February is African American History Month. Celebrate by browsing the Engineering Pathway‘s resources on African American scientists, engineers & inventors and our computing and engineering diversity websites.

Readers interested in inventions by African Americans may want to view the following blogs: Martin Luther King Day (January 20),  Ice cream scoop invented (February 2),  First patent by African American Inventor Latimer (February 10), First African American woman to receive an American medical degree (March 1),  First African American to recieve a patent (March 3),  The Real McCoy (July 12),  First African-American in Space, (August 30), Howard University founded in 1866 (November 20), John Hopkins hospital performs first open heart surgery (November 29), Rosa Parks Day (December 1), and Birth of first self-made millionairess (December 23).

Today in History – February 3, 1958 -  Rachael Carson publishes the Silent Spring. Rachel Carson, a writer, scientist and ecologist, worked seventeen years for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, where she learned about the problems of pesticides on the environment. She is best known for her book called Silent Spring, which is often credited with shifting public consciousness about the environment and providing the foundation for today’s environmental movement. Carson faced much hostility from chemical companies due to her criticism of the over use of pesticides and the lack of scientific and public oversight.

The Engineering Pathway has a number of resources on Rachel Carson and environmental ethics. I am particularly impressed with the ethics module hosted by the National Academy of Engineering titled Rachel Carson – Silent Springs. For more educational resources, see our agricultural engineering education, environmental engineering education and chemical engineering education community pages. The Engineering Pathway also hosts Engineering Education communities in all ABET-accredited disciplines.

Carson was an engaging writer and some of her observations were hypotheses that did not stand the test of time after more thorough scientific analyses were conducted, making her the object of criticism even today. Yet one must understand that she was writing at a time that full scientific scrutiny was not available and it was “early days” of public disclosure of the effects of pesticides and other commonly used chemicals. I find John Tierney’s editorial in the New York Times, for example, to be unmindful of this context. He makes a good point that pesticides have had positive effects as well, such as greatly increasing yield of agricultural products and reducing the spread of diseases spread by insects; I agree, there are always tradeoffs in the implementation of any technology.

On the other hand, I find myself questioning Teirney’s own scientific integrity (no educational credentials in science that I know of) and have found his criticisms to often be out of context and misleading. I have been at the wrong end of his criticism for a report I co-authored with the National Academies titled: Beyond Bias and Barriers: Fulfilling the Potential of Women in Academic Science and Engineering. I suppose it helps sell newspapers, but for someone claiming the scientific high ground, he really seems to miss the point and loves to blow up controversial subjects in misleading ways. The Presidents of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Science and The Institute of Medicine immediately wrote an excellent response to Tierney’s criticism. Interested readers might also be interested in the editorial by two of the report’s co-authors as well, Jo Handelsman and Robert Birgeneau. I can only imagine the attacks Carson must have lived through a half decade ago, with most of the chemical industry using their vast resources to discredit her and the environmental movement she inspired. Fortunately, these same companies have come to recognize the importance of the environmental impact and sustainability of their products, not to mention, the market sensitivities.

Today in History – February 2, 1897 – Ice cream scoop patented by Alfred L. Cralle, the first African-American in Pittsburgh to receive a patent. His patent became the model for ice cream scoops in households soon after and the basis for many scoops today. Cralle was born in Lunenberg County, Virginia on September 4, 1866, was educated in the common schools of the county, and later worked with his father in the carpenter. This work sparked his interest in mechanics and he took advanced courses at Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. Although educated, his career path was to move to Pittsburgh where he served as a porter in Markell Brothers’ drug store and the St. Charles Hotel. He advanced to assistant manager when the Afro-American Financial, Accumulating, Merchandise and Business Association was organized.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on African American scientists, engineers & inventors or our engineering diversity website. For curricular resources, browse our resources on product and industrial design or visit the Mechanical Engineering Education community site.

Also on this date in history in 1923, ethyl gasoline is first marketed. Tomas Midgley, inventor and chemical engineer, credited with playing a major role in its development. Alas, he did not foresee all of the environmental issues associated with it and the product was later outlawed after many years of public action and scientific analysis. For more information, see the Engineering Pathwa’s resources on gasoline, petroleum additives and tetra-ethyl lead or Chemical Engineering Education.

