Suzanne Deffree: Geeks rule
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Articles by Suzanne Deffree
Created by Engineers, for Engineers: DesignCon Celebrates 30 Years
DesignCon gears up to celebrate its 30th anniversary this January with special events, an expo full of leading suppliers, and its highly regarded education Between FedEx, UPS, and Amazon Prime, it’s not unusual to find a package on my doorstep. But it’s rare that I am as delighted as I was when recently opening a package from long-time DesignCon attendee, speaker, and Technical Program Committee (TPC) member Istvan Novak.
DesignCon Returns to Celebrate Engineers and Innovation
DesignCon, the premier high-speed communications and system design conference, returns to its home at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., with technical paper sessions, tutorials, industry panels, product demos, and exhibits, January 30 to February 1, 2024. Education Highlights DesignCon’s conference program covers all aspects of electronic design, including signal and power integrity, high-speed link design, and machine learning.
DesignCon 2023 Returns to January with New Offerings
DesignCon, the premier highspeed communications and system design conference returns to its home at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., with technical paper sessions, tutorials, industry panels, product demos, and exhibits January 31-February 2, 2023. Education Highlights DesignCon’s conference program covers all aspects of electronic design, including signal integrity (SI) power integrity (PI), highspeed link design, and machine learning.
Engineering the Next Generation News and Insights
A worldwide innovation hub servicing component manufacturers and distributors with unique marketing solutions aspencore.com SiliconExpert provides engineers with the data and insight they need to remove risk from the supply chain. siliconexpert.com Transim powers many of the tools engineers use every day on manufacturers' websites and can develop solutions for any company. transim.com
Automotive Vehicle Networking Technology is Becoming a Standard
An uptick in self-automated vehicles has become more mainstream over the past couple of years. From government-issued vehicles to hands-free drives to work, more people and organizations are expecting to rely on self-automated vehicles in the next few years.
Find Autonomous Technology and Everything In Between at DesignCon
A talk with keynoter, Dr. Jose Morey, consultant for NASA, Forbes, MIT, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Suzanne Deffree, Group Event Director, DesignCon | Apr 04, 2022 Technology is used in more ways than we can imagine.
EDN - The Workbench Archives
From home enthusiasts to workers on the manufacturing floor, everyone’s imagination is captured by the potential of 3D printing. Prototyping, Continue Reading... We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Far More than Buzzwords: Evolving AI and ML from Infancy
The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is remarkable. There's no denying AI and ML have infiltrated nearly every industry, profoundly changing how technologists and engineers analyze today's seemingly endless vat of data and solving increasingly complex problems. And it's everywhere. AI is widely used in healthcare, from supporting the sector's struggle against interoperability to forecasting disease.
Welcome Home: DesignCon Returns to Santa Clara, Calif., in April
DesignCon, the premier high-speed communications and system design conference returns to its home at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., with technical paper sessions, tutorials, industry panels, product demos, and exhibits April 5-7, 2022. DesignCon’s conference program covers all aspects of electronic design, including signal and power integrity, high-speed link design, and machine learning (ML).
Advancing High-Speed Communications with Amphenol at DesignCon
As personal connectivity and IoT continue to expand, the broadband and telecom sectors are amid a significant surge in data consumption. As such, the cables and connectors market is experiencing high growth and market disruption, largely due to ballooning consumer demand for ultra-speedy 5G tech, increasing expenditure in enterprise cloud-based applications, and the rising pressure to improve bandwidth.
How Turnkey Automated Assembly Can Simplify Your Manufacturing Process
The infusion of technology into the medical field yields groundbreaking and life-saving medical devices, which, in turn, presents new considerations for manufacturers due to device development's increasing complexity and technical nature. That's where turnkey automated assembly can help simplify the manufacturing process.
How Turnkey Automated Assembly Can Simplify Your Manufacturing Process
The infusion of technology into the medical field yields groundbreaking and life-saving medical devices, which, in turn, presents new considerations for manufacturers due to device development's increasing complexity and technical nature. That's where turnkey automated assembly can help simplify the manufacturing process.
Navigate Evolving Medical Device Packaging & Sterilization Regulations Original
Background image courtesy of Canva; graphic created in Canva Leaders from the Sterilization Packaging Manufacturers Council will explore the latest in package testing, materials, and more at MD&M Minneapolis. Suzanne Deffree | Oct 29, 2021 Regulations surrounding medical device packaging and sterilization constantly evolve, and making matters more challenging, they vary according to the type of sterilization process the device undergoes.
