Technology and Engineering
An increasing number of researchers and educators in the field of engineering wish to integrate considerations of social justice into their work and practice. In this volume, an international team of authors, from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, invite scholars to think and teach in new ways that acknowledge the social, as well as technical, impact engineering can have on our world and that open possibilities for social justice movements to help shape engineering/technology. The book examines three areas of an engineering academic’s professional role: teaching, research, and community engagement. Some of the authors have created classes to help students think through their roles as engineering practitioners in a changing society, and present case studies here. They also explore questions of access to engineering education. Other contributors are focusing their research on improving the lives of the marginalized and powerless. Yet others are engaging local groups and exploring ways in which universities might serve their communities and in which academic institutions can themselves be more socially just. The contributors take a broad social and ecological justice perspective to critique existing practices and explore alternatives. The result is a handbook for all scholars of engineering who think beyond the technical elements of their field, and an essential reader for anyone who believes in the transformative power of the discipline.
The frontmatter including Table of Contents, can be downloaded as PDF here.
You can also watch an interview about the book with editor, Alice Pawley, broadcast on WBAA Public Radio on February 5, 2012.
Home computer terminals, communication satellites, and video telephones are part of our technology today. Tomorrow's wired city and cashless society stagger us with their implications for societal structure, operation, and evolution. This study gives us the background to understand the problems. The opening three chapters offer a general introduction to the technology, politics, and economics of the telecommunications industry. The remainder of the book presents a variety of case studies relating to the development of telecommunications services and technology. These studies show the influence that political and economic constraints have on technological development. Examples come from radio broadcasting, television data transmission, satellite communications, the telephone, and related areas. Finally, the book examines projections of future developments and proposes ways for controlling them in an equitable manner.
Through archival photographs and engaging stories, More than Bridges celebrates 125 years of the School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University. Since 1887, Purdue Civil Engineers have taken their degrees into the world and touched lives. From the water we drink to the roads we traverse to the power that charges our cell phones, a Purdue Civil Engineer plans, designs, constructs, maintains and operates the infrastructure that is the underpinning of society. Advances through Civil Engineering research and education at Purdue have significantly impacted the world in the last 125 years.
More than Bridges takes the reader from the early years of Civil Engineering when Purdue’s campus consisted of a smattering of red brick buildings surrounded by grassy meadows and roads flanked by white, wooden fences to today’s state-of-the-art facilities such as the Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research and the online hub for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES).
The highly illustrated book touches on major milestones in Purdue Civil Engineering history from Road School, to the Ross Summer Surveying Camp, to Purdue’s involvement in world landmarks such as the Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Tower of Pisa. Often, Purdue Civil Engineers are public servants, evolving research that helps to prevent disasters like building collapses and bridge failures.
More than Bridges honors Purdue’s School of Civil Engineering with historic images and an appealing account of 125 years of education, research and a profession that is, as the title suggests, about so much more than bridges.
Organized Technology is a first step in meeting this challenge. The book is based on an intensive study of radioactive waste and solar cell research, two large-scale technical systems important to U.S. energy policy. Historical and organizational analyses are combined with results from interviews with a national sample of scientists, engineers, managers, policymakers, and public-interest advocates in a new approach to technology analysis.
From the age of ten, looking up at the stars, Jerry Ross knew that he wanted to journey into space. This autobiography tells the story of how he came not only to achieve that goal, but to become the most-launched astronaut in history, as well as a NASA veteran whose career spanned the entire US Space Shuttle program. From his childhood in rural Indiana, through education at Purdue University, and a career in the US Air Force, Ross charted a path to NASA after overcoming many setbacks—from failing to qualify for Air Force pilot training because of “bad” eyesight, to an initial failure to be selected into the astronaut program.
The majority of the book is an insider’s account of the US Space Shuttle program, including the unforgettable experience of launch, the delights of weightless living, and the challenges of constructing the International Space Station. Ross is a uniquely qualified narrator. During seven spaceflights, he spent 1,393 hours in space, including 58 hours and 18 minutes on nine space walks. Life on the ground is also described, including the devastating experiences of the Challenger and Columbia disasters.
