Bicycle Bicentennial

Bicycle Bicentennial Bicycle Bicentennial Bicycle BicentennialThe two-wheeler turns 200 in 2017. In June 1817, German inventor Baron Karl von Drais rode his new laufmaschine (running machine) through the countryside and into history as the precursor to the modern bicycle. That quirky conveyance, which poet John Keats dismissed as the nothing of the day, is going strong two centuries later. Todays bike makers are exploring the frontiers of engineering and materials science to meet a growing demand for customized bikes. So as we look back at the bicycles birth, its worth a glimpse at modern innovations that channel Drais vision into bikes that meet todays needs.The first two-wheeled bike welches born against the backdrop of a global climatological catastrophe known as the Year Without a Summer. In 1815, a massive eruption of the volcanic Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies triggered a dramatic cooling effect across the Northern Hemisphere. Germany was particularly hard-hit, with wid espread famine due to crop failures and livestock deaths. Horses the eras only means of ground transportation grew scarce. As a civic-minded inventor, Drais took on the challenge to create a mechanical people-moving substitute for the horse.Patented in 1818, the original laufmaschine was built on a straight wooden frame weighing in at a cumbersome 50 pounds. It had most of the elements used in modern bikes two in-line wheels, handlebar steering, and a saddle to support the rider. The key missing feature pedal-powered rotary cranks, were still decades away. Instead, the rider would straddle the low-slung bike frame with feet on the ground, pushing the bike forward with walking or running strides. Its the same principle behind the pint-sized balance bikes that help todays children learn to ride a two-wheeler without training wheels.Original draisine of 1817 made-to-measure. Image Wikimedia CommonsEvery Drais machine was a custom job, made to measure for each customers height and str ide. Other builders would soon fine-tune the design, introducing serpentine frames that made room for larger wheels, and adjustable seat height to reduce the need for customization. As the machines improved, their popularity grew rapidly across Europe. The vehicle became known variously as the draisine (or in France, draisienne), the swiftwalker, the hobby horse, or the velocipede which became a more generic term for any multi-wheeled human-powered vehicle. In London, an epicenter of the brief velocipede craze, it was a favorite affectation among a class of status-seeking, style-conscious men of leisure known as dandies hence its most popular nickname, the dandy horse. Eschewing the rutted, dirty city streets for the smooth sidewalks, the self-entitled dandies and their unwieldy horses caused mayhem among pedestrians. A rash of collisions prompted tough ridership restrictions in several cities, marking the beginning of the end of the dandy horses brief reign by 1819.A Look AheadFa st forward 200 years. Peoples love affair with the bike is as strong as ever. And just as in Karl Drais time, global, economic, and societal events still fan that passion. Many cyclists today ride not only to reach a destination but to make a statement of their values whether its personal fitness, sustainability, adventure, or simply a desire to save on gas. Bicycles are traktament for the possibilities they represent to us, says Dwan Shepard, president of Co-Motion Cycles, Eugene, OR, a 30-year-old manufacturer based in the heart of bike-crazy Oregon. Shepard says high-end bikes are no longer sold simply to would-be Tour de France competitors but rather to people who want to take the road less traveled be it to work, to a mountain campsite, or along the local bike path. It doesnt take incredible athleticism, he says. You just need a little time, a bike that is well-appointed for the task, and some determination. There are some superb bikes and equipment being made to make these n ew ideas for cycling easier and more fun.For top-end bikes, riders look for excellent strength-to-weight ratio, superb road feel, and a bit of personal flair and customization is key. The size and complexity of bicycle components, and the exotic materials often used in their construction, has thus far limited the industrys use of 3D printing. But at least in key facets of the manufacturing process thats likely to change, Shepard says. 3D printing now seems to be on the cusp of opening up possibilities beyond anything you and I might have imagined even 10 minutes ago, and I find that amazing, he says.It certainly has already been a very powerful tool for rapid prototyping, and thats where I think it will continue to have its biggest impact.At least experimentally, bike makers and 3D printing companies have leveraged carbon fiber and titanium printing advances to produce some groundbreaking bikes and components. Britains Empire Cycles collaborated with Renishaw to produce what it hai led as the worlds first all-titanium mountain bike. The VRZ-2 track bike designed by Ralf Holleis artfully combines fancy 3D printed titanium lugs with carbon fiber tubes. And, in a nod to Karl Dais, MakerBot has created a fully functional print-at-home version of a dandy horse for kids using its PLA filaments. No single material can be called the best for bicycles, Shepard says. Millions of people are certain that they must have a carbon fiber bike. There are some wonderful carbon fiber bikes, of course. But a builder/manufacturer can do a poor job with the best material, or a superb job with the very worst. The point is, weve got to look beyond the material and look for good design and execution.Michael MacRae is an independent writer.A builder/manufacturer can do a poor job with the best material, or a superb job with the very worst. The point is, weve got to look beyond the material and look for good design and execution.Dwan Shepard, Co-Motion Cycles

