With his mind frequently in motion as a child, Lewis Howard Latimer — born in 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts — loved drawing at an early age and found himself doodling no matter where he would be. Little did he know these pastimes would evolve into a career as a noted draftsman and inventor, and result in him collaborating with two of the most famous innovators of his era.

Lewis, the fourth child of George and Rebecca Latimer, was reared in Boston. His father, an ex-slave, had fled to Boston from a Virginia plantation to escape slavery, and was later granted his freedom before Lewis was born. Shortly after the Civil War broke out, young Lewis at age 16 enlisted in the Union Navy, eager be one of many black soldiers and sailors fighting on the Union side, and emboldened by the hope it brought to end slavery. Receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1865, he returned to civilian life in Boston, earning a modest living as a paperhanger. However, always industrious, he was eager to secure a job in which he could use his creative mind, particularly in drawing. He soon landed a job as an assistant at a Boston patent soliciting firm where he cultivated an interest in drafting. He taught himself the rudiments of drafting in his spare time. While at work, he watched draftsmen in the office, and then went home and practiced his observations, using second-hand instruments and a book on drawing as a guide. His talent as a draftsman would later release his creative power as an inventor.

Why He’s Important: Although Thomas Edison is known as the inventor of the electric light bulb, it was Lewis Latimer (assisted by Latimer’s colleague Joseph Nichols) who in 1881 came up with the method for producing carbon filaments for Edison’s incandescent bulb. This refinement helped these bulbs burn much longer than before, and allowed them to be produced more efficiently and at much less cost. Before this improvement, Edison’s incandescent light bulbs used paper filaments. (Today’s light bulb filaments are made of tungsten, rather than carbon.) Earlier, Lewis had also distinguished himself by conducting the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and assisting Bell in preparing the patent application for that invention. This played a key role in not only helping to finalize the project, but also enabling the patent application to be expedited and submitted ahead of Bell’s competitors.

Other Achievements: Lewis later worked as a chief draftsman and patent expert on Thomas Edison’s staff at the Edison Electric Light Company. As a key staff member, he was the only African American member of Edison’s exclusive research and social group known as “The Edison Pioneers” (also sometimes called “Edison Principles”). In addition, Lewis is also recognized for independent inventions of his own, including: being the first to develop a water closet (restroom/toilet) for railroad passenger cars; inventing a globe supporter for electric lamps; creating an apparatus for cooling and disinfecting (a distant forerunner of the air conditioner), and even inventing a locking rack for hats, coats, and umbrellas. He is co-author of a noted book on electricity published in 1890 called, “Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System.”

Education: While his achievements are remarkable, Lewis Latimer received little formal education, being largely self-taught through his own determination and intellectual curiosity. Biographical information on his life indicate the only formal school he attended was Phillips Grammar School in Boston where he was a student as a youngster before enlisting as an adolescent in the Union Navy during the Civil War.

In His Own Words: In addition to his prowess in science, engineering and mathematics, Lewis enjoyed literature, art, poetry, music and philanthropy. Here is an excerpt from a poem he wrote, which can be interpreted, in part, as the passion he held for the joy that the incandescent light bulb brought to humanity: “Like the light of the sun, it beautifies all things on which it shines…” He continued to invent, and to teach his drafting skills until failing eyesight forced him to retire. He died in 1928 in New York City at age 80.

Meet real life role models in science and engineering at the USA Science & Engineering Festival by visiting www.usasciencefestival.org

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Helen Murray Free first wanted to be an English and Latin teacher, but World War II changed all that. In December 1941 when Pearl Harbor was bombed, many young men either enlisted or were drafted into military service. Because of this, many women were encouraged to pursue careers in science to fill the technological void, so Helen, who grew up in Youngstown, OH, decided to major in chemistry, entering the College of Wooster in Ohio to fulfill this quest. She would later say that her decision to become a chemist was “the most terrific thing” that ever happened to her. After graduating from Wooster, Helen immediately began working as a quality control chemist for Miles Laboratories (known as the creators of Alka-Seltzer). She was later hired as a researcher in the lab Miles Laboratories chemist Alfred Free. Helen became one of Free’s most talented researchers. They married in 1947 (later having six children together) and continued to collaborate on groundbreaking work in laboratory and diagnostic testing techniques, particularly in the area of urinalysis.