Virtual Engineering Days: Spotlight on Injection Molding Innovation
The hardware within many products across industries is trending toward small, complex geometries that enable entirely new and innovative functions. From intricate medical device parts to automotive components, manufacturers are racing to design and engineer mold-making systems that eliminate prolonged cooling wait time and deliver micron-level precision to create the parts that fuel our world.
Want an Extreme Engineering Ride? Follow Maxon to the Moon and Mars
Flying to Mars and navigating a martian environment is not easy. Successful space missions rely on every component executing numerous mission-critical tasks while concurrently withstanding the harshest of conditions. With the highest priority placed on drives, designing space-ready motors is a meticulous and complex process.
TerraCycle Is on a Mission to Turn Junk into Consumer Products
The manufacturing process produces $8 trillion of waste annually, resulting in millions of tons of undesirable materials littering once pristine beaches and resting in landfills. The leading contributors to this exorbitant amount of physical waste include excess processing and inventory, overproduction, and defects that produce unwanted material that is typically expensive and time-consuming to recycle.
Bigger Is Not Always Better with 3D Printing but Micro Precision Is Huge
Boston Micro Fabrication Additive manufacturing systems such as those from Boston Micro Fabrication can yield high-volume manufacturing and sophisticated micro-details. Suzanne Deffree | May 04, 2021 Bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to 3D printing. As products and machinery continue to decrease in size and increase in complexity, manufacturers must produce a myriad of intricate components with ultra-high 3D printing precision.
Mariner 2 reaches Venus, December 14, 1962
Mariner 2, a NASA space probe to Venus, became the first robotic space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter on December 14, 1962 (see NASA illustration of probe at right). Mariner 2 launched on August 27, 1962, a month after Mariner 1 was launched, veered off-course, and was destroyed by ground control. Mariner 2 consisted of a 39.4-inch diameter hexagonal bus, to which solar panels, instrument booms, and antennas were attached.
Relay 1 communications satellite launches, December 13, 1962
NASA’s Relay 1 active repeater communications satellite, launched atop a Delta B rocket from LC-17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on December 13, 1962 (see NASA illustration of Relay 1 at right). Unfortunately, two basic problems arose shortly after launch: the satellite’s response to spurious commands and the leakage of a high-power regulator. The leakage caused the first two weeks of satellite operation to be useless.
Apple IPO makes instant millionaires, December 12, 1980
On December 12, 1980, Apple launched the IPO (initial public offering) of its stock, selling 4.6 million shares at $22 per share with the stock symbol “AAPL” on the NASDAQ market. The shares sold out almost immediately and the IPO generated more capital than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956. Instantly, about 300 millionaires were created, some 40 of which were Apple employees and investors. That is more millionaires than any company in history had produced at that time.
Apollo 17 lands on moon, December 11, 1972
Apollo 17 safely landed on the Moon on December 11, 1972, after launching from Earth four days prior. The 11th and final mission of the United States’ Apollo program, and the sixth NASA mission to put men on the Moon, Apollo 17 was also the program’s only night launch, taking off just after midnight. Apollo 17’s three-member crew consisted of Commander Eugene Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt.
Ada Lovelace is born, December 10, 1815
Ada Lovelace, arguably the first computer programmer, was born on December 10, 1815. Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage‘s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. Her notes on the engine include what is considered the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine and foreshadowed the future of advanced electronics beyond mere calculating machines. Few women were noted mathematicians in Lovelace’s time.
Famed initial Microsoft staff photo is taken, December 7, 1978
This famed photo of the initial staff of Microsoft was taken on December 7, 1978, including almost all of the company’s 14-member team at the time. Microsoft staff photo, December 7, 1978, taken at the company’s Albuquerque, New Mexico, office before moving the headquarters to Washington.
1st computer science dissertation is completed, December 5, 1965
Richard L. Wexelblat became the first candidate in a computer science program to complete a doctoral dissertation on December 5, 1965.
International Space Station Unity module is launched, December 4, 1998
The Unity module, the second module of the International Space Station (ISS), was launched on December 4, 1998. It was the first US-built component of ISS, constructed for NASA by Boeing in a manufacturing facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. Unity is made of aluminum and is cylindrical in shape, with six berthing locations facilitating connections to other modules. It measures 15 feet in diameter and is 17.9 feet long (see NASA photo at right).