For readers who have followed the space program from Mercury through the International Space Station and wonder what comes next, this book provides fascination; for young people interested in space exploration and reaching for their dreams, whatever they might be, this book provides inspiration. Full of stories of spaceflight that few humans have ever experienced, told with humor and honesty, Spacewalker presents a unique perspective on the hard work, determination, and faith necessary to travel beyond this world.
Key Points:
An insider’s account of the US Space Shuttle program, from before its first launch through the final landing, and the building of the International Space Station.
A firsthand account of life in space from the first human to fly seven missions.
An inspirational story of a personal journey from rural Indiana to outer space, powered by a deep Christian faith.
While architects have been the subject of many scholarly studies, we know very little about the companies that built the structures they designed. This book is a study in business history as well as civil engineering and construction management. It details the contributions that Charles J. Pankow, a 1947 graduate of Purdue University, and his firm have made as builders of large, often concrete, commercial structures since the company’s foundation in 1963. In particular, it uses selected projects as case studies to analyze and explain how the company innovated at the project level. The company has been recognized as a pioneer in “design-build,” a methodology that involves the construction company in the development of structures and substitutes negotiated contracts for the bidding of architects’ plans. The Pankow companies also developed automated construction technologies that helped keep projects on time and within budget. The book includes dozens of photographs of buildings under construction from the company’s archive and other sources. At the same time, the author analyzes and evaluates the strategic decision making of the firm through 2004, the year in which the founder died. While Charles Pankow figures prominently in the narrative, the book also describes how others within the firm adapted the business so that the company could survive a commercial market that changed significantly as a result of the recession of the 1990s. Extending beyond the scope of most business biographies, this book is a study in industry innovation and the power of corporate culture, as well as the story of one particular company and the individuals who created it.
Key Features:
There are many books about architects, but very few about twentieth-century “makers.”
Tells the story behind many iconic buildings, especially in the western half of the US.
Charles Pankow was a pioneer in concrete construction and the “design-build” system.
This coffee-table book uses color photographs and captions to tell the story of the first one hundred years of the Purdue University School of Chemical Engineering. Formed four years after a chemical engineering curriculum was established at the University, the School grew rapidly in size and reputation. It was a leader in encouraging women and minority students to become engineers, and it produced many substantial scientific contributions. The School continues to provide expertise and solutions to the “grand challenge” problems that the world faces today, whether in energy, nanotechnology, biotechnology, health care, or advanced materials. Among its thirty faculty members, five are members of the National Academy of Engineering.
The process of industrialization that began over two hundred years ago is continuing to change the way people work and live, and doing it very rapidly, in places like China and India. At the forefront of this movement is the profession of industrial engineering that develops and applies the technology that drives industrialization. This book describes how industrial engineering evolved over the past two centuries developing methods and principles for the planning, design, and control of production and service systems. The story focuses on the growth of the discipline at Purdue University where it helped shape the university itself and made substantial contributions to the industrialization of America and the world. The story includes colorful and creative people like Frank and Lillian Gilbreth of "Cheaper by the Dozen" fame. Lillian was the first lady of American engineering as well a founder of Purdue's Industrial Engineering.
As the built environment ages, demolition has become a rapidly growing industry offering major employment opportunities. During the 1990s the number of contractors grew by nearly 60 percent and there are now over 800 US companies focused on demolition, as well as many more offering this service as part of their portfolio. It has also become an increasingly complex business, requiring a unique combination of project management skills, legal and contractual knowledge, and engineering skills from its practitioners.
Created in partnership with the National Demolition Association, Demolition: Practices, Technology, and Management is written specifically with students of construction management and engineering in mind, although it will also be an invaluable reference resource for anyone involved in demolition projects. Since demolition has become such a central part of construction management, this audience includes practicing architects and engineers, general contractors, building and manufacturing facility owners, as well as government officials and regulators.
Covered in the book is the full range of technical and management issues encountered by the demolition contractor and those who hire demolition contractors. These include modern demolition practices, the impact of different construction types, demolition regulations, estimating demolition work, demolition contracts, safety on the demolition project, typical demolition equipment, debris handling and recycling, use of explosives, demolition contractors' participation in disaster response, and demolition project management.
