Senior Design

One bit of information to note is that from my last blog, “Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Weather and Nuclear War at Discovery Park (part 2)”, after speaking with one of the engineering dean’s it was confirmed that the reason the second basement level is blocked is due to dangerous chemicals.  The video in my last blog is one of the pastimes in Texas.  Traditionally cowboys used to ride horses and bulls at a rodeo where they would try to stay on for 8 seconds.  In the nuclear warhead riding sport, the person who is able to stay on the nuclear warhead till it hits the ground wins.  Unfortunately win or lose you still die which is tragic but makes for great entertainment. (Just kidding and moving on to this blog)

A few weeks ago was Senior Design Day for the College of Engineering at UNT.  As an engineering student one of the last classes taken is Senior Design.  In senior design, a group of seniors in the same major team up and work on a project that spans over the fall and spring semester.  The project in senior design culminates the knowledge you've learned over the past four years.

While I wasn't able to talk with all the people that had a senior design project on display, I was able to view a few interesting projects.  One such project that I saw was called “Crate Jumpers”  by a group of Computer science and computer engineering majors.  It featured a robot that was able to determine whether it could safely enter or circumnavigate a meteor crater.  The robot was constructed out of a broken down Segway with an Xbox Kinnect used as a sensor in the front.  The sensor had infrared technology which could recognize when something was in it's path.  The robot was controlled using an Xbox controller.

I also spoke with some of the seniors for senior day to see what they had to do in regards to their project.  While the project itself may have not taken long, several research papers had to be written and presented.  One group even had to travel to Houston to present their research paper at a professional conference.

Overall senior day is a proud moment to look back from when you first started your engineering program and reflect on how much knowledge, experience, and good times you have acquired throughout that time.  Even though it was a long and hard road, you stuck to it and persevered till the end. 

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.

~Confucius~

Congratulations to all seniors! 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Weather and Nuclear War at Discovery Park (part 2)

 

So in my last blog I discussed that anyone who visits or goes to Discovery Park should never worry if a real bad rainstorm hits.  Discovery Park has a basement which can be used to house students and faculty at the time of the bad weather.  In this blog I will discuss why no one should ever worry about nuclear war while at Discovery Park.

 

In my last blog I also mentioned to everyone my roommate told me what he had to do while he was at Discovery Park this past Monday during the bad weather.  What I did not mention was that after my roommate told of me of what happened I gave him a little bit of history and information about Discovery Park.  Discovery Park used to be owned by Texas Instruments back in the late 80’s as a facilities manufacturing plant.  This can still be seen by some of the features around Discovery Park such as the indoor gardens located throughout the building.  Texas Instruments later left the facility and it became vacant for some time.  In 2004, the facility was opened to the College of Engineering and now all engineering departments are at Discovery Park.  

 

In regards to why Discovery Park is nuclear safe, the building was required to be designed such that it could take a nuclear blast and it is also rumored to be the 4^th safest place for the president to go in case of a nuclear disaster.  The basement at Discovery Park contains two levels.  The first basement level is a great place for anyone looking to shoot a horror movie because of it being dimly lit and containing nothing but long hallways.  The second basement level cannot be accessed.  While I do not know the exact reason as to why the second basement level cannot be accessed, one reason I heard was from a parent whose child I gave a tour to of Discovery Park.  The parent worked for a company in the defense industry and said the second level of the basement contained dangerous chemicals that were used by the previous owner to make missiles.  Though a lot of rumors exist about Discovery Park one sure thing is you’ll get a Great Education!

 

So anyone scared of being caught in a nuclear war at Discovery Park need not worry, it will protect you.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying about weather and Nuclear War at Discovery Park

My next two blogs will discuss the structure of Discovery Park and why no one should ever worry about weather or nuclear war while there.

This past Monday displayed some of the worst weather in Denton since the really heavy snowstorms in February. 

