Working on a group project? Finding it difficult to find a space to collaborate? Need a space where it is easy to share your ideas and information from your laptop?
We have just the space you need! We have 2 group study pods – and pod 1 is equipped with media:scape!
Group Study Pod 1
Media:scape is designed for easy collaboration – your group may connect up to 6 electronic devices. Each device is then able to send the info on their screens to the large-screen monitor. This allows your group to share documents, images, videos, or websites instantly. Connection cords are located in the “well” in the center of the table and each connection cord has a “puck” which will glow when it is properly connected. Once your device is connected, you simply tap the puck and the information from your laptop is instantly displayed on the monitor. Being able to share your information so quickly and easily has obvious advantages when you are working on a group project. Each person is able to work individually and immediately share with the rest of the group. Being able to view all the group members’ contributions can really enhance brainstorming and the the creative process.
The adapters which are needed to connect personal devices to the media:scape are available for check out at the circulation desk. A reservation sign-up sheet is posted on the window of each group study pod. Both group study pods are also equipped with a large whiteboard and dry erase markers are available at the circulation desk.
The combination of the media:scape and the whiteboard makes group study pod 1 the ideal space to work on that group project!
A trebuchet is amedievalengineofwarwithaslingforhurlingmissiles. As Halloween comes around, wouldn’t you like to spend your weekend building your very own pumpkin-launching trebuchet?
Trebuchets have been around since the middle ages and were often used to throw objects at the enemy’s fortress. Usually it was large rocks, but often dead and rotting livestock were thrown. Depending on the size of the trebuchet you build, you will probably be throwing smaller objects, like tennis balls. Or pumpkins….
A trebuchet
There is a difference between a trebuchet and a catapult. A trebuchet uses a sling and has a counter-weight which, as it is dropped, forces the long arm up to pull the sling and the projectile along a slide at the base. The counter-weight uses the pull of gravity to provide the force necessary for the arm to swing upwards. The sling increases the length of the arm and the performance. The catapult uses a leaf spring mechanism to release the long arm. A rope is wrapped around a rotating drum and when the spring mechanism is released, so is the arm and the projectile. A catapult has a cup at the end rather than a sling.
In15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius, author Simon Monk says, “The trebuchet takes its energy from the weight that falls as the arm swings. The ‘potential’ energy is transferred to the arm and sling of the trebuchet and is released as kinetic energy in the tennis ball.”
When you know the energy stored in the weight and how far the projectile can be thrown, the energy going into the system and the energy released can be measured. Input energy can be calculated using the formula: E=mgh where ‘m’ is the mass of the weight, ‘g’ is the gravitational acceleration on Earth (9.8) and ‘h’ is the height. You can also calculate the amount of energy transferred to the tennis ball using the distance it traveled and its weight. E=1|2 mv2 where d=v2|g v2=dg. You can then calculate the efficiency of the catapult by dividing the energy transferred by the energy input. From this, you are then able to calculate the efficiency of your trebuchet!
Model of the da Vinci catapult
Sometime in the 1480s, Leonardo da Vinci drafted two designs that would improve on the catapult. There were drawbacks to each of the designs and included the considerable cost to produce the steel mechanism and the swing arm tension would have been tremendous. It is believed that neither of the catapults were built during his lifetime. However, if you’d like to see a life-size working model of his catapult check out the DVD Doing da Vinci from our DVD collection. In this 2-DVD collection, 4 builders and engineers tackle building some of da Vinci’s never-before-built designs.
Monk says, “It’s a simple design that should only take a few hours to construct and needs little in the way of special tools or equipment.” A list of materials needed is listed and instructions are clearly laid out, including how to make the weight from a plastic cereal container filled with wet sand. The sling is made with rope and a patch of square cloth. Monk also says, “A reasonably strong material like denim is ideal. The Evil Genius’ minions can often be found wearing jeans with large patches of cloth removed. The Evil Genius tells them that this is the latest fashion and the minions are pleased.” (pg. 20).
If you prefer a smaller, desk-top version, you can make one using popsicle sticks.
