T HE S OCIETY U NIVERSITY

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M ICHIGAN A NN A RBOR S ECTION

The Specialist
TH O CTOBER 2012 F ALL 2012, I SSUE 3

D AISY W ANG P UBLICATIONS O FFICER

T HIS WEEK S S EMINAR WITH M ICHAEL B AUMHART

Michael Baumhart is currently a senior at the University of Michigan studying Material Science Engineering. He is the president of the University of Michigan Engineering Honor Council and will be presenting a talk about ethics in engineering.
[The Honor Code outlines certain standards of ethical conduct for persons associated with the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. The policies of the Honor Code apply to graduate and undergraduate students, faculty members, and administrators. The Honor Code is based on these tenets:

U PCOMING S EMINARS :

November the 1st, 2012 November the 15th, 2012 All Seminars Take Place Every Other Thursday at 6pm Swell Dinner and Dessert at Every Meeting! By swell, I mean great food and not pizza.

Engineers must possess personal integrity both as students and as professionals. They must be honorable people to ensure safety, health, fairness, and the proper use of available resources in their undertakings. Students in the College of Engineering community are honorable and trustworthy persons. The students, faculty members, and administrators of the College of Engineering trust each other to uphold the principles of the Honor Code. They are jointly responsible for precautions against violations of its policies. It is dishonorable for students to receive credit for work that is not the result of their own efforts.]

I NSIDE THIS ISSUE : F OOD G ATHERERS U NITE SWE ETHEART C ORNER 2 3

-Honor Code outline taken from http://www.engin.umich.edu/students/honorcode/code

S AVE T HE D ATE !
Paint the Rock: A SWEventure Friday, October 19th, 2012 Engineering on a Global Scale Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 Undecided Night Thursday, October 25th, 2012 Shadow Day Saturday, October 27th, 2012 SWEet Mates Scavenger Hunt Saturday, October 27th, 2012
For more information check out SWE announcements or the SWE website at swe.engin.umich.edu.

D EAR D AISY S UE 3 4 W HAT TO E XPECT WHEN YOU GO TO A CIS

A C URE TO THE
OUTREACH JITTERS

E ARTH S YSTEMS E NGINEERING SWE ET P UZZLES

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F OOD G ATHERERS U NITE

On the evening of Thursday, October 11th, a total of eleven SWE members visited the Food Gatherers Warehouse. Food Gatherers, a food bank program serving all of Washtenaw County, was started in 1988 by Zingermans Delicatessen. The owners of Zingermans regretted the amount of food their restaurant wasted day to day, so they decided to start Food Gatherers as a way to rectify the problem. The program supplies food to over 150 nonprofit agencies in the area, with an emphasis on distribution of fresh produce. So far in 2012, Food Gatherers has: -Distributed 5.6 million pounds of food -Engaged 6,000 different people in volunteer projects, for a total of 69,921 volunteer hours valued at $1,523,578 ! -Raised the number of Washtenaw County food pantries distributing fresh produce from 1 in 5 to 1 in 2 -Served 106,616 meals to hungry people at the Food Gatherers Community Kitchen Our SWE volunteer group had a great time doing its part: in just two hours, we packed a total of 360 boxes full of non-perishable food items to be delivered to families in need. I was glad that such a small time commitment on our part translated to such a large benefit for the community it speaks to the volumes SWE is able to accomplish when its members work together. The staff at Food Gatherers was very informative. They were enthusiastic about the Food Gatherers mission and their energy was contagious. The work we performed was manageable but impactful, the warehouse where we worked was tidy, and I am very eager to go back soon! Volunteering definitely leaves a warm glow in my tummy. As winter sets in, and Thanksgiving approaches, I cannot think of a better way to warm up and give back than SWE @ Food Gatherers 2012, Round II.
-Submitted by Natalie Eyke, image provided by Zingermanscommunity.com

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S WEETHEART C ORNER
Nominator: Kristi Wegener: Megan was a great Career Fair chair! She was always willing to help and never complained (even at 6 in the morning). She kept an upbeat and happy attitude all the way through Tuesday night! We were lucky to have her on our team. Nominee: Name: Megan Eminger Year: 2013 (Senior) Major: Chemical Engineering What is your favorite hobby, extracurricular activity, or interest (after SWE, of course!)? I like participating in IM sports (soccer, dodgeball, broomball, flag football). Team sports are one thing I really miss from high school and it's a good way to get your mind off of school for a little. If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why? I would like to fly or teleport. I feel like I waste so much time in a car every day! Congratulations, Megan!

