Gourt > Business > Electronics and Electrical > Power Supplies > Uninterruptible Power Supplies > Engineering
Engineering is the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve human problems. Engineers use imagination, judgment and reasoning to apply science, technology, mathematics, and practical experience. The result is the design, production, and operation of useful objects or processes.
Methodology
The crucial and unique task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and integrate the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result. It is usually not enough to build a technically successful product; it must also meet further requirements. Constraints may include available resources, physical or technical limitations, flexibility for future modifications and additions, and other factors, such as requirements for cost, marketability, producibility, and serviceability. By understanding the constraints, engineers derive specifications for the limits within which a viable object or system may be produced and operated.
Problem solving
Engineers use their knowledge of science, mathematics, and appropriate experience to find suitable solutions to a problem. Creating an appropriate mathematical model of a problem allows them to analyze it (sometimes definitively), and to test potential solutions. Usually multiple reasonable solutions exist, so engineers must evaluate the different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best meets their requirements. Genrich Altshuller, after gathering statistics on a large number of patents, suggested that compromises are at the heart of "low-level" engineering designs, while at a higher level the best design is one which eliminates the core contradiction causing the problem. More on [ Engineering ]
NPR Topics: Business
Selling Spree Sends Dow Below 10,000 Mark
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:27:00 -0400
As angst about the global economy grows, the Dow Jones industrial average fell by as much as 800 points Monday before recovering some losses toward the end of the trading session. Meanwhile, the Treasury released some details of how the $700 billion bailout will be administered.
Treasury Outlines Plan On Illiquid Assets
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:42:00 -0400
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has named former Goldman Sachs executive Neel Kashkari to head the $700 billion rescue program. Treasury also issued documents outlining how companies can become "asset managers" to handle illiquid assts on behalf of the government.
As Dow Plummets, A Trader Urges Calm
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:41:00 -0400
The Dow Jones industrial average has plummeted, closing below 10,000 points for the first time in four years. Ted Weisberg, a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange, says much of stock trading is driven by human emotion and the decision-making process is being driven by fear and concern.
Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com
Bank of America profits plunge 68%
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:34:05 -0400
Bank of America proved it was not invulnerable to the credit crunch as it reported a steep decline in earnings on Monday, and announced plans to bulk up on capital by slashing its dividend in half and raising $10 billion through a stock sale.
How to build a better bailout
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:21:07 -0400
Not that the folks at the Treasury and the White House are asking, but if I were in charge of the $700 billion bailout of the financial system - and yes, it's a bailout, because it involves paying more for toxic assets than non-government buyers would pay - I'd have the Treasury run out today and borrow $700 billion before the financial world comes to its senses.
Credit squeeze: SBA loans drop 30%
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:46:00 -0400
A growing number of businesses are struggling to land loans through the Small Business Administration's flagship lending program. The number of 7(a) loans given in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, dropped 30% from 2007, the SBA reported last week.
The Financial Page
James Surowiecki: What drives market volatility?
James Surowiecki Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
American investors are frazzled. True, oil prices have fallen from their most vertiginous highs, the dollar is a bit stronger, and the stock market has actually risen over the past month. But none of those things have happened in a smooth and steady fashion. The stock market’s “ascent,” in particular . . .
James Surowiecki: Too many stakeholders can be a deal-breaker.
James Surowiecki Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In the second decade of the twentieth century, it was almost impossible to build an airplane in the United States. That was the result of a chaotic legal battle among the dozens of companies--including one owned by Orville Wright--that held patents on the various components that made a . . .
James Surowiecki: Sponsoring Recklessness
James Surowiecki Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
When do the words “not guaranteed” actually mean “guaranteed”? Whenever the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are involved. The two companies have long been required to tell investors that their securities are not guaranteed by the federal government. But in the financial markets everyone has always assumed that . . .
Reuters: Business News
BofA earnings tumble, cuts dividend
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:40:06 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp, citing "recessionary conditions," on Monday halved its dividend and said it would sell at least $10 billion in new common stock to bolster its capital to offset rising loan losses.
Asia stocks recover on global rate cut hopes
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:31:52 -0400
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks outside Japan rose for the first time in four days on Tuesday while the yen and government bond prices fell after a surprisingly large interest rate cut by Australia's central bank raised hopes that other policymakers would follow suit.
Dow dives below 10,000 on credit, recession fears
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:11:59 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid for a fourth straight day on Monday, leaving the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years, on fears the global economy was hurtling into recession despite government efforts to contain the fast-spreading financial crisis.
ABC News: Money
Dow Bounces Back but Ends Below 10,000
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:09:37 -0400
Investors fled stocks as they worried about the global credit crisis.