Why She’s Important: She is most known for her creation of many self-testing systems for diabetes while working at Miles Laboratories ( which is now owned by Bayer AG). The most important of her tests was Clinistix® — the “dip-and-read” test that for the first time allowed diabetics to monitor their blood glucose level instantly at home instead of having them go each week to the hospital for such procedures. Clinistix® (which tests for glucose in urine) is comprised of diagnostic test strips which are saturated with reagents (chemical reaction substances). The strips change color based on the concentration of glucose they come in contact with. This breakthrough led to additional dip-and-read tests for proteins and other substances. Such innovations allow patients an inexpensive, convenient means to help them manage such conditions as diabetes and kidney disease, thereby significantly improving patients’ quality of life. She holds seven patents for her clinical diagnostic test inventions.

Other Achievements: Her seminal work in laboratory and diagnostic testing resulted in Helen being awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2010 by President Obama. Other honors include: her book, “Urinalysis in Laboratory Practice” (which she co-authored with her husband) remains a standard work in laboratory science. In addition, she has been inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame; the American Chemical Society (ACS) has named the ACS Helen M. Free Public Outreach Award in her honor, and the ACS has designated the development of diagnostic test strips as a national historic chemical landmark. Her contributions to laboratory science have also been included on the show, Jeopardy, as a question.

Current Activities: She serves as a consultant for Bayer AG, and has earned noteriety as a staunch promoter of science education, including devoting special attention to female and underprivileged students through programs such as “Kids & Chemistry” and “Expanding Your Horizons.”

Education: Helen earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree (with honors) from the College of Wooster in Ohio, and her Master’s of Arts degree in Management (Health Care Administration) from Central Michigan University. She also served as an Adjunct Professor of Management at Indiana University, South Bend, for almost twenty years.

In Her Own Words: “In my work with students, I tell them that they can do anything they want — anything they want — as long as they work hard at it and try.”

Meet real life role models in science and engineering at the USA Science & Engineering Festival by visitingwww.usasciencefestival.org

(Send Us Your Opinion Today:  Have you ever been inspired to greatness in scientific invention at the age of 12 like Rachel? Let us know what you think about her achievement!)

Rachel Zimmerman undoubtedly had her teacher’s inspiring “Go for it” advice in mind when she, at the  age of 12  in the mid-1980s used her love of science to develop an invention that continues to significantly help the way people with severe speaking disabilities communicate with others.

 Why She’s Important:  While exploring possible topics for a school science fair project as a sixth-grader, Rachel came to invent a computer software-based system that allows speech-disabled persons (such as individuals with cerebral palsy) to communicate without speech.  The system uses Blissymbols (an established group of graphic symbols that people with speech difficulties have long used to communicate), but Rachel’s system greatly improves upon this old method. Known as the “Blissymbol Printer”, the new system enables the speech-disabled to write messages independently by pointing (via a special computer touch pad) to various symbols on the system’s page without having someone in the room to interpret the symbols for them.

Other Achievements:  Rachel’s invention also automatically translates the disabled person’s message into a written language of the user‘s choice. In this way, the user can record his or her thoughts or communicate via e-mail.

Current Activities:  After studying physics and space technology in college, Rachel (born and raised in Ontario, Canada) is currently an outreach specialist for NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her goal is to take NASA innovations and tailor them to fit the needs of people with disabilities.

For more exciting role models in science and engineering, visit the USA Science & Engineering Festival www.usasciencefestival.org

Internationally known for her work in nanotechnology to regenerate bone and tissue growth, and to design bioactive materials for early detection of disease 

Nanotechnology (the science of manipulating matter at the atomic or molecular level, especially to build microscopic materials) has the potential to transform key areas of science and engineering. Molly Stevens, a materials scientist at the Imperial College of London (England), is using nanotechnology to push the boundaries of  biotechnology through advances in bone and tissue regeneration, and designing bioactive materials for the early detection of disease. So promising are these inroads (which are based largely on stem cell research) that Molly envisions a time when the regrowth of joints will be possible to replace diseased or injured ones, and a day when tissue will be generated to repair such areas as defective cardiac muscles.