5 things that will send your resume straight to the rejection pile

5 things that will send your resume straight to the rejection pile 5 things that will send your resume straight to the rejection pile Your resume is the very first impression that an employer will have of you, and its usually the determining factor in whether you move forward to an interview or get rejected on the spot. That means that its crucial to put real energy into getting it right and yet many job seekers put mora energy into picking out an interview suit than they do into writing a strong, compelling resume.These five common mistakes will virtually ensure that your resume goes straight to the reject pile rather than getting further consideration but are easily avoided.Mistake 1 Your resume is four pages long or even longer.Its true that resumes no longer have to stick rigidly to a single page, but that isnt license to turn your resume into a lengthy essay. If youre in your 20s, your resume still should generally only be one page you havent had enough work experience yet to justify a second one. If youre older than that, two pages are fine, but three will usually raise eyebrows (not in a good way) and anything longer than that will come across as prohibitive self-importance or terrible judgment. In fact, having looked at tends of thousands of resumes, I can tell you that after two pages, there is an inverse relationship between the number of pages of your resume and the strength of your candidacy.Mistake 2 Theres not much information about what you did in each job or, conversely, theres so much information about each job that its a challenge to wade through it all. Your resume needs to contain enough information to explain what you achieved in each job job titles and a single bullet point describing your work in each role arent generally going to be enough. At the same time, though, you cant include so much information that hiring managers eyes glaze over. Youre aiming for highlights, not an exhaustive accounting of everything you did. The idea is to distill your achievements down to what matters most.Mistake 3 Youre extremely overqualified for the job youre applying for and dont address that in your cover letter.When employers get a resume from someone whose skills and experience are far beyond what the role calls for, theyll usually assume that the candidate is either applying to everything they see or that the partie fundamentally misunderstood what the job is. The exception to this is if you explain whyyoure applying for this particular job, despite it potentially seeming like a step back. That means that if your resume shows qualifications far deeper than the job requires, it needs to be accompanied by a cover letter that explains your interest. For example, you might explain that youve realized through experience that front-line accounting work is what you really love, not managing the people doing the accounting work, or that youre deliberately seeking something with less responsibility than youve had in the past in orde r to obtain a better work-life balance, or whatever your reason is.Mistake 4 You left all the dates off.Sometimes in an attempt to avoid age discrimination, older candidates will leave the dates of employment off of their resume altogether. The problem with doing this is that employments dates are such a standard part of a resume that leaving them off stands out in a negative way. Plus, those dates are relevant it matters whether your experience doing relevant work was recent or 15 years ago and whether you did it for six months or for six years. If youre concerned about avoiding age discrimination, a better option is only include your job history for the last 15 years. Your more recent experience is likely to be the most relevant and interesting to employers anyway.Mistake 5 Youre obviously resume-bombing.If your application materials make it clear that youre applying for every job you see that youre remotely qualified for, youre going to torpedo your chances. Employers want candid ates who are interested in the particular job theyre hiring for, not just any job, and whose work history is a strong match for the role. Candidates who spray out resumes in all directions tend to figure that this approach cant hurt but it will waste your time and make a poor impression on employers who otherwise might have considered you in the future.

Submit Your Nomination for the New Faces of Engineering Profe...

Submit Your Nomination for the New Faces of Engineering Profe... Submit Your Nomination for the New Faces of Engineering Profe... Submit Your Nomination for the New Faces of Engineering Professional and College Edition ProgramsOct. 7, 2016 Nominations are now being accepted for New Faces of Engineering Professional and New Faces College Edition, two DiscoverE programs that recognize the achievements of both practicing engineers and engineering students. ASME members and student members who would like to nominate themselves or a colleague to represent the Society in either of the 2017 New Faces programs have until Nov. 18 to complete and submit an online nomination form. The New Faces of Engineering Professional program highlights the contributions of early career engineers to the profession and the resulting impact on society. To represent ASME in the 2017 New Faces Professional class, nominees must be members of ASME, 30 years of age or younger as of Dec. 31, 2016, w ith a degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited U.S. college or university or from an equivalent international institution. The second New Faces program, New Faces College Edition, acknowledges the accomplishments of engineering undergraduates. Nominees must be third-, fourth- or fifth-year students with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. They must also be enrolled in a Bachelor of Science engineering program from an ABET-accredited U.S. college or university or its equivalent. The top New Faces Professional and College Edition applicants from each participating engineering organization will be selected by DiscoverE and announced on April 5, 2017. New Faces Professional winners will be featured on the DiscoverE website and in national and local U.S. media outlets. Winners of the New Faces College Edition will receive scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000 and will be featured on the DiscoverE website, the College Editions Facebook page, and in an ad in thei r college newspaper.To nominate an ASME member or student member for either of the New Faces programs, or for more information, visit www.discovere.org/our-programs/awards-and-recognition/awards-program-overviews. For more information on DiscoverE and its programs, visit www.discovere.org.