You have a couple of weeks to build and fine-tune your trebuchet before Halloween! Have a fun (and safe) one!
Looking for a fun project for the weekend? How about learning Minecraft® mod development in 24 hours?
Sams Teach Yourself Minecraft Mod Development in 24 Hours will help you do just that! Each chapter is an “hour” and explains the entire process from “Setting up the Minecraft® development environment” to “What’s Next?” and all you need in between. At the end of each hour is a hands-on, try-it-yourself activity, workshops, and exercises which will help you hone your new skills writing mods. Java programming basics are explained as you move through each hour, making it a great way to learn to program.
Want to learn to make flaming cows, flying creepers or teleportation in Minecraft®? Learn to Program with Minecraft Plugins can help you do that! This book also starts at the beginning as you learn to write a Java program. Besides Java, you’ll also learn to use CanaryMod and to backup your code using Git.
Interested in expanding your game programming skills beyond creating flaming cows? Ready to design an entire game by yourself? Fundamentals of Game Design will walk you through the different types of games, design and development, how to make your game accessible to a variety of audiences and how to make money from the games you’ve created. Have experience with HTML? Check out HTML5 Games: Creating Fun with HTML5, CSS3, and WebGL.
Another resource which will walk you through creating your own game – from beginning to end – is Game Development with Blender. You will get an introduction to 3D computer graphics as well as Blender in general. There are chapters devoted to animation, graphics, Python scripting, and more.
If you are ready to move on to designing mobile games, check out Holistic Mobile Game Development with Unity. The principles of art, design and code are covered and you’ll gain the multidisciplinary skills you’ll need in the independent mobile games industry. You’ll learn the process for both iOS and Android mobile devices from design to publication in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Whatever your skill level or interest in designing and programming games – we have the resources you need!
Baillie-de Byl, Penny. 2014. Holistic mobile game development with Unity: an all-in-one guide to implementing mechanics, art design, and programming for iOS and Android mobile games. Burlington, MA : Focal Press. Engineering Library QA76.76 .C672 B336 2014.
Other Resources:
Thorn, Alan. 2015. How to cheat in Unity 5: tips and tricks for game development. Burlintong, MA : Focal Press. Electronic Library Resource.
Canary: Introducing Canary: the hMod Legacy.Minecraft Forum. 2005-2015.
What kind of study space do you need to ace those tests and projects?
Group Study Space? We have that!
Group Study Pod 1
Working on a group project and need that space to spread out and maybe even have a white board? We have 2 study pods – one of which has a Media:Scape. Both theMedia:Scapecable ports and adapters andwhite board markersare available for check out at the circulation desk. There is a sign-up sheet on the door of each pod. It is a 2-2-2- policy: 2 or more students, 2 hour time slots, and you may reserve your spot up to 2 days in advance. Besides the 2 group study pods we have four group tables which are another option for working together on a group project.
Quiet Study Space? We have that!
Need a quiet space away from roommates and other distractions? We have the perfect area! Our lower level is a dedicated quiet space. There are over 30 individual study carrels. If you are tired of sitting at a desk, we’ve got several easy chairs where you can sit back and relax while you cram for that midterm.
Gamer Chair in the Lower Level Quiet Study Space
Bean Bag Chairs? Gamer Chairs? Yup, we have them!
Also in the lower level, we have comfortable bean bag chairs and gamer chairs. They are the perfect spot to catch up on that required reading you haven’t done yet….
Study Carrels? We have them!
Besides the study carrels in the lower level, there are 4 on the main level, too. The upstairs study carrels are close to the printers and scanners so they are easily accessible.
Need an ITC computer? We have those!
We have 20 computers (plus new computers tables and chairs) on the main level, and 12 more in the multipurpose room. Plenty of spaces where you can come to study!
Printers & Scanners? We have those, too!
All our computers and your laptops will print to the 2 print stations. We also have 2 scanners – so it is easy to scan documents and save to a thumb drive or email them – easy way to share information to project partners and keep an electronic copy!