Lehman Brothers Boss Defends $484 Million in Salary, Bonus
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:14:40 -0400
Fuld becomes poster boy for Wall Street greed at heated congressional hearing.
Bleeding Green: The Long Fall of Fuld
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:17:03 -0400
Money, respect and the corner office: What Lehman's 'Gorilla' CEO has lost.
BBC News | Business | UK Edition
UK economy 'already in recession'
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:29:56 -0000
Britain is already in a recession, which is worsening and requires urgent action, business leaders warn in a quarterly survey.
EU finance chiefs in crisis talks
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:37:22 -0000
EU finance ministers are set to meet for global crisis talks as Asian markets continue the turbulence in world share prices.
Markets need morals, says Brown
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:44:58 -0000
Gordon Brown says markets must abide by a system of "morals", including responsible risk-taking and a work ethic.
The Economist: Business
The music industry: Qualms with music
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:54:58 -0000
Cross-subsidised subscriptions offer a promising new model—if the sums add upIT IS a gift that keeps on giving—for a year, at least. Starting in Britain this month, buyers of some handsets made by Nokia will be able to download as much digital music as they like. The handsets, starting with a model costing GBP130 ($230), are bundled with a year’s free online-music subscription, called “Comes With Music” (CWM), launched on October 2nd. You can download music, and listen to it, on both the handset and your PC. Once the subscription expires at the end of the year, you can still listen to the tracks.Nokia’s new handsets are sure to appear under many Christmas trees this year. The offer of unlimited downloads will appeal to teenagers; and parents will not have to worry about their children getting caught downloading music illegally, or spending a fortune at online music-stores. But CWM and similar subscription services are also being touted as a potentially life-saving gift to the ailing music industry. That is because they cleverly reconcile the demands of teenagers, who think music should be free, with those of record companies, which want to make money. ...
Face value: The specialty generalist
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Hans Wijers of AkzoNobel has taken an unusual path to the top of Europe’s chemical industryClarification to this articleJUST as America’s dodgy subprime mortgages were triggering the credit crunch in August last year, Hans Wijers, the boss of AkzoNobel, a European specialty chemicals company, shook hands with John McAdam, the boss of ICI, to seal a takeover that had been rumbling for months. AkzoNobel’s two previous bids had been rebuffed, but when Mr Wijers raised his offer price to GBP8 billion ($16 billion), ICI capitulated—spelling the end for one of Britain’s most famous companies and one of the biggest names in chemicals. The combination of ICI’s strength in America and Asia with AkzoNobel’s clout in Europe transformed a stolid regional company into a powerful global competitor, and turned AkzoNobel into the world’s biggest maker of paints. Yet the architect of the merger, Mr Wijers, had no reputation as a dealmaker—indeed, he was a newcomer to senior management when he was appointed as AkzoNobel’s chief executive in 2003. ...
GE: Buffett to the rescue
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s SuperWarrenSHORT, septuagenarian and bespectacled, Warren Buffett does not resemble a typical superhero. Yet twice in barely a week he has swooped to rescue two of the world’s greatest companies from tight spots. First it was Goldman Sachs, which had a near-death experience after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. And on October 1st it was GE’s turn to breathe a sigh of relief, as the “Sage of Omaha” quashed market worries about its health by investing $3 billion in the huge conglomerate. As a famously canny value investor, it is hardly surprising that Mr Buffett has an excellent understanding of his own value. As with the investment in Goldman, the terms of the investment being made in GE by his company, Berkshire Hathaway, are fantastical. As long as Hank Paulson, America’s treasury secretary, manages to steer the economy away from financial Armageddon, Mr Buffett is sure to add to his reputation and his fortune. Indeed, were he not a philanthropist, committed to giving away his billions, the tough terms he has negotiated with both firms might have prompted accusations that he is taking advantage of the desperate. His preferred stock in GE will pay a dividend of 10%, and he has the right to buy a further $3 billion at a price of $22.25, below the share price when his investment was announced. ...
Business News - UPI.com
Appliance tycoon named China's wealthiest
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:52:27 -0400
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A 39-year-old appliance and property magnate estimated to be worth $6.3 billion was ranked the richest this year among China's top 1,000 wealthy people.
Asian fund creation to be speeded up
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:47:29 -0400
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- China, South Korea and Japan, along with the 10-member ASEAN, may speed up the setting up of an $80 billion fund due to the current global financial turmoil.
Nikkei takes another hit
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:13:52 -0400
TOKYO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Japan's Nikkei Stock Average took another hit after opening Tuesday as it and other Asian stock averages appeared headed for another day of big losses.
Ex-Goldman, Sachs exec to oversee bailout
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:56:16 -0400
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. Monday put a 35-year-old ex-Goldman, Sachs & Co. executive in charge of ramrodding the $700 billion bailout program.