I was on the main campus taking my Applied Statistics class at 2p.m.  It’s funny how fast the weather can change because before I went to class it was a sunny day with a few clouds in the sky.  At around 3:10 p.m. my class could hear sirens from the air horns around Denton going off.  My professor ignored the sirens and continued with his lecture.  A few minutes later, lots of doors could be heard opening and closing outside and soon lots of people were in the hallway.  The noise was distracting making it hard to pay attention to the professor.  Finally a safety captain came into our room and ordered my class to evacuate to the first floor of Chilton Hall in the media library for protection.  While I was only able to catch a glimpse of what was happening outside, I could clearly see it was raining pretty hard.  When I got to the media library the place was full of people from the entire building seeking shelter.  At around 3:30 p.m. the sirens had stopped ringing, the rain was not pouring as bad, and the safety coordinators let everyone go.

I told my roommate about what happened during class.  He told me he was at Discovery Park at the time listening to music when a safety coordinator made everyone in the building go down into the basement at Discovery Park and everyone stayed down there until the safety coordinator deemed the upstairs safe.  Eventually the storm died down and everyone was able to return to their offices and classrooms.  Overall Discovery Park was able to protect everyone there from the hard rainstorm that hit.  So anyone scared of being caught in a bad storm at Discovery Park need not worry, it will protect you.

(Part two: Not worrying about nuclear war about Discovery Park)

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

UNT Run Off Election

In a previous blog I discussed about the election for senators, Student Body President, and Vice President.  The election results have resulted in a run off election because no candidate recieved 25% of the majority vote.  The run off election will take place from April 25 to April 27.  From the period of the first election til now, alot has been going on around campus to further fuel the election.  This past week several student organizations including: the Feminist Majority Leadership, the UNT National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), and the Gay and Lesbian Association of Denton (GLAD) protested the Student Government Association meeting on Wednesday.  Referendums and proposed legislation that were being pushed by NORML and GLAD were not put through this semester which has angered both organizations.  It is situations like these that further fuel the importance of the student body elections at UNT.  The leadership at UNT is responsible for getting out the referendums and proposed legislation to the student body to vote on.   

 

The election of the the student body president and vice president will greatly influence the legislation that goes on next year.  Hopefully the run off election goes well and UNT will finally have it's Student Body President for next year.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

The Windy University Day

 

This past Friday was the 50^th annual University Day at the University of North Texas.  University Day is an annual event which is held in the spring time to commemorate when UNT officially made the transition from a college to a university by changing its name from North Texas State College to North Texas State University.  A little history about UNT, it was founded back in 1890 by Joshua Chilton and has hence changed its name six times.  The final name change to UNT happened in 1988 when it took the name the University of North Texas. (Back to University Day)

 

Overall the event was good minus the wind.  These past few weeks have brought high winds to the area.  At University Day the wind was blowing pretty hard and caused a few problems.  First there was a big rack with a lot of large metal trays on it.  The wind blew the big rack over and caused one of the trays to fly out and blow away like a piece of paper.  Luckily the large metal tray was able to be stopped before anyone got hurt.  The next problem I saw with the wind was it blew over a table and hit an older lady in her ankle and hurt her.  Luckily she was attended to immediately by the staff around her.  The final problem I saw with the wind was there was a dunking booth which was blown entirely over causing all the water to spill out.  Luckily no one was in or around the dunking booth area.

 

Other than that, University Day was pretty good.  There was free a meal which included your choice of a brisket or vegetarian sandwich, chips, a brownie, and a bottle of water.  There was also a live band, student organizations, games, and prizes.  Also the fountain in the middle of campus was dyed green.  ( I have the picture above)

 

Overall, University Day allowed for UNT students to come out, have a good time, and take pride in going to the University of North Texas.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Earth Week at UNT

This week is Earth Week at UNT which will be used to further promote UNT’s mission of being an energy efficient school. Throughout my past four years at UNT, the university has continually made efforts to make UNT a green campus.  Here are some of the ways UNT tries to go green.

 

When it comes to main campus and Discovery Park, both have different amenities in regards to going green.  Almost all throughout the main campus you’ll find recycling bins for aluminum cans, paper, and trash.  Discovery Park has a few recycle bins mainly in the computer labs for paper but not so many aluminum bins.  In regards to saving energy, one big resource you'll find especially at Discovery Park but not much on the main campus is a lot of classroom lights are wired to automatic sensors that turn the lights on when someone is moving.  The lights usually stay on for about 5-10 minutes and then will cut off once again if no movement is detected.  As a result of turning the lights off to a classroom, electricity and money are saved which can thereby go to other needs of the university.  One such instance is a few months ago when I interviewed for an internship with a company whose purpose was to create sustainability at schools.  Even though I did not get the internship, I did find what the company did to be pretty interesting.  By monitoring the air conditioning system at the schools, the company allowed schools to save money on electricity which in turn trickled down to allow teacher’s jobs to be saved.  So as you can see the Going Green and using less energy can trickle down in the long run.

