Creativity for Engineers


Book Description

7. Creativity measurement and analysis. 7.1. Introduction. 7.2. Metrics for determining innovative companies' performance. 7.3. A formula for predicting creative ideas. 7.4. Fault tree analysis (FTA). 7.5. Control charts. 7.6. Cause and effect diagram. 7.7. Probability tree analysis. 7.8. Creativity improvement with parallel redundancy. 7.9. Time-dependent creativity analysis with Markov method -- 8. Creativity climate. 8.1. Introduction. 8.2. Variables influencing peoples' perception of the working climate, examples of changes in the total environment influencing innovation, and key reasons for organizations to foster creativity and innovation. 8.3. Organization's creative culture attributes. 8.4. Creative climate dimensions and creative work environment determinents. 8.5. Steps for fostering creative environment in companies and guidelines for managing team members that foster creative work climate. 8.6. Tips for facilitating in a "cold" organizational climate with respect to creativity. 8.7. Workplace creativity climate assessment checklist -- 9. Creativity barriers. 9.1. Introduction. 9.2. Reasons for resistance to change in organizations and the types of organizations finding creativity most difficult. 9.3. Obstacles to innovation in large organizations and their overcoming steps. 9.4. Management barriers to creativity and reasons for prevention of innovation in mass-produced products. 9.5. Ways for managers to kill creativity and ways used by technical managers to block creative ideas. 9.6. Stumbling blocks and building blocks to creativity. 9.7. Types of barriers to an individual's creative thinking and suggestions for overcoming them. 9.8. Creativity inhibitors an engineer may encounter while inquiring into and solving the problem. 9.9. Barriers to creativity in textile industry -- 10. Creativity in quality management, software development process, rail transit stations, and specific organizations. 10.1. Introduction. 10.2. Creativity in quality management. 10.3. Creativity in software development process. 10.4. Creativity in rail transit stations. 10.5. Creativity in specific organizations -- 11. Creativity testing, recording, and patents. 11.1. Introduction. 11.2. Creativity testing. 11.3. Creativity recording. 11.4. Patents




Engineering Invention


Book Description

The technological breakthroughs and entrepreneurial adventures of Frank J. Sprague during the transformative years of the early electrical industry. Over the course of a little less than twenty years, inventor Frank J. Sprague (1857-1934) achieved an astonishing series of technological breakthroughs—from pioneering work in self-governing motors to developing the first full-scale operational electric railway system—all while commercializing his inventions and promoting them (and himself as their inventor) to financial backers and the public. In Engineering Invention, Frederick Dalzell tells Sprague's story, setting it against the backdrop of one of the most dynamic periods in the history of technology. In a burst of innovation during these years, Sprague and his contemporaries—Thomas Edison, Nicolas Tesla, Elmer Sperry, George Westinghouse, and others—transformed the technologies of electricity and reshaped modern life. After working briefly for Edison, Sprague started the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company; designed and built an electric railroad system for Richmond, Virginia; sold his company to Edison and went into the field of electric elevators; almost accidentally discovered a multiple-control system that could equip electric train systems for mass transit; started a third company to commercialize this; then sold this company to Edison and retired (temporarily). Throughout his career, Dalzell tells us, Sprague framed technology as invention, cast himself as hero, and staged his technologies as dramas. He toiled against the odds, scraped together resources to found companies, bet those companies on technical feats—and pulled it off, multiple times. The idea of the “heroic inventor” is not, of course, the only way to frame the history of technology. Nevertheless, as Dalzell shows, Sprague, Edison, and others crafted the role consciously and actively, using it to generate vital impetus behind the process of innovation.




Invention and Evolution


Book Description

This textbook for engineering students provides an introduction to design for function, using many examples of manufactured artefacts and living organisms to demonstrate common themes and fundamental principles. Examples forcefully illustrate the importance of the basic design principles related to materials, energy and information. The author also discusses the relation of aesthetic and functional design, the crucial relation of design to production in artefacts, and reproduction in organisms. The book concludes with a brief summary of the role and requirements of designers and inventors. This second edition has been extensively revised, with more examples and a new chapter with actual design case studies to illustrate key ideas. In addition, many exercises have been added to help reinforce important points in the text.




Value Engineering


Book Description

After more than 50 years as a manager and VE pioneer, Richard J. Park presents Value Engineering: A Plan for Invention. Park demonstrates how to adopt VE as a thinking process that can enable you to increase your problem solving skills, cultivate innovation, reduce costs, improve productivity, and more. Features