Net's eBay to reduce workforce 10 percent
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:40:07 -0400
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Internet auction house eBay Inc. said Monday it would cut its staff by 10 percent, a move that would lay off about 1,000 full-time staff members.
Grain prices sharply lower Monday
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:16:51 -0400
CHICAGO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Grains closed sharply lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday as crude oil prices reached an eight-month low in New York.
Subscribe to Business RSS feed 
Selling Spree Sends Dow Below 10,000 Mark
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:27:00 -0400
As angst about the global economy grows, the Dow Jones industrial average fell by as much as 800 points Monday before recovering some losses toward the end of the trading session. Meanwhile, the Treasury released some details of how the $700 billion bailout will be administered.
Treasury Outlines Plan On Illiquid Assets
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:42:00 -0400
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has named former Goldman Sachs executive Neel Kashkari to head the $700 billion rescue program. Treasury also issued documents outlining how companies can become "asset managers" to handle illiquid assts on behalf of the government.
As Dow Plummets, A Trader Urges Calm
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:41:00 -0400
The Dow Jones industrial average has plummeted, closing below 10,000 points for the first time in four years. Ted Weisberg, a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange, says much of stock trading is driven by human emotion and the decision-making process is being driven by fear and concern.
Latest financial news - CNNMoney.com
Bank of America profits plunge 68%
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:34:05 -0400
Bank of America proved it was not invulnerable to the credit crunch as it reported a steep decline in earnings on Monday, and announced plans to bulk up on capital by slashing its dividend in half and raising $10 billion through a stock sale.
How to build a better bailout
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:21:07 -0400
Not that the folks at the Treasury and the White House are asking, but if I were in charge of the $700 billion bailout of the financial system - and yes, it's a bailout, because it involves paying more for toxic assets than non-government buyers would pay - I'd have the Treasury run out today and borrow $700 billion before the financial world comes to its senses.
Credit squeeze: SBA loans drop 30%
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:46:00 -0400
A growing number of businesses are struggling to land loans through the Small Business Administration's flagship lending program. The number of 7(a) loans given in the 2008 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, dropped 30% from 2007, the SBA reported last week.
The Financial Page
James Surowiecki: What drives market volatility?
James Surowiecki Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
American investors are frazzled. True, oil prices have fallen from their most vertiginous highs, the dollar is a bit stronger, and the stock market has actually risen over the past month. But none of those things have happened in a smooth and steady fashion. The stock market’s “ascent,” in particular . . .
James Surowiecki: Too many stakeholders can be a deal-breaker.
James Surowiecki Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
In the second decade of the twentieth century, it was almost impossible to build an airplane in the United States. That was the result of a chaotic legal battle among the dozens of companies--including one owned by Orville Wright--that held patents on the various components that made a . . .
James Surowiecki: Sponsoring Recklessness
James Surowiecki Mon, 21 Jul 2008 04:00:00 -0000
When do the words “not guaranteed” actually mean “guaranteed”? Whenever the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are involved. The two companies have long been required to tell investors that their securities are not guaranteed by the federal government. But in the financial markets everyone has always assumed that . . .
Reuters: Business News
BofA earnings tumble, cuts dividend
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:40:06 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp, citing "recessionary conditions," on Monday halved its dividend and said it would sell at least $10 billion in new common stock to bolster its capital to offset rising loan losses.
Asia stocks recover on global rate cut hopes
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:31:52 -0400
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asian stocks outside Japan rose for the first time in four days on Tuesday while the yen and government bond prices fell after a surprisingly large interest rate cut by Australia's central bank raised hopes that other policymakers would follow suit.
Dow dives below 10,000 on credit, recession fears
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:11:59 -0400
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid for a fourth straight day on Monday, leaving the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in four years, on fears the global economy was hurtling into recession despite government efforts to contain the fast-spreading financial crisis.
ABC News: Money
Dow Bounces Back but Ends Below 10,000
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:09:37 -0400
Investors fled stocks as they worried about the global credit crisis.
Lehman Brothers Boss Defends $484 Million in Salary, Bonus
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:14:40 -0400
Fuld becomes poster boy for Wall Street greed at heated congressional hearing.
Bleeding Green: The Long Fall of Fuld
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:17:03 -0400
Money, respect and the corner office: What Lehman's 'Gorilla' CEO has lost.
BBC News | Business | UK Edition
UK economy 'already in recession'
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:29:56 -0000
Britain is already in a recession, which is worsening and requires urgent action, business leaders warn in a quarterly survey.
EU finance chiefs in crisis talks
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:37:22 -0000
EU finance ministers are set to meet for global crisis talks as Asian markets continue the turbulence in world share prices.
