Senior Design I and Engineering Orientation

1. Senior Design I and Engineering Orientation In the circumference of a circle the beginning and end are common Heraclitus of Ephesus

2. Engineering Orientation The specialization areas and professional organizations for engineers 1) How an engineer plans and completes a project Basic computer tools used by engineers 2) How to write a technical report 3) How to prepare and give an effective oral presentation 4) How to work effectively within a team 5) Professional Ethics Importance of Lifelong learning Senior Design Beginning of the Major Design Experiment 5) Professional Ethics, 3) Oral Communications, 1) Project Feasibility Study, 2) Proposal Writing, 1) System Design Methodology, Human Factors, Intellectual Property, Liability and Schedules. 4) Teamwork In the circumference of a circle the beginning and end are common

3. The Senior Design Project Requirements • Senior Design Projects are ill-structured. • Because their solutions cannot normally be found by applying mathematical formulas or algorithms in a routine or structured way. Mathematics is both useful and essential in engineering design, but much less so in the early stages when “formulas” are both unavailable and inapplicable.

4. The Senior Design Project Requirements • Senior Design Projects are open-ended. • Because they usually have several acceptable solutions. Uniqueness, so important in many mathematics and analysis problems, simply does not apply to design solutions. In fact, more often than not designers work to reduce or bound the number of design options they consider lest they be overwhelmed by the possibilities.

5. The Senior Design Project Requirements • Senior Design Projects are new. • You need to design something that, to the best of your knowledge, is new or is a new approach to a previous design. • Doesn’t that mean that somehow you need to be inventors?

6. Motivations for inventors • Necessity • Curiosity • Challenge of Unsolved Problems • To Discover a New Technology • Monetary Rewards

7. When Do Inventors Invent? • Probably the best answer to this question is: • They invent at the same days an hours that the Sales People sale: • All the Time! • It is not that you need to be in a tedious monotone career. • It means that there is no predetermined schedule for Creativity or Opportunities

8. Some Myths about Inventors • In order to invent you need to be mature • Myth: If somebody patents first you loose your invention • If you patent your invention you are safe • The team did it I want my share • Most successful inventors have years of experience in their fields • In order to invent you need to have a lot of resources

9. Some Myths about Inventors • Myth: In order to invent you need to be mature • George Westinghouse, at age 19, obtained his first patent, for a rotary steam engine. • 1824 When Louis Braille was 15 years old, he developed an ingenious system of reading and writing by means of raised dots. Today, in virtually every language throughout the world, Braille is the standard form of writing and reading used by blind people.

10. Some Myths about Inventors • Myth: In order to invent you need to be mature • 1642 The mechanical adding machine was invented by a nineteen year old French boy named Blaise Pascal . • 1648 Anton van Leeuwenhoek is best known for his work on the improvements of the microscope, at the age of 16. • 2005 Taylor Hernandez, age 10, invented "Magic Sponge Blocks," large building blocks made from sponge that can safely stack high without worry that they could fall and hurt a child.

11. Some Myths about Inventors • Myth: In order to invent you need to be mature

12. Philo Farnsworth In 1922 a 14-year-old farm boy first sketched an idea for his science teacher…"What has this got to do with Chemistry?" Tolman asked. "I've got this idea," Farnsworth calmly replied. "I've got to tell you about it because you're the only person I know who can understand it." The boy paused and took a deep breath. "This is my idea for electronic television.“ "Television?" Tolman said, "What's that?"

14. Some Myths about Inventors • Myth: If somebody patents first you loose your invention • The U.S. has a “first to invent” policy regarding invention, meaning that the first originator of an invention receives credit for it. • The first person to patent an invention will not receive credit unless they were also the first to invent it. • The presumption is that the first to reduce to practice is the first to invent

15. Some Myths about Inventors • Myth: If somebody patents first you loose your invention • How to Prove the Idea Is Yours • Use a Notebook with consecutively numbered and permanently bound pages • Put your ideas in writing completely and accurately. Fully describe the invention in words and pictures. • Date all your Entries and write with pen. • Do not remove or skip pages • The notebooks should be witnessed weekly by two knowledgeable people you trust which are not relatives of you • Don’t wait too long, this might change soon

16. Some Myths about Inventors • If you patent your invention you are safe • Patent rights are based on claims of the patent. • What is protected is the invention as claimed. • Infringer is accused of infringing the claims of a patent.