1st text message to a mobile phone is sent, December 3, 1992
Neil Papworth, a 22-year-old test engineer for Sema Group (now Airwide Solutions), sent the first text message to a mobile phone on December 3, 1992. It was from his personal computer to the Vodafone network to the phone of Richard Jarvis. The text message read “Merry Christmas” (note, the message wasn’t abbreviated as it would most likely be now, more than 25 years after this first text).
1st self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated, December 2, 1942
During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Italian physicist Enrico Fermi initiated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942. The historic moment occurred at Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1), the world’s first nuclear reactor. CP-1 was built at the University of Chicago’s Metallurgical Laboratory under the west stands of the original Stagg Field, once a football field.
San Jose is founded, November 29, 1777
San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777, as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, the first civilian town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The future tech capital served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey at its inception. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital.
Pulsar is first observed, November 28, 1967
The first pulsar (pulsating star), a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of radiation, was observed on November 28, 1967, by graduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell and professor Antony Hewish at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, England. The two radio astronomers noted that the observed emission from the pulsar was pulses separated by 1.33 seconds, originated from the same location in the sky, and kept to sidereal time.
Mars 2 crash lands on the Red Planet, November 27, 1971
Thanks to a computer error, the first man-made object to reach the surface of Mars landed there on November 27, 1971. Mars 2, an unmanned space probe of the Soviet Union’s Mars program, consisted of an orbiter and an attached lander, and was launched by Proton K heavy launch vehicle with a Blok D upper stage on May 19, 1971 (see NASA image of Mars 2 orbiter model).
Thanksgiving disaster? Engineers to the rescue!
Ah, the end of November. Chilly temps, falling leaves, and, based on the onslaught of holiday advertising, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Unless you’re a Brady Bunch character or maybe live in a Norman Rockwell painting, let’s be honest, Thanksgiving isn’t always a picture-perfect day. Sure, once upon a time your mother or grandmother made it look so easy, like a graceful dream of family, football, and pie. But reality can be a bit colder.
Concorde makes its final flight, November 26, 2003
Turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner Concorde made its final flight, soaring over Bristol, England, on November 26, 2003, and ending 27 years of service. Scheduled flights began on January 21, 1976, on the London–Bahrain and Paris–Rio routes. The United States had originally banned flights due to citizen protests regarding noise pollution and sonic booms, but lifted that ban in May 1976.
Einstein paper outlines mass-energy equivalence, November 21, 1905
Albert Einstein’s paper “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?” was published in the journal “Annalen der Physik” on November 21, 1905. The paper revealed the relationship between energy and mass that would eventually lead to the mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (energy equals mass times the velocity of light squared).
Microsoft ships Windows 1.0, November 20, 1985
On November 20, 1985, Microsoft shipped Windows 1.0, a then new operating system. Development took two years after the Windows announcement in 1983, leading skeptics to call it “vaporware.” See EDN‘s coverage of the original release here. The OS had been codenamed “Interface Manager“ but was finally dubbed “Windows“ to describe the computing window boxes that popped up on the user’s screen. Drop-down menus, scroll bars, icons, and dialog boxes made programs easy to learn and use.
China launches 1st Shenzhou spacecraft, November 19, 1999
The first of China’s Shenzhou spacecraft launched on November 19, 1999, on a mission to orbit Earth and test the validity of the space program’s Long March rocket family. China had been, at the time, behind other countries in space exploration. This craft’s design resembled the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but was larger. Unlike later crafts in the program that utilized unfolding solar panels, Shenzhou 1 had fixed solar cells. Shenzhou 1’s entire mission lasted less than 24 hours.
Fleming patents vacuum tube, November 16, 1904
English engineer John Ambrose Fleming received a patent for the thermionic valve, better known as the vacuum tube, on November 16, 1904. The two-electrode vacuum-tube rectifier, which Fleming called the oscillation valve, and some peers called the Fleming valve, was a major breakthrough. However, whether the breakthrough actually belonged to Fleming was debated in and out of court.
EDN - EDN Moments Archives - Page 5 of 38
EDN Voice of the Engineer Menu Search EDN Moments Albert Einstein's paper “Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?” was published in the journal “Annalen Continue Reading... On November 20, 1985, Microsoft shipped Windows 1.0, a then new operating system. Development took two years after the Windows Continue Reading... The first of China’s Shenzhou spacecraft launched on November 19, 1999, on a mission to orbit Earth and test the Continue Reading...