Why She’s Important:  Molly received international recognition in 2005 when she — working with colleagues from Imperial College London, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Vanderbilt University — demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to grow healthy new bone reliably in one part of the body and use it to repair damaged bone at a different body location. The study, based upon research with rabbits, demonstrated that predictable volumes of bone can be grown on demand ‘by persuading the body to do what it already knows how to do.”  If Molly’s research results are proven effective in human studies, it could become possible to grow new bone for all types of repairs, instead of repairing bone material through surgical means. And for people with serious bone disease, it may even be possible to grow replacement bone at an early stage and freeze it so it can be used when it is needed, Molly and her team report.

Current Activities: At Imperial College London, Molly serves as professor of Biomedical Materials and Regenerative Medicine, and as research director for Biomedical Material Sciences at the college’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering. Today her research group is internationally know for its work in regenerative medicine (regen med), most notably for pioneering new techniques to engineer large quantities of mature bone, and more recently, cardiac tissue for transplantation. Equally significant, Molly (who is also chief science officer of RepRegen — her own biomedical company in London) is involved with designing bioactive materials that one day could be applied to a wide range of uses, including the early detection of disease.

 Other Achievements: Molly and her research have been profiled in such top publications as The Lancet (Britain’s prestigious science journal), and fashion magazine Vogue, which in 2011 named her as one of its “Wonder Women.” In addition, she was the first female to be awarded Britain’s noted Royal Pharmaceutical Society Conference Science Medal — the first time in the society’s 40-year history that this has occurred.

Education:  Molly received her undergraduate degree from Bath University (Britain) in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and her Ph.D. in Biophysical Investigations from the University of Nottingham (Britain).  Her post-doctoral training followed at the  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In Her Own Words: Commenting on the innovations developed by her multi-disciplinary research team, she says:  “What I would really like is that a lot of our innovations don’t remain just in the Western world, that they actually can be really applied much more in global health type situations because there’s a massive need for new technologies.”

For more exciting role models in science and engineering, visit the USA Science & Engineering Festival www.usasciencefestival.org

Creator of the first videophone ( a forerunner of such video telecommunication applications as Skype, Webcam and videoconferencing) and discoverer of the physical law known as the “Zara Effect.”

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Back in the 1950′s, the videophone — a telephone device that allows you to see the individual you are speaking with in real (or near-real) time — was a mere dream of science fiction.  But physicist and aeronautical engineer Gregorio Zara, one of the Philippines’ most celebrated inventors, began to change all that in 1955 when he introduced the first videophone. Gregorio, the creator of other early models of futuristic technology ( including a solar battery, a talking robot, and an airplane engine powered by biofuel), was born in 1902  in Lipa City, Batangas, a province in the Philippines. After graduating as valedictorian of his high school class, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines, and later went on the U.S. and France to complete his training in engineering and physics.  Already he was formulating innovative ideas of the future that would hallmark his career.

Why He’s Important: Gregorio is perhaps best known as the inventor of the videophone, which he patented in 1955 as a “photo phone signal separator network.”  Five years after he invented the instrument, AT&T began work on commercial application of a video phone (or “picturephone”). The company introduced the video phone to the public in 1964 at the New York World’s Fair, but the device did not become a viable marketable item until about 30 years later when it was integrated with the internet as the digital revolution took off.  Video phones are especially popular today with the hearing impaired, in addition to being rooted in such familiar technologies as cell phones, telemedicine, Skype, distant learning and videoconferencing.

Other Achievements:  In 1930, Gregorio discovered the physical law of electrical kinetic resistance (called the Zara Effect). “Kinetic electrical resistance is the resistance to the passage of electric current when contacts are in motion. Permanent electrical resistance manifests itself when contacts are at rest,” according to the online library Scribd.com in describing the Zara Effect.  His other noted achievements include:   inventing the earth induction compass (an instrument that is still used today in the aeronautical industry, specifically by pilots); contributing to the design of a robot called  Marex X-10 that walked, talked and responded to commands; developing an airplane engine powered by alcohol, and introducing a solar-powered battery, and solar water heater and stove.

Education: Gregorio earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1926 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), his Master’s of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Michigan (graduating summa cum laude), and his Ph.D. in Physics from the Sorbonne University in Paris (again, graduating summa cum laude, or “Tres Honorable” — the first Filipino given that honor from the university). In addition to writing books on science and physics, he taught aeronautics at the American Far Eastern School of Aviation, and at Far Eastern University. He also served as vice president of FEATI University in Manila from 1946 through 1962. At the year of his death in 1978 he was named the Philippines’ National Scientist.

