Give and Take

April 22, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Hi everyone.

I'm at the National Conference on Building Commissioning this week, at the Marriott Newport Beach Hotel and Spa. I won't be getting to the spa, but the beach view is nice and the gas-flame fire pits have already attracted us long-winter refugees like moths and incited some fun and interesting conversations. One Cx provider talked about being in Burundi to commission an embassy when, in the night, firefights and mortar fire broke out and she and her team had to be whisked out of the country. I asked if Hillary Clinton was with her...

I've been to five or six of the sixteen NCBC's and I have to say it's among my favorite conferences. The technical sessions are good, covering not only the commissioning process, but technologies such as wireless BAS, fault-detection and diagnostics, and real-time de...Read More

March 26, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Rest in peace, James E. Batz. Thank you for the great work you performed as an engineer, and for being a role model for engineers today and in the future.

Those were the words that crossed my mind when reading Mr. Batz's obituary today in the Chicago Tribune. The headline, "Engineer was an innovator" caught my eye for obvious reasons, so I read the sizable send-off to a man of apparently remarkable character and experience.

"He was one of those kinds of guys that did all those things that no one knew about but needed to be done," his son said.

Mr. Batz was born and raised in Chicago, and entered the Navy during WW II as a stepping stone to obtaining a college education. During his two-year stint, he became a communications expert and...Read More

March 25, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Scott Siddens, senior editor, sent me an email yesterday that linked to an article on engineering education on Wired magazine’s Website. The article, “Top 5 Reasons it Sucks to Be an Engineering Student,” by Aaron Rowe, a Wired editor, is categorized as being “humorous,” and to some degree it is, but there’s more than a modicum of truth in his snarky post. There were a few points that brought back some not-so-fun memories of my time in the trenches. I ended up earning a B.Sc. in mathematics and computer science, and a graduate degree in engineering, finding the research-based graduate school curriculum more compatible with my style of learning than the weed-them-out style of the undergraduate program that I had enrolled in.

 What’s makes the Wi...Read More

March 11, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Because Consulting-Specifying Engineer is publishing articles in its March issue on thinking differently, green schools, and semantics, I thought it would fun to discuss some research on how the brain works and the psychology of decisions. For any designer who has had a client choose Option C instead of the much preferred Options A or B, these findings should interest you. Also read on to gain insight to better manage your engineering staffs.

Scientists using magnetic resonance imaging technology to observe the brain in action have found that brains are much more aroused by “instant gratification” than longer-term rewards. Apparently, this is a hangover from our pre-history as “hunter-gatherers” when we faced scarcity more often. We would generally rather eat what’s available now rather than gamble on a bigger feast later. There&rsq...Read More

March 7, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Semantics, according to Merriam-Webster, is the study of meaning. Meaning is conveyed in words. The green movement needs to clarify its semantics—its words—if it is to lead us to sustainability.

To start, the words "green" and "sustainability" mean different things, but often are used interchangeably. With sustainability being more complex in meaning and difficult to attain, we’re green washing a green building when calling it sustainable, unless it truly is. But how are green and sustainability different?

Sustainability scientist and professor, James A. Wise, Ph.D., said, "Sustainability is a top-down framework of overarching principles that consider environmental, economic, and social measures based on an idealized model of what is sustainable. Green is a bottom-up approach, working to improve the environmental perform...Read More