17. Some Myths about Inventors • If you patent your invention you are safe • Netflix claims it is, and is suing Blockbuster for patent infringement for allegedly copying its seven-year-old online movie-rental business method. Netflix Inc. v. Blockbuster Inc., No. C 06 2361 (N.D. Calif.) • But Blockbuster is countersuing, claiming that Netflix is trying to monopolize the online movie-rental industry and stifle competition. Blockbuster also alleges that Netflix obtained its patents fraudulently by failing to disclose pertinent information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Blockbuster also argues there is nothing original about renting videos online in the first place. • http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1157629869643

18. Some Myths about Inventors • If you patent your invention you are safe • Only if there were no flaws in your application • Only if you have the financial muscle for the fight • It could be wise to get a partner for your patent but, be careful

19. Some Myths about Inventors • The team did it I want my share • If each had a share in the ideas forming the invention as defined in the claims – even if only as to one claim, they are joint inventors and a patent will be issued to them jointly on the basis of a proper patent application. • If, on the other hand, one of these persons has provided all of the ideas of the invention, and the other has only followed instructions in making it, the person who contributed the ideas is the sole inventor and the patent application and patent shall be in his/her name alone.

20. Some Myths about Inventors • Most successful inventors have years of experience in their fields • One Saturday morning in 1993, when she was eight years old, Abigail M. Fleck and her father, Jonathan, were cooking bacon in their St. Paul, Minnesota home. Inspired by an offhand comment from her father,. Abbey Fleck invented a new, quicker and healthier way to cook bacon, then founded a company to sell her product, The Makin' BaconŒ.

21. http://www.ideafinder.com/features/classact/young.htm • 1721 In 1721, Benjamin Franklin at the age of 15, was busily occupied in delivering newspapers by day and in composing articles for it at night. These articles, published anonymously, won wide notice and acclaim for their pithy observations on the current scene. • At the age of 15, Cyrus Hall McCormick invented a lightweight cradle for carting harvested grain. Seven years later, in 1831 he invented the reaper, a horse drawn farm implement to cut small grain crops. • 1830 Henry Bessemer produced his first invention at the age of seventeen--embossed stamps for use on title deeds. At that time, the British government was losing thousands of pounds in revenue each year through the illegal reuse of title stamps. Bessemer's invention made the crime impossible and earned him his first job. • 1862 When he was 15 years old Thomas Alva Edison published a weekly newspaper, printing it in a freight car that also served as his laboratory. While working as a telegraph operator, he made his first important invention, a telegraphic repeating instrument. • 1865 Since the age of 18, Alexander Graham Bell had been working on the idea of transmitting speech. While working on a multiple telegraph, he developed the basic ideas for the telephone.

22. 1873 At age 17, Chester Greenwood applied for a patent. For the next 60 years, Greenwood's factory made earmuffs. Greenwood went on to create more than 100 other inventions. • 1921 Philo Farnsworth a 14-year-old had an idea while working on his father's Idaho farm. Philo realized an electron beam could scan a picture in horizontal lines, reproducing the image almost instantaneously. It would prove to be a critical breakthrough, towards electronic television. • 1930 At 16 yrs. old, George Nissen finished high school and set out to develop a bouncing apparatus(trampoline). Working in his parents’ garage using steel materials he found at a junkyard, he built a rectangular frame with a piece of canvas stretched across it. It was an instant hit ­ Nissen was sure he could commercialize it. • 1958 As a 17-year-old high school junior, Robert Heft found himself in need of a class project. His proposed 50 star American Flag idea was initially turned down by the teacher. He went ahead and finished his project, receiving a B minus for his efforts. Heft's teacher compromised and promised to deliver a better classroom grade if he could get the U.S. Congress to accept his flag. The rest is history. • 1972 Rebecca Schroeder from Toledo, Ohio, USA was ten when she became an inventor. Becky got a patent for her invention in 1974; she was on television and won awards for it. She improved upon the idea over the next few years eventually calling it the Glo-Sheet. The Glo-Sheet has been used in many places. Doctors use them so they can check patient's notes in the dark without waking them up and the US Navy and NASA have used them. • 1993 One Saturday morning in 1993, when she was eight years old, Abigail M. Fleck and her father, Jonathan, were cooking bacon in their St. Paul, Minnesota home. Inspired by an offhand comment from her father,. Abbey Fleck invented a new, quicker and healthier way to cook bacon, then founded a company to sell her product, The Makin' BaconŒ. • 2000 "I called it a Batball because I can store my baseballs inside the bat and I like it. It's really cool.'' says Jacob Dunnack age 8.

