EngineeringQuarterly
WelcometotheEngineeringQuarterly,a newsletterpublished fourtimesperyearby theUniversityofMary SchoolofEngineering.Weincludearticlesfromeachofthefiveengineeringmajors thatwecurrentlyofferoncampus:Electrical Engineering,MechanicalEngineering,Civil Engineering,ComputerScience,andConstructionManagement.Thesummerissueof EQfocusesontheprojectsandimprovements thatwemaketoourcurriculumandourengineeringschoolaswellasinternshipsand
projectsthatourengineeringstudentsmay bedoingwhichwouldbeofinteresttoour readers.
Aswithotherschoolsacrossthenation andtheworld,ourspringsemesterwasinterruptedbytheCOVID-19pandemic.Although thisledtosomecomplicationsintheconstructionofournewEngineeringbuildingand preparingforthefallsemestercourseswestill managedtogetitallcompletedontimefor theribboncuttingceremonyonSeptember2, 2020.Weareveryproudofournewbuilding anditisclearthatitwillhelpustomoreeffectivelyimplementour hands-on approachto
teachingengineeringcourses.Thisapproach hasuscombiningourclassroomteachingwith thehands-onlaboratoryworkinawaythatallowsthestudenttodirectlyseetherelevance ofthetheoreticalcalculationstothemachines anddevicestheywillbeworkingwithintheir careers.Thisestablishesastrongconnectionbetweenthetheoreticalconceptsandhow thoseconceptsapplytotheindustrialapplicationsintherealworld.
Wehopeyouwillcomeoutandvisitour newbuildingsometimeandseetheinteresting projectsourstudentsareworkingonthroughouttheyear.TerryPilling
Southwallsarecoveredwithamuralshowing theviewfromtheNorthandSouthsidesof theUniversityofMarycampus.Thereisalso aplaqueonthewallwhichcommemorates theSenatorandhiscareerinNorthDakota.
Thedesigncenteristheplacewherestudents willbeworkingontheirjuniorandseniordesignprojectsthroughouttheentireyearandif youvisitourschoolyouwillseealloftheir variousprojectsasworksinprogressasthey continuetofabricatethemetalcomponents andelectronicsandassembletheirfinaldesign.
Startingatthesouthsideofthebuildingis thefuturelocationofoursoilsandconcrete wetlabandConstructionManagementspace. Thiswillbeconstructedatafuturedateand isdesignedtofitseamlesslyintoourcurrent facility.NexttothatisourFluidsLaboratory. TheFluidslabisbeingusedasaclassroom thissemesterbecausethesocialdistancingrequirementsofthepandemichasresultedina shortageofclassroomspace.Inthefuturethis willcontainawindtunnelandfluidsimulator aswellasfluidpowerstudentdemonstration machinessuchastheonewhichwasrecently
Nexttothefluidslabasyouwalknorthisthe machineshop.Thisisequippedwithlathes, mills,CNCrouters,andothermetalworking toolsandisadjoinedtothedesigncenterso thatthestudentscanbringcomponentsback andforthfortheirprojects.Themachineshop alsohasatoolstoragewherestudentscan checkouttoolsusingtheirstudentcards.
Thereisalargeclassroomwithmoderntechnologyandmoveabledeskswhichwillbe usedforthelargercourses.Ourfacultyofficeisdoneinanopenofficedesignsincewe havefoundthatitismuchmoreeffectivethan individualofficesinfacultycommunication. Italsohelpstobuildstrongfriendshipsand acollegialityamongthefacultywhichwe havegrowntovaluegreatlyinourschool. SeethearticlebelowbyProfessorWaldenmaieronourchoiceofusingtheopenoffice layoutforourfaculty.Weareexcitedtoinaugurateournewengineeringbuildingthis semesterandtofinallyhaveaperfecthometo educationandinspireourstudentstoliveup totheirfullestpotentialasfutureEngineers.
showsthatourprogramisproducingengineerswiththesamefundamentalskillsand knowledgeaseveryotherschoolinthenation.
FollowingthedesigncenteraretwoMechanicalEngineeringLaboratories,threecorporate researchlaboratorieswhichwillbeusedby studentswhoareworkingonsensitivedesign andresearchprojectsforourpartnercompanies.
