A Powerful Possibility for Rail Safety

A Powerful Possibility for Rail Safety A Powerful Possibility for Rail Safety The U.S. owes much of its economic success to the railroad, which helped open up the country to commerce and travel. But its also been involved in its share of accidents and fatalities and still is. One obvious way to improve safety and reduce potential tragedies is through advanced safety equipment, but these technologies traditionally have also been very costly to build and power. Dr. Abolfazl Pourghodrat, co-inventor of a device to harvest power from trains to help power equipment for safety protection, hopes his teams work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln can change this.Track to ImprovementWhen I got involved with this project, a stat I heard really hit home for me, says Pourghodrat. I had heard that every 90 minutes theres an accident at a remote crossing, he says. This has been an evolving process where better solutions have been found through iterations. I learned a great deal about improving a product through this process.An earlier iteration of his own device welches powered by electromagnetics but it didnt create enough power for warning light systems as he envisioned, so his team then went the mechanical way.A prototype of the energy harvesting device. Image University of Nebraska, LincolnThis welches a mechanical device to harvest energy from the direction of the railroad track. We did testing and said What if we also modified this mechanism when it came to direction? he explains. We were only generating power when the track moved downward but not upward. The second generation of the device could harvest both directions. We did testing and in summer it would work and provide enough watts of energy but in winter when the ground is icy and the soil is very solid, its not effective.The next improvement was a mechanical device which was basically having contact with a car wheel, says Pourghodrat, who graduated with a masters in mechanical engineering and a Ph.D. in biome dical engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Every time a wheel is passing it will contact a handle then the handle will eventually produce some sort of power.Within the mechanical device phase, they had a rack-and-pinion gear system that would convert the linear motion of the track to a rotary motion, he says.Lab testing set up. Image University of Nebraska, LincolnWhile these were good abfluging points, it was actually hydraulic power which took the device to the next level. Now it was able to go to almost 50 watts to 100 watts of power, which was much more than the previous solutions. It was based on the hydraulic principle or idea of mechanical advantage, he says. You would put the hydraulic cylinder below the track and when the car passes over the cylinder, it is pressed down. Ultimately, the generator will start to produce electricity.The present iteration is still under wraps, but its Pourghodrats hope that a version will make its way to railroad crossings in th e near future. There needs to more options, if at all possible, he says. I could see it potentially making a difference.The challenge of the work has certainly made its mark on Pourghodrat, who found a word that truly defined all the iterations he focused on. Perseverance. I learned the perseverance of having to make a good amount of changes and to push yourself to look at a problem from many different angles, he says. You just get driven by the idea that the work could one day end up helping people on the tracks.Eric Butterman is an independent writer.Learn about the latest trends in energy solutions at ASMEsPower Energy Conference and Exhibition. For Further Discussion It was based on the hydraulic principle or idea of mechanical advantage. You would put the hydraulic cylinder below the track and when the car passes over the cylinder, it is pressed down. Ultimately, the generator will start to produce electricity.Abolfazl Pourghodrat, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

