I (heart) geeks
Geeks have serious tech appeal. It’s not something you hear about often, but it’s something I see on a daily basis. Disclaimer: I work in the communications office at Missouri S&T. So yes, I have a bias, but that also means I get first-hand access to some serious geekhood.
Twenty-first-century geeks loves gadgets. Discarded are the pocket protectors and thick-rimmed glasses. In their place are the ubiquitous white earbuds and Bluetooth headsets. Blackberries, iPods and tiny cell phones are just part of the updated “geek” dress code. And you know what? They look marvelous.
The thing about these lovable geeks is that when you get them in a group, you can count on some serious action. Need to build a solar car that can travel cross country? No sweat. Want to create a superbike to try to break the collegiate human-powered land speed record? Go for it. Interested in learning how to (safely) blow things up? Welcome to summer camp.
Geeks can make things happen, especially when asked to tweak technology. That’s how a group of Missouri S&T graduate students decided a Roomba, the ultimate techie household appliance, could be manipulated to do more than vacuum a carpet. The students recently programmed the small, robotic vacuum cleaners to communicate with one another and coordinate their actions. The technology they developed, which allows the robots to use sensors to search independently for a pre-programmed target, could one day be used to remove bombs and landmines, or other dangerous search operations.
Roaming Roombas are one thing; figuring out how we can develop new, sustainable sources of energy is quite another. And like most challenges, the solutions will look dramatically different depending on who you ask. Medhi Ferdowsi and Mariesa Crow, two Missouri S&T researchers, will work with Kokam American Inc., the city of Kansas City, Mo., and the Missouri Transportation Institute to develop a $1.7 million plug-in hybrid vehicle demonstration project. Kansas City plans to purchase roughly a dozen small to mid-size plug-in hybrid sedans for employees to drive while they serve community needs. The vehicles, using Kokam batteries, would be deployed in downtown Kansas City.
Plug-in hybrids may have found their way to Chiefs country, but hydrogen-powered shuttles have made their home on the Missouri S&T campus. The state’s first hydrogen fueling station will open this summer, providing both the fuel for Missouri S&T’s two hydrogen shuttles and a test bed for demonstrating the safe generation, storage and dispensing of hydrogen. Missouri S&T researchers like John Sheffield are betting the Show-Me State is suited to develop and demonstrate the proper operation of hydrogen highways in a rural setting, which represents more than 25 percent of the nation’s transportation needs.
All women – and most men – remember that February’s holiday spotlight is owned by Valentine’s Day. This year, I’d ask you to take a moment during National Engineers Week (Feb. 17-23) to spread some of that love you’re feeling to a fellow geek. Tell them you (heart) them too.