Discover other exciting role models in science and engineering at the USA Science & Engineering Festival by visiting www.usasciencefestival.org

He was the first to theorize that the deadly yellow fever virus was transmitted through the bite of one species of mosquito, however it would take years before his theory would be deemed correct.

We know today that yellow fever — which is most common in Latin America and tropical areas of Africa –  is a viral infection spread to humans by infected mosquitoes. Yellow fever (the name “yellow” refers to the jaundice that affects some patients) is thought to have originated in Africa and was likely brought to the Americas on ships during the slave trade, researchers believe.  But the cause of this disease was virtually  a mystery until Cuban physician Carlos Juan Finlay, through painstaking research, determined its exact origin, thereby saving countless lives worldwide, especially in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and the southern U.S.

Carlos was born Juan Carlos Finlay in Puerto Principe (now Camagüey), Cuba, in 1833. His father, Scottish physician Edward Finlay, an ophthalmologist (eye treatment specialist), had moved to Cuba two years earlier with his French wife, Eliza de Barrés. Shortly after arriving in Cuba, they formally changed their names to Isabel and Eduardo to show how much they loved their new country. In 1847, at the age of 13, Juan was sent to Europe to begin his primary studies. When he returned to Cuba, he legally changed his name to Carlos Juan Finlay, as a way to further embrace his Cuban identity. After earning his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1855, he returned to Cuba and opened a medical practice.  It was then, in between his practice, that he began investigating the yellow fever disease, which had caused thousands of deaths in Cuba, and would later in the region even severely cripple work on the construction of the Panama Canal.

Why He’s Important:  Carlos was the first to scientifically prove that the mosquito species Aedes Aegypti ( commonly known today as the “yellow fever mosquito“) was the transmitter of yellow fever. In addition, he conceived ways to prevent the spread of yellow fever — methods which have since evolved into effective procedures to monitor such venues as communities, neighborhoods, airports, ship ports and other places that might constitute a risk in spreading the disease. But Carlos’ path to having his theory about the disease accepted by the international medical community was not an easy one. He spoke at medical conferences in Havana and Washington, D.C. as early as 1871, but his hypothesis regarding the cause of yellow fever was met with silence. In 1900, during the first U.S. occupation of Cuba, a U.S. medical commission led by the noted military physician Walter Reed went to Havana to study the disease. At first the U.S. scientists in the commission didn’t pursue Dr. Finlay’s “mosquito” theories since they suspected that it was environmental “filth” that spread the yellow fever virus. When all their experiments failed, they began to look over Carlos’ 19 years of research. Eventually  this led them to conclude that Carlos had been right all along.

Other Achievements: Carlos, a humane man who often took on patients who could not afford medical care, later went on to become the chief health officer of Cuba from 1902 to 1909. Although it has been said by some that Dr. Walter Reed  received much of the credit for “beating” yellow fever, Reed, in an address delivered in Baltimore in April 1901, said: “…to Dr. Carlos J. Finlay must be given, however, full credit for the theory of the propagation of Yellow Fever by the mosquito.”  In addition, Carlos was nominated more than once for the Nobel Prize for his contributions to determining the cause of yellow fever, but never received the award.  He was awarded the prestigious National Order of the Legion of Honour of France in 1908, and the UNESCO Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology is named in his honor. In addition, a prominent monument known as El Obelisco (The Obelisk) stands in his honor in the city of Havana, Cuba.

He died at the age of 82 in 1915 in Havana.

Discover other exciting role models in science and engineering at the USA Science & Engineering Festival by visiting www.usasciencefestival.org

The daughter of poet Lord Byron, her key collaborations in the 1880′s with British inventor Charles Babbage led to the earliest computer; she is considered the first computer programmer.

Born Augusta Ada Byron in London in 1815,  Ada Byron (who would also later be known as the Countess of Lovelace) was the daughter of a brief marriage between the famous Romantic Age poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabelle Milbanke. Ada’s mother (known as Lady Byron) separated from Lord Byron just a month after Ada was born. Four months later, her poet father left England.  Ada actually never met Lord Byron (who died in Greece in 1823); she was raised by her mother.  Wishing Ada to be totally unlike her poetic, eccentric father, Lady Byron (despite realizing that females were not encouraged to pursue intellectual pursuits during that day) saw to it that Ada received the best tutoring in mathematics — a discipline that Lady Byron thought would counter “dangerous” poetic tendencies. This approach seemed effective: As early as 1828,  Ada, using mathematical principles, produced the design for a flying machine.  In fact, as she would soon discover, It was mathematics that gave her life wings.

