Illumin

Better Illuminating our Lives: The Need and Implementation of a Smart Grid

illumin@usc.edu (Michael Elowson)

The demand for power in the United States is rising every year, mostly due to population growth and the increasing use of and dependence on electronics. Our current power grid, being nearly a century old, is simply struggling to keep up. The development of a Smart Grid is a necessary improvement for this country’s infrastructure in order to increase its efficiency and reliability while lowering its costs and environmental impact.

Edible Structures: The Application of Structural Engineering in Cake Design

illumin@usc.edu (Lisa Okamoto)

Rarely are cakes thought of as miniature buildings, but they are actually governed by the same physics that keep homes and offices upright. As such, multi-layered cakes are subject building like forces and need a support system that will hold the weight of the different layers. They share many structural elements with modern day skyscrapers like foundations and columns. When a cake falls, it resembles the disaster of a building failure, although without the extreme consequences.

Flying Cars and the Future of Civil Transportation

illumin@usc.edu (Ryan Alam)

Though many have tried and failed, those attempting to combine ground and sky with street-legal aircrafts are presented with a new window of opportunity through which they can feasibly offer their innovations to the masses. Joint exploratory research conducted by NASA and the FAA has created the groundwork for an overhaul of our nation’s airspace and aviation system, allowing for an unprecedented increase in airspace traffic. This development, along with a breakthrough effort to include the untapped resource of over 5,000 public airports around the country, could lead to a revolution in how we approach civil transportation.

The Naughty Jabulani

illumin@usc.edu (Paul C. Martinez)

The 2010 World Cup brought on the advent of the controversial Jabulani soccer ball and many questions of whether or not the ball played a critical role in some of the soccer players’ blunders during game play. Adidas engineers designed a brand new soccer ball to debut as the official World Cup ball. Jabulani featured a seamless multi-panel design aimed at providing players with a perfectly smooth and aerodynamically consistent ball. However, the ball drew heavy criticism from players and coaches who protested that the ball greatly affected the outcome of several key games. To understand some of the nuances behind the ball’s design, the logistics and forces of a soccer ball in flight must be examined to see how Jabulani differs from the traditional ball.

Where Does My Decaf Come From?

illumin@usc.edu (Katrina Wu)

Decaffeinated coffee is a popular beverage in cafes and homes throughout the world. There are several different methods used to decaffeinate coffee, including the direct method, indirect method, carbon dioxide method, and the Swiss Water Process. While the first three methods involve chemical treatment of the coffee beans, the last one—Swiss Water Process—does not involve any such treatment. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of each method will help us to see why certain methods are more prevalent and advantageous in the decaffeination industry.