How to Attract and Keep a Workplace Sponsor

How to Attract and Keep a Workplace SponsorHow to Attract and Keep a Workplace SponsorA sponsor is someone with power who knows you and your eignung, who advocates for your success on the corporate (or organizational) ladder, and who helps remove obstacles to your progress. A sponsor is someone who is willing to champion your progress. A sponsor is someone who has enough clout to make a difference in decisions others make about your progress. A sponsor believes in you and your skills and abilities enough to risk her or his own credibility for you. A sponsor has enough faith in your ultimate success to protect you so that you can take risks and make occasional mistakes and missteps without setting your career back. What Does a Workplace Sponsor Do? Some examples of the kinds of actions that a sponsor might take on your behalf Hires you for a position, especially one where you can learn and advance even further.Actively puts your name forward when an opening is available that match es your skills and abilities.Actively considers and seeks out openings, assignments, and opportunities where you can advance.Makes a call to or has a one-on-one meeting with a decision maker who has the authority to say yes to an opportunity or aufsteigen for you.Speaks up for your skills and abilities in meetings, when your name comes up or when opportunities come up. Tells you what you need to do and know to get chosen for the opening or opportunity.Connects you with others who can help you make progress, and prepares them to see you favorably.Advocates for good initial pay in a new position, or a good pay raise or bonus within a current position - and has enough influence with the decision makers to make these likely to happen.If youre an entrepreneur, a sponsor may open doors for venture capital or other investment.Defends or protects you in times when youve taken risks and failed, reminding the decision makers that risk is part of success - and expresses faith in your ultimat e success. How a Workplace Sponsor Differs From a Supporter or Mentor A good sponsor is also a supporter and a berater, but a sponsor is mora than either of those. A supporter or mentor is sometimes the person who will help you figure out that you need a sponsor and how to find one. A supporter is someone at any level who supports your progress, but may not have the clout to remove obstacles. Supporters express encouragement, and sometimes speak up for you or helpyour progress. A mentor is someone who helps you understand what you need to progress through the organization, to fulfill your potential. Your mentor is an advisor - to you. A mentor focuses on changes you need to make to progress. Sometimes, a change you need to make is to find a sponsor. A sponsor is also a supporter and sometimes is also a mentor, but is much more. He or she is an active advocate with the power to smooth the path for you, to get your name into the right conversations at the right level, and to ope n doors by influencing decision-makers you might otherwise have no access to. Advantages to Having a Workplace Sponsor To be on the fast track in your organizational progress, youll want a sponsor. Mentors and supporters can help you make career progress, but that kind of help depends on decision makers happening to notice you and your work. A sponsor speeds up the process, by getting your name into the right conversations at the right time and at the right level, and helping decision-makers understand why you are the right person for the opportunity. What Are a Workplace Sponsors Responsibilities? To be an advocate, first, a sponsor needs to be familiar with you and your best - your skills, abilities, and your success record. If a sponsor pushes your case for an opportunity that isnt a good fit, that isnt good for your success, for the sponsors reputation, or for the decision-makers, they will not be helpful in your career success. Next, the sponsor is proactive in looking for opportunities that interest you and promoting your fit for those workplace positions. The sponsor talks up your potential with decision-makers, usually with information about past successes that provide evidence to back up the sponsors faith in you, and an enthusiasm that expresses that faith. The sponsor is willing to use influence with contacts in order to promote your success. Or to make opportunities more directly, hiring you or investing in your project. The sponsor and you keep in contact so that the sponsor can continue to promote you where you are and keep eyes open for further opportunities. The sponsor makes clear that this is a professional relationship, not a personal one, and actively avoids situations and occasions that would cross that line. When the sponsor is a man and is sponsoring a woman, this is especially important. A sponsor can help you propel your career forward in ways that youd otherwise not experience.For career success, consider how to find and keep a sponsor who can really help you advance. How to Attract a Sponsor Who Can Help You If you are interested in attracting a sponsor who can help you find opportunities to learn and grow in your career, the relationship must be mutually beneficial. Think about it whats in it for the sponsor? The sponsor takes the risks and spends the time promoting your career because your success will reflect well on the sponsor. And, those the sponsor influences to take you on will be grateful to the sponsor for the great find that you are. So, to attract and keep a sponsor, you have to show that youre worth that risk and effort. To find a possible sponsor, seek opportunities to interact with those who are in more senior positions than you are with clout and power. Volunteer to be the one to make a presentation for your group. Look around for people in your family and friendship circles who have influence in the field youre in or want to be in. Get involved in networking and professional groups that include people in more senior positions, in your organization or in related organizations. Youll need to show a potential sponsor your extraordinary success record, and make clear through your current performance that you have high potential to succeed even more as you advance. Promote your own strengths and successes, in a way that also shows you are a team player, who works well with others and whose colleagues are supporters. Make sure that visible evidence exists that demonstrates your potential in both your current and past performance. (No reputable sponsor is going to go to bat for you if your approach is Im not doing well in this job because it isnt right for me, but Id be much better in a more responsible position.) Be clear, first with yourself, then with possible sponsors, about your dreams and what you see as your potential. You want a sponsor to open the doors to your dream career, not to sidetrack it to opportunities that arent interesting or appropriate for you. If youre looking for a career in higher education, for example, a sponsor who finds you aperfectspot in the meat-packing industry isnt going to be very helpful. Your sponsor will want to see that you are respectful at your workplace towards current colleagues, managers, customers, and other contacts. Respect for those with whom you workdoesnt mean that you arent ever going to move on. But, it does mean that you dontgossip about people with whom you workor to whom you report, put them down, or otherwise show disrespect for them. Tips for Communicating With Your Workplace Sponsor The sponsor puts his or her credibility on the line, so make sure that you are honest with your sponsorsand loyal to them. If you have any opportunities to help your sponsors success, take advantage of them. Its not a quid pro quo - your sponsor is likely much more powerful than you are right now. Your sponsor may do far more for you than you can do for her or him - but there must be a sense that youre looking out for each other. Dont hide your mistakes - that would be both dishonest and disloyal. Your sponsor doesnt want to be surprised by very bad news from valued associates and friends. If you do make mistakes in an opportunity the sponsor made possible, own up to your failure to your sponsor. Make clear what measures youre already taking to pick yourself up, and share the lessons youve learned.Ask for feedback and advice from your sponsor. Keep your sponsor in the loop on successes, too, so when another opportunity arises, the sponsor knows youre ready. While the sponsor has responsibility for not crossing the professional/personal line, you also have responsibility for this as the person being sponsored. Appearances matter, so avoid situations and occasions that might confuse onlookers (or you or the sponsor). Does Workplace Sponsorship Work? In an article in theNew York Times, Mentors Are Good. Sponsors Are Better., and in her book,Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, Sylv ia Ann Hewlett details research showing that those with sponsors succeed more quickly, on averagethan those without sponsors, even those with a mentor. Hewlett also lists major corporations, including American Express, ATT, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Genentech and Morgan Stanley, that have begun programs to encourage sponsorship. If you are willing to reach out to potential sponsors and have a positive track record, and the potential to soar - reach out. People are proud and happy to sponsor women and men who will make them look good - and who will have their backs, too.

