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Tag: innovation

Engineers and Technical Training Providers Must Remain Relevant

Posted on by Bob
IT would be an understatement to say that one needs to keep current in his or her field in order to excel in their profession.  One of the best ways to keep current would be ongoing technical training.  This training could come from Applied Technology Institute (ATI), or from any of our fine competitors. It […]

IT would be an understatement to say that one needs to keep current in his or her field in order to excel in their profession.  One of the best ways to keep current would be ongoing technical training.  This training could come from Applied Technology Institute (ATI), or from any of our fine competitors.

It would also be an understatement to say that a technical training company must strive to offer courses which reflect the current needs of students, and the company must offer courses that contain current and relevant material for students.  ATI strives to do just that.

One example of a new offering by ATI is “Business Essentials For Scientists and Engineers”.  This course is comprised of 5 one-day modules which teach Scientist and Engineers the soft skills associated with their profession.  Students learn Project Management Skills, Business Basics, and Publishing Strategies.  The material students learn is critical, but not typically taught in most Undergraduate or Graduate Programs.  This course is a must for people who are interested in more than just the pure technical aspects of their project.  The course was developed based on a stated need from our students.

While the soft sciences taught in this course are important, ATI is still a leader in technical short-course training to help you keep current in your field.  ATI recently identified that there may be a need for a short-course training on Sonobuoy Technology.  Based on that need, we have developed just such a class, to fill that void, and will be offering it next month.

If you or your company has a need for technical training, and you are having trouble finding a Training Vendor who offers that training, please don’t give up.  ATI would love to hear about your needs, and we hope to be able to develop the training you are seeking.

To learn more about both of these new offerings at ATI, or to learn about our many other offerings, please visit our page at www.aticourses.com  .  If you would like to talk to us about your training needs, contact information can be found at the same site.

The Four Shuns

Posted on by Bob
I was watching an old episode of Star Trek today, and Captain Picard and his landing party Teleported to some dangerous place.  For non-trekkies, Teleporting is a way that people get from one place to another by having their bodies vaporize in one location, and get reconstituted in a different location.  They were accompanied by […]

I was watching an old episode of Star Trek today, and Captain Picard and his landing party Teleported to some dangerous place.  For non-trekkies, Teleporting is a way that people get from one place to another by having their bodies vaporize in one location, and get reconstituted in a different location.  They were accompanied by one crew member that I did not recognize, so as any Star Trek Fan knows, that crew member is the sacrificial goat who gets killed in this dangerous place.  As I watched the Teleportation of the landing party, it reminded me of a conversation I had many years ago with someone who, at the time, was a high school senior starting a Summer Internship with me. 

I asked Alex what he dreamed of doing in what would surely be a long and successful career as an engineer.  Alex told me that he was going to design and build the first real Teleportation device, and that would change the way modern man thinks about traveling.  I thought Alex was joking, and I laughed at him.  After he explained that he was not kidding, I had a serious conversation with him explaining why Teleportation was something that was only found in Science Fiction movies, and that it was contrary to all Laws of Physics, and that it could never actually happen. 

I regret that I handled the conversation that way that day.  Who was I to tell Alex what he could not do?  What may have happened if someone had told Alexander Graham Bell that man would never have telephones, or if someone had told Neil Armstrong that man would never walk on the moon? 

The rate at which technology has advanced in the last 50 years is mind-boggling, and technology will certainly advance at the same pace, or faster, in the next 50 years.  Fifty years ago, one could not have imagined the technology we would have today.  So, why should man today even attempt to imagine the technology that will be common-place 50 years from now.  And, although I do not personally expect to be around in 50 years, my Intern Alex should still be around. 

Ambition is the source of innovation, and innovation is the source of radical technology.

We cannot imagine what Alex and his peers will have in store for us in the future.

If you want to advance your skills in areas that will allow you to innovate into the future, consider taking one of the many courses offered by ATI.  You can find our full catalog of courses on our home page.

