ASME to Launch New Journal Next Year

ASME to Launch New Journal Next Year ASME to Launch New Journal Next Year ASME to Launch New Journal Next YearManuscripts are now being accepted for a new journal, the ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities, which will be launched in 2020. Authors who are interested in submitting a manuscript to be considered for the journal should submit their papers electronically via the ASME Journal web page.The ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities is intended to be the primary, high-quality resource for dissemination of research on integrated and sustainable building equipment and systems (ISBES) for individual buildings, as well as urban centers. The main topics of the journal are related to sustainable, resilient and smart building energy systems including innovative technologies to integrate various building components, accurate energy equipment and building energy modeling tools, efficient combined heat and power, cost-effective building- specific energy storage systems (i.e., passive and active technologies), advanced optimized control strategies for operating mechanical energy systems in buildings, and grid-interactive buildings.In addition, the journal editors will consider research dealing with new equipment, systems and methods that can enhance the resiliency of buildings associated to climate change and recurrent extreme events. The journals editors are particularly interested in disseminating new developments of energy efficient heating and cooling systems that are able to adapt to large variations in weather conditions especially in urban areas.The scope of ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities will cover design, development and research of sustainable and resilient mechanical systems and equipment for buildings building envelope technologies smart building structures power equipment and technologies for buildings equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning control theor y and practice for buildings equipment and systems district cooling and heating for buildings energy engineering of high rise buildings management of building energy loads equipment and systems for indoor air quality and sensor systems for building equipment and systems.The journal will also include research related to energy harvesting for buildings and cities smart energy systems for buildings, cities and grids hydronics systems for buildings fire science and fire-protection systems for buildings simulation of building equipment and systems elevators and building mobility systems architecture of sustainable and resilient building equipment and systems renewable energy systems for buildings economics of buildings equipment and systems and grid-interactive efficient buildings.The editors of the new journal are Jorge E. Gonzalez, Ph.D., NOAA CREST prof of Mechanical Engineering, The City College of New York, New York, N.Y. (U.S.A.), jgonzalezcruzccny.cuny.edu and Moncef Krarti, Ph.D. , P.E., professor and coordinator, Building Systems Program, Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Colo. (U.S.A.), moncef.krarticolorado.edu.All submissions should be prepared in accordance with the ASME Author Guidelines and be submitted through the ASME Journal web page after selecting ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities. Authors should note that research papers addressing performance and analysis of building systems should be submitted to ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities, while papers focusing on performance and analysis of solar energy systems should be submitted to the ASME Journal of Solar Energy Engineering.For more information on the new ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities, visit https//journaltool.asme.org/home/JournalDescriptions.cfm?JournalID=34Journal=JESBC. To learn more about the ASME Journal Program, visit https//www.asme.o rg/Publications-Submissions/Journals.

A Car Thats Ready for Takeoff

A Car Thats Ready for Takeoff A Car Thats Ready for Takeoff When you talk about the Transition, created by Terrafugia, Woburn, MA, it isnt too long before someone mentions The Jetsons. But you wont hear the founder of the company start humming the theme song just yet. Aerospace engineer Carl Dietrich is quick to caution that his companys invention of a 115-mph hybrid plane-car will not be leading to everyone literally flying to work in the next five years. Still, when you mention 40 years, he pauses. Could it be the start of a revolution? It has that possibility, he says. Were rolling it out slowly through people making orders. If we can get 80 a year, we turn a profit. Can it grow from that? I dont see why not.Neither does futurist and former Jet Propulsion Lab Fellow David Brin. He points out that those who can afford the finer things often lead the way. With a retail price between $200,000 and $250,000, it will clearly be a select group to take the Transition leap. This will defin itely appeal, Brin says. It partly comes from the harte nusss in airline service. The well-off no longer fly commercial like they used to. This is a side effect of 9/11. They dont want to absprache with things like frisking. When a means of travel is abandoned by the wealthy, it rapidly deteriorates. It happened to the railroads after World War II. It can happen again.A typical home in the not-too-distant future.Of course, the change may go beyond the present transportation industry, as roads could suddenly have less traffic. But before you conjure images of the skies being bumper to bumper, Dietrich is quick to point out that local airports have a large amount of room for flights. There would need to be a ton of these kinds of aircraft in the air before congestion would ever be a factor, he says. Its amazing to even think of that.Escaping GridlockYou could easily cast the Transition aside as a fad except it has some true values beyond simple diversion. First, an oncoming delay does nt ground you, as you just put down the wings and drive. Next, with approximately 700 feet to take off, the runway would only need to be a minimum of 3,000 feet to get back in the air, says Richard Gersh, Terrafugiavice presidentof business development. That does not require a superior airport. It also brings up the point of when less runway will eventually be neededcould you one day find yourself sitting in highway gridlock, press a button, and be in the skies while everyone else hopes they get that congestion-building traffic accident cleared? Suddenly the first letter in the GPS acronym is seen in a whole new light.Transition in flight.Beyond its attempt at furthering convenience, it can fit in well with the Green Revolution, says Dr. Joseph Vaughan, assistant research professor in the department of civic and environmental engineering at Washington State University. If we are shifting the emission where roughly the same distribution in the chemical species is now not at street le vel, certainly it would lessen the immediate exposure in air pollution, Vaughan says. We create local hotspots of carbon monoxide so if you move it up into the sky you have less of a problem for people who are breathing locally. It would disperse better because theres more wind up there.Still, Vaughan sees a potential problem since fliers will be going greater distances in the same period of time. The emissions arent as harmful but now it will be put out there for 100 miles in the same time that theyd only emit for maybe 50 driving, he says. You also have to consider the amount of fuel that will be used. With only room for two passengers, it doesnt exactly create a bulk rate in this regard for the health of Mother Earth.Transition has a familiar, user-friendly console.But there are also economic benefits, especially as the model price slowly lowers. For example, there is no hangar cost, as you simply drive your car over from your home when its time to fly. Dietrich estimates if you bill out at more than $300 per hour in your profession, its not just a convenience, it can actually make you money just in saved work time. Dietrich sees its revolutionary chance particularly for the 50-to-450-mile trip. Seven percent of all trips taken are in that travel distance range, he says. It isnt well served by airlines or cars.The Future Isnt Soon EnoughNo one can say for sure when well all be flying through life but theres no question that attempts such as the Transition bring us closer. For a world that thrives on being connected, its a natural extension. Nonetheless, it will also only go as far as people are willing to go in terms of pilots licenses and embracing the lifestyle that comes from maintaining a high-tech machine. The FAA doesnt regulate cars but it will regulate the Transition. Your usual oil change place will also not get the job done. And, unless the machines become automated, the human element could become a concern with so many new pilots in the skies. Af ter all, not everyone is naturally Captain Sully.Still, think of it this wayif the flying car ever becomes the norm, it could lead to another life-changing revolution floating billboards.Eric Butterman is an independent writer. Portions of the article were first published in Departures in 2011.When a means of travel is abandoned by the wealthy, it rapidly deteriorates. It happened to the railroads after World War II. It can happen again.David Brin, futurist, former Fellow, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

