Nothing challenges an engineer so much as a design problem that seems unsolvable. And there isn't much that satisfies an engineer-or his customer-so much as the solution to that problem. Sometimes the solutions come easily. Most often, they come only after hours of iterations and marches down the wrong trail.
The designs you'll read about in this issue are the result of the ingenuity of engineers just like you, who sweat the details as they search for ways to develop the breakthroughs that advance technology in their fields. These are the winners of this year's Design News Excellence in Design Awards. We salute them for their dedication and their achievements.
FIRST PLACE
Each winner or team receives a $1,500 prize courtesy of Design News.
BEN BRIAN, Vice President of Research and Development, CardioVention Inc.
Brian led the team at CardioVention that created a cardiopulmonary bypass system that exposes a patient's blood to less trauma than current conventional systems.
DANIEL COBB, VAIKKO ALLEN, IIR&D Manager & Technical Manager, Vortechnics, Inc.
These two engineers developed a low-lifetime-cost separator that can be used in applications from stormwater runoff to various functions in the processing industries.
DAVID ALLEN, JASON COUSINEAU, Engineered Machine Products Inc.
Allen and Cousineau worked together to develop a reel-to-reel filtration system that automatically changes its own filtering media.
SECOND PLACE
Each winner takes home a LEGO Educational Division RoboLab kit (which features LabVIEWTM-based software), courtesy of National Instruments.
PAUL BUDA, Principal Technical Specialist, Schneider Automation
Buda developed a system that detects arcs of all sizes in semiconductor-manufacturing vacuum chambers.
SAM NI, Founder and President, Scroll Labs
A previous Excellence in Design winner, Ni eliminated the need for lubrication and achieved high efficiency with a "floating scroll" design.
NEAL WHITSETT, Vice President of Engineering, Wagic Design
Whitsett found a way to combine a magnesium housing and modular packaging to keep a GPS system safe, secure, and dry.
THIRD PLACE
Winners receive a Sterling-engine-powered coffee cup from Design News.
VIHAR SURTI, Biomedical Research Engineer, Wilson-Cook Medical
He developed a three-prong surgical clip that provides surgeons with more flexibility in positioning.
DAVE HASAK, TIM MARUNA, Swagelok
These two engineers developed a fluid-handling "backbone," or platform, for process-analysis sampling systems that eliminates leakage.