A new study may give the oil-rich Middle East options for a new type of cultivation and also make it the potential provider of a different and renewable source of energy.

Obvious inventions: Inventions someone could have thought up years earlier

Jobs in the emerging green energy economy in the United States grew 9.1 percent annually between 1998 and 2007, compared with 3.7 percent for all jobs.

Bowling ball manufacturer 900global has developed a remote control bowling ball that changes the game of bowling into a life-size video game.

Two intellectual property lawyers give a step-by-step roadmap of how to go market with a product quickly, while minimizing the cost of protecting your intellectual property rights.

The autonomous AirPenguins do more than just fly.

"Rules for Conducting Boiler Tests," from 1884 is the paper that became the first ASME code. The code set standard procedures for conducting boiler tests.

"Report on a Standard Method", from the 1885 Transactions of ASME, contains a further stage in the development of the first ASME standard.

When policy makers sketch out future energy scenarios, they too often overlook the best technology we have.

The ocean has been long recognized as an efficient stowage of solar energy. The portion of the solar energy absorbed by the ocean is initially thermal in nature.

Mike Marshall analyzes the pitching method that he developed during his 14-year career in Major League baseball.

Major league baseball is big business and its major assets, the star players, are well compensated. But these assets also represent the greatest liability for team owners.

ASME and Autodesk recently polled engineers and students on the influence that the issue of sustainability is having on their work or education. Here are some responses, arranged by theme.

Offshoring and Globalization: While the numbers are hard to pin down, there is no doubt that more and more engineering is moving abroad from the United States.

What distinguishes a technical person and enables him to move up in management are his people and communication skills, says James R. Hutton, a long-time executive in the petroleum industry.

Winboni, a battery-powered window-washing robot developed by a student team from Michigan State University, won the 2008 ASME Student Design Competition.

A research team from RPI has demonstrated an anti-reflective coating that absorbs almost all the light falling on it, no matter the angle.

Virtual design environments and collaborative work structures are exerting a strong positive influence on the engineering profession, according to the 2007-2008 ASME annual report.

Raymond J. Wojcik, a P.E., ASME Life Member and retired supervising engineer for Newark, N.J., shares the lessons he learned over during his 44-year career.

A team from MIT won the top prize at the ASME Innovation Showcase last month with a device called Robopsy, designed to simplify biopsies for lung cancer patients.

This article proposes a method to mine data from the World Wide Web to discover customer and expert reviews of products and services that can be used to create a transactional database.

ASME President Thomas M. Barlow considers the implications for the profession contained in a recently published report from last April's Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering.

ASME is developing four new standards involving the assessment of energy efficiency in various process systems and is making the drafts available for trial testing.

Large investments of a company's money involve risk, so they must be approached rationally—and methodically.

Three years have passed since an article called “Mechanical Engineering — The Ever-Evolving Profession” was published by Mechanical Engineering Online.

Manufacturing jobs have declined even as total U.S. employment has risen.

Going lean increases profits, as long as the manufacturer maintains a reliable plant.

Storm, famine, conflict, or flood—extreme events require analysis and planning that advanced engineering can provide.

Some researchers are trying to grow meat in vats rather than on the hoof. But how far are bioengineers from making a collection of muscle cells pass for a sirloin?

The healthy human body is an efficient, robust system. Of course, it is not always healthy. Sometimes parts break or wear out, or the immune system doesn’t block out an occasional infection.

To recruit and inspire the people who will invent the future, we have to raise the public's perception of engineering.

Workforce Issues and Partnerships in Mechanical Engineering

They call it rapid manufacturing, and its progress has been slow, though steady, in gaining the acceptance of industry.

If you read the newspaper or listen to the news, you know how competitive today's job market is. This is especially true for the engineering field.

Any company, small or large, should staff itself with the people it needs to manage ordinary operations, allowing for normal growth.

Future advances in traffic safety will have to take that into account, the experts say.

Human factors engineering is a major issue in the process industries—big enough that there are now two separate organizations on the case.

My husband and I began debating long ago how to maximize the odds that our children will grow up to be engineers.

A basic skill for engineers had its first impulse in mankind’s earliest expressions; then it passed through the hands of the masters.

Two ASME task groups are studying possible revisions to the standards that could change the way people move through large structures during emergencies.