TheUniversityofMary’sEngineering Schoolbeganaspartofthefirstphaseofthe Vision2030planfortheUniversity.This planinvolvesfund-raisingfornewfacilities onthecampustoaddnewdegreesandmodernizetheexistingfacilitiestoaccommodate morestudents.TheEngineeringSchoolwas addedtotheplaninresponsetocomments byengineeringcompaniesandcommunities inwesternNorthDakotashowingthatthere wasnotonlyashortageofEngineersavailablefortheircompaniesbutthatmanyengineerswereleavingwesternNorthDakotafor otherstatesandlargercenters.Thethought wasthatiftheUniversityofMaryhadanengineeringschoolthenthestudentswouldcompletetheirdegreeandsummerinternshipsin westernNorthDakotaandthiswouldresultin manyofthegraduatingengineerselectingto remainhereupongraduation.Thishypothesishasturnedouttobetrue.Anumberofour graduatingstudentsthispastspringtookthe nationalFundamentalsofEngineeringexam (FEexam)and100%ofthempassedit.This
In2015Iwashiredtostarttheprocessbyinvestigatingothersimilarengineeringschoolsintheregionandcomeupwitha strategytostartthenewschool.Sinceitwould takeaminimumof5yearstoacquirethe equipment,theprofessors,andtodesignthe coursesinvolvedincompletedegreeswebeganbynegotiatinganagreementwiththeUniversityofNorthDakotasothatourstudents wouldbeabletotakeengineeringcoursesonlinefromthatschoolandtheirengineeringdegreewouldbegrantedbyUND.Thiswould protectourstudentsinthecasethatwehad troubleofferingalltherequiredcoursesfor theirdegree.Ourfirsttwograduatescompletedtheirdegreesthroughthisagreementin 2019.Sincethen,fromspring2020,andinto thefutureallofourgraduatesnowgettheir entiredegreefromtheUniversityofMary. Ialsospentmuchofmytimeformingrelationshipswithengineeringfirmsfromtheregionandformedacurriculumcommitteewith membersfromthesefirmstohelpmedesigna curriculumthatwouldbestateoftheart,and alsowellsuitedtotheneedsoftheregion.It isnotoftenthatanewengineeringschoolis builtandsoitprovidesanexcellentopportunitytoaddnewthingsthatotherschools havenotyetimplementedandalsotocorrect thingsthatarenolongerrequiredinthework placeandyetstillremaininthecurriculum oflongestablishedschools.Thecurriculum committeewascrucialinhelpingusdesign theperfectprogramforourstudentsthatcombineshands-onlaboratoryworkwiththeengineeringprinciplesinaunifiedway–enabling theconnectionbetweenfundamentalconcepts andpracticalrealitytobeestablishedinthe samecourseandatthesametimeratherthan separatedintoalecturecourseatonetimeand alaboratorycourseatanotherasisdoneatalmostallotherschools.
In2016ItaughttheFreshmanlevel courses,whiledesigning,withtheassistance ofthecommitteeofengineers,theremaining curriculumofcoursesforthedegreesofCivil, Mechanical,andElectricalEngineering,raisingfunds,attractingnewstudentstoenroll inourprogram,purchasingequipment,and searchingforthehighestqualityfacultymemberswhowouldunderstandandcommittoour philosophyofproducingengineeringgraduateswhowerenotonlyskilledengineers, butalsohadcommunicationskills,marketing skills,andwhoarecommunitymindedservantleaders.Wehiredtwofacultymembers bytheendoftheschoolyearwhichenabledus toteachthesophomorelevelcourseswhileat thesametimesearchingformoreprofessors, designingmorecourses,raisingmoremoney, andpurchasingmoreequipmentfortheJunior levelcourses.Atthistimewealsobeganto designthenewbuildingforourengineering schoolwhichwouldbeideallysuitedtoour philosophyandmethodsofteaching.
Atraditionthatwehavebeendoingforthe past4years,andplantocontinue,isthatof choosingcommunityservicetypeprojectsfor ourstudentswhentheopportunitypresentsitself.Forexample,weheldadesigncompetitionforourstudentsincollaborationwith
thenursesfromCHISt.AlexsiusHospital. Theywantedamemorialmonumentdesigned tocommemoratethevictimsofanairmedicalflightthatcrashedthepreviousyear.The nursesselectedthewinningprojectandthe monumentwasconstructedusingtheirdesign. Similarlywehavedoneprojectswhereour studentsmodifyelectriccarstobeusedby childrenwithmusculardystrophyandcerebralpalsy.Thecarsareindividuallydesignfortheparticularchildandthenpresentedtothem.Wealsoconstructeda“ga ga”ballpit,whichisatypeofdodgeball insideafencedarea,forthechildrenatthe AppleCreekElementarySchoolinLincoln, ND.OurComputerSciencestudentscompletedaprojectwheretheydevelopedawebsitefortheDakotaDisabilityOrganization whichnowsavesthem$300amonth.These andotherengineeringprojectsalsoshowstudentshowsatisfyingitistouseyourengineeringknowledgeincommunityserviceactivitiesandleadstomorecommunityminded graduatesfromourschool.