The scope of disasters ranges from man-made emergency to natural calamity, from a kitchen grease fire to a hurricane or volcanic eruption. It may be just one house that is destroyed, or perhaps a whole infrastructure system is threatened. While each type of event requires a very different scale and type of immediate response, the project management challenges that face restoration and reconstruction professionals after the emergency phase is complete are remarkably similar. Using insights acquired through decades of real-world experience, as well as from his academic research and teaching responsibilities, the author explains pertinent requirements and methods for the contractors and other professionals who bring order from chaos. The first section of the book surveys the managerial skills required to confront the range of disasters that might be encountered and the different project environments involved. The second section examines the details of project management and administration, from materials management to health and safety. The third and final section provides an overview of restoration techniques, from restorative drying to debris management and demolition. This is the first systematic presentation of the tools and skills needed for disaster recovery project management. It is designed primarily for contractors (both large and small firms), although it will also be of value for those who might hire them, the communities they serve, and their organizational partners in the disaster recovery effort. Those who are new to disaster restoration and reconstruction will find the volume particularly useful. Focused on informing the management of projects that recover the built environment, after emergency conditions sufficiently stabilize, the volume supplements and complements books devoted to conventional construction or emergency relief management.
Engineering in a Land-Grant Context is volume of well-crafted essays considers the federal government's first foray into higher education by examining engineering education at the nation's land-grant universities over the past 140 years. The authors demonstrate how that history has framed the present and suggest how it is likely to influence the foreseeable future. The expert contributors, all of whom have studied and written prominently on the history of engineering education, concentrate on revealing the critical trends and major events of this 140 year history. Treating their essays as symptomatic and symbolic of the larger issues, they create a volume accessible to engineers, historians and the interested lay readers. Three central themes and important topics are outlined and explored. Each is locked in time. The first, integration of engineers and engineering education within the newly created and not yet defined land-grant colleges, was particularly important in the initial half-century of land-grant university development; while the second, the forces external to the college and the state that help direct the course of engineering education, is especially appropriate in the half century after World War I. The third, the conscious reformulation of the land-grant ideal, stands as testimony to the introspection and assessment of the last several decades.
Hard Water: Politics And Water Supply In Milwaukee, 1870-1995 by educator and urban studies specialist Kate Foss-Mollan is the documented and historical account of the water supply of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Foss-Mollan blends urban history, technology, biology, research, and political science into a remarkably intriguing and informative saga. From conflicts over supplying poor neighborhoods to partisan debates regarding the necessity of a filtration plant, Hard Water spans over a century with an eye-opening account of the wrangling, machinations, and more all about a seemingly simple drink of water. Very highly recommended for American urban studies reading lists.
Author of six earlier books about United States railroads, John F. Stover packs this narrative history with careful scholarship and colorful description which will appeal to the railroad buff and the professional historian, as well as to any reader who wishes to travel with the "Mother of Railroads" through an exciting period in United States history.
Beginning with the first Indiana canal effort in 1804, this narrative deals with the half century of canal agitation in the valleys of the Wabash and Whitewater rivers. The rising tide of enthusiasm for internal improvements reached flood stage in the mammoth system legislation of 1836, which provided for a network of canals throughout the state, and for several turnpikes and a few railroads as well
The book describes, and where possible illustrates, historic mechanical engineering landmarks, representing the accomplishments of mechanical engineers over the past 250 years-from the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen (1712), which launched the Industrial Revolution, to the Saturn V rocket (1967). Some of them are recognizable to us all, such as Xerography, Sikorsky's helicopter, and Disneyland's monorail. Others work behind the scenes or have been superseded, such as the Owens "AR" bottle machine and the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower. The landmarks are grouped into such categories as mechanical power production, power transmission, minerals extraction and refining, food processing, environmental control, transportation, biomedical engineering, and communications and data processing. Each section is introduced by an essay that helps place each landmark into the context of technical and general history. While some of these landmarks have not survived intact, others can be visited, and travel information is provided. The machines that shape our society help educate us about an important facet of human history and how technology has influenced it. ASME International's landmarks program identifies and recognizes artifacts of significance before they disappear. This roster of landmarks tells a magnificent story of people and places and of innovation and discovery.
NOTE: As of July 2011 the rights in this book have been reverted to ASME Press. The Purdue University Press edition has been declared "out of print" but copies may still be available from ASME Press (www.asme.org).