 

I hope everyone enjoys Earth Week and all its festivities.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

UNT Elections

Last week was elections for student body president and college senators at UNT.  Elections are important at UNT and every vote definitely counts.  In previous elections, some issues were barely passed.  The issues put on the election ballot not only deal with which candidates will be student body president and vice president, it also deals with issues affecting everyone at UNT.  Some issues placed on the ballot can deal with building a new building on campus and raising tuition to pay for it.  One such instance was the vote to build the new UNT football stadium or the recreational center. 

 

This year’s election has been clouded with much controversy.  While the election for senators was pretty straightforward, especially for the college of engineering since we had only one candidate to vote for, the election for president and vice president was more complex.  One of the biggest controversies came from a UNT alumni who endorsed a particular candidate on Facebook.  The UNT alumni was a former SGA president and a member of a Facebook group claiming to be affiliated with UNT.  The Facebook group consisted of about 4,000 members and the UNT alumni sent a message to the group members endorsing a candidate.  While it was unknown as to why the UNT alum did it, one conclusion was because the candidate running was in the same fraternity as he was.  Despite this problem, the newspaper published by UNT, the NT Daily, allowed for the candidates to speak about the controversy surrounding the endorsement. The results of the election should be up by this week. 

 

Hopefully the election will turn out fine and produce a president that will help UNT continue to become one the most well known schools around.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

The Introduction of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

So in my last blog I discussed how the mistakes of the New London school explosion lead to thiols being placed in methane gas and how Texas Professional engineers came to be.  This blog will cover how the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or (ASME) came about.  Part of my motivation for writing this blog was a guest speaker who was a member of ASME and also served on some of their research committees.  The guest lecture was very informative and made me realize the importance of what ASME really is.  Initially I thought of ASME as being only a professional organization which allowed members to get the usual networking, monthly magazines, and other perks.  However I learned through the guest lecture’s presentation that ASME holds a high responsibility for the safety and welfare of the public.

 

A little history about ASME.  ASME was founded on February 16, 1880 after a rise in the study of engineering created the demand for a central organization for engineers to share ideas and hold a professional standing.  Throughout it’s 131 years of existence, ASME has been responsible for some of the most important accomplishments in engineering.  One of the major accomplishments of ASME was their invention of the codes and standards that are still used by engineers today.  Codes and standards refer to the rules certain machines, structures, and devices must adhere to in order to be deemed safe.  One instance of ASME setting codes and standards is the boiler code.  Similar to the New London School explosion which I discussed in my last blog, the need for engineering codes and standards came from disasters.  Boiler explosions were common during the late 19^th and early 20^th century due to a lack of rules to regulate how a boiler needed to be designed.  As a result of public outcry an ASME committee was formed to create a boiler code which is now used to provide regulation in the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers. 

 

Today ASME is an internationally known organization that continues setting the universal codes and standards for engineers and companies to follow to ensure the safety of the public.  As you can see from this blog and my previous blog, engineers have an important responsibility in the safety and welfare to the public and society.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

The Introduction of Skunk Gas and Texas Professional Engineers

Philosopher George Santayana once said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  My next two blogs are going to cover how disasters led to the development of certain engineering practices.  With the end of March I thought it would be appropriate to remind people of how natural gas came to smell like skunk spray and how professional engineers in Texas came about.  This month March 18 marked the 74^th anniversary of the New London School Explosion.