Thispatternwasrepeatedeveryyearuntil 2019whenwefinallyhadallofourcourses designedandalloftheequipmentneeded toofferthecompletedegrees.Atthistime wemovedtheConstructionManagementprogramtotheEngineeringSchoolfromthe SchoolofBusiness,hiredfacultytoteachthat degree,andmademanyconnectionsamong ConstructionManagementfirmstohelpdesignthemosteffectiveprograminthesame wayaswedidforourengineeringdegrees.
Theconstructionofourengineeringbuildingbeganinthefallof2019andcontinueduntilitscompletioninthesummerof2020.We nowhave11fulltimeprofessors,5adjunct professorswhoareprofessionalengineersat localcompanies,120enrolledstudents,and fullyequippedlaboratoriesandmodernclassrooms.In2020wetookovertheComputer ScienceprogramandmovedittoEngineering alongwithoneoftheprofessors.However, wewereunabletocompletetheentireproject sincewedidnothavetheresourcestobuild ourCivilEngineeringWetLabandConstructionManagementadditiontothebuilding.We arecurrentlyactivelyseekingfundingsothat wecancompletethatlastpartoftheEngineeringSchool
Weareveryexcitedtoteachandhoststudentsinournewengineeringfacility.
RadunovictojoinusinEngineeringtoteach computersciencecoursesandwehavebegun todesignanewcomputersciencecurriculum tofitwiththeeducationalphilosophythatwe useintherestofourengineeringschool.We areveryexcitedtohostthecomputerscience degreeandwethinkthatitwillbebeneficial tothecomputersciencemajorsaswellasthe electricalengineeringmajorstobeabletotake coursesbetweenthosetwodisciplinesastechnicalelectives.Thiswillenabletheindividual studentstomoldtheirdegreealongthelines oftheirparticularinterests.Wewilloutline thenewComputerSciencecurriculuminafutureissueofthe EngineeringQuarterly
Wealsowelcome RichardGarmantoour schoolasaprofessor ofConstructionManagement.Richardhas taughtattheUniversityofMaryasanAdjunctProfessorinthe BusinessSchoolsince 2012andisnowmovingovertotheConstructionManagementprogramintheEngineeringSchoolwherehewillhelpDr.Scerbak indesigningtheprogramanddeliveringthe courses.
WewelcomeDr. JenniferFennewaldto ourschoolasaprofessorofComputer Science.Jenniferhas beenattheUniversity ofMaryforthepast7 yearsteachingComputerScience,InformationTechnology, andHealthcareAdministrationcoursesintheGaryTharaldson SchoolofBusiness.
JenniferearnedaDoctorateinHealthcareAdministrationfromtheUniversityof Phoenixin2018,aMasterofBusinessinHumanResourcesManagementin2009,aMasterofScienceinComputerInformationSystemsin2006aMasterofBusinessAdministrationfromUniversityofDubuquein2001 andaBachelor’sdegreeinComputerScience in1998.
RichardcomestousfromGreatRiverEnergywherehehasworkedformanyyearsas SeniorProjectManagerofBusinessDevelopment.RichardgothisBachelorofSciencein MechanicalEngineeringattheSouthDakota SchoolofMines&Technologyin1991and hisMastersinBusinessAdministrationatthe UniversityofMaryin2009.Heiscurrently supplementinghisMBAwithaProjectManagementandPublicAdministrationCertificationalsofromtheUniversityofMary.Weare happytohaveRichjoinourEngineeringteam.
ThisyeartheComputerScienceprogram attheUniversityofMaryhasmovedfromthe GaryTharaldsonSchoolofBusinesstobecomepartofourEngineeringSchool.We haveinvitedDr.JenniferFennewaldandLuka
Jennifer’sexperienceincludes20years ofHealthcare,Technology,Managementand ProjectManagementincludingmanyyearsof industryexperienceinHealthcareInformatics,Programming,Management,Budgeting, ProjectManagement,DepartmentGoalsand StrategicPlanning.WhileatIBM,sheaccomplishedthetaskofcreatingthreenewteams intheGlobalDeliveryCenter.Thisincluded hiring64employees,trainingandproviding documentationtoreceivethetopthreeteam rankingattheDubuque,Iowacenter.While atMcKessoncorporation,shewaspartofthe leadershipteam(Implementationteam)that providedMayoClinicwiththefirstElectronic MedicalRecord.AtRite-HiteCorporation shewasinchargeofimplementingmanylarge projectsthatsavedtheorganizationmoney andprovidedtoptechnicalsupporttotheinternalandexternalcustomers.
WeareveryexcitedtohaveDr.FennewaldjoinourEngineeringSchoolasoneof ourComputerSciencefaculty.
