Today in History – July 29, 1958 – NASA is established. Before the launch of Sputnik, the United States felt confident in its position on space technology. The modern liquid fueled rocket had been invented in America by Robert Goddard. In addition Wernher von Braun, the developer of the successful German V2 rocket was working for the US Army’s rocket program. The view in Washington was that the government should only develop purely military rockets and leave the rest to the private sector. Wernher von Braun was even discouraged from developing rockets that could carry satellites. That all changed when the Soviet Union launch Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The United States had clearly lost its edge in space technology and it was decided that a new federal agency should be established for non-military space programs.

On July 29, 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Eilene Galloway was instrumental in drafting the legislation and and making the case for its emphasis on international collaboration and peaceful exploration.

Many parts of the Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency were incorporated into NASA at its start, including the participation of Wernher von Braun. NASA quickly ramped up its human space flight program resulting in the launch of the first American in space on May 5, 1961, and the first American in orbit on February 20, 1962. One of NASA’s largest accomplishments was just seven years later with the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. During this short amount of time NASA helped America regain its confidence as a leader in space flight.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s related resources on NASA. Or visit the Aerospace Engineering Education community site.

Today in History – July 27, 2010 – Plastic bottle catamaran named “Plastiki” completes epic pacific crossing. A crew of experts, scientists, and creatives, led by visionary explorer David de Rothschild,  sailed over 12,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco to Sydney in a boat made out of plastic bottles and recycled waste products. The name “Plastiki” was inspired by Thor Heyerdal’s 1947 epic expedition the Kontiki.

The purpose of this bold adventure was to draw attention to our carbon footprint with a focus on those ubiquitous PEP water bottles and the Pacific Garbage Patch.  The catamaran design was a pioneering example of sustainable design.

The team aims to captivate and inspire, as well as to motivate tomorrow’s environmental thinkers and doers to take positive action for the planet and be smart with waste. Ultimately, they hope to inspire people to rethink waste as a valuable resource. One person’s waste could be another person’s treasure.”

When teaching a course for engineering faculty in India, I used the problems of PEP water bottles as the week-long class project. Usually made of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), ~25g per bottle, these plastics use:

• 6.45 kg oil/ kg PET
• 294.2 kg water/ kg PET
• 3.723 kg Green House Gases/ kg PET
• and that’s not even including transportation!

You are welcome to use my slides. This problem is ubiquitous, and the solutions will be geographically and culturally depend. Makes a great project for human-centered sustainable design. Also allows for some creative designs that address the triple bottom line of planet, people and profit. My favorite case study is the formation and expansion of the TerraCycle company.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on Plastiki and  water bottles.  Or take a virtual tour of the Plastiki and learn how this boat survived the mighty ocean. Click on “hot spots” for more details on the catamaran design. For related educational resources, visit the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Education and Ocean Engineering Education disciplinary communities.

Also on this date on July 27, 1866, the First transatlantic cable was completed.

Today in History – July 26, 1969 – Moon rocks collected from Apollo 11 are first examined. A week earlier,  Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, fulfilling President Kennedy’s challenge to put a “man” on the moon before the end of the decade. With a tight development and execution schedule, any number of things could have gone wrong. Instead, the major flaw, from the public’s knowledge,  was when there was some question about Armstrong’s historic words. At 10:56 p.m. EDT, with more than half a billion people watching on television, Armstrong takes the first step on the moon. Armstrong maintains that he said:  “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The press heard and quoted: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Listen and decide for yourself.  Aldrin joined him soon after and collected rocks that are still of value today. He described the lunar surface as “magnificent desolation“.

The moon walk and the Apollo mission accomplishments validated to the nation the importance of U.S. leadership in space exploration and the formation of NASA as a separate agency to head these efforts. Before the launch of Sputnik, the United States felt confident in its position on space technology. The modern liquid fueled rocket had been invented in America by Robert Goddard. In addition Wernher von Braun, the developer of the successful German V2 rocket was working for the US Army’s rocket program. The view in Washington was that the government should only develop purely military rockets and leave the rest to the private sector. Wernher von Braun was even discouraged from developing rockets that could carry satellites. That all changed when the Soviet Union launch Sputnik on October 4, 1957. The United States had clearly lost its edge in space technology and it was decided that a new federal agency should be established for non-military space programs.

