the dentist’s chair a dreaded place to be. We all have stories, or heard of stories from family and friends, about the mini-horrors that go on while in the dentist’s chair from root canals to a complete oral reconstruction.

Fortunately, there is good news in the future of dentistry. Thanks to advances in dental science and technology, there are means by which the dentist’s clinic can become a haven for people seeking better physical and mental well being as it relates to oral health.

Going Digital

In the early years of dentistry, conventional x-ray machines were used to take pictures of the internal structures of the mouth for monitoring, diagnostic and identification purposes. It worked well because it was better than guessing at the internal workings of the mouth.

However, these x-ray images placed both patient and dentist at a disadvantage in many ways. For one thing, the radiation emitted by the machine was unhealthy especially after repeated exposures. For another thing, the images were so basic that diagnosis was often hampered.

Today, the future of dentistry lies in going digital. The machines used to take digital x-rays are more sensitive and hence take better images. By better, we mean that the image is clearer in every way, the image can be stored digitally and the image can be enhanced to aid in diagnosis.

Going Laser

Nowadays, lasers are increasingly being used for a variety of dental applications. Although there are sectors in the field of dentistry that are still skeptical of lasers, advances in technology can win them over especially where safety, efficacy and cost of treatments are concerned.

At the moment, lasers are used to treat toot decay and gum diseases, teeth whitening and lesion removal. When you see your dentist using lasers in any of these applications, you know that he/she is attuned to the future of dentistry.

Going Nanotechnology

Just so you may know, nanotechnology is applied on the atomic and molecular scales in the ultimate objective of achieving better results. It is increasingly being applied in dentistry for many applications starting with protection for the teeth against cavities.

At present, nanotechnology is used to polish teeth using silica made from nanoparticles. Since said particles are 90,000 times smaller than a grain of sand, plaque has very little, if any, chance to hold on to the teeth against this blasting and polishing force.

Of course, research is still continuing on the uses of nanotechnology in dentistry. We can be sure that sooner than later, new applications will come to the fore and our mouths will benefit from them.

The future of dentistry is in the here and now! We just need to keep our eyes open for new developments in the science and technology from other fields that can applied towards maintaining good oral health.

Using Science to Determine Clean Water’s Social Impact

Science usually yields scientific results — statistics, formulas, analysis. But what happens when these results are tested in a different environment? What happens when scientists studying methods to improve the globe’s clean water supply put their findings in a social context? For one thing, new insights arise, demonstrating, with greater importance, that clean water is essential to health.

This doesn’t just cover physical health, either. It mean stronger social communities and schools, stronger government and health care. Clean water touched so many sides of society that not having it seems remarkable. When scientists use the latest technology and apply it to social settings, we see why.

Recently nanotechnology has emerged as the favorite for science’s efforts to clean the world’s water supply. 

The single most important application of nanotechnology could be solving the global shortage of clean water – benefiting people in both industrialized and developing countries significantly.

A new podcast explores how Eric Hoek and his engineering research team at the University of California at Los Angeles, developed a new membrane using nanoparticles that promises to dramatically reduce the cost and energy needed to desalinate seawater and clean wastewater. In the near term, these membranes could work in municipal desalination plants in water-thirsty areas, such as those planned for the California coastline. In the future, this groundbreaking technology can be adapted to meet the clean water needs of poor countries and people who rely on low cost, decentralized water treatment systems.

Once these technologies are implemented, social groups high and low will enjoy an improved life. Culture and science go hand in hand not just because one makes the other better, but because they both thrive off of each other. They work like two neighbors building a fence — together, sharing resources, anything can be achieved. Through the advancements of science and the strength of social settings, clean water can be achieved — and in our lifetime.