Learning and Knowledge for the Network Society discusses technology, policy and manage-ment in a context much influenced by a dynamic of change and a necessary balance between the creation and diffusion of knowledge. It is largely grounded on empirical experiences of different regional and national contexts and addresses the dynamics of the process of knowledge accumulation, which drives a learning society. This fact is reflected in the trend in developed economies towards an increasing investment in advanced technology, research and development, education, and culture, but also in the process of inclusive development, which should be considered for less-developed countries. Concepts such as learning ability, creativity, and sustained flexibility gain greater importance as guiding principles for the conduct of individuals, institutions, nations, and regions. It is thus legitimate to question the traditional way of viewing the role that contemporary institutions play in the process of economic development and to argue for the need to promote systems of innovation and competence building based on learning and knowledge networks
Purdue University has played a leading role in providing the engineers who designed, built, tested, and flew the many aircraft and spacecraft that so changed human progress during the 20th century. It is estimated that Purdue has awarded 6% of all BS degrees in aerospace engineering, and 7% of all PhDs in the United States during the past 65 years. The University’s alumni have led significant advances in research and development of aerospace technology, have headed major aerospace corporations and government agencies, and have established an amazing record for exploration of space. More than one third of all US manned space flights have had at least one crew member who was a Purdue engineering graduate (including the first and last men to step foot on the moon). The School of Aeronautics & Astronautics was founded as a separate school within the College of Engineering at Purdue University in 1945. The first edition of this book was published in 1995, at the time of the School’s 50th anniversary. This corrected and expanded second edition brings the School’s illustrious history up-to-date, and looks to Purdue’s future in the sky and in space.
Operational Research in Industry brings together the experience and expertise of an international group of consultants, researchers, and academics. The book gives practical examples of cross-industry management and covers many different industrial sectors. The selected applications particularly highlight areas where the global market and competition play a crucial part in the decision-making process. The authors' methodologies utilize the tools at the forefront of operational research, especially in modeling, optimization, and data mining. Each chapter describes models, introduces solution techniques, and reports the benefits of implementation. The whole text represents a valuable and up-to-date reference for technical managers, operational researchers, scientists, teachers, and practitioners.
With its easy-to-read writing style, Productivity and Reliability-Based Maintenance Management provides a strong yet practical foundation on Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). This comprehensive practical guide departs from the wait-failure-emergency repair cycle that plagues many industries today. Instead, this text takes a proactive and productive maintenance approach, focusing on how to avoid failure in the first place. By using real-world case studies in every chapter, the author reinforces the importance of sound and proactive maintenance practices. The use of end-of-chapter problems and discussion questions helps to solidify concepts presented. Productivity and Reliability-Based Maintenance Management is a powerful educational tool for students as well as maintenance professionals and managers.
Students and instructors, please note: The contents of this Purdue UP paperback edition are the same as the latest edition previously published by Prentice Hall in 2004 (ISBN 9780130966575). If you already have that edition, do not buy this one.
In the early 1940s, prior to the United States' entry into World War II, through the joint efforts of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, British soldiers were sent to the United States for flight training. This collection gives first-person accounts of the men who learned the art of flying in a place far from their homeland -- Florida. The stories provide a wonderful contrast between the two cultures and are told in the voices of British cadets, American cadets who trained with them, instructors, and other individuals who welcomed the British cadets into their homes and lives.
Scholars from different disciplines and perspectives increasingly recognize that modern regional economic growth critically depends on factors like active networking, favorable institutions, entrepreneurial spirit and a fast production and circulation of knowledge. Regional Development and Conditions for Innovation in the Network Society is organized in three main parts. Part I, titled "Emerging Concepts and Approaches," has four chapters that focus on the key concepts of innovation and sustainability and on evolutionary thinking. In addition, an overall picture is given of approaches to innovation in a spatial context and to regional policymaking. Part II, titled "Telecom Infrastructures Strategies and Implications," has five chapters with a focus on the adoption strategy of ICT by various governments and on implications of ICT use on housing and production. Part III, "Conditions for Networks, Entrepreneurship and Development of High-Tech Clusters," contains seven chapters, each with a focus on requirements for high-technology based economic growth, such as technology competence, job features, the role of change agents, venture capital and specific networking.