FindtheTheveninequivalentcircuitwith respecttotheterminals a and b forthecircuit shown.
WriteaspicesimulationforanLRCcircuitwitha1microfaradcapacitorinitially chargedwith10Coulombs,a50ohmresistor,anda10microhenryinductor.Runthe simulationfor5millisecondsusingtheinitial conditionsandplotthecurrentinthecircuit. (Recallthatyouneedazerovoltsourcetoplot thecurrent)
RULE 90PUZZLE ByTERRYPILLING
Thepuzzlestartswithasinglesquarefilledinonthetoprow.Foreachrowthereafter,youmovealongtheentirerowanddecidewhetherto fillineachcellbasedonwhatisinthethreecellsaboveit:thecelldirectlyaboveit,alongwiththetwoneighborsofthatcell.Theruletells youwhethertoleaveitemptyorfillitin.Wehavecompletedthefirsttworowsforyouusingthecodeforrule90showninthefollowing table.1meansfilled,0empty.
DoosanBobcathasgiftedahydraulictest standtotheUniversityofMary’sSchoolof Engineeringprogram.Themachine,worth around$40,000,isalargehands-ontoolfor UniversityofMary’sMechanicalEngineering studentsenrolledintheFluidPowerEngineeringcourse.
thesurroundingarea,”saidMary’sExecutive VicePresidentJeromeRichter.“Weknowour world-classengineeringfacultywillputour mechanicalengineeringstudentsinthebest positiontoutilizethisbigpieceofmachinery inordertomaximizetheirpotentialasengineers.Andforthat,weareblessedandforevergratefultoDoosanBobcat.”
WhileMechanicalEngineeringstudents willgetthemostuseoutofthehydraulictest stand,fluidpowermachines,controls,anddevicesareeverywhereintheindustry,itshould beacrucialpartofanyengineer’seducation. Thecomponentsontheteststandaretheactualcomponentsusedintheindustry.The standallowsstudentstoexperimentwithsimplehydrauliccircuitsusingcomponentscommonlyfoundinmanyindustrial,mobile,and agricultureapplications.
“HydraulicsarethelifebloodandmuscleofDoosanBobcatconstructionequipment. Hydraulicpumps,valves,motors,andcylindersarethecomponentsthatenablegreatperformanceinaverycompactpackage,”explainedDoosanBobcat’sScottSchuh,seniordirectorofNorthAmericaEngineering& GlobalEngineeringStrategy.
dentswithaveryvaluableskillset.”
“Thisisanotherwonderfulexampleofhow DoosanBobcatcontinuestobelieveinUniversityofMary’smissionanditswillingness topartnerwithusasitsupportsnotonlythe hopesanddreamsofourstudents,butalso engineeringendeavorsinourcommunityand
“Asexperiencedengineersretire,thereisa greatneedfornewhiresthatarecompetentin thefundamentalsoffluidpower,”saidDoosan BobcatTechnicalEngineerCharlieYoung. “Havingthistrainingresourceoncampuswill allowtheUniversityofMarytoequipitsstu-
Throughexperimentsconductedonthetest stand,studentswillalsolearnaboutconcepts suchassequencingcircuits,seriesandparallelcomponentoperations,flowcontrol,and hydrauliccounterbalancing.Theywillwitnessdemonstrationsonthenegativeeffectsof cavitationandaerationonhydrauliccircuits. “Thishelpsstudentsbridgethegapbetween academicsandpracticeandfostersprofessionalpreparation,”saidDr.AnthonyGarcia, assistantprofessorofMechanicalEngineering attheUniversityofMary.“WeareverygratefulfortheHydraulicTestStandwhichrepresentsaninvestmentofbothtimeandmoney andwouldliketoacknowledgeDoosanBobcat’sgenerousongoingsupportofourprogram.”
DoosanBobcatNorthAmericaistheU.S. andCanadiansubsidiaryofDoosanBobcatInc.Asaleadingglobalmanufacturer ofconstruction,agriculture,landscapingand
groundsmaintenanceequipment,attachments andservices,thecompanyiscommitted toempoweringpeopletoaccomplishmore. DoosanBobcatishometoworld-renowned brands,includingBobcatcompactequipment, DoosanPortablePowerproducts,BOB-CAT Mowers,RyanandSteinergroundsmaintenanceequipmentandGeithattachments.
ThestudentsusedCADsoftwaretoproduce theinitialdesignandthentheyusedourmachineshopequipmenttofabricthevarious metalcomponentsandtoweldthemtogether.
