A design challenge is all about planning first and understanding the problem before diving in and looking frantically for a solution. Any experienced engineer or designer will tell one to think first and plan the steps before acting. An experienced carpenter friend of the author always said to "take many measurements and cut once." There is great…

It is important to let students see the value of mathematics in design--and how mathematics lends perspective to problem solving. In this article, the author describes a water-service challenge which enables students to design a water utility system that uses surface runoff into an open reservoir as the potable water source. This challenge…

Teachers do not have to go very far to teach their students about technology education. There are examples right there in the home to keep them and their students quite busy. Many everyday products contain wonderfully fascinating stories and histories of development and invention to keep students totally intrigued. In this article, the author…

For electric energy to get from the generating station to a home, it must pass through a transformer, a device that can change voltage levels easily. This article describes how transformers work, covering the following topics: (1) the magnetism-electricity link; (2) transformer basics; (3) the energy seesaw; (4) the turns ratio rule; and (5)…

The Public Service Electric & Gas Company in New Jersey uses graduate/undergraduate student project teams to explore promising technology that can be further explored in a more formal, contracted research arrangement between the company and academic institutions such as the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Stevens Institute of…