Adam, Brian, Carmen, and Jeff discuss the importance of accurately estimating time and budget as a practicing engineer. Brian frequently makes estimates as part of his professional duties. Detrimental effects of our anchoring bias are noted by

Episode 138 — Still Awkward

Dec 18th, 2017 43m 5s

We catch up with Sam Feller (who previously joined us in Episode 70), discussing his interests, projects, and latest entrepreneurial ventures. Having left industry to pursue an academic career, Jeff isn’t chomping at the bit to move back into t

Episode 137 — Late Summer

Dec 4th, 2017 58m 55s

In an episode that was recorded in early October, Adam, Carmen, and Jeff reflect on their summer activities, and on plans for the remaining months of 2017. Carmen spent a lot of his summer traveling, both domestically and internationally. Altho

Episode 136 — Circle of Competence

Sep 27th, 2017 1h 4m

Adam, Brian, Carmen, and Jeff consider the boundaries of one’s own competence in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Competencies seem to be driven by past failures, notes Brian. For learning about “magical potions” developed with “unicorn

Episode 135 — Target Audience

Aug 14th, 2017 59m 6s

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, the gang discusses tailoring a presentation to meet the needs and interests of your intended audience. Adam’s favorite form of communication is an old-fashioned face-to-face conversation. The data thr

Episode 134 — Twenty Forty

Jul 26th, 2017 1h 3m

Adam, Carmen and Jeff discuss how engineering might change by the year 2040 in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Adam hopes to move a little higher into middle management over the next decade… unless he wins the lottery and can immediate

Episode 133 — Embarrassed Engineer

Jun 27th, 2017 1h 12m

This episode finds the gang discussing engineering projects that went awry, but did not result in the loss of human life. While map makers include trap streets to catch copyright violators, Adam reassures us he’s never been asked to physically

Episode 132 — By Any Other Name

Jun 5th, 2017 59m 58s

We discuss the case of an Oregon man fined for “practicing engineering without a license” in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Both Jeff and Adam have attended a few plays authored by William Shakespeare. A line from Shakespeare’s play R

Episode 131 — Five Years

May 22nd, 2017 1h 7m

Chris Gammell returns to The Engineering Commons to discuss how his views on engineering education (and the engineering profession) have evolved over the past five years. Jeff is coming to appreciate that learning is a social event. Massively o

Episode 130 — DC Motors

May 8th, 2017 1h 29m

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, we discuss an electromechanical component commonly used to achieve physical motion; the ubiquitous direct-current (DC) motor. Carmen admits to getting turned on by electricity… and sugar! Although dif

Episode 129 — Noticing

Apr 10th, 2017 1h 13m

We are joined once more by Dave Goldberg, author of A Whole New Engineer, to discuss the critical engineering skills of noticing, listening, and questioning. Brian takes a 50/50 shot at guessing whether President Lincoln faces left or right on

Episode 128 — Industrial Academic

Mar 20th, 2017 1h 22m

Dr. Dave Vandenbout offers up his insights on choosing between academic and industrial careers in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Carmen wastes no time in revealing his secret method for stress-testing CMOS chips. X-ray systems can be

Episode 127 — Technical Writing

Mar 6th, 2017 1h 22m

We talk with iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens about documenting and sharing technical procedures, especially those related to the repair of consumer devices. We start this episode by catching up on some past episodes… In Episode 111, “Environmental Engine

Episode 126 — Diesel Power

Feb 20th, 2017 1h 3m

Aeronautical engineer Clay Coons joins us to discuss the many applications of diesel engines. Adam’s Kubota BX tractor is powered by a 23 HP diesel engine. During his high school years, Jeff learned that gasoline (petrol) engines don’t run too

Episode 125 — Cubicle Farm

Feb 6th, 2017 1h 8m

We discuss how the workplace environment influences our productivity in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Jeff is currently sharing an office, so although he doesn’t have much extra space, he does have a door he can close when necessary.

Episode 124 — Mad Skillz

Jan 23rd, 2017 1h 3m

The gang discusses how one acquires the skills most frequently used by engineering professionals. Brian knows that parliamentary procedures are described in Robert’s Rules of Order, but he has not had to use such procedures in the course of his

Episode 123 — Transitions 2016

Jan 9th, 2017 1h

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, we discuss transitions experienced by Adam, Carmen and Jeff during the past year. Brian participates in our round-robin discussion, but it seems his 2016 was fairly routine. Adam has been residing in

Episode 122 — Jared Asks

Dec 26th, 2016 1h 20m

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, we answer questions from listener Jared about coping as an engineering student. Carmen informs us that making accurate estimations is an important engineering skill. In this episode, we answer questio

Episode 121 — Idle Doodling

Nov 28th, 2016 1h 6m

In this episode of The Engineering Commons, our intrepid crew discusses planning, leading and attending the dreaded corporate meeting. It seems that Brian elects to daydream when in boring meetings, whereas Jeff has been known to doodle extensi

Episode 120 — Augmented Engineer

Nov 14th, 2016 1h 8m

This episode of The Engineering Commons finds Adam, Brian, Carmen and Jeff predicting how virtual and augmented realities might soon be incorporated into daily engineering activities. Adam’s not so sure he’s ready to plug into the Matrix. Brian

Episode 119 — Gears

Oct 31st, 2016 1h 14m

Brian, Carmen and Jeff discuss mechanical gears in this episode of The Engineering Commons. Although a mechanical engineer, Jeff isn’t much for working on cars. We share a few stories about synchronizing generators, including use of a synchrosc

Episode 118 — Practical Engineering

Oct 17th, 2016 1h 25m

In this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast, we talk with civil engineer Grady Hillhouse, producer of YouTube’s Practical Engineering channel. Carmen has been known to wield a reciprocating saw as he refines his woodworking skills. Our g

Episode 117 — Soft Skills

Sep 30th, 2016 1h 14m

This episode of The Engineering Commons dives into the importance of “soft skills” to engineering professionals. A fictional giant from the 1984 Ghostbusters movie, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man is the chosen form of Gozer the Gozerian. We use

Episode 116 — The Grid

Sep 8th, 2016 1h 7m

Adam, Brian and Jeff discuss the electrical grid in this episode of The Engineering Commons. The difference engine, conceived of by J. H. Müller in 1786, and designed by Charles Babbage in the 1820s, is often considered the world’s first comput

Episode 115 — Bearings

Aug 21st, 2016 1h 15m

Carmen and Jeff discuss mechanical bearings in this episode of The Engineering Commons podcast. Carmen has a pretty good sense of his navigational bearing, but is less knowledgeable about mechanical bearings. U.S. interstate highways are number