Today in History – February 1, 1972 – First scientific hand-held calculator, the HP-35, introduced for $395. I was an undergraduate in engineering when the HP-35 was released. I couldn’t afford to buy one and stuck with my slide rule. But the next year, I gave in and bought the next model, the HP-45 and it was well worth the money at the time. The calculators were easy to use, portable and reliable. The market responded by developing cheaper calculators, while Hewlett Packard kept the cost high and increased the functionality.

Check out the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on the electronic calculators and history of computing. For more educational resources, see our electrical engineering education and computer engineering education community pages. The Engineering Pathway also hosts Engineering Education communities in all ABET-accredited disciplines.

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 – January 28, 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger explodes after launch, killing the entire crew. American’s stared in shock at their televisions watching the Challenger accident in full motion video. The 35th Challenger’s flight had been previously scheduled for January 22, but delayed because of bad weather, high winds and icicles on the launch apparatus. Never had there been a launch approved in freezing weather conditions, but NASA had assured the public that the conditions were safe. They were anxious to launch due to economic considerations and scheduling backlogs. Political pressure has been suggested as well due to NASA’s heavy publicizing of Christa McAuliffe as the first school teacher in space. She had been selected under a highly competitive process from among 10,000 entries for the opportunity. The Challenger disaster was a severe blow to the American space program, bringing manned flights to a halt for many years. It was also a blow to the American public who had come to think of the Space Shuttle as an important symbol of national identify.

Speaking before the launch, Christa McAuliffe said: “One of the things I hope to bring back into the classroom is to make that connection with the students that they too are part of history, the space program belongs to them and to try to bring them up with the space age.”

Morton-Thiokol, one of the contractors for the Solid Rocket Motor was convinced that the cold weather would cause problems and had briefed NASA about their concerns. Two engineers, Robert Ebeling and Roger Boisjoly had previously urged a redesign on the booster rockets due to O-ring erosion in the booster field joints. The lowest temperature experienced by the O-rings in any previous mission was 53°F in the January 24, 1985 flight; the temperature predicted for Florida on January 28th was much lower, in the low 20′s °F.

The Rogers commission confirmed the cause of the Challenger disaster explosion to have been caused by a leak through the faulty O-ring seal in one of the solid rocket boosters. According to testimony by Morton-Thiokol engineer Boisjoly, management put pressure on the engineers to OK the launch saying: “Take off your engineering hat and put on your management hat.” The recommendation was reversed, discounting the concern about the O-rings as being “inconclusive” and launch was recommended, “based on their engineering assessment”, even though the engineers had no part in this recommendation. In spite of concerns expressed by others, NASA managers decided to approve the boosters for launch despite the fact that the predicted launch temperature was outside of their operational specifications and any test conditions.

Engineers must learn from both the technical and organizational failures that led to the tragic Challenger accident. The Engineering Pathway digital library has information on several excellent case studies, lesson plans and other curricular materials that can be used in the classroom. The Texas A&M case, for example, leads to these discussions questions:

• “What could NASA management have done differently?
• What should Roger Boisjoly have done differently (if anything)? In answering this question, keep in mind that at his age, the prospect of finding a new job if he was fired was slim. He also had a family to support.
• What do you (the students) see as your future engineering professional responsibilities in relation to both being loyal to management and protecting the public welfare?”

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on the Challenger accident or engineering ethics.

Today in History – January 26, 1926 – Scottish Engineer John Baird gives first public demonstration of television in London. According to BBC News, his first prototype in 1924 was crudely made of a washstand, a tea chest and a project lamp in a biscuit tin, scanning disks made from carboard and lenses, all held together with srcap wood, darning needles, strings and sealing wax. Nevertheless, he managed to transmit a flickering image for a few feet. On 26 January 1926, he gave the first world’s demonstration to fifty scientists in London. By 1927 he was transmitting an image of over 438 miles between London and Glasgow and started the Baird Television Development Company. Other firsts include: first transmission of a human face in 1925 (see right photo above), first transatlantic television transmission between London and New York in 1928 and first demonstration of color and stereoscopic television.

Baird’s system was amazing in that it was entirely mechanical, but it couldn’t compete against new electronic systems, such as those being developed by Marconi in the United States. Marconi’s approach was ultimately adopted for early television systems, but Baird’s contributions paved the way by introducing the concept and providing the first proof of concept. Prior to this BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) was concentrating on radio production because they thought television would be a passing fad. In 1936 they adopted a television service using the electronic television technology developed by Marconi and thus Baird’s contributions are less well known.

