Volume XIX Issue V

The Piano: Scales of Engineering with a Note of Artistry
(Traumerei – Schumann playing in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHlfNYY1YIY) Sixty thousand pounds is the weight of five fully-grown elephants and the amount of force contained within a concert grand piano. [1] Although it's been around for over three centuries, the piano has evolved into one of [...]
Setting the Curve: The Magnus Effect and its Applications
Introduction Throughout our daily lives, there are elements of design and engineering all around us, most of which go completely unnoticed. Whether it’s the chair you’re sitting on, your favorite pen, or the individual bricks in a building, they all needed to be engineered and [...]
Expanding (an Elevator’s) Horizons
Introduction: In the 2005 movie rendition of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” five golden ticket guests were given a special tour of the factory. During the second half of the tour, they enter an elevator that Willy Wonka introduces by saying, “This isn’t just an [...]
Repetition is catching on
INTRODUCTION Just a year ago, the world’s radio waves were flooded with the chants of “Gucci Gang”, a viral sensation by Soundcloud rapper Lil Pump. With a runtime of just 2:04, it was the shortest song to ever hit the top of the Billboard Top [...]
Harnessing the Power of Waves
As fossil fuels become less viable as a long-term energy solution and the effects of global warming continue to worsen, new renewable energy solutions are in high demand. Solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energies are now extremely popular and produce significant amounts of the world’s [...]

Note From The Editors

At Illumin, we strive to showcase engineering in everyday life. In this issue, we demonstrate two ways in which this mission can manifest itself: the elucidation of engineering concepts in familiar aspects of our lives and the presentation of innovative engineering solutions to everyday problems…

Previous Issue

Rising Above Agricultural Challenges with Vertical Farming

Sovanna Cao 2019-11-13T11:44:14-08:00 August 27th, 2019|

Written by: Tina (Hyunsu) Ryu About the Author: Tina is a senior majoring in computer science games. Before moving to California, she lived in Ohio and South Korea. After graduation, she hopes to go abroad [...]

Are Your Headphones 3D Enough?

Sovanna Cao 2019-11-13T11:43:59-08:00 August 27th, 2019|

Written by: Lauren Lawson About the Author: Lauren is a junior at USC, studying biomedical engineering. In her free time she volunteers for the Make-A-Wish USC chapter, participates in the executive boards of multiple on-campus [...]

A Stroke of Genius: Neurorehabilitation through Virtual Reality

Sovanna Cao 2019-11-13T11:43:42-08:00 August 27th, 2019|

Written by: Annie Lee About the Author: Annie Lee is an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California pursuing a progressive Bachelor’s to Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Abstract The aim of physical stroke [...]

From The Archives

Ion Propulsion: Exploring Space in the 21st Century

Kiera Shepard 2019-01-10T11:19:23-08:00 October 18th, 2004|

Electric or ion propulsion is the newest propulsion system that NASA has put into successful operation. The Deep Space 1 mission used the ion engine as its primary propulsion system and tested its capabilities for [...]

Curves of Steel: CATIA and the Walt Disney Concert Hall

Kiera Shepard 2019-01-10T10:47:29-08:00 January 1st, 2004|

The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by architect Frank Gehry, makes extensive use of computer technology. Without the use of CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application), construction of the concert hall would have been impossible. After [...]

The Changing Face of Paintball

Kiera Shepard 2019-01-10T10:49:13-08:00 December 7th, 2003|

At its essence, paintball is about marking other players with gelatin capsules filled with colored dye shot from a gun powered by compressed gas. While the fundamentals of the game have not changed since its [...]