Apollo 12 hit by lightning at launch, November 14, 1969
Sticking to its schedule despite a rainstorm, NASA launched Apollo 12 from Cape Kennedy on November 14, 1969. Almost immediately, the spacecraft was struck by lightning. Specifically, the craft’s Saturn V launch vehicle was struck, causing launch controllers to lose telemetry contact at 36 seconds and again at 52 seconds. Some damage was done but control instruments were maintained.
1st laser designs are outlined, November 13, 1957
Although it was heavily contested in court for decades, November 13, 1957 is considered the day the first designs for a laser were outlined. Columbia University doctoral research student and former member of the Manhattan Project team Gordon Gould had been looking for a way to achieve MASER (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation)-like amplification of visible light.
Turing Machine paper is published, November 12, 1937
Britain’s Alan Turing published a paper entitled “On Computable Numbers with an Application to the Entscheidungs-problem” on November 12, 1937, that would form the basic theory of computability for several decades. Later renamed the Turing Machine, the abstract engine described in Turing’s paper would provide the fundamental concepts of computers that other engineers later conceived.
Eisenhower moves to expand US nuclear weapons, October 30, 1953
Budget-conscious US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approved the top secret National Security Council Paper No. 162/2 (NSC 162/2), on October 30, 1953, which stated that the US arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the Communist threat. The document also made clear the connection between military spending and a sound American economy.
ARPANET establishes 1st computer-to-computer link, October 29, 1969
The first-ever computer-to-computer link was established on ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), the precursor to the Internet, on October 29, 1969. Originally funded by ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency), now DARPA, within the United States Department of Defense, ARPANET was to be used for projects at universities and research laboratories in the US.
1st Hoover Dam electric generator goes into full operation, October 26, 1936
The Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, saw its first electric generator go into full operation on October 26, 1936. Constructed during the Great Depression, the dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada, approximately 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Congress authorized the project in 1928. Six Companies Inc won the bid and began construction on the dam in early 1931.
1st domestic microwave is sold, October 25, 1955
On October 25, 1955, Tappan Stove Company sold the first domestic microwave oven, a large, 220V wall unit priced at $1295. The expensive ovens did not sell well and Tappan eventually put microwave ovens on the back burner, as it was. Tappan had licensed its microwave technology from Raytheon, which had in 1947 built the “Radarange.” The Radarange, the first microwave oven, stood nearly 6 feet tall and weighed about 750 pounds.
Deep Space 1 launches, October 24, 1998
NASA’s Deep Space 1 (DS1) launched from Cape Canaveral on October 24, 1998, on a mission that would be extended twice after marking its expected achievement and despite several issues that included the failure of off-the-shelf components. The $150 million spacecraft is part of the NASA New Millennium Program, dedicated to testing a payload of advanced, high-risk technologies.
Rocket-powered auto sets land speed record, October 23, 1970
A rocket-powered, natural gas-fueled automobile called the Blue Flame set a land speed record on October 23, 1970 that stood for more than a decade. The record of 622.407 miles per hour for the “flying mile” and 1014.513 kilometers per hour for the “flying kilometer” was set at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with Gary Gabelich behind the wheel.
Judge declares the ENIAC patent invalid, October 19, 1973
A legal dispute between Honeywell and Sperry Rand led to patents for the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) being declared invalid on October 19, 1973, belatedly crediting physicist John Atanasoff with developing the first electronic digital computer, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). Built at Iowa State University by Atanasoff and graduate student Clifford Berry, the ABC was not programmable, as it was designed only to solve systems of linear equations.
TI announces 1st transistor radio, October 18, 1954
Texas Instruments announced plans for the Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio to be commercially sold, on October 18, 1954. The move was a major one in tech history that would help propel transistors into mainstream use and also give new definition to portable electronics. TI was producing germanium transistors at the time, but the market had been slow to respond, comfortable with vacuum tubes.
Einstein moves to US, October 17, 1933
While Albert Einstein was visiting the United States in 1933, the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor took effect and the Jewish theoretical physicist decided he would not return to his home in Germany where he had been a professor at the Berlin Academy of Sciences. Einstein had been in the US for a visiting professorship at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena at the time.
Quaternions are introduced, October 16, 1843
Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician Sir William Rowan Hamilton introduced quaternions, a non-commutative extension of complex numbers, on October 16, 1843. Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues had already reached a result that amounted to the discovery of quaternions in all but name in 1840, but his work on the subject was published years after Hamilton’s.
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