2019-2020schoolyear,webeganteachingout ofthebasementofanofficebuildingindowntownBismarckwhileawaitingthecompletion oftheSchoolofEngineeringbuildingoncampus.Allthingsconsidered;thingswentalright.However,themajorchangeofthislast yearwhichhasmadelifeconsiderablymore difficult:separateoffices.
Inthebeginning,theopenofficeconferenceroomhaditsdownsides–ameeting withonepersonmeanteveryonehadtohear it,aphonecallwasanannoyancetoeveryone,generalofficebanterwasaconstantdistraction,andanyone’sopen-doorofficehours becameeveryone’sopen-doorofficehours. However,mostofthelittleannoyanceswere easilyremediedbyasetofheadphonesand thementalitythat“Iamtuningallofyouout, ifyouneedme,shootmewithanerfdart.” Despitetheseproblems,itiscleartomenow, thateverylittlenegativeiscompletelyoutweighedbytheperksoftheopenoffice.
Thesophomoremechanicaldesignclasscentersonamajordesignprojectandendeavors tointroducemultipletopicsinapurposeful, appliedwaywithintheframeworkofasimulatedprofessionaldesignteam.Topicsthat studentsareintroducedtoincludemachine tools,computer-aided-design(CAD),drawingstandards,andmechatronics.Students areguidedinadesignprocessthatinvolves researchingexistingdesigns,brainstorming originalideas,developingthedesignonpaper,andfabricatingprototypes.Studentsare taughttomakedesigndecisionssystematicallyandbasedonengineeringcalculations.
Theprojectwillberesumedinthefuturewith thehopethatwecanactuallyhavebattlebot warsatsomepointbetweenthebotsdesigned bythedifferentteams.
Beforeoutliningthemanygoodaspectsof theopenoffice,considertheideaofacompanythatstartedinagarage;Microsoft,Apple,Disney,HarleyDavidson,andAmazon justtonameafewofthesuccesses.What theseallhadincommonwereasmallgroup ofpeople–whethersiblings,relatives,or closefriends–inasmallspaceconstantly collaborating,constantlysharingideas,constantlyworkingthroughproblems,andconstantlycommunicating.Thesecompaniesbecamesuccessesbecausetheywereforcedto beteamsandworktogether.
Beforeinstructionwasmovedonlineinthe springduetotheCOVID-19pandemic,the sophomoredesignclasswasengagedindesignandfabricationofbattlebotsandthese weretobecompletedbeforetheendofthe semester.
Wewereunabletofinishtheprojectsallthe waytocompletionduetothemoveonline butwethoughtitwouldstillbeinteresting toshowtheprogressthattheMechanicalEngineeringstudentsmadeontheirbattlebots alongtheway.
WhenIstartedmypositionatUniversity ofMaryinFall2017,theengineeringprogram wasjustgettingstarted.Theoldeststudents wereinthesophomoreyearoftheprogram, almostallengineeringcourseshadyettobe taughtforthefirsttime,andwedidn’teven haveabuildingofourown.Wewereteachingoutoftheformerfitnesscenterandourofficewasaconferenceroom.Atthestartofthe
Manyofthebenefitsoftheopenofficeexperiencehavebeenlosttousnow.Forstarters, wearenotassyncedasweusedtobe.Often,weeachspendtimelookingforothersto askasimplequestion.Thislackofcontinuity hasmeantadrasticincreaseinemails–many ofwhichrequiresignificantback-and-forthto getthecorrectinformation.Notonlydoesthis meantakingtimetowriteanemail,butthen respondingtoo.Andnow,itincludesatleast 2peoplewhoaretakingtimeoutoftheirdays towriteandrespond.Thismaynotseemlike muchofaburden,butconsiderthattheremay bemultipleemailssentbymultiplestaffeach day–itaddsuptobeasignificantchunkof theday.Ouropenofficeallowedustohave thatconsistency,transparency,andcommunicationthatmadeemailaluxury;notanecessity.
Tocombattheemaileffect,oneconsiderationwehaveadoptedhasbeenaweekly meeting.However,thismeanstryingtofind asingletimeintheweektogeteveryonein thesameroom,whichmeansafewofushave togoconsiderablyoutofourwaytogetto themeeting.Todate,ourmeetingshavebeen successfulaswedogetalotofourproblems solvedwhenwearealltogether.But,wealso spendalotoftimetryingtogeteverybodyup tospeedoncurrentbusinessandtasksathand. Theopenofficegaveusanedgetobeableto keepeveryoneuptodateandsharetheload whenitcomestodepartmentorschool-level business.