How to make your smartphone dependency useful

How to make yur smartphone dependency usefulHow to make yur smartphone dependency usefulIts sometimes frustrating that the generation that invented bell-bottoms and Charles Manson are always moaning about how much cell phones are ruining millennial lives. Even if theyre not completely wrong.Unfortunately, researchers tend to side with your grandparents more than they dont. A study published not too long ago determined that our ability to process data, retain memory, and overall emotional intelligence is all significantly boosted when were not nursing our shiny-tiny information squares every waking second. More broadly, the technology of convenience has undoubtedly impaired our ability to adapt to an increasingly vertiginous job market.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBut smartphones arent evil wholesale. Of course, they arent. Its all about moderation and a proper understanding o f their contribution to society.Helpers not solversMy phone has made every aspect of my life much easier. It has become a nearly impossible challenge to mitigate my shameful dependency of it. Who hasnt spent countless hours at bars, feigning authority about metaphysics after reading Emmanual Kants Wikipedia page?The extent of information available to us through our smartphones belies the impression that true intuitive knowledge is and or should be easily obtainable.The internet can be a great objective resource for information as long as we understand that asking yahoo answers how to tap dance wont make us Fred Astaire.Digital databases should be more like launching pads as far as obtaining information is concerned. You have to embrace the nitty-gritty of research to actually fund expertiseefficiently.Back in 2017, Top Hat had a chat with the assistant professor of history at Delta State University.Andrew Wegman began to become frustrated by his students over-reliance on Wikipedia. Instead of rebuking the internet as an evil of verfaulen science, he extracted all the things that make younger generations respond so profoundly to it and then used them to his advantage. He got the idea to accompany his lessons with an interactive, digital textbook effectively bridging the gap between convenience and healthy research habits.Interactive learning is a wonderful way to ensure information has an optimal impact. In this regard, electronic content can be even more beneficial than traditional textbooks. Wegman saysRealize that you have the power of technology at your disposal. If you can imagine it, it can happen. Have fun and think about what you can do to make the process of learning easier and enduring for others. Education is not something time and technology should leave in its wake.Distractions and MindfulnessAn average smartphone user checks their device 110 times a day, The Pew Research center reports that roughly 50% of Americans say they simply cant live withou t their phones. This number is composed of checking work emails, looking up symptoms, keeping up with all the latest scandals, and all the incognito tabs in between in short things intrinsically designed to distract us from some of the most important things and people in our lives.However, just like the role phones play in our acquiring of information, the burden it places on social interaction has a pretty compelling flip side. A review paper in the journal ofPerspectives On Psychological Science proposes that our addiction to our phones partly owes itself to an evolutionary desire to make connections and bonds with other people. Psychology professor and one of the authors of the study, David Sbarra, says, The draw or pull of a smartphone is connected to very old modules in the brain that were critical to our survival, and central to the ways we connect with others are self-disclosure and responsiveness.The same tools that fuel online enmity can surely have the opposite effect. If you wanted to talk to a farmer from China you could in seconds. You can pick the brains of people with perspectives radically different than your own, anytime you want. Smartphones can have a nice way of promoting social connectivity.The other side of the demented horrifying coin that is the internet comment section, is the way it forces us to exercise our empathy muscles. The power to call a guy a misguided moron with zero physical consequences comes with a specific responsibility forethought.Additionally, Ladders recently reported on a new mindfulness app, that saw users experience a 22% decrease in feelings of loneliness, and an increase of social activity by two interactions a day.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people