A new ASME program aims to advance and reward the innovative and entrepreneurial strengths of young engineers.

From the clear, cool October sky 50 autumns ago came a sound that couldn't have been less monumental.

Last summer, three students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute spent seven weeks at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in China working on various senior design projects.

One of the first business sales we ever worked on was a $30 million a year lighting distributor.

Halvor Snellingen of France’s Nexans S.A. devised a system to monitor the robot using video and acoustic and other sensors, as well as to control it to within 10 or 20 centimeters.

Wave-based substructuring and modal projection provide simulation accuracy in a fraction of the time.

Compressor operation relies heavily on the mixture of refrigerant and lubricant in refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

As an engineer or manager, you undoubtedly have met many situations in which you’ve had a need for a particular skill or field of expertise, but didn’t have it on hand.

This article takes a look at engineers who are expanding the role of the solenoid valve.

This article, by by Sam Burd and Pete Tormey, explores the dramatic benefits gained from product redevelopment.

Andrew H. Warren originally submitted this paper to the American Mathematical Society in 1991. Although it was not rejected — no flaws were found — the referees could not grasp the key concept.

A model of a medieval weapon sets a school record.

"Inventive Leadership," by Ephraim Suhir, which asks the question, "Can a good engineer become a successful entrepreneur?"

A white paper by Don Vossler and Vikram Dutt of UGS Corp. examining the convergence of mechanical, electrical/electronics and embedded software, or mechatronics.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful marine design tool capable of accurately predicting complex flow phenomena.

An essay by Avram Bar-Cohen that explains why mechanical engineering is not only alive and well, but also critical to the competitiveness of the United States in the 21st century.

An online companion piece to Eugene F. Adiutori's article "Fourier," which ran in the August issue of the print magazine.

This piece discusses the role that widespread use of combined cooling, heating, and power (CHP) technologies for buildings could play in providing relief for the power grid.

John Mazurkiewicz, product and marketing manager at Baldor Electric, discusses how servo motors improve machine performance.

Associate professor Ron Rorrer, tells you how to get that first engineering job—and keep it!

Exporting jobs and industries can have long-term effects on a nation's wealth.

Raising the Level of Aviation Safety Through Non-Intrusive Detection of Cracks in Blades and Disks.

A report from the National Academies' engineering arm in Washington D.C., says that education should adopt a "new vision" for the future to reflect changes in industry and commerce.

What makes an engineer "good"?

A mathematical expression does not mean that it is based on correct, relevant assumptions, or that it encompasses all of the existing parameters which are capable to affect a given event or process.

Because it had the right skills and software, an engineering firm was able to conclude its design analysis and verification of a refinery expansion project on time, despite stringent deadlines.

A significant new form of European Patent protection has recently become available: the Registered Community Design (RCD).

12 vital aspects in engineering that are usually learned after graduation but can make the difference between success and failure in one's engineering career.

Even people who are familiar with interpreting analysis results can gain insights that make it possible to understand the root causes of observed problems and plan design changes in much less time.

This article, by Prof. Vito Agosta, discusses the advantages of employing ammonia instead of hydrogen to meet society's energy needs in the future.

A commentary by SmarTeam's Avichay Nissenbaum on product lifecycle management (PLM), an area that many manufacturers are eyeing during these troubled economic times.

The Ergonomics and Safety Research Institute at Loughborough University in England was instrumental in helping Ford develop the Third Age Suit.

During the months of May and June, the Discovery Channel will present a new series, "Extreme Engineering," which takes a look at the world's largest construction projects.

ASME member Francisco Zirilli's case study of how engineers at Xerox Corp. used computer simulation to ensure customer safety by reducing touch temperatures in a new color printer.

ASME member Roberto Ballarini's article on Leonardo da Vinci's fundamental contributions to solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and mechanical design — as detailed in Codex Madrid I.

Joseph Hamrick's article on how studying flow behavior may lead to a better understanding of how tornadoes are formed.

A slightly modified version of a "Statement of Interest," by Robert E. Uhrig, which was submitted to the DOE Climate Change Technology Program Office.

Testimony of R. Stanley Williams, HP Fellow, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, on behalf of the Hewlett-Packard Co. before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space.

The "next big thing" that is emerging now with manufacturers of consumer products and industrial products are enterprise processes for new product development.