Stammtisch - Thinking Outside the Box
A semi-serious presentation by Bob Melville: IEEE Senior Member, inventor, amateur machinist, free thinker and collector of bad puns.
He will present a series of practical problems with somewhat surprising (and simple) solutions. Examples:
1. Can you give an accurate estimate of the number of fish in a large lake without killing the fish or draining the lake?
2. How do you measure the area of a lake drawn on a map, even if the map is not available in digital form?
3. How do you deliver electrical power to a horizontal platform that is rotating continuously in one direction without the use of slip-rings?
The premise of his talk is that techniques for creative problem solving can -- at least to some extent -- be learned and taught. Examples will be taken from several domains: mechanical engineering, optics, mathematics, and magic.
Date and Time
Location
Hosts
Registration
- Date: 17 Oct 2024
- Time: 05:30 PM to 06:30 PM
- All times are (UTC+02:00) Bern
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- EPFL Lausanne
- Ecublens, Switzerland
- Switzerland 1015
- Building: MED Auditorium Adrien Palaz
- Room Number: MED 0 1418
- Click here for Map
Speakers
Robert “Bob” Melville
Biography:
Bob Melville, IEEE Senior Member, did his undergraduate training at the University of Delaware and then went on to complete a PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University. He had the privilege to work at AT&T Bell Laboratories for 16 years doing a mixture of numerical programming, circuit simulation and design of RF integrated circuits. He was promoted to Distinguished Member of Technical Staff for his work on non-linear systems.
After teaching electrical engineering at Columbia University, he pursued a life-long dream to work in Antarctica and was a member of the 2005-2006 winter-over crew at the South Pole where he supported instrumentation to monitor space weather.
Most recently, he served as the IEEE Engineering & International Development Fellow which involved field work at small medical clinics in Uganda to study their electrical power.
Bob is also extra-class amateur radio operator WB3EFT.
Address:United States
Agenda
17:30 Talk
18:10 Questions
18:20 Discussions with a glass of wine
Media
| Robert Melville with attendees | 730.46 KiB | |
| Robert_Melville | 1.17 MiB |