Dean Kamen was born on April 5th, 1951 in New Hampshire. He studied at Worcester Polytechnic Institute but he didn’t finish it. While he was in school, he was working on a private advanced research for the drug infusion pump called AutoSyringe, and that is why he dropped out before graduating.

He hold more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents. Most of them are used for innovative medical devices. His inventions has had an worldwide impact in health care.

    One of the products that is really popular nowadays, the Segway PT, was invented by Dean Kamen. The Segway PT is an “electric, self-balancing human transporter with a computer-controlled gyroscopic stabilization and control system.” (“Wikipedia”, 2014) This device consists of a long body and two wheels and is controlled by body weight. Once you lay back the Segway stops  and once you lay forward it goes faster and faster depending on the force you put towards the device. The Segway is used by consumers, business, law enforcement/security and robotics mobility platform. This device is considered a “green transportation”. It is a battery powered electric vehicle. They are driven by electric motors and can reach a speed of 12.5 miles/hour. The Segway PT has “electric motors that are powered by Valence Technology, a phosphate-based lithium-ion batteries, which can be charged from household current. It balances with the help of dual computers that run proprietary software, two tilt sensors and five gyroscopic sensors developed by BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre.” (“Wikipedia”, 2014) This is one of the best inventions and a little bit different from what he developed. Mostly of his inventions were for medical use but the Segway PT can help conserve fuels that we waste by using cars.

Dean Kamen has received multiple awards for his inventions and his efforts. Kamen was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2000, this award was for his advances made in medical care. He was also awarded Lemelson-MIT Prize in 2002, and D. Kamen was also inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005.

Sources:

http://www.dekaresearch.com/founder.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Kamen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segway_PT

Our project is about wind turbine. During the brain-storming session we researched and tried to find an innovative way to create a unique wind turbine. Me and the students I’m working with for this project tried first to find a project for the final presentation of the Science and Building Innovation class. We used the resources provided in class and all the links and we thought the wind turbine might be the most interesting project to build. It seemed easy and we also find a lot of helpful links that will be used for this project.

Tom Vales was one of the most interesting scientists that I’ve seen until now. He knew how to captivate our attention and even include us into his presentation. Unfortunately i arrived late for his presentation but when i did, one of my colleagues was holding a long stick made of wood one one side and metal on the other side. She used this to create electricity by getting the tip of the stick close to another thing that was made of plastic surrounded with some kind of wire. The thing was a bucket made of plastic surrounded by wire and on top it had a tip made by some kind of metal and when in contact with the stick it created electricity.

The other devices that were introduced into the presentation were the Tesla Coil and the Mendocino Motor. These were presented before i arrived to class so i don’t have too many details about them, but from what my colleagues were saying, they were very interesting and captivating.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is a pipeline that runs from the Canadian Border all the way to connect to a pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. TransCanada Corp sent an application to the Department of state, on May 4^th, 2012. The application “included proposed new routes through the state of Nebraska”.  It is an oil pipeline system and it carries synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from Canada and also light crude oil from the Williston Basin region in Montana and North Dakota. This project is still in operation and another part is waiting for the U.S. Government Approval. After the pipeline is completed is going to consist of the completed 2,151-mile (3,462 km) Keystone Pipeline (Phases I and II), Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion (Phase III), and the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline Project (Phase IV).

Keystone XL Pipeline project will replace phase I pipeline and it starts in Alberta, Canada extending to Steele City, US.

President Obama rejected this project in 2012 and some of the cons of this project are that it will be dangerous to the environment and residents of Nebraska are against it. The pros will be that the Keystone Project minimizes the disturbance of land, water resources and special areas.  It’s considered “one of the safest and most advanced pipeline operation in North America”. This can provide jobs and help the economy of the United States. It could also bring essential infrastructure to North American oil producers and “provides long-term energy independence.

            Once the project is finished, the Keystone IV would add 510,000 barrels per day (81,000m3/d), this increases the capacity up to 1.1 million barrels per day (170*1000m3/d).

This project was developed as a partnership between Trans Canada and ConocoPhillips, and now TransCanada is the sole owner of the Keystone Pipeline System.

Sources

http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov

http://keystone-xl.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Pipeline