 

Here’s a little history about the New London School explosion for those of you who don’t know.  In 1930 oil was discovered in Rusk County Texas which boosted the local economy and allowed for the New London school to be built.  At the time the building cost almost 1 million dollars which is about 15.75 million dollars today.  Despite the expensively built school, the building itself was built in a manner which would eventually lead to the school explosion.  The building was built on a sloping ground with a large dead-air space under the structure.  At the time natural gas, which is a colorless and odorless gas difficult to detect, was viewed as a waste product of oil so many people including the New London school tapped into gas lines to get free heating.  Eventually a leak developed and caused natural gas to build up in the dead-air space under the structure.  On March 18 it is believed that an electric spark from a sander ignited the natural gas and air mixture which caused the explosion.  About 640 people were in the building at the time of the explosion but only 130 managed to escape without serious injury.  Aid poured in immediately from across the state with Texas Rangers, the highway patrol, The Texas National Guard, doctors, nurses, embalmers, Barksdale Field Airmen, deputy sheriffs, and Boy Scouts helping out in the rescue and recovery effort.  Many people offered their condolences to the New London disaster including the German Chancellor at the time, Adolf Hitler.

 

Following the New London School disaster the Texas Legislature began mandating that thiols, which have a strong odor and are found in skunk spray, be added to natural gas.  The practice of using thiols in natural gas eventually became used worldwide.  The Texas Legislature also enacted the Texas Engineering Practice Act to regulate Engineering practices.  The Texas Engineering Practice Act led to the development of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers which requires Professional Engineers to give their approval on engineering reports, drawings, and other such documents.

 

So that is how natural gas came to smell like skunk spray and how professional engineers came about in Texas.  My next blog will cover the introduction of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or ASME.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Robert Bunsen

 So yesterday I went to Google so I could get some information on one of my blogs and I happened to run across a picture on the Google webpage of a chemistry set with a Bunsen burner and steaming pot.  I clicked on the image found out that yesterday was Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen’s birthday.

 

Robert Bunsen is a famous German Chemist is most notably known for discovering iron oxide hydrate as an antidote for arsenic poisoning and the invention of the Bunsen burner, which is used in almost every chemistry course in high school and college. 

 

Robert Bunsen is also known to have worked with Gustav Kirchhoff, who is best known by electrical engineers for the creation of Kirchhoff’s Laws.  Besides being a great scientist, Robert Bunsen also had good qualities that should still be recognized today.  One his qualities was the devotion he had towards his students and work.  Robert Bunsen is often quoted as saying, “Working is beautiful and rewarding, but acquisition of wealth for its own sake is disgusting.” 

 

This quote is one that describes a lot people in college and going into college.  I know when I tell people that I'm studying mechanical engineering they always bring up the point that I'll be making a lot of money when I graduate.  While it is true engineers do make pretty good money starting out, I didn't get into engineering for the money.  I got into engineering because I liked math, science, and the sense of learning about how everything around me worked and functioned.  Getting a job in something that doesn't interest you just for the money isn’t good.  The two main reasons being you’ll never like it and you’ll have to work the job for over 40 years.  Do something that will fulfill you and will make you want to go to work everyday with the desire to see what will happen next.  No matter what you do in life, as long as you put your heart, mind, and soul into it, you will prosper.

 

So take heed to the words of Robert Bunsen and do something because it will fulfill you and not because it’ll make you rich.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Construction at Discovery Park

In a previous blog I mentioned about how the UNT main campus was going through various construction projects throughout the campus and how Discovery Park was nice and quiet without any construction going on.  There has actually been construction going on at Discovery Park.  Unlike the main campus in which the construction can clearly be seen, the construction at Discovery Park is being done behind closed doors. That means you can hear a lot of banging and hammering, but not see anything.  The construction projects happening at Discovery Park are two new research labs which are being built for the Mechanical and Energy Engineering Department and will be used by faculty and graduate students.

The two labs will be about 3,900 square feet and will be placed where the construction engineering testing lab used to be located.  The old construction lab was large and two stories high.  The construction group currently designing the classrooms have built walls and a second floor in the old construction lab to allow for the two new labs to connect to Discovery Park’s second floor.

I usually glance inside the new classrooms on Monday and Wednesdays since my class on combustion science is near it.  From what I can see the rooms are pretty big, but still require a lot of construction.  The two research labs are expected to be completed by May.

Since the opening of the program in 2007, the mechanical and energy engineering program has progressed into a larger program drawing in more students, faculty, and labs.  The construction of the two labs will only help to attract more faculty, staff, and of course students to further aid in the mechanical and energy engineering program becoming the best program!