Rosie Revere, Engineer


Book Description

In this beloved New York Times bestselling picture book, meet Rosie Revere, a seemingly quiet girl by day but a brilliant inventor of gizmos and gadgets by night. Rosie dreams of becoming a great engineer, and her room becomes a secret workshop where she constructs ingenious inventions from odds and ends. From hot dog dispensers to helium pants and python-repelling cheese hats, Rosie's creations would astound anyone—if only she'd let them see. But Rosie is afraid of failure, so she hides her inventions under her bed. That is, until her great-great-aunt Rose (also known as Rosie the Riveter) pays her a visit. Aunt Rose teaches Rosie that the first flop isn't something to fear; it's something to celebrate. Failure only truly happens if you quit. And so, Rosie learns to embrace her passion, celebrate her missteps, and pursue her dreams with persistence. This empowering picture book encourages young readers to explore their creativity, persevere through challenges, and celebrate the journey toward achieving their goals. Whether you're a budding engineer or simply love stories of resilience, Rosie Revere, Engineer is a delightful read for all ages. Add this inspiring tale to your family library and discover the magic of celebrating each failure on the road to success. Don’t miss the book that the Duchess of York recently chose to read aloud at a Literally Healing visit to a children’s hospital. For more STEM-themed adventures, check out other titles by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, including Ada Twist, Scientist, Iggy Peck, Architect, and Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters. “Will no doubt inspire conversations with children about the benefits of failure and the pursuit of dreams.” —School Library Journal Check out all the books in the Questioneers Series: The Questioneers Picture Book Series: Iggy Peck, Architect | Rosie Revere, Engineer | Ada Twist, Scientist | Sofia Valdez, Future Prez | Aaron Slater, Illustrator | Lila Greer, Teacher of the Year The Questioneers Chapter Book Series: Rosie Revere and the Raucous Riveters | Ada Twist and the Perilous Pants | Iggy Peck and the Mysterious Mansion | Sofia Valdez and the Vanishing Vote | Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs | Aaron Slater and the Sneaky Snake Questioneers: The Why Files Series: Exploring Flight! | All About Plants! | The Science of Baking | Bug Bonanza! | Rockin’ Robots! Questioneers: Ada Twist, Scientist Series: Ghost Busted | Show Me the Bunny | Ada Twist, Scientist: Brainstorm Book | 5-Minute Ada Twist, Scientist Stories The Questioneers Big Project Book Series: Iggy Peck’s Big Project Book for Amazing Architects | Rosie Revere’s Big Project Book for Bold Engineers | Ada Twist’s Big Project Book for Stellar Scientists | Sofia Valdez’s Big Project Book for Awesome Activists | Aaron Slater’s Big Project Book for Astonishing Artists




Genius Engineering Inventions


Book Description

Tin cans were first produced in London in 1813. But they had to be opened with a hammer and chisel, because the can opener wasn't invented until 1855! Check out other amazing engineering innovations, such as a popular soft drink originally sold as a "brain tonic," an 18th-century battery called a voltaic pile, and a design from 1596 for the first flushing toilet. Fact-packed text and fun illustrations reveal clever discoveries that changed the world--and weird ideas that didn't (like Nikola Tesla's earthquake machine or Thomas Edison's giant singing dolls). Learn how wonders of engineering have helped us improve our lives--from growing food to powering machinery.




The Idea Factory


Book Description

The definitive history of America’s greatest incubator of innovation and the birthplace of some of the 20th century’s most influential technologies “Filled with colorful characters and inspiring lessons . . . The Idea Factory explores one of the most critical issues of our time: What causes innovation?” —Walter Isaacson, The New York Times Book Review “Compelling . . . Gertner's book offers fascinating evidence for those seeking to understand how a society should best invest its research resources.” —The Wall Street Journal From its beginnings in the 1920s until its demise in the 1980s, Bell Labs-officially, the research and development wing of AT&T-was the biggest, and arguably the best, laboratory for new ideas in the world. From the transistor to the laser, from digital communications to cellular telephony, it's hard to find an aspect of modern life that hasn't been touched by Bell Labs. In The Idea Factory, Jon Gertner traces the origins of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions and delivers a riveting and heretofore untold chapter of American history. At its heart this is a story about the life and work of a small group of brilliant and eccentric men-Mervin Kelly, Bill Shockley, Claude Shannon, John Pierce, and Bill Baker-who spent their careers at Bell Labs. Today, when the drive to invent has become a mantra, Bell Labs offers us a way to enrich our understanding of the challenges and solutions to technological innovation. Here, after all, was where the foundational ideas on the management of innovation were born.




Engineering a Better Future


Book Description

This open access book examines how the social sciences can be integrated into the praxis of engineering and science, presenting unique perspectives on the interplay between engineering and social science. Motivated by the report by the Commission on Humanities and Social Sciences of the American Association of Arts and Sciences, which emphasizes the importance of social sciences and Humanities in technical fields, the essays and papers collected in this book were presented at the NSF-funded workshop ‘Engineering a Better Future: Interplay between Engineering, Social Sciences and Innovation’, which brought together a singular collection of people, topics and disciplines. The book is split into three parts: A. Meeting at the Middle: Challenges to educating at the boundaries covers experiments in combining engineering education and the social sciences; B. Engineers Shaping Human Affairs: Investigating the interaction between social sciences and engineering, including the cult of innovation, politics of engineering, engineering design and future of societies; and C. Engineering the Engineers: Investigates thinking about design with papers on the art and science of science and engineering practice.




The Art of Invention


Book Description

Chinese edition of The art of invention:The Creative Process of Discovery and Design by Steven J. Paley. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.




Cycles of Invention and Discovery


Book Description

Cycles of Invention and Discovery offers an in-depth look at the real-world practice of science and engineering. It shows how the standard categories of “basic” and “applied” have become a hindrance to the organization of the U.S. science and technology enterprise. Tracing the history of these problematic categories, Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Toluwalogo Odumosu document how historical views of policy makers and scientists have led to the construction of science as a pure ideal on the one hand and of engineering as a practical (and inherently less prestigious) activity on the other. Even today, this erroneous but still widespread distinction forces these two endeavors into separate silos, misdirects billions of dollars, and thwarts progress in science and engineering research. The authors contrast this outmoded perspective with the lived experiences of researchers at major research laboratories. Using such Nobel Prize–winning examples as magnetic resonance imaging, the transistor, and the laser, they explore the daily micro-practices of research, showing how distinctions between the search for knowledge and creative problem solving break down when one pays attention to the ways in which pathbreaking research actually happens. By studying key contemporary research institutions, the authors highlight the importance of integrated research practices, contrasting these with models of research in the classic but still-influential report Science the Endless Frontier. Narayanamurti and Odumosu’s new model of the research ecosystem underscores that discovery and invention are often two sides of the same coin that moves innovation forward.