Whenever you need a change of scenery from your dorm or apartment, come study with us! And good luck on those midterms!
Halloween is coming up fast! (I know, scary, right?)
We have just the exhibit to get you in the mood!!
Engineering Library Halloween Exhibit
We have a series of books tailored for the “evil genius” in you. Including Holography Projects for the Evil Genius. You might just find the way to build the perfect hologram to scare your roommate. Or how about a voice transmitter to “throw” your voice? More Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Geniushas all the info you need to make your own!
Interested in making your own Halloween costumes and scary decorations? Check out Make: Technology on Your Time, a journal that can help you do just that, and walk you through how to make your scary ideas come to life (so to speak….). More Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Geniuswill tell you how to make your own light saber and how about a Wookiee pumpkin to go along with that? The Star Wars Craft Book will show you how! (Don’t miss the tip on the bottom of page 72 – use a fake pumpkin and it won’t rot and you can use it for years!)
Or do you just want to know how those Gummi Worms are made? Check out How It’s Made and see how some of those Halloween staples are made – learn about special effects makeup, hard candy, holograms, chocolate, and gummie candy!
And since Halloween isn’t complete without a skeleton, we have a skeleton of a Macaque monkey on display! Interested in the biomechanics of animal and human bodies? Biomechanics of the Musculo-skeletal System is a comprehensive resource! A big thank you to the Museum of Natural History for the loan of the skeleton!
No matter how you plan to spend your Halloween, stop by our Terror-ific Halloween exhibit!
Resources:
More Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius. Engineering Library QP301 .B565 2007
Biomechanics of the musculo-skeletal system. 2007. Chichester, West Sussex, England : Hoboken NJ : John Wiley & Sons. Engineering Library QP 301 .B565 2007.
More Resources:
Ultimate Fog Chiller. Makezine.com. Date Accessed Sept. 25, 2015.
Banned Book Week was launched in 1982 in order to bring attention to a surge of challenges that schools, bookstores and libraries were getting. The American Library Association (ALA) reports that more than 11,300 books have been challenged since then. According to the ALA, “A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. The number of challenges reflects only incidents reported. We estimate that for every reported challenge, four or five remain unreported.”
Banned Book Week September 27 through October 3, 2015
The Office for Intellectual Freedom recorded 311 challenges in 2014.
Here are a few books of interest to Engineering and Science that have been banned at one time or another:
Banned in 17th Century Europe: Any writing or discussion demonstrating the heliocentric nature of the universe.
Writings by Physicist and Astronomer Galileo Galilei: He was charged and convicted of heresy by the Inquisition in 1632 for writing, “Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems” Main Library QB41 .G1356 1967
Banned in schools in Tennessee following the Butler Act of 1925: Books and teaching materials on Darwinian evolution theory, including The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin Main Library QH365 .O2 1979.
Banned in the United States for being too accurate in its scientific initiative: The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments, written in 1960 by Robert Brent and illustrated by Harry Lazarus.
Many books which are considered classics have also been targets of challenges and attempts to ban them. Check out which books here: http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/. There are also links to the top 100 fiction and top 100 nonfiction titles.
If you are interested in exploring Leonardo da Vinci’s engineering works, check out Doing da Vinci. Four builders and engineers attempt to build never-before-constructed inventions! The 2-disc set looks at his armored tank, siege ladder, self-propelled carts and even a machine gun! Will his creations actually work? Doing da Vinci will show you!
We have many resources that relate to Darwin, Galileo, and da Vinci. Come explore our library and find these titles and more!
Who doesn’t love a NERF® blaster? And what could be better than a blaster that you build yourself and can be used either manually or autonomously?
Autonomous NERF® Blaster created by Bryce Bigger
Bryce Bigger’s book, Build Your Own Autonomous NERF® Blaster is aimed towards those who are less familiar with coding and physical computing – however, if you are more knowledgeable about coding and tinkering, he provides more advanced alternatives to “level up” your project.