23. http://www.derbymanagement.com/knowledge/pages/knowing/myths.htmlhttp://www.derbymanagement.com/knowledge/pages/knowing/myths.html • THE MYTHS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP • A fun new shoe store just opened its second location. The store could continue to do well with just a few locations, or it could develop a new model or approach to shoe-selling that propels it to national prominence. In other words, it can evolve into a successful small business or it can make the leap to an entrepreneurial growth company. • According to a new report from the National Commission on Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial growth companies are indistinguishable from small businesses until they enter a "growth" phase during which they are transformed into something almost entirely different. • Small companies that are able to "morph" into growth companies have a proposed product, service or distribution scehme that boosts productivity. And while most small-business owners would be satisfied if the business prospers and provides a steady stream of income and employment, most successful high-growth entrepreneurs aim to create a large, national or multinational company and intend to do whatever is required to achieve that objective. • Growth companies are often clustered around newly deregulated and emerging industry sectors such as telecommunications, financial services, and, most obviously, information technology -- where potential productivity gains are enormous. This is in contrast to the most popular small-business sectors, such as construction, retailing and cleaning services. • "Many fast-growing startups, in their earliest stages, often are indistinguishable from small businesses. Once these startups take off in their growth stage, that's where all similarities end. The challenge is to educate lawmakers about this key difference, and fashion policies to better support these high-growth companies," NCOE Executive Director Patrick Von Bargen said.

24. The NCOE report, "Five Myths about Entrepreneurs: Understanding How Businesses Start and Grow," says initiatives intended to aid entrepreneurs can be misdirected due to confusion about the true nature of entrepreneurial growth companies. • The five myths: • 1. The Risk-Taking Myth: "Most successful entrepreneurs take wild, uncalculated risks in starting their companies." • Risk is an intrinsic part of any business venture. It is only later on in the development of the company, when the business has created some real value, that entrepreneurs risk losing it all if they are to continue growing. • 2. The High-Tech Invention Myth: "Most successful entrepreneurs start their companies with a breakthrough invention -- usually technological in nature." • Having a breakthrough invention, a unique product or a radically new process is not a necessary element at the beginning of most successful growth companies. • There are exceptions, like Federal Express, which was started in the 1970s on the then-unheard of idea of creating a worldwide system of transportation dedicated to providing overnight delivery of packages. But far more common are entrepreneurial growth companies like Jiffy Lube, which brought moderate change and certainly marketable distinctions -- but not "revolution" -- to the way we change our oil. • 3. The Expert Myth: "Most successful entrepreneurs have strong track records and years of experience in their industries."

25. While founders of successful companies may become knowledgeable and prominent in their field later on, early-stage growth companies are just as likely to be started by relative amateurs with little background experience in the field. A full 40 percent of Inc. 500 founders had no prior experience in the industry they were entering, according to NCOE research. • For example, Jann Wenner started Rolling Stone magazine when he was just 21 and just out of college. Steve Wozniak, who helped found Apple Computers, was an "undistinguished" engineer at Hewlett-Packard when he built the first Apple computer. John Katzman was a part-time tutor at Hunter College in New York when he founded the Princeton Review, a test-preparation and tutoring company.

26. 4. The Strategic Vision Myth: "Most successful entrepreneurs have a well-considered business plan and have researched and developed their ideas before taking action." • Strategic planning and research are in fact hallmarks of the later stages of development, rather than a necessary initial ingredient. For many startups, extensive research and planning are often both unnecessary and financially impossible. At this early stage, adaptiveness is much more important than a thorough, rationalized decisionmaking process.

27. 5. The Venture Capital Myth: "Most successful entrepreneurs start their companies with millions in venture capital to develop their idea, buy supplies, and hire employees." • Venture capital is dominant in some industry sectors -- biotech, some high-tech startups, Internet -- where capital requirements force companies to skip the early growth stages. But it -- or any other type of formal financial support -- is surprisingly uncommon among most successful entrepreneurial growth companies at their early stages of development. In 1999, for example, fewer than 4,000 of the roughly 700,000 new businesses created were venture capital-funded. That means that less than 1 percent of all new businesses were backed by venture capital. • Even Bill Gates and Paul Allen, founders of Microsoft, failed to secure venture capital when they started their company in 1975. And networking giant Cisco Systems was initially financed from the personal savings and borrowings of its two founders.

28. Square-Bottom Paper Bag • Margaret Knight (1838-1914) of Boston is credited with about 90 inventions and 22 patents. Her patents covered textile and shoe-making machinery, domestic devices, and even a "sleeve-valve" automobile engine. Knight's greatest success, however, was the first machine to make the square-bottomed paper bags. Others had been trying to develop such a machine for years, since the envelope-shaped bags then used were narrow and flimsy.

29. Myth: In order to invent you need to have a lot of resources

30. References • Excerpts from the book “Engineering Design, a Project Based Introduction”, second edition by Clive I. Dym and Patrick Little. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25687-0 • Excerpts from The book “The Book of Inventions” Ian Harrison, National Geographic Society • http://www.ideafinder.com/features/classact/young.htm • http://www.derbymanagement.com/knowledge/pages/knowing/myths.html • http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/fleck.html