Today in History – December 27, 1571 – Birth of Johannes Kepler.  When Kepler made his calculations from measurements taken by Tycho Brahe and himself, at the turn of the seventeenth century, they had to create many of the instruments that they used.  The types of tedious observations and measurements taken by Brahe and Kepler had never been attempted before.  Thus when Kepler first published his results in 1609, writing what would later become the first two laws of planetary motion, he was in the best position to determine whether the Ptolemaic Earth-centered system was correct or the Copernican heliocentric system.

In 2009 NASA plans to launch the Kepler Mission, a space telescope designed to search for other planets outside our own solar system.  To date, astronomers have only been able to find gas-giant planets, such as our own Jupiter, with the current technology.  The Kepler mission will place a telescope in space that will focus on a specific area long enough to be able to find the presence of smaller Earth-like planets.  Once one has been located, the telescope will be able to study it well enough to determine whether or not it would be able to sustain life.

400 years after Kepler published the results of his studies of the planets from relatively crude observations, NASA will have sent a telescope into space to find and study planets outside our own solar system.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s related resources planetary motion and Kepler’s Laws or general astronomy. Or visit the Aerospace Engineering Education or the Engineering Mechanics Education community sites.

Today in History – December 25, 1642 – Isacc Newton‘s birth. Also on this date in 1741 astronomer Anders Celsius introduces the temperature scale that bears his name.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway‘s resources on Newton and engineering mechanics or the Celsius scale and temperature measurement. For curricular resources, visit the Engineering Mechanics Education, the Mechanical Engineering Education or the Chemical Engineering Education community sites.

Today in History – January 31, 1958 – Explorer 1 became the United States of America’s first satellite to orbit the Earth after it was launched on January 31, 1958. After the Soviet Union’s successful launch of Sputnik I on October 4, 1957, the United States of America embarked upon a program to launch it own artificial satellite. The first American attempt to launch a satellite using a Vanguard 1 rocket occurred in December 1957 and failed miserably.

Following this failure, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency, located at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, was directed to launch a scientific satellite using a Jupiter C rocket developed under Dr. Wernher von Braun. The artificial satellite was designed, built and operated by the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of Dr. William Pickering.

The satellite instrumentation of Explorer 1 was a cosmic ray counter designed by Dr. James Van Allen, a physicist at the University of Iowa. The cosmic ray counter experiment was designed to measure the radiation that surrounds the Earth. Once in orbit, the cosmic ray counter began to overload and measured a much lower cosmic ray count than previously assumed. Given this new information, Dr. Van Allen theorized that the cosmic ray equipment may have been exposed to very strong radiation caused by a belt of charged particles trapped in space by Earth’s magnetic field.

The data returned by Explorer 1 and another satellite launched in March 1958 prove the existence of intense belts of radiation that surround the Earth. These belts of radiation are now called Van Allen Belts and are considered to be the first major scientific discovery of the space age.

Check out the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on the Explorer I and satellites. For more educational resources, see our aeronautical engineering education and electrical engineering education community pages. The Engineering Pathway also hosts Engineering Education communities in all ABET-accredited disciplines.

Today in History – October 23-24 – TRON Legacy Exhibit at the National Science & Engineering Festival.

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has teamed up with Walt Disney Studios to co-create an interactive exhibit in Tent 102 at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo, which will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. each day.  The hands-on experience blends themes from the upcoming major motion picture TRON: Legacy with the NAE’s Grand Challenges for Engineering.

Exhibit-goers will be transported into the digital world of TRON: Legacy and examine where movie fantasy and reality intersect.  Visitors can try 3-D scanning and see how it’s bringing the real and virtual worlds closer together.  They’ll get a chance to do brain surgery on a computer-generated replica of a real brain, and experience a trip into the TRON: Legacy digital grid through an incredible 3-D light painting activity created especially for this exhibit. The NAE worked with Disney Imagineering research scientist Lanny Smoot (upper right photo) to develop the interactive demo.

TRON: Legacy is the stand-alone sequel to the 1982 motion picture TRON.  Both star Jeff Bridges as software engineer and video game developer Kevin Flynn, who was digitized by a laser and transported into a world of computer games in the original film.  In TRON: Legacy, Flynn’s son Sam finds himself in the digital realm where his father has lived for the past two decades.  The film, in theaters nationwide on Dec. 17, 2010, involved cutting-edge movie technologies, including one that allows Bridges to act as his younger self.