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Looking Back at Spring Break

            Last week was spring break for the students, faculty, and staff at UNT. During this time everyone finally received the much needed break that was needed to go to the beach, go back home, work on projects, etc.  Spring break is pretty much the halfway point of the semester in college.  It’s hard to believe that school is almost halfway over but it is.  The semester has gone by pretty fast even though so much has happened.  Late January and early February marked bad winter storms that left us out of school for almost a week.  Throughout February school was finally getting down to business and professors were finally getting back on track.  The week before spring break was a time when professor gave out midterms.  It seems that all professors make a pact to place the homework, quizzes, and test on the same week before spring break.  I myself had one test on Monday, 3 different homework assignments, a quiz, and a test that took me almost 3 ½ hours to complete all due on Wednesday.  As you can picture sleep was limited as well as hanging out with friends.

            After that was all over I was able to finally relax for a change.  For spring break I went back home, rested up, went to Louisiana to visit my grandpa, and bring my grandma back to Houston.  During my time at home I was also able to practice the piano for a little bit, watch television, and play video games with brothers.

 

            To everyone out there, I hope you had a safe and fun-filled Spring Break and are ready get finish the semester out strong.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

“In this House we obey the Laws of Thermodynamics!”

So I said in my blog, “Why Mechanical Engineers Know How to Get Free Gas”, that I would explain why mechanical engineering majors are trying to break the first two laws of thermodynamics.  When talking about thermodynamics I am always reminded of an episode on “The Simpsons”.  During the episode the teachers go on strike leaving Bart and Lisa to stay at home.  While discussing the situation with Marge, Homer tells her about the perpetual motion machine that Lisa created that keeps going faster and faster.  At the end of the scene Homer calls Lisa into his bedroom and shouts, “In this House we obey the Laws of Thermodynamics!”

I remember as a kid when first seeing this episode I did not know what thermodynamics was.  Being a mechanical engineering major I have taken two classes on thermodynamics and am currently taking a combustion science class so I have a pretty good understanding of what it is.

The Laws of thermodynamics govern how natural phenomena and machines in this world can operate.  There are about four laws but I will only cover the two most important which happens to be the first and second.

The first law of thermodynamics is the conservation of energy which means energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only stored.  An example of breaking the first law of thermodynamics would be putting gas into a car that runs solely on gas and allowing the car to still run even after all the gas is gone.  This means you are creating energy out of nothing and thus are breaking the first law of thermodynamics.

The second law of thermodynamics is the law of entropy which can get pretty advanced.  In the simplest explanation, the second law implies that you cannot achieve an efficiency of greater than 100%.  If you do you are breaking the second laws of thermodynamics.  

So those are the two most important laws of thermodynamics.  The ultimate goal of mechanical engineers is to break these two laws.  If these two laws were to ever be broken, the field of mechanical engineering would pretty much cease to exist in fields that use machines to do work such as automobile engines.

So if anyone who thinks they can build a machine capable breaking the first two laws of thermodynamics, Good Luck!

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Life Outside of College

On Sunday I got back from a weekend retreat that I left for on Thursday night.  I found that the hardest part of being away from school was trying not to worry about schoolwork.  The next hardest part was not worrying about the time because they took away my watch, cell phone, and blocked any form of outside communication. Overall the whole weekend was spiritually uplifting and life changing for me.  It made me realize things about myself that I never did realize before.  Being twenty-one years old it is sometimes natural to think that I know everything.  This retreat has shown me that I too still have a lot of learning to do.  It also encouraged me to change some of the habits that I have right now.

After being in college for four years I can truly say education does not only come from inside the classroom, but from the outside as well.  College is not only a time to be educated about your field of study, but to also be educated about one’s self.  This can range from your type of political views, social beliefs, religious beliefs, and much more.  During the retreat I happened to meet one such person who was in college and converting to my religion.

           Overall these past four years of college have left a strong impression on me.  It has also helped me to develop into the man I am and shown me the man I want to be.  I hope it will have the same effect on you…

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Why Mechanical Engineers Know How to Get Free Gas

I filled up my truck yesterday and it cost me almost 3.29 a gallon which is shocking since I put $5 in last week at about 3.10 a gallon.  The nation’s gas prices are rising pretty high and are projected to be around $5.00 during the summer time.  My professor even told my class that Apple has created a phone app that allows you to find where the cheapest gas is.