ET HEART

What is your favorite SWE event or memory? SWE/TBP Career Fair 2012! So much goes on Do you have a SWEetheart in mind for a nomina- behind the scenes and it was awetion? Dont hesitate, nominate today! Every Spe- some to be a part of it.
cialist will feature a special little SWEetheart who deserves recognition. Please send any nominations to Nadine Kaara <nkaraa@umich.edu

D EAR D AISY S UE ,
If you remember from the Specialist last academic year, there was a column for Dear Abby. Dear Daisy Sue, Dear LatelyTasteful, Once again, I have too many suggestions to list! If you want a unique experience, I would recommend Marks Carts. Its sort of a literal series of food carts/stands in an outdoor lot near Grizzly Peak. There are eight different carts that offer a variety of ethnic foods and there are also vegetarian/vegan friendly options available. My personal favorite cart is Cheese Dream. I had the macaroni grilled cheese and it is exactly what you think it is. It was delicious! Have fun! I havent really been eating out and now I almost regret it. There are far I would like to continue the too many options throughout Ann Arbor column, but I have to change the name now that I look through the list. Do you because I am the new editor who will be have specific and unique suggestions? replying to any questions. -LatelyTasteful If you have any questions about Ann Arbor, relationships, professional advice or if you even need some new suggestions for dessert, just ask Daisy Sue Coleman! Please submit questions, I would really like this column to be success. I will also accept handwritten questions in my mailbox! You can be as anonymous as you want.

Photo courtesy of markscartsannarbor.com

-Daisy Sue

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W HAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU GO TO A CORPORATE INFORMATION SESSION (CIS)

Are you curious about what goes on at a CIS? Does it seem a bit intimidating? Are you wondering how to dress or how to act? job listing they have. Its okay to feel intimidated by company recruiters. Its a natural feeling. But, you should practice interacting with them or even just being around them so that you can become less nervous or intimidated. That makes things easier when it comes time to talk to recruiters about internship opportunities or for when you have any interviews. The first time I went to a CIS, I brought a friend along with me. We just wanted to see what a CIS was like. Bringing a friend can be a helpful thing for you if you would feel more comfortable bringing them along. Corporate Information Sessions are all casual dress, and the recruiters know that all of us students have been going to class all day. They dont expect us to wear suits or anything like that. With that being said, if you are going to a CIS because you are interested in working for the company, it might be a good idea to wear nicer, black pants and a blouse instead of jeans and a t-shirt. But, like I said, its perfectly fine to wear what you wore to classes that day. Please feel free to talk to me (Christie Rockwell) if you have any questions at all! You can also email me at rockc@umich.edu. I will be more than happy to talk with you about CIS or life in general. -Submitted by Christie Rockwell

Wellevery week (mostly during the first two months of each semester), company representatives come to our campus especially to talk to students like you! The format of each session is left up to the company, but usually they have a PowerPoint presentation and sometimes a movie. If you are curious about a company and youd like to simply learn more about what they do, that is a perfectly valid reason to go to a CIS- you dont have to apply to a

H ELPFUL T IPS FOR THE P REPARED E NGINEER : THE BENEFITS OF A L INKED I N

With 19 million users, LinkedIn.com is an online network of people from all over the world. Although it is one of many social networking sites on the Web, LinkedIn is probably the best-know and most widely used business networking site. It has some similarities to well-known social networking sites, but there are also fundamental differences that make it much more useful for business purposes. work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have." Even if you are not conducting a current job search, any tool that can help you manage your career and network more effectively and efficiently should be of great interest. A LinkedIn profile summarizes your professional accomplishments and helps you find and be found by colleagues, clients, and partners. cations, and you can be found and pursued for job opportunities. You can form relationships that are critical to your career success, but remember, effective networking requires reciprocity through developing and nurturing win-win relationships. Through LinkedIn, you will have opportunities to help out those in your network by answering questions, providing relevant leads, and helping them make connections to further their goals.

