Post 10: Geothermal Energy

Today we listened to the recording of Gwen Holdmann (ACEP)'s talk about geothermal resources in Alaska, and how this resource may be used in Nome, Alaska.  Here is a link to the website where the other talks in this series have been recorded: http://alaskarenewableenergy.org/about/events/reap-monthly-forums/

By Monday morning at 8:00, please post your thoughts on this talk and find an article related to geothermal energy to review.

Post 9: Learning from Disaster

In class this week, we watched a recording of former lieutenant Governor of Alaska and Chancellor of UAA, Fran Ulmer's, talk about her role on the Oil Spill Commission appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the root cause of the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

For this blog post, reflect on the disaster (or others throughout history), and find an article relating to what transpired after the spill and if/how things have changed. Post by Monday, March 24 at 8:00AM.

Have a great Spring Break!

Post 8: Construction of the New Dorms

A single project, such as the new dorm facility, include aspects that must be designed with a number of perspectives in mind.  Today we saw how that engineers must consider sound migration, fireproofing, earthquake protection, energy systems, communications, weather, and construction considerations when choosing materials and specific designs.

The engineer we met with today, Nathan Leigh, put together and maintains a great blog with construction updates and engineering musings located here:  http://www.uas.alaska.edu/facilities_services/fpc/const-update.html

For this week's blog post, I'd like you to discuss the field trip, read through Nathan's blog, and then find an article related to construction (this could manufacturing of devices) or any of the aspects we heard about today (sound engineering, fireproofing, radiant in-floor heating, etc.) to discuss.
  

Post 7: Seismic Design

Our speaker today gave a relatively technical talk about engineering design to protect structures from earthquakes.  Engineers always have to take risk factors into account in their designs: flood potential, avalanches, wind loads, etc.  The technical topics that Elmer discussed will all be part of the curriculum you will study as you move through the engineering degree: physics, calculus, unit conversions, strain and strain in materials, calculating factors of safety, etc.

Post your thoughts about today's talk, and find an article related to earthquake engineering to post and discuss.  Please post by Monday morning at 8:00 AM (3/3/2014).  

Post 6: Renewable Energy in Juneau and Beyond

Today's speaker, Alec Mesdag from AEL&P, is an energy specialist who has worked on various renewable energy projects from the design side to the consumer end, helping individual homeowners make better energy use decisions.  Please reflect on today's talk, post a link to a related article, and comment on the article as well.

As always, post by Monday morning at 8:00 AM.