At this point a lot of people are wondering how they can get cheaper gas.  The answer to that question is to study mechanical engineering.  As a mechanical engineer in the fluid mechanics class you do learn about the phenomenon of siphoning gas.

Warning: Siphoning Gas is extremely Illegal and Very Dangerous.  Don’t be stupid, Pay for your gas.

Ok just kidding about the siphoning gas, but even though siphoning gas is illegal, the process of siphoning has a lot of scientific and engineering aspects behind it.  To explain siphoning in the simplest manner, siphoning is the process of moving fluid from a higher area to a lower one by creating a pressure difference.  The pressure difference causes the fluid to move up the tube to balance the pressure.  Gravity then pulls the fluid down to an area of lower height.

Siphoning is an interesting study and actually has a lot of common applications including its use in toilets to flush.  In fact a few weeks ago one of my professors had us pour water down a toilet to measure and observe how siphoning works in toilets.  As a mechanical engineer you do study a broad number of topics including structure analysis, heating and cooling systems, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and much more.

So in regards to getting cheaper gas as a mechanical engineer the best alternative is to try and break the first two laws of thermodynamics and not criminal law in siphoning gas.  I’ll explain it to you next time.

Fight the Good Fight (and Don’t Steal Gas)

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

How Spiderman can Protect the Cops

During the Super Bowl, other than the game it is always interesting to look at the different movie trailer commercials that come on.  Two of the movie commercials I saw during the Super Bowl were the movie previews for the new Thor and Captain America movies which are set to be released in the summer of 2011. 

Superheroes usually follow the same method of defending justice, fighting crime, and helping law enforcement.  Even though superheroes do not exist in real life some of their traits are trying to be developed and used.  One such superhero is Spiderman.  You're probably asking what superhero trait of Spiderman is trying to be used.  The answer is his spider web.  Even though it might seem strange to believe a spider's web material is very strong.
Spider webs are composed of a monofilament fiber which has a very high strength and ability to stretch without being broken.  A spider's web can also absorb more energy without breaking than any other material currently known.  When comparing a spider's web material to the Kevlar used in bullet proof vests by law enforcement agents and military personnel, the spider's web material can absorb between 3 to 10 times the amount of energy as Kevlar. 

Some success has come about in creating artificial spider webs but research is still being conducted by chemists and material science engineers to try and make artificial spider webs on a broader scale. Hopefully in the near future material science engineers will be able to create artificial spider webs on a broad scale and provide protection for the our real life superheroes.

Fight the Good Fight
Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Engineering Week at UNT

This week is engineering week worldwide.  This week the UNT College of Engineering has setup a week of activities for engineering week and each day has been pretty fun.  The weeklong activities were hosted by different council of engineering organizations as well as the college.

On Monday the College of Engineering had a free meal for the students, faculty, and staff that consisted of a subway sandwich, chips, soda, and a nice size cookie.  There was also a speaker who came out and gave a small discussion.  On Tuesday, the college had a soccer tournament and a winch and cart race.  In regards to the soccer tournament, it was a pretty big event and a lot people came out to play.  Even though I did not play in the tournament I still hung out with friends and attempted to learn how to juggle a soccer ball.  The winch and cart race was a drag race in which people built dragsters that are powered by solar energy.  There was cash price for the contestants that came in 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd. 

On Wednesday there was a CANstruction competition in which different engineering organizations collected cans throughout the week and built a structure.  The cans will be going to the Denton Community Food Center.  On Wednesday night, the college had game night which could not be at a better time since I had a class at night that was having a homework session.  During the break I was able to go downstairs, eat a lot of pizza, and tryout the Xbox Kinect for the first time.  The Kinect made for good workout after eating.  Thusday was the engineering career fair in which various companies from around the DFW area came out looking for student internships and full time positions.  It was a pretty good event that gives students a chance to network and practice interviewing skills.  Tomorrow will be community outreach for a school out in the area.  This will give engineering students a chance to talk with children and teach them a little about engineering and possibly encourage them to one day study it.

As you can see Engineers Week at Discovery Park has a lot for students, faculty, and staff to do.

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright! 