On July 29, 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Eilene Galloway was instrumental in drafting the legislation and and making the case for its emphasis on international collaboration and peaceful exploration.

Many parts of the Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency were incorporated into NASA at its start, including the participation of Wernher von Braun. NASA quickly ramped up its human space flight program resulting in the launch of the first American in space on May 5, 1961, and the first American in orbit on February 20, 1962. One of NASA’s largest accomplishments was just seven years later with the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. During this short amount of time NASA helped America regain its confidence as a leader in space flight.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s related resources on NASA. Or visit the Aerospace Engineering Education community site.

In July – July 31, 1790 – first U.S. patent went to Samuel Hopkins for an improvement “in the making Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process.” President George Washington, Attorney General Edmund Randolph, and Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson signed the patent. Only two other patents were granted that year, one for a new candle-making process and the other the flour-milling machinery of Oliver Evans.

The Engineering Pathway has a number of educational resources on patents and inventors. I’m a big fan of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). NCIIA “fosters invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education as a way of creating innovative, commercially viable, and socially beneficial businesses and employment opportunities in the United States.” The website provides information on faculty and student grant opportunities, conferences and resources.

One question I’ve had is why do we not hear more about patents by women? It turns out that pior to the U.S. Patent Act of 1790, only men could author a patent. Even after the federal law was passed, women couldn’t patent as most states did not allow women to legally own property. For example, there is much speculation that the authorship of the cotton gin patent of 1794 should have included Catherine Greene on the patent, as well as that of the African American slaves who also were not allowed to patent. In fact, it was not until March 3, 1831 that Thomas Jennings became the first African-American to receive a patent for his invention of ‘dry-scouring’, a process better known today as dry-cleaning. See Chad-Eric Montgomery’s March 3rd blog on this event.

Mary Kies’ invention was a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. Alas the patent file was destroyed in the great Patent Office fire in 1836 and an exact copy of the patent is no longer available. Kies invention has been credited for boosting the U.S. hat industry. Even First Lady, Dolley Madison praised her contributions. Until about 1840, most of the other 20 patents issued to women concerned applications that women saw in their everyday work: apparel, tools, cook stoves, and fire places.

Below I highlight some of our other blogs on women’s contributions to engineering, computer science and entrepreneurship.

My daughter, Arianne Agogino Gieringer wrote the April 25th blog on Florence Rena Sabin, the first woman elected to National Academy of Science. Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, Professor of Histology in the Johns Hopkins Medical School was also the first woman to be a full professor in that institution and also the first woman to be President of the American Association of Anatomists.

Patricia Galloway, first female president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), blogs on Elsie Eaves – first female engineer in ASCE to be elected as a full member on March 14, 1927.

Lucy Sanders, CEO of the Center for Women in Information Technology blogs on the unveiling of the ENIAC on February 14, 1946, the world’s first digital electronic computer, as well as on the contributions of women in computing.

Jasmina Vujic, Chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of California at Berkeley, blogs on Lise Meitner and her groundbreaking publication that first introduced the world to nuclear fission on February 11, 1939.

Chad-Eric Montgommery blogs on two African American women. On March 1, 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American woman to receive a medical degree. Also see the blog on Sara Breedlove Walker, the first self-made millionairess hair product inventions for African American women.

Pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Helen Taussig, was one of the doctors at Johns Hopkins who performed the first open heart surgery on November 29, 1944.

I enjoyed researching the blog for November 13, 1913 – Mary Phelps Jacobs invents modern bra. And also for the one on Dr. Mary Walker, the first female army surgeon to be awarded the Medal of Honor on November 11, 1875.

Check out the Engineering Pathway‘s many educational resources on women in engineering, women in information technology, women inventors and gender equity. One of my favorite resources is FairerScience, with practical advice on how to develop gender equitable classrooms and practices in math, science and engineering.

For a more in-depth analysis of the issues associated with gender equity in our faculties and recommended solutions, read our “most commented” resource – the National Academies’ Beyond Bias and Barriers report. My editorial on the report was published in ASEE Prism, November 2006, vol. 16 (3). We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions as well.