Markets need morals, says Brown
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:44:58 -0000
Gordon Brown says markets must abide by a system of "morals", including responsible risk-taking and a work ethic.
The Economist: Business
The music industry: Qualms with music
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:54:58 -0000
Cross-subsidised subscriptions offer a promising new model—if the sums add upIT IS a gift that keeps on giving—for a year, at least. Starting in Britain this month, buyers of some handsets made by Nokia will be able to download as much digital music as they like. The handsets, starting with a model costing GBP130 ($230), are bundled with a year’s free online-music subscription, called “Comes With Music” (CWM), launched on October 2nd. You can download music, and listen to it, on both the handset and your PC. Once the subscription expires at the end of the year, you can still listen to the tracks.Nokia’s new handsets are sure to appear under many Christmas trees this year. The offer of unlimited downloads will appeal to teenagers; and parents will not have to worry about their children getting caught downloading music illegally, or spending a fortune at online music-stores. But CWM and similar subscription services are also being touted as a potentially life-saving gift to the ailing music industry. That is because they cleverly reconcile the demands of teenagers, who think music should be free, with those of record companies, which want to make money. ...
Face value: The specialty generalist
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Hans Wijers of AkzoNobel has taken an unusual path to the top of Europe’s chemical industryClarification to this articleJUST as America’s dodgy subprime mortgages were triggering the credit crunch in August last year, Hans Wijers, the boss of AkzoNobel, a European specialty chemicals company, shook hands with John McAdam, the boss of ICI, to seal a takeover that had been rumbling for months. AkzoNobel’s two previous bids had been rebuffed, but when Mr Wijers raised his offer price to GBP8 billion ($16 billion), ICI capitulated—spelling the end for one of Britain’s most famous companies and one of the biggest names in chemicals. The combination of ICI’s strength in America and Asia with AkzoNobel’s clout in Europe transformed a stolid regional company into a powerful global competitor, and turned AkzoNobel into the world’s biggest maker of paints. Yet the architect of the merger, Mr Wijers, had no reputation as a dealmaker—indeed, he was a newcomer to senior management when he was appointed as AkzoNobel’s chief executive in 2003. ...
GE: Buffett to the rescue
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:11:45 -0000
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s SuperWarrenSHORT, septuagenarian and bespectacled, Warren Buffett does not resemble a typical superhero. Yet twice in barely a week he has swooped to rescue two of the world’s greatest companies from tight spots. First it was Goldman Sachs, which had a near-death experience after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. And on October 1st it was GE’s turn to breathe a sigh of relief, as the “Sage of Omaha” quashed market worries about its health by investing $3 billion in the huge conglomerate. As a famously canny value investor, it is hardly surprising that Mr Buffett has an excellent understanding of his own value. As with the investment in Goldman, the terms of the investment being made in GE by his company, Berkshire Hathaway, are fantastical. As long as Hank Paulson, America’s treasury secretary, manages to steer the economy away from financial Armageddon, Mr Buffett is sure to add to his reputation and his fortune. Indeed, were he not a philanthropist, committed to giving away his billions, the tough terms he has negotiated with both firms might have prompted accusations that he is taking advantage of the desperate. His preferred stock in GE will pay a dividend of 10%, and he has the right to buy a further $3 billion at a price of $22.25, below the share price when his investment was announced. ...
Business News - UPI.com
Appliance tycoon named China's wealthiest
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:52:27 -0400
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- A 39-year-old appliance and property magnate estimated to be worth $6.3 billion was ranked the richest this year among China's top 1,000 wealthy people.
Asian fund creation to be speeded up
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:47:29 -0400
BEIJING, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- China, South Korea and Japan, along with the 10-member ASEAN, may speed up the setting up of an $80 billion fund due to the current global financial turmoil.
Nikkei takes another hit
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:13:52 -0400
TOKYO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Japan's Nikkei Stock Average took another hit after opening Tuesday as it and other Asian stock averages appeared headed for another day of big losses.
Ex-Goldman, Sachs exec to oversee bailout
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:56:16 -0400
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. Monday put a 35-year-old ex-Goldman, Sachs & Co. executive in charge of ramrodding the $700 billion bailout program.
Net's eBay to reduce workforce 10 percent
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:40:07 -0400
SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Internet auction house eBay Inc. said Monday it would cut its staff by 10 percent, a move that would lay off about 1,000 full-time staff members.
Grain prices sharply lower Monday
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:16:51 -0400
CHICAGO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Grains closed sharply lower on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday as crude oil prices reached an eight-month low in New York.
Standby Power System Consultants, Inc. - Provides engineering, consulting, testing, maintenance and installation service for stationary battery, dc power, critical power, energy storage and renewable energy system applications.
| A look at our engineering program ... | |
| Next Video | |