If you are wondering, "What Through LinkedIn, you can exactly is a business networking site?" or, make personal "inside" connections in "How can it benefit me?" you are not relation to job opportunities, you can alone. According to LinkedIn's own expromote your personal brand and qualifiplanation, the mission of LinkedIn is "to -Article brought to you by www.picpa.org help you be more effective in your daily

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B Y : S ARAH B ACH
nt bring any glitter with which to decorate it. You teach her chromatography and shell refuse to use any colors besides purple and pink. The only interest shell ever have in engineering is finding that one elusive hot engineering boy who will one day make her rich. How you WANT to deal with the situation: Alright, princess, Im sorry I didnt bring you any feathers, glitter, or a bedazzler to decorate your project. Youve obviously been watching too much of Craft Wars on TLC and spending too much time on pinterest. This is an engineering project, not craft time. How you SHOULD deal with the situation: Those are some great ideas for decoration! Why dont you help your group design, build, and test the project first and if theres extra time at the end you can decorate it all you want! #3. The Future Engineer Description: This kid must have an overbearing parent thats an engineer because he already seems to be dead set on engineering as a career path. Hes asking you about the different engineering majors and youre feeling bad that you didnt ask these same questions until senior year of high school. While building puffmobiles this kid is asking you about the effects of friction and drag on the car, while youre mainly focusing on trying to keep the other groups from fighting over what color construction paper to choose. This kid wants to take full control of the group and not listen to what any of his other lowly group members have to say, because his dad is an engineer so he obviously knows best. How you WANT to deal with the situation: Wow, Im actually impressed/kind of intimidated by your knowledge of engineering and mature questions. Id like to sit here and talk engineering with you all day, buddy; its nice to talk to a kid that really gets what engineering is all about! Im kind of okay with you taking over the group because nobody else on your team is on your level. How you SHOULD deal with the situation: You have some great ideas! Lets see if anyone else in the group has anything to add though because teamwork always makes the project better! Now hopefully, when you go on a school visit youll have helpful tips on how to deal with difficult kids! No matter what personalities you encounter though, youre sure to find some kids that are really excited about engineering and the project which makes it all worthwhile. And hey, if you really get nothing else out of it, after watching a bunch of 5 year olds try to work in a team it will undoubtedly at least make your dysfunctional project group all look like angels.

Working with kids can be difficult. Ill admit that and Im the Outreach Director! They can sometimes be sweet and cute, but most of the time I think they can be whiney, greedy, and needy. But that shouldnt stop you from volunteering at school visits! Ive found that working with kids on hands-on projects at school visits, and teaching them that engineers actually arent just the people that drive trains, are some of my most memorable times in SWE. In case youve still got some outreach jitters, I thought Id share from personal experience some helpful hints on how to deal with some kiddie personalities you may encounter on an outreach school visit.

#1. The Cryer Description: The floodgates open for this kid as soon as his teams project breaks, loses a competition, or just simply isnt the best. This childs reaction to his teams puffmobile losing, which was built in 10 minutes out of straws, tape, and paper, is equivalent to that of a first pet dying. After such an outburst, you wouldve thought he put hours of work into this project, when in reality he spent most of the time picking his nose and wandering the room, being told to go back and help his group. Dont worry though, his lack of actual investment in the project is made up by his deep emotional attachment. How you WANT to deal with the situation: Youre crying because your puffmobile lost? Of course it lost; you ate the LifeSaver wheels! Did you really think a car without wheels was going to win? Youre lucky that one piece of tape holding your entire project together held when I lifted it off the desk... How you SHOULD deal with the situation: Dont worry, buddy! Its okay! Your project was so creative; its just that other groups had lots of good ideas too. You know what? I can tell your teacher what we used to make the puffmobiles and maybe your class can try it again sometime! #2. The girl already going for her M-R-S degree Description: This is the 1st grade girl in the classroom dressed in a cuter outfit than you are. Youll know her as soon as you walk in from the disdainful look she gives to your bright blue beautiful SWE polo. You give her a project to make a bridge and shell build a house for her PollyPockets instead. You tell her to make a puffmobile and shell ask why you did-

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W RITE FOR THE SPECIALIST !