Alongsimilarlinescomesthedelegation ofnon-teachingworkload.Withtheopenoffice,ataskmightcomeuptodayandanyonewhowasn’tparticularlybusycouldstep upandhandleit–simplybecauseeveryone
alwayshadanideaofwhatwasgoingon. Now,however,wehaveseenthatthemajorityoftasksgethandledbythefirstreaderof anemail,orwhoeverisfreeafterormeetings. Thisloadisnotalwayssoequallyshared.
Allofthesefactors,amongothers,hasled toamorefranticworkatmosphereoverthe pastyear.Intheopenoffice,everyoneseemed tobemorein-tunewithoneanother.Wewere abletojokearoundandgettoknoweachother verywell.Whetheritwasawitty(orrather dumb)punorhaveanengagingconversation. Wegaugeeachother’semotionsfarmoreeffectively.Anytimewewouldseesomeone whowasoverlystressedorobviouslygoing throughastruggle,therewasagreateropportunitytotalkthroughwhateverproblems cameup.Thisalsogaveustheopportunity tobecomemuchcloserasagroup.Witheveryonebeingmorein-tunetoeveryoneelse inthegroup,wedevelopedstrongerrelationshipsbeyondbeingworkcolleagues.
Thisbecomesparticularlyevidentwhen newfacultyjoinourteam.Itiseasierfor newpeopletoquicklybecomepartofthefamilyinanopenofficeenvironment.Theyare thrustintothemix,theirquestionsareansweredquickly:“Howdoesthisprinterwork? WhichLog-indoIuseforthis?Whatform amIsupposedtouse?HowdoIinputgrades? Howdoesthisnerfgunwork?Whereisthe bestReubensandwichintown?”etcInthe openoffice,thesequestionsareansweredimmediatelyoratleastthereisapartnertohelp withthestruggletofindtheanswer.Inaddition,theiropinionsareheardrightfromthe start.Thisnotonlymeansthattheyfeelvaluedfromdayone,butitalsomeansfarfewer transitionalpainsthaninthetraditionalclosed orprivateofficesetup.
Whileintheprocessofwritingthisarticle, we,likeeveryoneelse,werehitwiththemassivecurveballthatwastheCOVID-19shutdown.I’msurethateveryreaderisawareof thelitanyofissuesquarantiningandallofthe restrictioncausedondailylife.Forthepurposeofthisarticle,Iwillsticktohowthis impactedourofficeenvironment.COVID19onlyexacerbatedalloftheissuespreviouslymentionedanditbecameafurtherhindrancetoanysortofcollaborationandcontinuitythatwaspreviouslylost.Ourforms ofcommunicationwerenowlimitedtoemails andvirtualmeetings.Thismeantevenmore timewasdedicatedtowritingandanswering emails,longermeetingstocatcheveryoneup tospeed,andlesstimetocourseworkandthe transitiontoteachingonline.
engineeringdisciplines.Overthecourseof planningthisbuilding,thequestionofoffice spaceswasfrequentlyaddressed.Itwasalwayssuggestedthatwehaveindividualoffices,asistraditionalinanacademicsetting. However,throughourexperiences,thefaculty hasmaintainedthattheopenofficespaceis thebestwaytogo.Wehavelivedthevalue ofthecollaborativeandcommunity-basedadvantagesoftheopensetup,andwearethoroughlylookingforwardtogettingbacktothat environment.
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CELLULAR AUTOMATA ByTERRYPILLING
Thoseofyouwhosolvedthepuzzleinthis editionof EngineeringQuarterly willbeinterestedtoknowthatyouhavejustworked outthetimeevolutionofaone-dimensional CellularAutomaton.Inparticular,theone youworkedoutisreferredtoas“Rule90”in StephenWolfram’snamingconvention.
Aone-dimensionalcellularautomatonof thekindwewilldiscussinthisarticleconsists ofalineofadjacentcellswithtwopossible statespercell.Thecell’sneighborsaredefinedastheadjacentcellsoneithersideof it.Sinceacellanditstwoneighborsform aneighborhoodof3cells,thereare 23 =8 possiblepatternsforaneighborhood.Weuse theseneighborhoodstofigureoutwhethera givencellwill‘live’(become1),or‘die’(become0)inthenextgeneration.Wecandraw thenextgenerationbyalineofcellsdirectly belowthepreviousoneonapage.Inorderto decidewhetherthenextgenerationofacell, i.e.theonedirectlyunderneathitonthepage, isgoingtobealiveordead,weneedarule basedonthepatternofit’sneighborhood.
Aruleconsistsofdecidingwhetherthe nextgenerationwillbea0ora1foreach oftheeightpossibleneighborhoodpatterns. Therefore,sincewecanchoosea0ora1for eachoftheeightneighborhoodpatterns,there arethen 28 =256 possiblerules.