Construction at UNT

Walking around campus I have seen a lot of construction in the area.  A lot of construction has been taking place on and around the UNT main campus.  One of the major construction projects taking place right now is the construction of the new football stadium that is set to open in the Fall 2011 for UNT’s football season.  The new stadium is supposed to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified and be constructed of recycled material.  The new stadium will also contain solar panels and wind turbines to help supply the stadium with electric power.  I usually see the stadium every time I am driving up to Discovery Park and it looks pretty good.  Now all we need to do is win games next year and it’ll look great!

 

Another construction project going on at UNT is the construction of the new business building near Kerr Hall.  This building is also expected to be LEED Gold Certified and able to accommodate about 8,000 students.  The new business building is set to open in the summer of 2011.  

 

The next construction project at UNT is they are fixing the pipes and replacing the old ones with new ones.  All throughout the main area of campus, big pipes are laid on the grass and big sections of the campus green are blocked off due to big holes in the ground.  Hopefully they will complete it soon because Habitat for Humanity usually host a Shack-a-Thon in the spring where various organizations build dwellings out of cardboard boxes and try to live in them.  I did it last year and it was pretty fun sleeping out there.

 

One of the final construction projects that I always see at UNT when taking the bus home from campus is a new frat house being built on frat row.  I am not sure what Frat is going to move in but from what it looks like they’ll probably be moving in the summer or fall of 2011.

 

These are all construction projects I see on a daily basis while going to and from the UNT campus.  While these construction projects will look nice in the future when they are complete, they are currently eye sores.  There are so many machines and orange construction signs it is ridiculous.  I can’t wait till they get done. 

 

Until then I’ll stay at Discovery Park where it is mostly nice and quiet.

 

Fight the Good Fight (and finish with the construction)

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Back on the Grind

So this has been the first full week of school after being away for almost a whole week two weeks ago and Wednesday of last week.  The weather has greatly improved and the temperature has been around in the 70s this whole week.  Though the snow was fun, I am kind of glad to be back at school.  Being inside for long periods of time gave me a little cabin fever.  This has also been the first time in months that I have been able wear shorts.  Hopefully I can get free time on Sunday to go outside and play or go to the Pohl Rec Center and exercise.

 

From what it looks like, school will finally be in full swing and I will finally be back to studying every night.  That statement is, however, debatable because Texas weather always varies and can change rapidly.  I remember back in freshman year when it snowed on one night in March, the next day it was sunny and hot, and the day afterward, it snowed a few inches.  I will never understand the weather patterns of Texas.

 

With the end of all the snow breaks, my first round of tests are coming up for classes so most of my time will be spent trying to study for them and making sure I stay ahead in my classes. Overall most professors have found ways to circumvent the snow situations and the class is pretty much back on schedule.  Despite the setback due to the snow storm, things are getting back to normal and the semester will continue to be in full swing and back on the grind.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Thomas Edison’s Legacy through Electrical Engineers

There’s an interesting fact to note.  Thomas Edison’s 164^th birthday was February 11.  Edison, along with Greg Ohm, Michael Faraday, and many others are responsible for the development of the electrical engineering field.  Had Edison been alive today, I’m sure he most likely would be thrilled by how some of his almost 1500 patents have evolved. 

Even though Edison is widely known for his invention of the incandescent light bulb, which is different from the  first light bulb invented 50 years earlier, there are many other inventions by Edision that have evolved with the help of electrical engineers into modern day devices.  The phonograph, which is a record player and one of Edison’s inventions, helped in the development of music players.  Today the phonograph music player has evolved into Ipods and MP3 players.  Another one of Edison’s inventions was the kinetiscope which was an early motion picture player.  Like the phonograph, the kinetiscope has developed and evolved to form today’s Blue-Ray and DVD players.

Despite all of the success Edison had, he also had several failures.  Fortunately Edison did not let failure get to him which ultimately led to his overall success as an inventor.  So for Thomas Edison’s birthday remember someone who learned to conquer failure and rise above it.  Everyone is going to fail at least once in their life.  The true test of your character is how well you overcome failure. 

In the words of Thomas Edison,

“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

and

"I have not failed.  I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

The Great Super Bowl Break at North Texas

This past week the North Texas area experienced one strange occurrence which I term the Great Super Bowl Break.  Here is my take on the Great Super Bowl Break.

