How Not to Make a Catapult

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​With a soaring twenty-foot throwing arm, a hulking wooden frame, and three hundred pounds of sand hanging pendulously in its belly, our catapult made for an impressive school project. Mike and I had been working for weeks, but despite the machine’s fearsome appearance there was still plenty of work to be done. The latch that released the projectile was in particular giving us no end of trouble, alternately flinging its payload into the ground at our feet or sending us scampering for cover as potatoes and cantaloupes rained down from above. We put in countless afterschool afternoons and no small amount of engineering effort, but in the end were defeated. Where had we gone wrong? 

Let start by stepping back. Designers often talk about “Ah Ha” moments, where the problems that had been bedeviling them are suddenly resolved and a brilliant design makes itself known. Mine came a bit late, about twelve years late, after dozens of engineering courses, an undergraduate degree and a masters, and half of a PhD. It actually hit me last week, when I came across this picture in MAKE Magazine:

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Friday Finds: Cool Products!

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For today's batch of internet inspiration, we've got a pile of wonderfully clever home gadgets. Starting at top left, there's (1) a soda bottle drip catcher, (2) a bathtub desk, (3), the "Hamdogger", (4) a thumb page-holder, (5) an umbrella pot, (6) the "Lay 'n Go" lego mat, (7) a clever no-mess paintbrush, (8) the easy "Drain Changle" de-clogger, (9) anti-theft sandwich bags, (10) the "Cushy Closer", (11) a magnet tiny parts bracelet, and (12) the owl earbud-declutterer.

All of these products are wonderfully simple and creative solutions to otherwise annoying little problems, from tangled earbuds to a crippling lack of hamburger buns. In several cases the inventions were also serendipitous discoveries. Jennifer Briggs invented the Drain Changle after accidentally clearing a clogged drain with an errant piece of floss, for example. Spending a few bucks to support creators like her is a fantastic idea, but with a bit of creative adaptation and DIY spirit, these gadgets would also all make fun home projects as well. So feel free to get your hands dirty and impress your friends; although enjoying other people's creativity is okay too.

Happy Friday!

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What is Management, Anyway?

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In the grand scheme, the goal of academic research is to advance the state of human knowledge. While this necessarily entails diving into some fairly esoteric weeds, I won't pretend that management scholars have it too tough in that regard (at least compared to chemistry). At the same time, our field is somewhat unique in that few people know what it actually means to study management (at least beyond an MBA). For years, people have been asking "so, you're getting a PhD in how to make money?" That's a fair question, but pursuing a PhD isn't usually a ticket to fame and riches. Instead, academic research in management explores topics such as innovation, entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, and strategy. And because you're now thinking, "those don't really sound like real scientific pursuits either," it's probably worth digging a bit deeper.

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Hey Crowd, Who's Feeling Clever?

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​Let's say you run a research lab, and you've got a really tough problem. I mean a real doozy - your best scientists have been working on it for years and they haven't been able to figure anything out. But you still need an answer, so how are you going to get one? Enter a new phenomenon: Open Innovation. You've probably heard of companies relying on the "wisdom of the crowds" for things like the latest Doritos ad campaigns, Threadless T-shirt designs, and the world's largest encyclopedia, but you may not know that firms are also turning to crowds with their really high-tech conundrums. A number of platforms have sprung up to connect problem seekers with problem solvers, of which Innocentive (founded 2001) is probably the most famous.

I'll go more into Open Innovation (and it's cousin, Crowdsourcing) in a later post, but the basic idea behind Innocentive is that companies can post problems and associated rewards on a website where individual scientists can sign up to view them. If someone thinks they might be able to answer a problem, they connect with the company and send in a solution. The company then determines the best solutions and gives (big) rewards to the solvers - up to the tune of $100,000. Keep in mind, though, these are complex research problems. Examples include designing an injectable suspension placebo with no pharmacological or biological activity, or synthesizing a food grade polymer delivery system. So then the big question: does it actually work? 

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