WHY SPEND TIME DOING SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS AND ENGINEERING DESIGN ?
Quite often I am confronted by family and friends who advise me to spend less hours at laboratories (MIT and others) and spend time in activities other then high priority (high priority for future of mankind) scientific research and engineering design. Before I jump into elaborating my current research activities I would like to share the importance of scientific investigation and engineering design. What follows is my synopsis from the preface of a great book "Precision Machine Design" by Professor Alexander Slocum at MIT. In the preface, Dr. Slocum suggests that world around is full of starvation , both at mental levels and also physical levels. The resources needed to help these people can only be extracted by adding further value to available natural resources. This in economical sense means new concepts that turn into engineered designs and become products and this process generates jobs that will push a group of people out of poverty. This is the result of the famous supply and demand phenomenon. Jobs are created when there is high market demand for a product and that product must be not only continuously improved by scientific innovation but also manufactured and supplied by design and engineering. Engaging in scientific research thus is an important preceding factor in this supply demand chain which drives the bare bones economics of our society. Once a fundamental problem is cleverly solved by numerical simulations and analysis the scientific process is handed over to expert engineers who use optimization and CAD tools to develop sleek and efficient solutions. After several design iterations one may expect further and extensive involvement of machine shops,assembly,sales, service giving rise to yet more jobs and opportunities. Dr.Slocum considers it his personal goal to help people discover how they can better use their minds so that the can use their minds not only to help themselves but to help others in this process.Imagine a hypothetical cube shown below whose edges are formed by Wisdom, Knowledge and Imagination.
Everytime an engineer or scientist learns something new he creates a new box inside this cube. While this box could get shelved inside this giant 3 dimensional cube forever, its only through random or systematic search of this space new solutions are created to help others. Spending time in scientific activity, research and engineering design and doing this process tirelessly and repeatedly may enable an individual to optimize this cube quite significantly so that the search in this 3 dimensional state space is very fast and hence more imagination and more wisdom are packed in every new solution. Dr.Slocum suggests that it is the duty of every engineer and scientist as a citizen of the world to do this. "If you do not do work to optimize your cube, you are slapping the face of the power that gave you our potential"....
MY CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES
I am currently designing robotic systems in the following concentrations:
3. Telepresence and Telerobotics
6. Machines for Alternate Energy Harvesting
7. Rehabilitation Robotics
9. Telesurgery and Telemedicine
10. Robotic systems for Gene Sequencing
11. Art and Architecture
3 comments:
Interesting...do agree. Exploring Universe and being nearer to Nature helps in sharpening knowledge, wisdom and immagination.
Experience and Feel it.
To utilyze once potential fully is great. However mind of lab rat who's become machine himself, how beneficial that mind could be to society at large. When family and friends are letting you know to take a break, they're letting you know to give your brain a temporary break to recollect thought, to have peace within so you are rejuvnated and be truly baneficial to world at large. Taking time out for hobbie and things you truly enjoy brings happiness and recharges you. Don't be to hard on yourself !!!!!
people who truly care about you and want you to succeed will give honest opinions which might not be favorable to you. Family members n Friends want you to take a break doesn't mean they expect you to give up your dream. They definitely are not trying to stop you from helping the world. If you are happy, joyful, content, peaceful, than you will be beneficial to the world at large without a doubt..... Trust your instincts.... Do take small breaks, do take care of yourself physically, emotionally and mentally. Find a state of being blissful.... :) May the Force be with you. :)
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