Paul Moller on the Skycar

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/paul_moller_on_the_skycar.html

I want to be an engineer; more specifically, I want to make, modify, construct, and deconstruct things until I've come up with a way to make something useful out of it. This TED talk, given by Paul Moller, is one about tinkering with the two things required for invention: necessity and creativity. Since I was little, I loved legos, puzzles, and all kinds of building materials. As of recently, I've become interested in physics and how things work. Combining the two has led me toward the path of invention.

Paul's talk involves many parts of the invention process: the idea, his first approach, problems, misconceptions, then a repeat. I watched this talk to get a closer look at this process and how he went through it; I got an added bonus since he was talking about one of my long-standing interests (since grade school), flying from the comfort of your own home. He admits that many people have doubted this possibility countless times ever since Henry Ford predicted it back in 1940. But having the power to overcome people's (and sometimes your own) doubts is one of the main reasons I enjoyed watching Paul's talk. Many people will attest to his statement―that without a strong drive, the invention process fails.

Paul Moller is the president, CEO and chair of Moller International, which directs its efforts toward developing Moller's Skycar. His company also works on the M200, a low-flying disc, or volantor, that may go into production later in 2009. A partner company, Freedom Motors, builds the Rotapower engine. Moller developed the Aeronautical Engineering program at UC Davis while a professor there from 1963 to 1975. In 1972 he founded SuperTrapp Industries, and also led the group that developed the Davis Research Park Complex between 1975 and 1983. He's been working on "Vertical Takeoff and Landing" personal vehicles since the late 1960s.

I'm going to study Computer Science and Engineering at Santa Clara. Like Paul, I want to be able to take an idea and mess around with it until I can produce something useful or fun, like a computer program. Computers are becoming more and more a part of society; more and more they are becoming necessary to every day life: mainly in cell phones and home computers. I hope to make something that will be of use to many people, or something innovative that will change the way people live life―for the better. I can start by getting some experience by getting an internship or a job. Santa Clara is a great school for Computer Science and Engineering; with its 4-1 program, I can earn a bachelor's degree in four years and quickly upgrade to a master's degree in just one more year. Santa Clara is also great not only for its outstanding program, but because of its location in the heart of the Silicon Valley. I think I should be able to get plenty of experience and be on my way to using ideas to create new, useful products that people will enjoy.

James Carr

In the TED talk I watched, it discussed how geo-engineering could be used to help save and reverse the effects of global warming. The rate of our CO2 emissions are growing rapidly and the Arctic sea ice is melting faster then we have anticipated. There were many solutions thrown about to solve this problem. One solution was to use wind power and nuclear power. But being that we lack the money to do these things, we need to turn to geo-engineering. Another way to help slow global warming is to inject sulfuric acid particles into the atmosphere. If we put a sulfur cloud in the atmosphere it reflects sunlight trying to enter our atmosphere and cools down the planet. There is a bad side to it because it proves to damage the atmosphere but it’s a known method to work and it works fast. It can be used as an emergency to shield our atmosphere and slow down the melting of the arctic sea ice. It is proven to work because it happens naturally. When volcanoes erupt, they can put off a lot of sulfuric acid into the air and it cooled down the planet. Also photophoresis is discussed as being a possible solution. If we set up a net force, we can have sunlight bounce off of it and back out of the atmosphere. We can move things out of the atmosphere and cool the poles down to slow the arctic meltdown. Also with the net forces we can achieve a longer atmosphere lifetime and protect it for longer than if we used sulfur clouds. And even though both have some effects on the atmosphere, they give fast results and are extremely cheap. In emergency situations, we can use these two methods to save money and get quick results.
The TED talk was given by an environmental scientist by the name of David Keith. He teaches at the University of Calgary, and was named Environmental Scientist of the Year by Canadian Geographic in 2006. Mr. Keith studies our climate, and the many ideas we've come up with to fix it. He challenges us to look at climate solutions that may seem daring, sometimes even shocking. He works at the intersection of climate science, way-new energy, and public power. His research has taken him into some far-out realms of geo-engineering to bring the global temperature down. His other areas of study include the capture and storage of CO2 , the economics and climatic impacts of large-scale wind power , and the use of hydrogen as a transportation fuel. David Keith also studies how we make decisions when we don't have reliable scholarly data. Mr. Keith is an original thinker in the field of climate science and one of the world's most accomplished energy-policy analysts.
I plan on becoming an engineering major at the University of San Diego. I have always been passionate about engineering and have wanted to become an engineer ever since I was little. My father use to work for a company, Air Sheet Metal. They take interns every summer and the interns get to work hand and hand with actual engineers. They have already told me that next summer I can come back and work for them so I can get a feel for how it is to be an engineer. They even pay their interns so I get to make some money while gaining some valuable experience. I plan to go to graduate school but that’s because I want to continue my education and be the smartest person I can be.