Both a Processing and an Arduino crash course are provided. By using open-source, cross-platform creative coding, Bigger provides an inexpensive way to begin. Lots of screen prints and step-by-step instructions will have you processing before you know it and give you “mad new skills” to take you into the Arduino crash course. Again, the many pictures and careful instructions will get you to the point where you will be able to use your new processing and Arduino skills to move to the next stage of building your own blaster!
Once you have those basic skills, Bigger will walk you, step-by-step, through understanding and setting up a motion detection system and creating the brains and eyes of the blaster are also carefully spelled out. He then explains his tinkering process and how he ended up designing the foam blaster for MailChimp®. All phases of the NERF® blaster development are explained clearly and include photographs and screen shots.
A complete list of parts (and some places where they may be purchased) is also given.
So, pull out your NERF® guns and enjoy the weekend!
Bigger, Bryce. 2013. Build your own autonomous NERF Blaster : programming mayhem with Processing and Arduino. New York : McGraw Hill. Engineering Library TJ223 .P76 B544 2013
We added a brand-new overhead scanner this fall! We now have two and they are both free of charge!
Both scanners have large touch screens make them easy to use.
The scanners are easy to use. They have large touch screens to guide you through the scanning process. You are also able to either save your scanned document to a USB drive or email the document to yourself. Each scanner will scan in black & white or in color. If a USB drive is inserted, the scanner automatically recognizes this and will indicate that this is where the document will be saved. Since both scanners will scan color or black & white, they are perfect for scanning graphs, photos, magazines and journals.
The new scanner is an overhead, face-up scanner, so there will be no more book spine damage.
The new scanner is an overhead, face-up scanner. These means that books don’t have to be flattened in order to be scanned – thus preventing bo0k spine damage. You are also able to split the two pages of a book into separate images. Black edges can be removed and the content can be straightened. It also has a much larger capture area so is able to scan larger images than either copiers or typical scanners. It is much easier and quicker to scan multiple pages of a book – there is no need to flip them over to turn the page and then flip them over again to scan. You simply turn the page. There is a foot peddle so the user may use that rather than the hand scan screen. It is also wheel-chair accessible.
The scanners are located with the print station and the photocopier.
Come explore our library and find out how easy and convenient our scanners are!
Are you confused about funding agencies’ new data management and sharing policies? Or do you need some help managing your research data? You’re not alone and we can help! Join us for one of five upcoming workshops (each session is identical):
The purpose of this workshop is to explain research data management and its importance, help identify some common data management issues, and learn about best practices and resources that are available. This workshop is open to all UI students, faculty, and staff. Registration is requested. To register, please click on one of the dates above.
If you have any questions, or if you’d like to request a session for your group, please contact Sara Scheib or Marina Zhang.
Want to do something totally different this weekend? Have a pile of LEGO® blocks lying around? How about making an ice cream maker!? Then, how about home-made S’mores ice cream? Want the flavor of the fire-toasted marshmallows? Try making your own liquid smoke!
If you don’t want to try your hand at making the LEGO® ice cream maker, you can use a traditional ice cream maker and then use either dry ice or liquid nitrogen for the freezing.
For S’mores ice cream, the base consists of whole milk, heavy cream, sugar, chocolate syrup, medium-sized marshmallows and liquid smoke. You can buy liquid smoke or make your own. If you buy liquid smoke the ingredients should only be “water, smoke.” Really, that’s all. Making your own liquid smoke requires about $20 in ingredients and is best done with chemistry equipment in a lab. This will allow you to create a closed system to capture the liquid smoke and to heat it safely. Buying your liquid smoke is cheaper, takes less time, and is a little safer…
Ready to make the S’mores ice cream? Combine the base ingredients, pre-chill it, put it in your LEGO® machine and it will all – including your LEGO® machine – go into your freezer. Once the base is set, stir in graham crackers, toasted and cut into pieces. Serve with hot fudge or chocolate syrup – add whipped cream, cherries or nuts if you like. Yum….
Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Hacks, and Good Food, by Jeff Potter. Engineering Library TX715 .P88201
