The Montessori method is legendary for childhood development. Many engineers are familiar with the system and often enroll their children within the preschool system due to a reputation for developing science and mathematical skills. What many do not know is that Maria Montessori classified and wrote about the development of 18-24 year olds in the University. I recently completed a search and could not find ANY articles linking the Montessori Method to engineering education. So where did the disconnect emerge and how can we re-envision an engineering education to infuse the magic of the Montessori Method?

I’ll first review the Montessori Method, connect this to modern … » More …

This Thanksgiving we’re thankful for empathy,

that social form of law in entropy,

to help us when we’re not quite sure,

of the prevailing social temperature.

Cause we’re often tempted to think lesser,

especially under social pressure,

and forget that our stomach’s capacity is able,

to appreciate the values of others at our table.

For in this diverse richness of our cultural dish,

we find the opportunities we may have missed,

and begin to realize the number of ways,

we can … » More …

My long time friend David Rowe (who I learned thermodynamics with) read my post the other day on the election and political thermodynamics. After thinking about it for awhile he spurred me into extending my initial social thermodynamics property definitions. For additional context, these other reads are also helpful: understanding of mixing of social states and empathy, and insights on social reaction. Dave’s key statement came after thinking about the election and my property definitions:

“…how could one person prioritize anti-establishment concepts over overtly racial division? … As I’m writing, I’m thinking – what if heat capacity actually represents a person’s capacity to accept a certain … » More …

You know the story:

You hop on a plane to visit someplace nice. Upon arrival you’re greeted by some dignitaries and designated representatives with a relaxing meal, mostly smiles, small talk, and some jokes.

But then at some point in the discussion, you realize that you have something they want.

Before you know it you’re thrown in a van, driven somewhere, dumped off someplace you may have been before but are not really sure. The door slides shut as the van drives away and you’re ushered into a building with a long hallway full of nondescript marked doors. Eventually you reach the door your captors intend and … » More …

WSU clearly has a top 25 constituency for a public institution however is currently ranked 47th nationally. So what’s to blame and how do we fix it? In this post I’ll review the external and internal conditions for growth, then apply lean manufacturing and design philosophies with a sprinkling of social entropy to describe how we’ll fix it. Along the way you’ll likely see that top 25 is readily achievable… if we rally together as a community and get beyond some of our old ways (yes that’s an entropy pun!).
The external conditions are great:

 The conditions are prime for growth in our region … » More …