These256differentrulesarenamedusing theirWolframcodewhichassignstoeachrule anumberfrom0to255.Forexample,hereis theruleweusedinourpuzzleearlier:
abinarynumber.So01011010istherulein thetableaboveandifyouinterpretthisasa binarynumberthenthedecimalequivalentis 30.ThatiswhyitiscalledRule30.
ThereadershouldensurethattheyunderstandhowthenamingschemeworksbyverifyingthatRule110isgivenbythefollowing pattern.
Noticethatwenolongerhavetogiveyou thetableshowingthepatterns.Allwehaveto doissay,forexample,“Rule255”,andyou willknowwemeantherulethatassignsa1 toalloftheneighborhoodpatternssincethe decimal 255=11111111 inbinary.
Rule110whichwehavegiveninthe tableaboveexhibitswhatStephenWolfram calls“class4behavior,”whichisneithercompletelyrandomnorcompletelyrepetitive.Localizedstructuresappearandinteractinvariouscomplicated-lookingways.Infact,itwas proventhatRule110isa UniversalTuring machine,whichmeansthatanythingthatyou canwritewithacomputerprogramyoucan alsowriteusingRule110!Thisisveryremarkablesincetheruleissoextremelysimple.Recentlypeoplehaveusedthe‘gliders’ thatappearinthegenerationsofRule110to createlogicgateslikeANDgatesandOR gateswhicharethefoundationofcomputers.Evenmorerecently,NobelPrizewinningPhysicistGerhardt’Hoofthasdeveloped aCellularAutomatoninterpretationofQuantumMechanicsandsuggeststhepossibility thattheentireuniverseisactuallydeterministicandbasedoncellularautomatons!Weonly seem tohavefreewillbecausewearepart ofthesystemitself.Interestingphilosophical stuff!
Anyway,Iwouldliketofinishthisarticle byshowingyouhowtowriteacomputerprogramwhichsimulatesa programmable cellularautomaton.Inotherwordsyouinputthe “program”byspecifyingthepatternofthe firstgenerationoftheautomatonandthenyou usetheruletoseehowthatoriginalpattern evolvesthroughsubsequentgenerations.This ishowyouwritecomputerprogramsusing CellularAutomataandsinceRule110isuniversal,itmeansyoucouldmakeanythingyou wantbywritingaprograminRule110.In otherwords,theoreticallyatleast,youcould writetheWindowsoperatingsystemusing nothingbutRule110.
Fall2020marksanewchapterforthe UMaryEngineeringprogram.Wewillfinally befullyon-campusagainandinabuilding withteachingspacesandlabsdedicatedto
Noticethateachofthepattersisanumber from0to7writteninbinary.Forexample 000inbinaryis0indecimal,001is1indecimal,010is2indecimal,etc.,alltheway upto111whichis7indecimal.Theseare theeightpossibleneighborhoodpatters.For example010saysthatyourcellisalivebut it’stwoneighborsarebothdead,whereas110 saysthatyourcellisalive,theneighboronits leftisalsoalive,andtheneighboronitsright isdead.Nowtheruleisgivenbythelinebelow.Forexampleitsaysthatifyouhavea neighborhoodpatternof110thenthecellin thenextgenerationunderthemiddlecellof thepatternwillbealivesincethereisa1underthatpatternintheruleasshowninthetable.Noticethattheruleitselfcanbereadas
Letusstartwithaprogramthatsimply drawsthegenerationsofanautomatongiven arule:
) { int power,tmp,display,rule [8],program[MAX PROGRAM], program length; long i,time,N,center,CELLS; char ∗ program input;
if (argc!=7) {
fprintf(stderr,”usage:%s rulecellscenterdisplay Nprogram \ n \ n”,argv[0]) ;
fprintf(stderr,”rule \ t= wolframrulenumber(< 256) \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”cells \ t= numberofcellsina generation \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”center \ t= thecelltocenterthe viewingwindowon \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”display \ t= numberofcolumnsinyour display \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”N\ t=number ofgenerations \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”program \ t= binaryprogramfor startingconfiguration \ n \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”Example: \ t ./a.out3020010018053 1\ n \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”willrun rule30with200cells forN=53timesteps \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”theviewer windowwillbecentered overcellnumber100 \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”thedisplay has180columns(i.e. fullscreen) \ n \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”andthe programisasingle squareinthecenter \ n \ n” );
