December 2006 Mechanical Engineering: Editorial

editorial

innovation (and Google)

By
John G. Falcioni,
Editor-in-Chief

As the keynote speaker at last month's ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Chicago, David Vise evangelized about the Google phenomenon; and why not? Google, which was developed by a couple of sharp grad students from Stanford University—one of whom built a working printer out of Lego blocks—turned into a virtual over- night success story, carrying information to millions of Web users around the world and delivering mega profits.

Whether you call it an engineering company, an information company, or simply a money-making machine, Google prides itself on innovation and drive. Its lofty goals test the imagination. According to Vise, the prize-winning Washington Post reporter who wrote The Google Story, Google's developers want to possess and distribute all the information in the universe. Why settle for Earth when there's so much more untapped potential out there?

They also want Google to become so vital and intuitive that it can think for us. By possessing as much information about each one of us as it can acquire, Google wants to track our every move online so it can predict what we're thinking and what we want to access even before we know exactly what we're looking for ourselves. Not too shabby for a couple of 30-something-year-olds.

Those who think the government is watching, better think again: There's a new Big Brother in town.

Google is generally tight-lipped about its innovations and goals. But not everyone is sitting by idly as the company eats everyone's proverbial lunch. A number of academic publishers, for instance, are fighting back in court. Yet others, such as some print and broadcast media companies, fearful that they can't beat the newcomer on the advertising front, have joined Google in profit-sharing ventures.

While it has gotten popular in some circles to begrudge (OK, envy) Google's success, at the end of the day the company's triumphs come down to being innovative enough to think differently and to be smart.

In much the same way, diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. is now thriving after two decades of hearing predictions of its demise as stricter emission standards threatened to make the company obsolete. But Cummins and other engine manufacturers lobbied petroleum refiners to reduce the sulfur in diesel fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency then mandated that the sulfur content of diesel fuel be cut to 15 parts per million from 500, which makes catalytic converters and other pollution-control devices more effective, thus opening the way for more diesel-powered light trucks and sport utility vehicles to hit the market.

In a strategy developed in large part by ASME member John C. Wall, Cummins's vice president and chief technical officer, the company decided to tailor its design and manufacturing processes to meet EPA requirements. Cummins now sells truck engines with pollution-reducing parts made in-house, and not with components from other manufacturers. Cummins believes that a one-stop-shopping approach is an asset.

The strategy has resulted in a boon for Cummins. A fast-growing part of Cummins's business has become the sale of its engine components like fuel systems and turbochargers.

Although the challenges and goals are different, what makes Google work is fundamentally the same thing that makes John Wall and Cummins tick. And it's the same thing that makes Lee Langston a maverick (see "Campus Heat" in this issue), or makes those who are harnessing the power of the ocean for energy thrive (see "Harvesting the Waves," also in this issue). It's innovation, and it's being smart.