“Engineering is woven into the very fabric of TRON: Legacy. The story is rich with themes about technology and its evolving relationship with humanity in an increasingly digital world,” said co-producer Justin Springer.  “The line between science and art is blurring more than ever.  And some of the most talented artists in modern film making are engineers, mathematicians, architects, and computer programmers.”

An international committee of some of today’s most accomplished engineers and scientists determined the NAE’s Grand Challenges for Engineering.  They identified 14 potentially “game changing” goals for helping people and the planet thrive in the 21^st century that include enhancing virtual reality; engineering better medicines; advancing personalized learning; engineering the tools of scientific discovery; and reverse engineering the brain.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival and the NAE Grand Challenges. For related educational resources, visit the engineering education and the computer graphics & visualization disciplinary communities.

Also on this date on October 23, 1819, the first boat passed through the Erie Canal. On October 24, 1861 the transcontinental telegraph line was completed.

Today in History -  May 20, 1899 – the American Physical Society (APS) is founded for the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics. It was originally formed at Columbia University by 36 scientists from 17 institutions who elected Henry Rowland as their first president and A.A. Michelson as the first vice-president. It has since grown to a membership of more than 46,000 and publishes some of the most prestigious physics journals in the world. As the APS has grown, it has become ever more involved in issues of public outreach and education. For more information on educational resources in physics, see the APS Education web pages, search the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on applied physics, or visit the comPADRE Digital Library for physics and astronomy education, a partnership of the American Association of Physics Teachers, the APS, the American Astronomical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the Society for Physics Students.

Also on this date in 1790, Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo flight across the Atlantic. For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on the history of flight or view our Aerospace Engineering Education community site.

Today in History – January 26, 1697-  Isaac Newton solves Bernoulli’s brachistochrone problem, inventing the “calculus of variations”. The story goes that Jean Bernoulli gave Isaac Newton a challenge solve the following problem in six months:

We are given two fixed points in a vertical plane. A particle starts from rest at one of the points and travels to the other under its own weight. Find the path that the particle must follow in order to reach its destination in the briefest time.

Rather than take 6 months, Newton is reported to have solved the problem the next day. However, the solution, which is a segment of a cycloid, was solved, in part, by Leibniz, L’Hospital, Newton and the two Bernoullis. In fact, there appears to have been quite a lively, and in some cases bitter, debate about the fine points of the solution. Regardless, the challenge was to provide the seed for further development of the theory of calculus of variation used in a wide range of engineering problems, such as optimal control and optimization.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on Isaac Newton, the Brachistochrone problem and calculus of variations.

Also on this date in 1905, Cullinan Diamond (“Star of Africa”), the largest diamond ever found, is unearthed. On January 26, 1926, Scottish Engineer John Baird gives first public demonstration of television in London. And in 1992, Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect. Check out the Engineering Pathway’s resources on teaching and learning for persons with disabilities.
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Today in History – July 30, 1959 – Noyce patents the integrated circuit – 50th anniversary.

Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at the small Fairchild Semiconductor start-up company were both working on the concept of an integrated circuit in 1958. Prior to this invention, only parts of a circuit – such as the transistor – were fabricated using semiconductor technology.   Even though some of the other parts were composed of substrates using germanium or silicon, they were soldered together on other substrates to form the circuit.  The integrated circuit concept was to make all of the parts, such as the capacitors and resistors, and their connections out of silicon on a single chip. By September 12, Kilby had built a working model.

On February 6, 1959 Kilby applied for a patent and Texas Instruments was issued U.S. patent # 3,138,743 in 1964 for “Miniaturized electronic circuits”.

Noyce was aware of the work at Texas Instruments and was careful to improve on their design and submitted a more detailed patent application on July 30, 1959. On April 25, 1961, the patent office awarded Robert Noyce the first patent for an integrated circuit, while Kilby’s application was still being analyzed. Both Fairchild and Texas Instruments introduced commercial ICs  in 1961

Today, both men are acknowledged as having independently conceived of the idea and are given credit as the inventors of the integrated circuit. Kilby was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000. Most believe that Robert Noyce would have shared this prize had he been alive. (Nobel Prizes cannot be awarded posthumously.)

Jack Kilby is also well known as the inventor of the portable calculator in 1967 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1970. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel in 1968.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on integrated circuits or view our Electrical Engineering Education community site.

Today in History – June 23, 1964 - Kilby patents the integrated circuit.

Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at the small Fairchild Semiconductor start-up company were both working on the concept of an integrated circuit in 1958. Prior to this invention, only parts of a circuit – such as the transistor – were fabricated using semiconductor technology.   Even though some of the other parts were composed of substrates using germanium or silicon, they were soldered together on other substrates to form the circuit.  The integrated circuit concept was to make all of the parts, such as the capacitors and resistors, and their connections out of silicon on a single chip. By September 12, Kilby had built a working model.

On February 6, 1959 Kilby applied for a patent and Texas Instruments was issued U.S. patent # 3,138,743 in 1964 for “Miniaturized electronic circuits”.

Noyce was aware of the work at Texas Instruments and was careful to improve on their design and submitted a more detailed patent application on July 30, 1959. On April 25, 1961, the patent office awarded Robert Noyce the first patent for an integrated circuit, while Kilby’s application was still being analyzed. Both Fairchild and Texas Instruments introduced commercial ICs  in 1961

Today, both men are acknowledged as having independently conceived of the idea and are given credit as the inventors of the integrated circuit. Kilby was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000. Most believe that Robert Noyce would have shared this prize had he been alive. (Nobel Prizes cannot be awarded posthumously.)

Jack Kilby is also well known as the inventor of the portable calculator in 1967 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1970. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel in 1968.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on integrated circuits or view our Electrical Engineering Education community site.

Today in History – April 25, 1961 – Robert Noyce and Fairchild awarded patent for the integrated circuit.

Jack Kilby at Texas Instruments and Robert Noyce at the small Fairchild Semiconductor start-up company were both working on the concept of an integrated circuit in 1958. Prior to this invention, only parts of a circuit – such as the transistor – were fabricated using semiconductor technology.   Even though some of the other parts were composed of substrates using germanium or silicon, they were soldered together on other substrates to form the circuit.  The integrated circuit concept was to make all of the parts, such as the capacitors and resistors, and their connections out of silicon on a single chip. By September 12, Kilby had built a working model.

On February 6, 1959 Kilby applied for a patent and Texas Instruments was issued U.S. patent # 3,138,743 in 1964 for “Miniaturized electronic circuits”.

Noyce was aware of the work at Texas Instruments and was careful to improve on their design and submitted a more detailed patent application on July 30, 1959. On April 25, 1961, the patent office awarded Robert Noyce the first patent for an integrated circuit, while Kilby’s application was still being analyzed. Both Fairchild and Texas Instruments introduced commercial ICs  in 1961

Today, both men are acknowledged as having independently conceived of the idea and are given credit as the inventors of the integrated circuit. Kilby was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000. Most believe that Robert Noyce would have shared this prize had he been alive. (Nobel Prizes cannot be awarded posthumously.)

Jack Kilby is also well known as the inventor of the portable calculator in 1967 and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1970. Robert Noyce co-founded Intel in 1968.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on integrated circuits or view our Electrical Engineering Education community site.

Today in History – April 20, 1940 – RCA Demonstrates Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The history of the SEM begins in 1928 and RCA’s demonstration in 1940. In 1965 the first SEM was marketed by the Cambridge Instrument Company. The provided link includes an article that details the history of the SEM from 1928 to 1965. The author (McMullan), himself an important contributor to this field, traces developments such as the first attempts to image solids (Ruska 1933 and the more successful Von Borries 1940).He discusses von Ardenne’s 1938 highly magnified probe and Mahl’s 1941 transmission electron microscope (TEM).

The author speaks at some length about the Cambridge microscopes since this is where he worked with Oatley and added significant contributions to the field. Other contributors from around the world are detailed. Since this is an excellent article on the history of the SEM until 1965, added here will be a few contributions since that year.

An environmental scanning electron microscope, since it doesn’t need to operate in a vacuum like a standard SEM. Allows for the examination of almost any sample under any gaseous condition. Danilatos in the 1980s first used the term environmental SEM and the first commercial environmental SEM was produced by Electroscan.

In the 1990s Chumbley at Iowa State University, working with R.J. Lee Group, successfully created a remote, web-based control for a SEM. He calls this Project ExCel. This microscope allows pre-collegiate teachers to use the SEM in their classroom by remotely logging in to the SEM at Iowa State and controlling it over the internet. For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’seducational resources on SEMs and microscropy or view our Materials Engineering Education and our Ceramic Engineering Education community sites.

Also on this date in 1902 the Curies isolate radium and in 1964 the first picture phone is demonstrated. For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s nuclear engineering, information technology and picture phones.