fprintf(stderr,”NOTE:you shouldchooseNsmaller thancells/2toavoid edgeeffects \ n”);
}
return 1;
tmp=atoi(argv[1]);
CELLS=atol(argv[2]); center=atol(argv[3]); display=atoi(argv[4]); N=atol(argv[5]); program input=argv[6];
program length=strlen( program input);
for (i=0;i < program length;i ++) { program[i]=(program input[i ] ’0’)%2;
}
long cell[CELLS];
if (tmp > 255) { fprintf(stderr,”rulemustbe lessthan256 \ n”); return 1;
} if (N > CELLS/2) { fprintf(stderr,”WARNING:N > cells/2soyoumay encounteredgeeffects \ n \ n”);
fprintf(stderr,”Running%lu timestepsover%lucells of”,N,CELLS);
for (i=0;i <CELLS;i++)cell[i]
=0;
for (i=0;i <program length;i ++) { cell[(CELLS program length)/2 +i]=program[i];
}
fprintf(stderr,”rule%d=”, tmp);
for (i=7;i >=0;i ){ power=pow(2,i); if (tmp >=power) { rule[i]=1; tmp=tmp power;
}
else { rule[i]=0; } fprintf(stderr,”%d”,rule[i]);
} fprintf(stderr,” \ n \ n”);
for (i=1;i <CELLS 1;i++) { if (i >=center display/2&&i <=center+display/2) { if (cell[i]==1)printf(”O”) ; else printf(””); }
} printf(” \ n”);
for (time=0;time <N;time++) iterate(cell,rule,display, center,CELLS);
return 0; }
void iterate( long ∗ cell, int ∗ rule, int display, long center, long CELLS) { int neighborhood; long j,k,new cell[CELLS];
for (k=1;k<CELLS 1;k++) { new cell[k]=0; neighborhood=4∗ cell[k 1]+ 2∗ cell[k]+cell[k+1];
for (j=7;j >=0;j ){ if (rule[j]) { if (j==neighborhood) new cell[k]=1; } } }
for (k=1;k<CELLS 1;k++) { cell[k]=new cell[k]; if (k >=center display/2&&k <=center+display/2) { if (cell[k]==1)printf(”O”) ; else printf(””); } }
printf(” \ n”); //for(j=1;j < 10000000;j++);// uncommentfortimedelay }
and,ifwerunthisprogramusing
./automaton90804080151
sothatthe“program”consistsofmerelyasinglelivecell,wegetthefollowingpicturein ourterminal:
Youmayrecognizethisasthefamous SierpinskiGasket thatarisessometimesinthestudy offractalsandothermathematicalsubjects. Youmaywanttocompilethisprogramand thenplayaroundwithittoseehowthedifferentautomatonsbehave.Thereare256ofthem totry!
Now,ratherthanstartingwithasinglelive cell,let’srunourprogramusingamorecomplicatedandinitialpattern,or program,from whichtogeneratethesubsequentgenerations. Hereisourfirsttry:
./automaton908040801511
wegetthefollowingpictureinourterminal:
whichyoucanseebeginswithourprogram 11 asthefirstgeneration.Nowlet’strya morecomplicatedprogram
./automaton908040801511000011 whichgives
NoticethatitstartstomaketwoseparateSierpinskiGasketsbecauseofourchoiceofinput patternbutthenafterafewgenerationsthey starttointerferewitheachother.
Finally,let’slookatthefamousRule110 UniversalTuringMachine.Thefollowing willrunrule110startingwithonesinglelive cellatthecenterofaline3000cellslong.Our windowwill180columnswideandourview willbecenteredoncolumn80:
./automaton11030008018015001
Ifyouwanttogetabettergraspofhowthis automatonisevolvingovertimeyoushould uncommentthetimedelaythatIhaveatthe endofthesourcecodeandrecompile.Then itwillscrollbyslowenoughthatyoucansee thingshappeninglikeglidersandcollisions.
Ifyouhavefoundthisarticleinteresting youmaybeinterestedinwinning$30,000 fromStephenWolfram!Hehas3unsolved problemsdealingwithRule30andhewillpay you$30kifyoucansolvethem.Herearehis problems:
1. Doesthecentercolumnalwaysremain non-periodic?
2. Doeseachcolorofcelloccuronaverageequallyofteninthecentercolumn? (i.e.justasmanyliveonesasdead ones?)
3. Doescomputingthenthcellofthecentercolumnrequireatleast O(n) computationaleffort?
Visittheprizewebsitewheredeeperexplanationsandexamplesaregiven: https://www. rule30prize.org
• Circuitsimulationproblem: lrc.net
∗ LRCsimulation
V0a00 R1ab50 C1bc1uic=10 L1c010mic=0 .control tran100u5m0muic gnuplotlrc spicei(v0) .endc .end
• Circuitsproblem:
ContactInformation
FormoreinformationaboutourengineeringprogramattheUniversityof MarypleasesendanemailtoEngineering@umary.edu.Thankyouforyour supportandforbeingpartofourUniversityofMarycommunity.Nextissue:November,2020.