Also on this date in 2008 – QinetiQ breaks unofficial world record for unmanned flight over three and a half days US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on unmanned flight. Or view curricular resources at the Aerospace Engineering Education Community site.

Today in History – July 23, 1995- National Inventors Hall of Fame opens in Alexandria, Virginia at the United States Patent and Trademark Office,  honoring “the women and men responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible.”

The museum’s most recent exhibit includes materials from Michael Jackson’s patent and trademark applications.  Did you know that Jackson is the co-inventor of a “system for allowing a shoe wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity by virtue of wearing a specially designed pair of shoes which will engage with a hitch member movably projectable through a stage surface”?

The Engineering Pathway has a number of educational resources on patents and inventors. I’m a big fan of the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). NCIIA “fosters invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship in higher education as a way of creating innovative, commercially viable, and socially beneficial businesses and employment opportunities in the United States.” The website provides information on faculty and student grant opportunities, conferences and resources.

One question I’ve had is why do we not hear more about patents by women? It turns out that pior to the U.S. Patent Act of 1790, only men could author a patent. Even after the federal law was passed, women couldn’t patent as most states did not allow women to legally own property. For example, there is much speculation that the authorship of the cotton gin patent of 1794 should have included Catherine Greene on the patent, as well as that of the African American slaves who also were not allowed to patent. In fact, it was not until March 3, 1831 that Thomas Jennings became the first African-American to receive a patent for his invention of ‘dry-scouring’, a process better known today as dry-cleaning. See Chad-Eric Montgomery’s March 3rd blog on this event.

Mary Kies’ invention was a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. Alas the patent file was destroyed in the great Patent Office fire in 1836 and an exact copy of the patent is no longer available. Kies invention has been credited for boosting the U.S. hat industry. Even First Lady, Dolley Madison praised her contributions. Until about 1840, most of the other 20 patents issued to women concerned applications that women saw in their everyday work: apparel, tools, cook stoves, and fire places.

Below I highlight some of our other blogs on women’s contributions to engineering, computer science and entrepreneurship.

My daughter, Arianne Agogino Gieringer wrote the April 25th blog on Florence Rena Sabin, the first woman elected to National Academy of Science. Dr. Florence Rena Sabin, Professor of Histology in the Johns Hopkins Medical School was also the first woman to be a full professor in that institution and also the first woman to be President of the American Association of Anatomists.

Patricia Galloway, first female president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), blogs on Elsie Eaves – first female engineer in ASCE to be elected as a full member on March 14, 1927.

Lucy Sanders, CEO of the Center for Women in Information Technology blogs on the unveiling of the ENIAC on February 14, 1946, the world’s first digital electronic computer, as well as on the contributions of women in computing.

Jasmina Vujic, Chair of the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of California at Berkeley, blogs on Lise Meitner and her groundbreaking publication that first introduced the world to nuclear fission on February 11, 1939.

Chad-Eric Montgommery blogs on two African American women. On March 1, 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler became the first African American woman to receive a medical degree. Also see the blog on Sara Breedlove Walker, the first self-made millionairess hair product inventions for African American women.

Pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Helen Taussig, was one of the doctors at Johns Hopkins who performed the first open heart surgery on November 29, 1944.

I enjoyed researching the blog for November 13, 1913 – Mary Phelps Jacobs invents modern bra. And also for the one on Dr. Mary Walker, the first female army surgeon to be awarded the Medal of Honor on November 11, 1875.

Check out the Engineering Pathway‘s many educational resources on women in engineering, women in information technology, women inventors and gender equity. One of my favorite resources is FairerScience, with practical advice on how to develop gender equitable classrooms and practices in math, science and engineering.

For a more in-depth analysis of the issues associated with gender equity in our faculties and recommended solutions, read our “most commented” resource – the National Academies’ Beyond Bias and Barriers report. My editorial on the report was published in ASEE Prism, November 2006, vol. 16 (3). We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions as well.

Also on this date in 2008 – QinetiQ breaks unofficial world record for unmanned flight over three and a half days US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on unmanned flight. Or view curricular resources at the Aerospace Engineering Education Community site.