Most of our courses are being offered Live-Virtual at the moment, but as we leave COVID behind us, we will be offering more courses Live again.  With Live Courses, students will need to travel to get to the facility where the course is being offered, but with luck, you may be able to Teleport to the classroom someday soon.

As a closing and encouraging footnote, I reached out to Alex today, and reminded him of the conversation we had so many years ago.  I was happy to hear that Alex is still working hard and enthusiastic about his goal to someday invent a Teleporter.  When he does that, his name will be associated with other pioneers like Graham Bell and Armstrong.

So, what are the “The Four Shuns”, you ask.  AmbitION, nurtured by EducatION, allows innovatION, and maybe TeleportatION

Innovating With Radar

Posted on by Bob
I am a person who always wants to know how things work.  I can not simply use some fancy feature on my device.  I must figure out how the feature works, and test it to see if I can figure out if the engineer was thorough in the design of the feature.  This trait in […]

I am a person who always wants to know how things work.  I can not simply use some fancy feature on my device.  I must figure out how the feature works, and test it to see if I can figure out if the engineer was thorough in the design of the feature.  This trait in me comes from many years of being the engineer designing the feature, and sometimes overlooking things that the end-user eventually points out to me. 

I recently found myself experimenting with the Cruise Control System on my new car.  I have had cars with Cruise Control before, but this car’s Cruise Control was far more complex than anything I had seen in my old car, and I had to know how it worked. 

The cruise control in my old car allowed me to set the desired speed of the car; that was all it did.  If I set the cruise the control for 60 mph, and steered into a brick wall, I would impact the wall at 60 mph, and die.  The new car contained something which it called “Adaptive Cruise Control”, and it was there to protect idiots who might find themselves steering toward a brick wall at 60 mph.

With Adaptive Cruise Control, there is a radar mounted inside the grill on the front of the car, and there is a Cruise Control Computer which takes inputs from many sources, primarily the radar, and sends commands to your accelerator actuator.  This radar points a beam ahead of the car.  The radar senses what is ahead of the car, and the speed of what is ahead of the car, and adjusts your vehicles speed as required to prevent you from hitting whatever is in front of you.  If necessary, as in the case of the brick wall, it will even stop you prior to impact, theoretically. 

Wow, I thought.  I need to test this.  I need to figure out what the engineer forgot to consider.  No, for those who may be thinking this, I did not try driving into a brick wall.

Amazingly, my Adaptive Cruise Control worked flawlessly, even though I sometimes could not figure how it knew what it knew.  For example, if there is a cement barrier following a curve in the road, how does it keep the radar pointed at the car I am following, and not the barrier which is directly in front of me in the curve?  Obviously, Cruise Control Computer must be getting inputs from my steering wheel, so it knows I am in a curve, and it steers the beam in the direction of the curve.  Brilliant.

The use of increasingly sophisticated Radar technology in our cars today is pushing the limits of what used to be unimaginable.  And, increasingly sophisticated Radars can be used in almost anything, not just cars, so the opportunity for innovation in Radar is limitless.

If you would like to learn more about radar so you can innovate new uses for radar, consider taking the upcoming ATI course Radar – Basic Principles.  This course is intended for scientists, engineers, and technical managers who require an introduction to the basic principles and techniques used in modern radar systems.  This is a new 3-day ATI course which replaces previous ATI Courses Radar 101 and Radar 201, which are no longer being offered.  You can learn more about Radar – Basic Principles, and register for it here.

And, as always, you can learn about the full set of courses offered by ATI at www.aticourses.com

This Sounds So Cool ( See what I did there? )

Posted on by Bob
There are so many applications of Acoustics in every day life.  In fact, scientists are coming up with new applications every day.  Many people think of the most popular applications of Acoustics like Ranging and Imaging.  If you think the only applications of Acoustics are Sonar and Ultra Sound Imaging, you would be so wrong. […]

There are so many applications of Acoustics in every day life.  In fact, scientists are coming up with new applications every day.  Many people think of the most popular applications of Acoustics like Ranging and Imaging.  If you think the only applications of Acoustics are Sonar and Ultra Sound Imaging, you would be so wrong.

