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Whiting School of Engineering Video Competition

Throughout this past semester the Whiting School of Engineering organized its first annual WSE Video Competition, the results of which can be viewed at:

http://engineering.jhu.edu/videocompetition08/peopleschoice

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This video is about using engineering techniques in all aspects of life, including the kitchen. In this film, gingerbread men are made using engineering techniques. After adding a secret ingredient to the recipe, something goes very wrong. There is a surprise waiting in the oven. (Click video image to watch entire submission.)

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Students from the schools of Engineering and Arts & Sciences submitted a total of 12 qualifying videos. Each video is 2 - 3 minutes long and students chose from one of the following themes: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, A Day in the Life, A New Discovery, and How it Works. All videos highlight various aspects of engineering at Johns Hopkins.

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The Gracias Lab at Johns Hopkins has developed a relatively easy, precise, and cost-effective process by which the 2D templates of semi-tethered "faces" can self-assemble into controlled 3D structures by utilizing the natural phenomena of surface tension. This video highlights the development, manufacturing process, and proposed functions (cell encapsulation devices and controlled drug delivery carriers) of our self-assembling nanoliter containers. (Click video image to watch entire submission.)

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The videos the students created range from humorous depictions of life as an engineering student, to a mock wildlife documentary on the search and capture of the elusive mechanical engineering student, to animated depictions of research and research documentaries on specific projects.

Parker has come to the Johns Hopkins University campus in search of the elusive Mechanical Engineering Student also known as a Mech-E. Come along for a wild adventure through out the Homewood campus as our host observes, studies, and attempts to capture one of these amazing creatures. (Click video image to watch entire submission.)

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Some groups of students created videos as part of a intersession course offered for this competition by the Digital Media Center. The DMC also assisted other students by providing instruction, workshops, and equipment.

Judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. The public was invited to vote for their favorite video, the People's Choice Award. Unfortunately voting has closed but please go and check out all the videos submissions at:

http://engineering.jhu.edu/videocompetition08/peopleschoice.html

Engineering News Briefs: November and December 2007

Issue of Time Magazine Features JHU Chapter of Engineers Without Borders

Johns Hopkins University's Chapter of Engineers without Borders was featured in a Time Magazine article in their December 10th issue. Here is the direct quote from Time:

At Johns Hopkins University, for example, engineering professor William Ball says more than half of his department's students have signed up with the school's EWB chapter, which is engaged in long-term work to improve irrigation in rural South Africa. "I know for a fact that many students come here because we talk about this sort of work," says Ball. "And that's the kind of student we want to attract."

Click here to read the full article, and learn more about Professor William Ball by clicking here.

Freshmen Mechanical Engineering Students Compete in “Flippy Car” Contest

On December 10, the annual Mechanical Engineering Freshman Design Competition was held. This year’s project? The students had to design a "Flippy Car.” A twist on the usual mouse-trap car: the vehicle had to travel 10 feet, flip over, and then travel another 10 feet, using only the energy stored in rubber bands and mousetraps. Thirteen teams of students, who had worked on their cars for over a month, competed in a single-elimination tournament. Click here to check-out the full details about the Fall 2007 Mechanical Engineering Design Team Project. Click here for even more on MechE Design Projects.

Engineering Student Video Competition Launched!

The first ever Engineering School Student Video Competition launched in  December. Students must submit 2-3 minute videos on the topics:

1. “It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time”
2. “A Day in the Life”
3. A New Discovery
4. “How it Works”

Cash prizes will be awarded to the best videos in early March and a selection of the videos will be made available on the Engineering School website and on YouTube. Prospective students should check back to see what our creative students come up with. Click here to read the full details of the contest.

Mechanical Engineering Professor Featured in Science Magazine

Professor Greg Chirikijian was recently featured in Science Magazine's story "Making Machines That Others of Their Kind." The article discusses the professor's work developing simple robots that can make others like themselves out of a few relatively complex parts. Click here to read the full article and click here to view Professor Chirikijian's faculty profile.

Engineering News Briefs: October 2007

A Team of Whiting School Grad Students Competes in Red Bull Soap Box Challenge

Four Materials Science graduate students have teamed together to create a soap box racer and enter it into the Red Bull Soap Box Challenge. The team of JHU students raced their "Timmy the Turtle" racer in Providence, RI on October 13. For more details on the racer, check out the Red Bull Soap Box teams page. Unfortunately, the JHU team did not win, but their "slow and steady wins the race" motto still could help in future competitions.

Hopkins Engineers Discover the Brain is No Longer Needed

After suffering a spinal cord injury, it’s not the severed communication between the brain and limbs that causes restricted mobility, but the severed communication between limbs. When limbs can't "speak" to each other, walking is impossible. Ralph Etienne-Cummings and his colleagues in Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a chip that can produce communication between limbs. Their work shows terrific promise for people suffering from spinal cord injury. Read about it in EETimes.

It Took 100 Years, But WSE Researchers Finally Made the Change

The way researchers incubate cells has remained the same for 100 years … until recently. This month, engineers in Johns Hopkins’ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering developed a thumbnail-sized micro-incubator that can culture baby hamster kidney cells over a three-day period. Self-contained and requiring no external heating source, the eco-friendly, low cost unit can easily be moved to different microscopes, imaging devices or other experimental tools without jeopardizing the health of the cell culture. Says Jennifer Blain, one of the students responsible for this breakthrough, "Once it's set up, you can just walk away!" Read more about this development in a recent Gazette article.

Engineers Without Borders: Students Supply a Remote South African Village with Water

For the second year in a row, a team of undergraduate engineering students from the Johns Hopkins chapter of Engineers Without Borders traveled to the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa to provide a small, rural village with a water supply and irrigation system. Thanks to the students’ work, the village’s elderly women no longer have to carry heavy loads of water to use for drinking or for their communal vegetable gardens. The student group has plans to implement another water supply project in Guatemala later this year. Learn more about Engineers Without Borders at JHU by visiting their web site.