How to survive an office party as an introvert

How to survive an office party as an introvertHow to survive an office party as an introvertFor those who enjoy being the life of a party, large work gatherbeiings are a fun opportunity to hobnob and gossip. But for those of us who are introverts, the thought of having to attend an office party and engage in small talk with our coworkers is an exhausting performance.But there are small steps you can take as an introvert to make your annual dose of enforced networking mora enjoyable - without having to fake it.Heres how to make the most of an office party if large groups of people provoke your flight-or-fight response.Bring a friend as supportIf your office party allows you to invite a guest, bringing a supportive friend could be the confidence boost you need to summon the courage to talk to that big name you have admired from afar.But before you decide which of your friends to bring to the company event, its important to vet them for cultural fit. You want to choose a friend who has good social skills, someone who can speak the language of your company and can survive being left alone by the bowl of punch.To highlight the networking potential of plus ones, advice columnist Ronald Brown recounted the story of his client who brought a male friend to help her shine at a corporate party. This friend helped the client secure and strengthen connections she needed to get a promotion.He charmed some of my clients colleagues wives, dancing with them and deftly working in references to how much my client loved working at her company, Brown wrote. The following week, a couple of senior managers came up to my client and told her about the positive impressions their wives had gained of her as a result of her guest, which helped cement my clients relationship with those managers.At their best, your plus-one can open doors that you couldnt on your own. Choose yours wisely.Give yourself small breaks to be aloneIntroverts get their energy drained from being around large groups of people. As Susan Cain, the woman who popularized the reflective power of introverts in her TEDx talk, put it, introverts feel at their most aliveand their most switched-on and their most capablewhen theyre in quieter, more low-key environments.A loud office party with lots of stimulus is bedrngnis an introverts idea of a fun night on the town, in other words. Conserve your mental energies by enjoying solitude before the event, so youre not exhausted before you arrive at the party.Recognize that you dont need to force yourself to be in a loud environment the whole time to make the most of a work party.Taking a few minutes to be alone could be the breather you need to survive an office event. Using timeouts to hide in a corner by the plants, or hole up in the bathroom, or pet your coworkers dog to avoid small talk are not party fails - theyre a survival mechanism to help you for the long haul of a party.Remember that you can listen more than talkIf youre unsure of what to say to a colleague at an office party, recognize that you dont need to remember elaborate social scripts to be a memorable conversationalist. As multiple studies have shown, our favorite topic to talk about is ourselves. So relax You dont need to be inherently interesting to be interesting to other people.We find people who are interested in our lives to be the most interesting people of all. One study found that people who showed genuine curiosity, asked follow-up questions, and listened to their conversation partner were seen as more attractive to talk to in first-time meetings.Have a gameplan of who you want to meetCreating a socialization quota can help an introverted employee make the most of their limited energy. Instead of feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of talking to everybody in a room, do as Cain advises in her book Quiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Cant Stop Talking and prioritize your commitments.Pick the select few people you want to talk to at the office party to consider it a success. Then after you have talked to them and made your face seen, head home to your haven of solitude. No need to be a martyr and stay at a party to the bitter end.