The Great Super Bowl Break began late Monday night when UNT officials gave out an Eagle Alert. For those who do not know, the Eagle Alert is a way the University gets in contact with the students at North Texas in cases of extreme weather or other emergencies  They usually email, text, or call to let you know that school is out.  Anyway, the Eagle Alert system called me late Monday night saying school was out on Tuesday.  To celebrate the start of the Great Super Bowl Break, I stayed up late and slept in late.  On Tuesday morning I awoke to heavy snow fall in the area and another joyous call from the Eagle Alert saying classes were out the next day.  The Eagle Alerts continued throughout the rest of the week.  The break from school gave me ample time to catch up on sleep, watch television, and hang out with friends. 

The Great Super Bowl break ended Sunday with the Super Bowl XLV game.  Sunday’s game was the cherry on top of the Great Super Bowl Break.  Two great teams played and the team I was going for won.  There were also some pretty good commercials throughout the night.  My favorite commercial of the night was a tie between the Beaver Karma and the Chrysler 200 imported from Detroit video with Eminem.

The Great Super Bowl Break at North Texas will go down as one of the most memorable times I had while in college because I have never been out of school at North Texas for almost an entire week.  Like any other break here comes the dreaded part where I have to go back to school.

 

Fight the Good Fight

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Lessons Learned during the Break (Part Two)

The second part of my “Lessons Learned during the Break” deals with going to Mississippi to visit my dad’s family.  It is always a fun time going down to Mississippi because my father always shows us places he went growing up.  Last year he took us to Jackson State University, the college he graduated from.  This year he took us to Velma Jackson High School, the high school he graduated from.  Throughout the day we visited my aunts and uncles and also saw the house my dad grew up in as a child.  The final visit we had was a real pleasure.  I visited my great great aunt who is 111 years old.  She has witnessed many things in her life being born in 1899.  Despite being elderly she still has some fire in her.  She recited the alphabet backwards from Z to A in less than 10 seconds and also said aloud Psalm 23 by heart. (Two things that I definitely should but do not know how to do).  After visiting my great great aunt I learned the lesson to have fun and enjoy my youth while it lasts because one day I won’t be able to do all the things I am able to do. College and high school should be greatest time in a young person’s life and always cherished.

 

These were the lessons that I have learned from the older generation in my family.  So word to the wise, listen to your elders because they might just drop a bit of knowledge on you.

 

Fight the Good Fight

 

(and learn how to say your alphabet from Z to A in less than 10 seconds.  My great great aunt can and she’s 111)

 

Ya Boy Archie Wright!

Lessons Learned during the Break (Part One)

It’s been a few weeks but I am back at UNT ready to start the semester up and begin writing again.  My first two blogs of this semester will be a little about my break and the lessons I learned.  While on the Christmas break I took a lot of time to get some much needed sleep, play video games, and visit relatives in Louisiana and Mississippi.  It has been a tradition in my family to drive to Louisiana Christmas day and visit my relatives for a few days.  Next we drive to Mississippi and stay for few a days and drive back home to Houston for New Years.  Even though I am 21 years old it is always a privilege to go see my grandparents and the older people in my family because of the knowledge and lessons that I learn from them.  I know visiting my grandfather I am always reminded of the lessons of always be thankful for what you have and laziness is never good.

 

To know why I get these lessons from my grandfather you must understand him.  My grandfather is the most skilled and hard working person I have ever met.  He knows how to build almost anything and can solve almost any problem that gets thrown at him.  Despite all this my grandfather lacks one thing which is he is illiterate.  As a child my grandfather grew up in a poor family.  To support his family, my grandfather had to drop out of school at an early age and never learned to read.  He learned to live off the land through hunting and fishing, a lesson he still teaches to my cousins and myself.  Despite all these setbacks my grandfather had the will and determination to help his family survive.  Eventually he took up a trade in carpentry and became very successful at it.  To this day he can show you every house he has built.  As I look at my grandfather, I realize that I am blessed to be able to go to college getting an education.  It is something I should never take for granted.  I also realize from my grandfather you cannot go about life being lazy or procrastinating.  These are the lessons I learned from my grandfather and I will always remember them.

                                                                                                                   

The other lesson I learned while on break in Louisiana is if you go to a casino always quit while you're ahead on  the slot machines.  

 

 

Fight the Good Fight!

Ya Boy Archie Wright