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

Also on this date in 1905, Cullinan Diamond (“Star of Africa”), the largest diamond ever found, is unearthed. On January 26, 1697,  Isaac Newton solves Bernoulli’s brachistochrone problem, inventing the “calculus of variations”. And in 1992, Americans with Disabilities Act went into effect.

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.

Today in History – January 24, 1984 – Apple Computer unveils the Macintosh personal computer. Apple introduced “the Mac” through its famous “1984″ television commercial that was played at the 1984 Super Bowl. The imagery pitted Apple’s new generation of the people’s personal computer against the Orwellian IBM. The Mac was an innovation breakthrough in computer design with the introduction of the mouse and a graphical user interface at a relatively low price.  It was first sold with only a 400kb floppy drive to load the operating system and files, with no hard drive. Less than 50,000 units were sold after its introduction because of the limited memory and radical features. Sales got a big boost when the LaserWriter printer was introduced along with third party publishing software. The early Mac users provided an enthusiastic customer base of early adopters who formed community groups, participated in early testing and developed third part software using Apple’s user-friendly developer’s kit. My husband and I each bought one of the first offerings and have upgraded to new Apple models ever since. The summer of 1984 I accepted a faculty position at the University of California at Berkeley and my husband became an Apple developer and created software for astronomy enthusiasts.

A decade earlier on April 1, 1976, the Apple Computer Company was formed and released the Apple I computer, the first computer with a single circuit board. There was no assembly line as each Apple I was hand-built by Steve Wozniak in Steve Jobs’ parents’ home and required further assembly by the purchaser, including providing AC input voltages, wiring an ASCII keyboard to a DIP connector and wiring the video output pins to a monitor or to an RF modulator if a TV was used. Steve Wozniak showed the first one to the Homebrew Computer Club to get sales going. He had to sell his Volkswagen bus to help keep the company afloat.

Steve Wozniak designed the Apple II personal computer that was released on April 16, 1977, featuring a central processing unit (CPU), keyboard, floppy disk drive, and a $1,300 price tag. The Apple II launched the personal computer revolution. He left Apple in 1981 and went back to the University of California at Berkeley and finished his degree in electrical engineering and computer science there. Since then, he has been involved in various business and philanthropic ventures, including improving computer capabilities in schools.

So how do you build the first personal computer? Wozniak says when he teaches Personal Computer 101 he asks students to go to the Apple I Owners Club, founded in 1977 by Joe Torzewski. The site contains over 120 pages detailing the Apple I computer. It shows you what it was like to actually buy and assemble one. If you’ve never seen an Apple I, check this site out and see how the personal computer revolution began. Want to know more, read Wozniak’s book: iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It.

Check out the Engineering Pathway’s educational resources on Apple computers and history of computing. For more educational resources, see our electrical engineering education, computer science education and computer engineering education community pages. The Engineering Pathway also hosts Engineering Education communities in all ABET-accredited disciplines.

Today in History – January 23, 1996 – The first version of the Java programming language is released. Java was developed independently of the Web, starting in 1991 with a small group of Sun engineers called the “Green Team”. Their vision was that the next wave in computing was the union of digital consumer devices and computers. James Gosling led the team and worked around the clock to release this first version originally called Oak. The Green Team’s first demonstration of their new language was for an interactive, hand-held home-entertainment controller that was originally targeted at the digital cable television industry. The worked focused on business models and end users. They subscribed to what Bill Joy called “Hammer Technology”: taking a bunch of existing stuff and hammering it together. Learning by doing. We built things you can hold and use. This is why we chose as deliverables a set of working prototypes and a business plan.”

Alas it was technology ahead of its time and it didn’t take off immediately. Coincidentally, however, the World Wide Web was also being launched and the Green Team saw its potential  and announced in 1995 that the new Netscape Navigator internet browser would incorporate Java technology. The Java language is now the major programming language for the Web and for many other applications, including robotics, mechatronics, and embedded computing.

I highly recommend that interested readers watch the video introduced by Scott McNealy at the 2009 JavaOne general session. James Gosling narrates this humorous Gospel of Java According to James.

For more information, see the Engineering Pathway’s resources on the Java programming language and the history of computing. For related educational resources, visit the Computer Science Education, Information Systems Education, Information Technology Education, Computer Engineering Education or Software Engineering Education disciplinary communities.