All in Technology
The EV Effect
Innovation and popularity of the electric vehicle industry has reached new heights recently, as the push for saving our environment through cleaner emissions are taking root in America. The United States is behind in the EV industry when compared to their competitors, but is beginning to take initiative and eliminate gas-powered cars from their roads. Currently, China’s EV market is three times as large as the United States’, but this could soon change as President Biden is proposing a substantial $174 billion investment in the EV market, with hopes to increase domestic supply chains, create American jobs in the industry, and provide sale rebates and tax incentives to encourage both consumers and producers (“The American Job Plan” 2021). Although this infrastructure package is still being debated, the Biden administration has already taken many other steps in promoting a cleaner and more fuel-efficient future.
The World at Our Fingertips
The average human attention span is 8 seconds. The amount seems minuscule, especially considering that the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. However, this was not always the case; in 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds (Stefanski 2020). It seems that people are unable to concentrate without multitasking or being distracted. It may be easy to simply accept this fact as inevitable human nature, but it’s worth considering how this decline in attention span came to be. It’s no coincidence that this substantial change in average human attention span occurred from 2000 to 2013, exactly matching the exponential rise in technological growth. Over the past few decades, devices have provided over 4.93 billion people with the ability to access countless websites and apps (Broadband Search). Even more recently, social media has risen to prevalence as the most popular apps for teens and adults alike. Despite the overabundance of information available on the internet, people seem to have become lazier and unable to focus for more than a few seconds. However, laziness has driven the growth of innovations such as artificial intelligence that have automated simple tasks and revolutionized the world.
Where Do We Fit In: Robots and Humans
Robots have been inspiring both negative and positive impressions ever since they were first conceptualized. On one hand, you have a fear of the unknown. People may see a humanoid device with powerful abilities and give in to the fear perpetuated by decades of movies and language that love to show robots as villains. Classic examples of this include I, Robot and The Terminator, both famous movies that perpetuate the idea of dangerous robots. In a more practical sense, there may be concerns about people losing their jobs to robots. An example of this would be self-driving cars uprooting the traditional trucking industry. Despite these ideas that can circulate in efforts to impede change, many people are excited to have robots in their lives. A 2008 study (C. Ray, et al) showed that many people in their survey group were happy about the prospect of domestic robots. Participants were especially excited about robots capable of verbal communication. Over ten years later, with devices like the Amazon Alexa in our homes, it’s easy to see how these early desires led to the creation of what is now a common interactive piece of technology.
The EV Effect
Innovation and popularity of the electric vehicle industry has reached new heights recently, as the push for saving our environment through cleaner emissions are taking root in America. The United States is behind in the EV industry when compared to their competitors, but is beginning to take initiative and eliminate gas-powered cars from their roads. Currently, China’s EV market is three times as large as the United States’, but this could soon change as President Biden is proposing a substantial $174 billion investment in the EV market, with hopes to increase domestic supply chains, create American jobs in the industry, and provide sale rebates and tax incentives to encourage both consumers and producers (“The American Job Plan” 2021). Although this infrastructure package is still being debated, the Biden administration has already taken many other steps in promoting a cleaner and more fuel-efficient future.
How a Clock is the Missing Piece to Deep Space Travel
Imagine this scenario: You are tasked with shooting an arrow and hitting a target the size of a quarter. This in itself is a pretty difficult task that requires immense accuracy. Now, the quarter-sized target that you are tasked with hitting is sitting in Times Square, New York, and you are standing in Los Angeles. This is the example that Jill Seubert uses to contextualize her job as a deep space navigator. Seubert is in charge of steering spacecraft from the moment they separate away from the launch vehicle until they reach their final destination. She has the opportunity to adjust the course of the spacecraft (the arrow in the analogy) only a couple of times along its trajectory. But in order to make the necessary adjustments, she must know the exact location of the spacecraft at any given moment in time.
The Coding Interview
About four years ago, in August 2017, I began my journey to obtain my undergraduate degree as a biology major on the pre - health track. For the majority of my life, I dreamed of wearing the iconic white lab coat, listening to patients, and providing aid for their ailments. However, all of that changed when I enrolled in the first four courses of my freshman year of college: General Chemistry I, Introduction to Biology I, Composition II, and Faith and Critical Reasoning. I struggled through my first two science courses and after receiving my horrible midterm grades, I promptly decided that biology was no longer for me. I felt lost with what I wanted to do in my life, but I knew that I had to achieve my undergraduate degree one way or another. On average, about 36 million Americans attend college but are unable to complete all of their coursework in order to obtain their respective degrees (Fain, 2019). Although I was incredibly lost in my future, I knew that I wanted to push myself further and finish college as it is an extreme privilege that many do not have. This led me down the path of mathematics where I rediscovered a passion for logical reasoning and calculations. Following this, I enrolled in my first computer science course, Computer Science I.
Pandemic Update: Engineering Advances During COVID-19
While the current pandemic has changed almost every facet of our daily lives, it is important to take a step back from the mundane day to day and appreciate the innovations made in engineering despite all the barriers we have faced this year.
The World at Our Fingertips
The average human attention span is 8 seconds. The amount seems minuscule, especially considering that the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. However, this was not always the case; in 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds (Stefanski 2020). It seems that people are unable to concentrate without multitasking or being distracted. It may be easy to simply accept this fact as inevitable human nature, but it’s worth considering how this decline in attention span came to be. It’s no coincidence that this substantial change in average human attention span occurred from 2000 to 2013, exactly matching the exponential rise in technological growth. Over the past few decades, devices have provided over 4.93 billion people with the ability to access countless websites and apps (Broadband Search). Even more recently, social media has risen to prevalence as the most popular apps for teens and adults alike. Despite the overabundance of information available on the internet, people seem to have become lazier and unable to focus for more than a few seconds. However, laziness has driven the growth of innovations such as artificial intelligence that have automated simple tasks and revolutionized the world.
The Coding Interview
About four years ago, in August 2017, I began my journey to obtain my undergraduate degree as a biology major on the pre - health track. For the majority of my life, I dreamed of wearing the iconic white lab coat, listening to patients, and providing aid for their ailments. However, all of that changed when I enrolled in the first four courses of my freshman year of college: General Chemistry I, Introduction to Biology I, Composition II, and Faith and Critical Reasoning. I struggled through my first two science courses and after receiving my horrible midterm grades, I promptly decided that biology was no longer for me. I felt lost with what I wanted to do in my life, but I knew that I had to achieve my undergraduate degree one way or another. On average, about 36 million Americans attend college but are unable to complete all of their coursework in order to obtain their respective degrees (Fain, 2019). Although I was incredibly lost in my future, I knew that I wanted to push myself further and finish college as it is an extreme privilege that many do not have. This led me down the path of mathematics where I rediscovered a passion for logical reasoning and calculations. Following this, I enrolled in my first computer science course, Computer Science I.