Using a five-year timeframe, forecast what the workforce demand would be based on production of the team’s technical application or process and its impact on the marketplace.

Our product involves the use of QUASAM and stacked piezeoelectric actuators. QUASAM, which is used as a part of our Piezoelectric rib, is currently not available. We can estimate that the demand for many types of jobs will escalate when QUASAM is put on the market because it is a brand new product. Although we cannot predict the exact impact that QUASAM will produce when it hits the market, we do believe that the number of jobs and products it will spawn will provide a tremendous economic opportunity for American companies.

Since piezoelectrics were discovered in the late 1800s, The US piezoelectric industry has grown.  In the last five years, piezoelectrics have been used in many modern applications to everyday life. Piezoelectric quartz crystals and crystal devices still comprise the largest market segment in the wireless industry, with the average market growth rate reaching double digits over the last five years.

[20 Feb 2003] Sensor Technology Limited, the company that produces the stacked actuators for our product, has experienced a 12% growth rate over the past 20 years - moving from a company of only 3 people to one that now employs 28. Mr. Blacow also stated the his company has "had increasing sales marginally but steadily over the same time period and that people are inventing new uses for piezoelectric ceramics every day."

This information is courtesy of Mr. Rick Blacow through email correspondence.

According to The Business Communications Company, Inc. the North American market for piezoelectric crystals is expected to have a steady increase over the next few years. The increase is due to applications such as as the Common Rail System.

An example of incorporating this new technology of piezoelectric is the Common Rail System which develops more jobs for people every year. DENSO, who created the most common rail system (which began production in 1995) has produced over 20,000 common rail injection systems and has released them to at least 5 different countries. They are looking closely to developing the rail injection systems with piezoelectric actuators. This will lead to the increase of job opportunities that deal with piezoelectric. European demand is suppose to reach 12 million vehicles in the year 2010. By 2003 DENSO hopes to produce over a million rail injection systems a year.

Give two examples of an undergraduate or graduate degree program in science or engineering that a student could pursue to become involved in research directly related to the team’s NCT technical application. Be sure to include the URL address of the institution, the department where the program is located and a brief description of the program of study

* We felt it was necessary to examine three undergraduate programs to solidify the varied pre-requisites present in our technical application.

Image courtesy Georgia Institute of Technology

The goal of the Mechanical Engineering Department, at Georgia Tech is to teach students the principles of motion, the processes of how components of a machine work, and how atmosphere and other elements will effect its overall performance. Mechanical Engineering students learn about the design and production of tools, machines, and products; the consideration of the fundamental characteristics of materials as applied to design; and the synthesis and analysis of mechanical, thermal, and fluid systems. Design, production, manufacture, operation, administration, economics, and research are all aspects of the mechanical engineering curriculum. The following courses form the basis of the education you will receive from this department:

• Manufacturing Processes and Engineering
• Energy Systems Analysis and Design
• Mechanical Behavior of Composites
• Composite Materials and Manufacturing
• Special Problems, Mechanical Engineering
• Heat and Mass Exchangers
• Mechanical Engineering Systems Laboratory

Image courtesy Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

The understanding of a school that specifies in Aeronautical Engineering is a intensely important part of our project. It allows one to gain an understanding of how systems and components of any type of flying machine operate. These courses mainly focus on teaching navigation, the basic components of the flight and function of airplanes, and about the materials from which they are made. The following courses form the basis of the education you will receive from this department:

• AS 309 Aerodynamics
• AS 310 Aircraft Performance
• AS 311 Aircraft Engines-Turbine
• AS 356 Systems and Components
• AS 410 Airline Dispatch Operations
• AS 330 Transcontinental Flight Navigation
• AS 246 Basic Navigation

Image courtesy Massachusetts Institute of Technology

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students learn how materials react under certain conditions and what type of materials will be used and when. The program encourages and supports research-based intellectual collaborations of MIT undergraduates with institute faculty members. Every undergraduate is welcome to participate in every phase of research activities: proposal writing, establishing research protocol, conducting research, analyzing data, and presenting results in oral and written forms. All undergraduates will participate in many labs and develop a research paper before the completion of their undergraduate degree. This course is extremely important for a person wanting to enter a field that involves our product.

• 3.032 Mechanical Properties of Materials
• 3.034 Organic and Biomaterials Chemistry
• 3.042 Chemical Processes in Inorganic Materials
• 3.044 Materials Processing
• 3.021J Introduction to Modeling and Simulation
• 3.012 Fundamentals of Materials Science
• REST 3.014 Materials Laboratory
• CI-M 3.016 Mathematical Methods for Materials Scientists and Engineers
• 3.024 Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Properties of Materials

Develop an idea for a new science and/or engineering degree program that might emerge given the advancements in scientific knowledge that the team has identified. Provide a title and 100-word description of this new degree program.

Polymorphic Airfoil Engineering

Our graduate program will provide students with the knowledge necessary to design and manufacture the piezoelectric system. Students with their Bachelors degrees in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering and/or Material Sciences would be best suited for this program. All students should have a strong background in math, physics, and chemistry. Also a very strong working knowledge of electrical systems is recommended. In addition to the following courses, students will be required to complete a research and development project.

Year One Geometry Fluid Mechanics Aeronautical Principles Nanotechnology Electronics Contemporary Technologies Computer Assisted Design and Simulation Solid State Physics

Year Two Stabilization of Non-Equilibrium Solids Physical Properties of Synergetic Carbon and Metal Carbon Composites Physics and Engineering of Piezoelectric Mechanics of Atomic Scale Composites Industrial Mechanics Nanoengineering Internship

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The Infoshop
  http://www.the-infoshop.com/study/bc8031_piezoelectric_crystals.html
DENSO
  http://www.globaldenso.com/TECHNOLOGY/tec-report/2001/pdf/T2001_S12-13.pdf
Mr. Rick Blacow, Sensor Technology Limited
  email correspondence [Feb 26, 2003]
The Business Communications Company, Inc.
  http://www.bccresearch.com/editors/RGB-260.html
Georgia Institute of Technology
  http://www.me.gatech.edu/me/semester_conversion/index1.htm
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  http://www.erau.edu/0Universe/01/01b-aeroengineering.html#req
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  http://dmse.mit.edu/academics/undergraduate/index.html