Hello There, Have you ever considered becoming an author? Sharing innovative ideas? Sharing a recipe? Talking about something completely random like the origin of the toaster? Submit an article to the Specialist! Submissions can be original or taken from somewhere else so long as you cite your sources. If you are unsure what to write about or submit, check out the past Specialists online in the archives or email me for ideas! I am open to all forms of creativity and everyones voice should always be heard. The Specialist is published every seminar, so there are many opportunities to be published. One of the best parts is that you can even earn SWE points from your submissions, ranging from .5 to 2 points (with a max of 3), depending on how long your article is. Please submit articles by the Monday night of any seminar week. If you have any questions regarding submissions or the Specialist in general, email Daisy Wang, Publications Officer, at daiswang@umich.edu.

ENGINEERING IN THE WORLD TODAY :

In the past five years, a new, promising concept called earth systems engineering (ESE) has emerged as an alternative to the usual way engineering has looked at the world. ESE acknowledges the complexity of world problems and encourages the use of more holistic and systemic tools to address interactions between the anthrosphere (i.e., the part of the environment made and modified by humans and used for their activities) and natural and cultural systems. In 1998, Allenby (1998) introduced the concept of ESE with reference to industrial ecology. The latter is defined as "the multidisciplinary study of industrial systems and economic activities, and their links to fundamental natural systems" (Allenby, 1999). ...

E ARTH S YSTEMS E NGINEERING

ESE acknowledges that, so far, humans have demonstrated a limited understanding of the dynamic interactions between natural and human (non-natural) systems. This is partly attributable to the complexity of the problems at stake. On one hand, natural sys-tems are traditionally nonlinear, chaotic, and open dissipative systems characterized by interconnectedness and self-organization. Small changes in parts of natural systems can have a big impact on their response to disturbances. On the other hand, human (anthropogenic) systems are based on a more predictable Cartesian mindset.

Understanding the relationship between natural and non-natural systems remains a challenge. We do not yet have the tools and metrics to comprehend and quantify complex systems and their interactions. According to Dietrich Drner The success of industrial ecology, along with the rec(1996), this is one of the many reasons technology often fails. ommendations in Our Common Journey, a report prepared by Other reasons cited by Drner include the slowness of human the National Research Council Board on Sustainable Developthinking in absorbing new material and human self-protection ment (NRC, 1999), motivated NAE to organize a one-day through control. According to Drner: "We have been turned meeting on ESE on October 24, 2000 (NAE, 2002). In that loose in the industrial age equipped with the brain of prehistormeeting, and in the exploratory workshop that preceded it, the ic times." ... following working definition of ESE was adopted: The engineer of the future applies scientific analysis ESE is a multidisciplinary (engineering, science, social and holistic synthesis to develop sustainable solutions that intescience, and governance) process of solution development that grate social, environmental, cultural, and economic systems. takes a holistic view of natural and human system interactions. The goal of ESE is to better understand complex, nonlinear systems of global importance and to develop the tools necessary (Article pulled from from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org ) to implement that understanding.

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SWE- ET P UZZLES AND B RAINTEASERS

Note: Box 4: The E is red, Box 5: the letters beginning M,O and end O,N are supposed to be blue

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N OTES :

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE:

I always tell my kids if you lay down, people will step over you. But if you keep scrambling, if you keep going, someone will always, always give you a hand. Always. But you gotta keep dancing, you gotta keep your feet moving. -Morgan Freeman