Metals & Alloys

Our Career and Commentary article in August's Metals & Alloys newsletter talks about the difficulties of picking the right engineer for a job. Often seen as "odd ducks" because of their quirkiness and creativity, getting the best engineer for a position requires determining if the hole is right for the peg. What questions would you ask an engineer if you were in charge of staffing for your organization?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Metals & Alloys, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Metals & Alloys today.

The Australians are looking to develop technologies on many fronts for green systems — with metals being one of them. Do you think this country of less than 21 million can become a major force in technology for sustainable growth? With a metals focus is on aluminum, magnesium, and titanium, can they realistically hit their specific targets of: 30% energy efficiency increase, cutting manufacturing costs and life-cycle impact 50%, and increasing asset productivity 30%?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Metals & Alloys, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Metals & Alloys today.

Most engineers are taught to be conservative — with their design criteria and their budgets. At the same time, many engineers have a reputation as being rather 'tightfisted' with their money. Or perhaps they just want to maximize the return on what they spend. Do you feel engineers really deserve a parsimonious reputation? Is that reputation earned on the job, or does it cross over to their personal lives as well. What do you think? Are you a 'cheap' engineer?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Metals & Alloys, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Metals & Alloys today.

Metal ores and metals can last more than a million years. The fact that we still mine for them is the proof. But because of the half-life of nuclear waste, articles in the trade press discuss whether it is feasible to develop a container to store nuclear waste for one million years. Until there are alternatives, how difficult do you think this problem is, and can it ever really be solved with reasonable certainty? And how will they enforce the warranty?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Metals & Alloys, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Metals & Alloys today.

How significant is discovery of the metal-alloy failure scenario described by researchers in our lead story? Do you feel this impact your work and could present design methods be modified easily to account for it? Will a better knowledge of metal-alloy failure (or premature aging) in some alloys help you predict the useful life of electronics and other products?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Metals & Alloys, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Metals & Alloys today.