TECHNICIAN
friday march
22 2013
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Manufacturing provides homegrown opportunities Liz Moomey Staff Writer
In today’s technologically based society, manufacturing has evolved from the small town textile mills and factories of yesteryear, and has instead moved toward an engineering and technically based discipline. As demonstrated by the focus of the Institute of Emergent Issues forum last month on manufacturing, as well as the forum being hosted next Monday, Universities are taking more interest, and are playing larger roles in the economic success of not only North Carolina, but the United States as a whole. This is ev ident right here at N.C. State, where studentfor med companies such as Open Hardware Ma kerspace, Wolfpack Motorsports and NCSU EcoCar2 are attempting to make an impact. Open Hardware Makerspace provides the tools and expertise to make manufacturing on campus more accessible. Started in August 2011, Open Hardware Makerspace has offered training from professionals in an on-campus workshop students can use to build their designs. “We are trying to provide access to equipment for fabrication and for experimentation,” John Turner, former president of Open Hardware Makerspace and senior in mechanical engineering, said. “And having hands-on experience building things makes you a better designer.” In only a year and a half, Open Hardware Makerspace has acquired $10,000 worth of equipment. It focuses on additive manufacturing, a form of sustainable manufacturing
in which fewer materials are used, such as 3D printing. “[Manufacturing] is no longer a brute force, a lot of it is high tech and high skill now,” Turner said. Turner also said that with this shift in manufacturing, he thinks the organization will eventually bridge between the arts and manufacturing. EcoCar2, another manufacturing organization on campus, works to transform a standard car into a hybrid. The team at EcoCar2 studies not only the theory behind hybrid cars but also the processes used by veh icle companies such as Chevy and Ford. “Big car makers are working on these types of cars,” Evan Connell, a senior in mechanical engineering, said. Connell joined Ecocar2 as a part of his independent study and senior design. Currently, the team is designing brackets, the connecting pieces from the old car to the new hybrid, for a custom fit. The team, besides making a more environmentally friendly car, is graded on consumer satisfaction with their final product. “This is exactly what GM or Ford would be doing,” Ryan Springer, a senior in mechanical engineering and control team member, said. He believes that the importance of communication and business is an increasingly important factor in success in the manufacturing world. These student run organizations are pushing the technological envelope and making manufacturing not about the manual work, but about the thought put into each design.
“Universities are taking more interest, and are playing larger roles in the economic success of not only North Carolina...””
PHOTO COURTESY OF COLLEGIATE STANDARD
Marshall Brain, who earned his graduate degree in computer science at N.C. State, founded HowStuffWorks and will speak at an event on Monday called ManufacturingWorks@NCState.
Brain boils down science and success Mark Herring Editor-in-Chief
Marshall Brain, the founder of HowStuffWorks.com, might be a computer programmer by training, but has become a recognizable author and public speaker, especially here in the triangle. While he was studying at N.C. State as a graduate student, Brain wrote a manual on the essentials of the Motif Programming software, and coupled with his software consulting business, Brain became a millionaire after selling his business. Brain said his goal in life was never to get rich, but to help others understand things better. In some cases, it was business software programming, but in the case of HowStuff Works, it was a battery or a how nuclear reactors work. His brand HowStuff Works started as a weekend hobby, and he would “go from one guy writing at his kitchen table on weekends to a huge enterprise.” Since he started HowStuff Works in 1998 as a small website for people who read Popular Mechanics or
National Geographic, the site has become a recognized brand with a line of books and even evolved into a Discovery Channel show. “The audience grew organically like that — the company went through many gyrations with 125 employees,” Brain said. “In 2007, it was sold to Discovery for $250 million.” Brain, who continues to do consulting work, is a public speaker and an unofficial spokesman for STEM education, science communication and manufacturing. Monday, March 25, Brain will speak at the student forum ManufacturingWorks @ NCState, an event presented by the Institute for Emerging Issues and Technician. “When I was working on my masters, I taught as a graduate assistant,” Brain said. “I really loved teaching. HowStuffWorks is essentially a type of teaching. It’s a way to help people understand stuff. The other part is I love to write. I’m always writing something. I’ve always just enjoyed taking stuff apart. HowStuffWorks is the convergence of those three rivers.” Brain’s speech in Monday’s forum will emphasize the importance of
Service Raleigh helps out the city
manufacturing and how engineers — who he called “unsung” and “behind the scenes heroes” — can bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. “Engineering tends to be underrepresented. Engineers are kind of invisible. But STEM is penetrating the education system at all levels.” Brain currently teaches a class on entrepreneurship at the University, and he said the employment and enterprising opportunities in manufacturing appeal to students. “There are so many jobs, and manufacturing is a huge economic driver. Factories are just cool — they are some of the most interesting systems that human beings have created — and if students are interested in the future of the technology and society, they can make a huge difference. We’re in a time of fantastic opportunity, with starting jobs at $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Though we’re in an engineering shortage in the U.S., there is a silver lining to everything, I guess.” Brain’s fascination with factories came into full bloom when he partnered with National Geographic to
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insidetechnician Story headline See page 3.
Jessica Hatcher Staff Writer
Once every year, 2,000 volunteers gather in the City of Raleigh and work on improving the livelihoods of the surrounding community members. For the 16 time, Service Raleigh will be celebrated as a day of service in which N.C. State students, along with other members of the community, will volunteer in a variety of different settings on Saturday. Shelters, elementary schools, parks and museums like the Museum of Natural Sciences, will receive some much-needed help on Saturday, said Nancy Thai, a senior in biological sciences and general co-chair for Service Raleigh. According to Justin Hills, a junior in biological sciences and co-chair for the public relations committee, “Volunteers will also be working at food shuttles, delivering food, and at the Cameron Village Regional Library, doing things like alphabetizing books. That’s what’s so beautiful about Service Raleigh; it’s a large collection of projects that benefit sectors all over Raleigh.” In exchange for their service, vol-
Kim Hunter opens Kimbap Café See page 6.
Top-ranked Tar Heels defeat Pack See page #7.
Basketball See page 8. ARCHIVE/TECHNICIAN
Greg Woo, sophomore in Biochemistry, helps revamp the special needs ministry room at Brooks Avenue Church of Christ on Saturday March 25, 2012.
unteers will be given breakfast, a tshirt and the satisfaction received from helping others, Thai said. Volunteers are placed into groups and assigned to a certain area to work for the day. “We try our best to
match people with sites where they can work. For example, if someone notes that they have allergies or cannot complete strenuous labor, we will not place them at a gardening site,” Thai said. Volunteers are
Spring Housing Fair April 3rd - 10am-2pm- Brickyard
not able to pick where they will serve, but they can form a group and choose who they want to work with.
SERVICE continued page 2
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