UPS – Finding Efficiency

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 02:04 Written By Albert Greenhut Tuesday, 24 February 2015 04:47

UPS delivers 15.8 million packages a day worldwide. To squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of its operations UPS needs to focus on even the smallest things. One of the things that UPS has done is use and algorithm to make its truck routes more efficient, in part, by minimizing the number of left turns its nearly 100,000, trucks take. This may not seem like much to an individual driver, as many consumers see the world, but on a global scale it adds up quickly. UPS estimates that this program has shortened routes by 20 million miles, saves 10 million miles of gas, delivering 350,000 extra packages, and reducing CO2 emissions by 20,000 metric tons each year.

The Greener Apple

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:44 Written By Albert Greenhut Tuesday, 17 February 2015 08:44

Apple recently announced that it will partner with First Solar to build a 1300 acre solar farm. The energy this farm will produce is enough to power all of Apple’s California operations, its corporate campus and 52 Apple Stores. This is part of a growing trend of some of world’s largest companies committing to renewable energy.

Apple and other sources have released many statements announcing the nearly $850 million deal. Apple does not plan to stop there though; previous reports suggest that Apple will continue find ways for their supply chain to go green. Many companies work to find ways to eliminate waste and streamline processes, in some cases the stated goal of this is greening operations but in all cases the underlying goals are increased profit and efficiency.

IEEE Honors Bell Labs

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:39 Written By Albert Greenhut Friday, 6 February 2015 03:17

Imagine a world without the fax machine, without various lasers, without the first satellite, without the semi-conductor or various computer languages, or even without the Intercept Technology. Bell Labs has made all of these a reality in their history which is unrivalled in productivity and patents, averaging a patent a day since they were created.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) typically honors individual technical achievements. Recently the IEEE honored Bell Labs 90 years of technological breakthroughs with an IEEE Milestone.

Look To Nature for Inspiration

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:32 Written By Albert Greenhut Tuesday, 3 February 2015 06:26

The US military is one of the biggest innovators in the world, listing its R&D budget at over $50 billion a year 1, or more 2. Those innovators are constantly looking to innovate, it is in their DNA, but many times their stumbling block is finding inspiration. One of the military’s sources for inspiration is nature. There have been reasonable uses of nature, and animals, such as carrier pigeons, Hannibal’s snake bombs, surveillance/guard dolphins and sea lions, or genetically modified mine sniffing mice, as well as absurd ones like pigeon guided missiles or cat spies.

Time Capsule

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:30 Written By Albert Greenhut Thursday, 15 January 2015 05:04

We go through life collecting memories, of times of people, sometimes all it takes is a part of a song, or the sight of some long forgotten trinket to allow memories to come cascading back into our conscience minds.  Time capsules are nothing new, but they give us is a glimpse of a time gone by, insight into what people tenderly put away or consider important or worthy of being saved for later generations.  We do not have them here to let us know why they saved particular items, but we are allowed new insights.

It was with great excitement that the New State House in Boston had a time capsule extracted from its building during repairs.  The time capsule had been discovered in 1855, removed, viewed and put back into place.  This will happen again, but for a short time we have the privilege of seeing what Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, two great American icons, thought would be important to save for posterity.

Air Pollution

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:24 Written By Albert Greenhut Monday, 5 January 2015 04:42

As we start a new year, we want to focus on aspects of our world that have impact on both our lives and on the protection of the products that we make as a society. One of these areas is regarding pollution and the impact of pollution around the world. Scientists are finding more and more effects of pollution; most recently studies have found a correlation linking prenatal exposure to fine particles, breathed in by expecting mothers, to increased prevalence or effects of autism. This is a scary proposition. Even if this is found to not be true, the effects of pollution will continue to be found in new places.

The List

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 May 2015 01:22 Written By Albert Greenhut Tuesday, 30 December 2014 09:41

The end of the year is always marked by all sorts of lists and countdowns. I enjoy the symbolism of ending one chapter and beginning of another, and there is no more natural time than now to do this.

My favorite list this year is PhysicsWorld.com’s Physics Breakthroughs of 2014. This list named the Philae module landing on a comet as its top choice. I think it is the right choice. This module was launched in 2004, traveled billions of miles to eventually land on the surface of a comet traveling at tens of thousands miles per hour. The calculations involved getting something into space are hard enough, but landing this probe was truly a work of genius and deserves recognition.