Ethics is customarily understood as being concerned with questions of responsibility for and in the face of an other who is like we assume ourselves to be. Such an anthropocentric presumption has been significantly challenged by computer technology, intelligent systems, virtual realities, and cybernetics, all of which introduce the possibility of others that are and remain otherwise. Thinking Otherwise investigates the unique challenges, complications, and possibilities introduced by these different forms of otherness. The author formulates alternative ways of proceeding that are able to respond to and to be responsible for these other different forms of otherness in order to generate and develop alternative ways of thinking that are and remain oriented otherwise.
In 1889, California orange growers faced a devastating attack of cottony-cushion scale. In response, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) imported the Australian vedalia beetle, which preyed on the insect that caused the scale. In less than a year the vedalia beetle eliminated the pest, and a standard for biological control was established. The predation of pests by other insects is but one component of Richard Sawyer's To Make a Spotless Orange. The focus of the work is biological pest control in the California citrus industry, and through this discussion other themes emerge. The creation of consumer demand for California oranges, the maturation of the science of entomology, and the technology of biological control contribute to the story of managing agricultural pests in the citrus industry. Sawyer begins by assessing the emergence of the California citrus industry. According to Sawyer, this group of producers is uniquely inclined to accept nontraditional production methods, such as biological control. The success of the vedalia beetle increased their expectations for additional triumphs. Entomologists from the federal government and the state of California tempered the enthusiasm of producers and fellow scientists to prevent the accidental introduction of harmful insects. The need to produce a spotless orange is a model of producers' creating a demand for a product. A bright, shiny orange free of blemishes appealed visually to the consumer, but citrus growers wished to increase the demand for their product by other means. Sawyer cites the 1908 "Oranges for Health, California for Wealth" campaign in Iowa as an example of cooperation between the California Fruit Growers Exchange (renamed Sunkist Growers in 1952) and the Southern Pacific Railroad to encourage citrus consumption and emigration to California (p. 33). The consumption of oranges by Iowans increased 50 percent that year, and many Midwesterners did relocate to the West. Citrus growers believed in the gospel of the spotless orange, and growers employed chemical and biological means to receive the premium price for blemish-free fruit. Anyone who challenged the high cosmetic standards for the oranges was denounced. Sawyer emphasizes the importance of the individual in establishing a credible biological control program in California through his analysis of the role of Harry Smith, the first director of the California Department of Biological Control in Riverside. Smith cultivated and received the respect of the USDA administrators, local officials, and producers. After he retired in [End Page 801] 1951, succeeding administrators could not maintain the consensus he had established. Academic politics weakened the department, and factions at Berkeley and Riverside oversaw the dissolution of the only state department of biological control. To Make a Spotless Orange is organized chronologically, and the narrative is easily followed. Sawyer succinctly describes the shifting definition of biological control and the ongoing successes and failures of the work. Entomologists first restricted biological control to only the introduction of insects to combat pests. By the 1940s, however, biological control expanded to combating weeds. The later introduction of sterile pests is recognized as another means of biological control. Sawyer also considers the tension and cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies as well as the dynamic between private and university interests. He addresses American cultural history, such as the social climate after World War II, and the reaction to the intensified use of chemical applications following the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. An extended treatment of Carson's book would have enhanced this book. Sawyer argues that California agricultural scientists dedicated themselves to their perceived constituents, the citrus growers. This assertion requires additional development. Conversely, as entomologists investigated biological control, they found that producers selected cheaper and more effective chemical applications. Agricultural scientists sometimes neglected the effect of chemicals on public health, which led to criticism that the researchers served as agents of agribusiness. Sawyer contends that biological control developed through the support of agribusiness, and that the story is more complex than a morality tale against intensive fruit production. The work concludes with a reassessment of biological control and its relationship to agriculture. Though advocates for biological control continue to argue for its use, research universities look toward pure science rather than applications. The "juncture of pure and applied science" employed by agricultural scientists is no longer in balance, and many institutions no longer value the pure science outcomes discovered through applied science (p. 67). Sawyer's work is a valuable contribution to the history of American technology and agriculture in the twentieth century, and it serves as a useful argument for applied science
As professor of farm finance and Governor of the Farm Credit Administration, William I. Myers promoted scientific farm management and co-operative marketing. This text provides a biography of a pioneer who played a role in transforming farming from a way of life into a science and business