For example, China has discovered that they can use Acoustics to help them deal with the effects of Global Warming.  In order to increase their water supply during drought periods, China has discovered that by aiming low frequency sound waves at clouds, they can stimulate that cloud into dropping rainfall when it otherwise would not have done so.

As another example, China has also discovered a more efficient way to limit the number of plastic fibers that get come out of washing machines and get released into the drain.  This was required because conventional filters on washing machines do not catch the tiny fibers that can be so destructive to the marine ecosystem.  By using Acoustic filters that produce a type of forcefield in the water, all the fibers can be collected.

Going forward, finding new and important applications for Acoustics is ripe for technical innovation.

To learn more about applications of Acoustics, consider taking the upcoming ATI course  Acoustic Fundamentals, Measurements, and Applications.

This four-day course is intended for engineers and other technical personnel and managers who have a work-related need to understand basic acoustics concepts and how to measure and analyze sound. This is an introductory course and participants need not have any prior knowledge of sound or vibration. Each topic is illustrated by relevant applications, in-class demonstrations, and worked-out numerical examples. The instructor for this course reaches out to all registered students prior to the class to learn about their interests so he can tailor the course to meet their needs.  The upcoming offering of this course is Guaranteed-To-Run.

You can learn more about this course, and register to attend at

Acoustics Fundamentals, Measurements, and Applications – ATI Courses

And, as always, you can learn about the full set of courses offered by ATI at www.aticourses.com

Eric Clapton, Tom Logsdon, & the Kitchen Stove: A Tiny Tale of Creativity & Innovation

Posted on by Lisa
Last week when a customer had questions I talked with Tom Logsdon about the 6 methods of training used in his Creativity & Innovation course. The six methods are spelled out in his book Six Simple Creative Solutions that Shook the World. Tom is a mathematician and rocket scientist by training (and he teaches courses […]
Last week when a customer had questions I talked with Tom Logsdon about the 6 methods of training used in his Creativity & Innovation course. The six methods are spelled out in his book Six Simple Creative Solutions that Shook the World. Tom is a mathematician and rocket scientist by training (and he teaches courses on GPS and Orbital & Launch Mechanics in his spare time) who teaches creativity paired with discipline. Yesterday, my husband called to alert me to a minor crisis at home. Our 2 year old gas stove, both burners and oven, had ceased to heat. It was fine at breakfast and not at lunch. Although fueled by gas it has electric igniters. During the phone call we took a scientific approach. Six Simple Creative Solutions that Shook the World #1: Break your problem apart & put it back together: we concluded that since the burners could be started with a lighter that the problem was not in the gas feed. Additionally, the digital clock didn’t work. Everything pointed to something electric. However, the circuit breaker was fine. Later, when I came home we pulled the stove out and 6SCStStW #2: Take a fresh look at the interfaces. The electric connection appeared secure on both ends and it didn’t work with an alternate outlet. By this time -in a too-crowded kitchen with a malfunctioning appliance- the (wall) clock was ticking, no food was being prepared and my husband and mother were chomping at the bit. I reached for the iPod, plugged it in to the speaker and turned on some vintage Eric Clapton Unplugged….and nothing…..happened. Zero sound. Then the Eureka moment occurred! Or 6SCStStW #6. Happy Serendipity. Believe me, I needed those mellow acoustic notes. That is when I realized that the outlet circuit had tripped. I hit the reset button and Voila! Eric Clapton strummed the guitar and Chuck Leavell dazzled on the piano. Electricity was restored to the stove and dinner was prepared and served. Thank you Tom Logsdon & Eric Clapton! Note: Tom Logsdon’s Creativity & Innovation course is available for training at your facility.