Sometimes an engineering feat is not necessarily a novel concept, but rather, an improvement upon an existing invention. In an age when technology continues to surpass even our wildest dreams, many times the question that arises is not “what can we make?” but “what can we make better?”. From inventions we often overlook, such as a wheelchair or a hockey stick, to newer ideas, such as the Kindle or the iPod, to the future where maybe invisibility cloaks will become a reality; there is always a way to mix up the old to make something new.

When we get in the car in the morning on the way to work or school or wherever our busy schedules may take us, it is natural to turn on some music to make the morning commute a little less dull. We can all fondly reminisce about those cassette tapes from the 90’s that we had to rewind, fast-forward, and flip over when side A was finished. Then came CD-ROMS, a futuristic donut made of plastic and aluminum that allowed us to skip quickly back and forth between tracks. Finally now, we enjoy plugging our iPods into auxiliary cables so we can take our 5,000 song mp3 library wherever we go. Though the concept of Music Reproduction is not new, we can see significant improvements simply throughout our own lifetimes.

Due to California Physical Access Laws, every building we enter throughout our day is required to have an entrance by which those in wheelchairs can access the building as well. We have all seen wheelchairs that you physically propel with your arms and the increasingly common electric/motorized wheelchairs that alleviate physical exertion. Though these are significant advancements, they do not accommodate those whose disabilities involve full or partial paralysis. Taking the above invention one step further, Thought-Controlled Wheelchairs could make a significant impact in the lives of the 6 million Americans who suffer from paralysis.

Exploring the area around USC and passing the Staples Center, you are bound to run into some Los Angeles Kings fans. What they may not realize is that the sport of hockey has also experienced engineering evolution. A game that was once played on frozen trees with sticks cut directly from hardwood is now played in an arena packed with thousands of screaming fans and state of the art Composite Carbon hockey sticks.

Even the good, old-fashioned books that we read have undergone changes to accommodate the era of technology. Many of us no longer frequent bookstores and libraries when we find that we can simply download the books in pdf form on our computer or onto our Kindles. Electronic Ink has made it possible for us to access thousands of books and documents on one small device instead of lugging around heavy books.

Sometimes the puzzle pieces put together to create something innovative are found not in existing technology but in nature. By manipulating the laws of physics discovered by physicists over 200 years ago, we find that something we thought could only exist in a world created by J.K. Rowling –Invisibility Cloaks – may be a tangible possibility in the future as well.

It may not be obvious to us because of how gradual the change is, but we ourselves have experienced and adapted to this transformation of technology throughout our lives. So we see in this newest issue of Illumin that engineering is not necessarily pulling a new trick out of a hat each time but a collaboration and expansion of many different existing ideas and technologies. Perhaps now, we will all have a keener eye in terms of noting not just the final product, but the process it took to get there.