However, Ada (who also enjoyed music, art and languages) was often ill, dating from her early childhood, but this did not stop her keen pursuit of mathematics and science.  A turning point in her life occurred in 1833 when at the age of 17, she met Cambridge mathematics professor Charles Babbage.  Soon after, their lifelong friendship and collaboration began. Babbage was then perfecting his invention of the “Difference Engine”, an elaborate calculating machine that operated by the method of finite differences.  This fascinated Ada and she and Baggage  began a voluminous correspondence on the topics of mathematics, logic, and  other topics.

Why She’s Important: It was Ada’s collaboration with Babbage on his later calculating machine called the “Analytical Engine” for which she would become famous. In 1834, while Babbage was still working on his Difference Engine machine, he began making plans for the Analytical Engine — a machine capable of performing simple mathematical calculations and  that could be programmed with punchcards.  His financial backers refused to support this second machine with the first  still unfinished, but Babbage later found support for his new project in 1842 with Italian mathematician Louis Menebrea, who published a memoir in French on the subject of the Analytical Engine. Babbage enlisted Ada (who was fluent in French) as translator for the memoir, and during a nine-month period from 1842-43, she worked feverishly on the article and on a set of her own notations on this invention that she attached to her translations.  Because of her understanding of mathematical principles and her insight into what Babbage was trying to accomplish through his machine, as well as its future potential, she was able to articulate the promise of Babbage’s invention better than he could. (This was critical to Babbage in gaining scientific and public support for his invention.)  She rightly saw the machine as what we would today call a general-purpose computer.

Other Achievements: Through her assistance, Babbage’s Analytical Engine machine is considered the earliest precursors of the modern computer.  In addition to her aforementioned contributions to the project, Ada also conceptualized the machine’s method for calculating a sequence of Bernoulli numbers (a special sequence of rational numbers) which is considered the world’s first computer program. As a result, she has been called the first computer programmer.  The written accounts of her works on the Analytical Engine were lost for nearly a century, but when they were recovered and reviewed and reviewed, the U.S. Defense Department in 1981 honored her by naming its new standardized international computer language “Ada.”  In addition, her image can also be seen on the Microsoft product authenticity hologram stickers, and the British Computer Society annually awards a medal in her name.

In Her Own Words:  Commenting on the potential she foresaw for the Analytical Engine, Ada is quoted as saying:  “The Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns, just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves…The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform.”  Ada would go on to marry William King and when he inherited a noble title in 1838, they became the Earl and Countess of Lovelace. They had three children. Ada died of uterine cancer in 1852, at the age of 37. She is buried beside Lord Byron (the father she never knew) in Nottinghamshire, England.

For more exciting role models in science and engineering, visit the USA Science & Engineering Festival www.usasciencefestival.org

(Send us your opinion today: Think of the various ways you can combine your hobbies and other interests into a  possible career in science! Stephanie merged her love of chemistry with her penchant for textiles and fabrics — resulting in a life-saving invention!  Tell us what you think about that!)

The next time you ride in a car, cross a suspension bridge, or wear a safety helmet or see a bullet-proof vest, think of chemist Stephanie Kwolek.  Her scientific achievements are perfect examples of how chemistry plays a vital role each day in keeping us safe –even saving lives!

Why She’s Important: Working as a young scientist for the textile fibers lab at the DuPont Company in the 1960s, Stephanie — one of the country’s first women research chemists –  invented an amazing synthetic material named Kevlar®. This fabric, derived from her research of long molecule chains (known as polymers) and made from aramid fibers, was found to be exceptionally light and five times stronger than steel, plus resistant to wear, corrosion and flames.

Other Achievements:  Because of the remarkable qualities of Kevlar®, Stephanie’s invention is best known today as the material from which bullet-proof vests are firefighter suits are made –  a use which alone has led to it saving thousands of lives. (For instance, a vest made out of seven layers of aramid fibers weighs 2.5 pounds, but it can deflect a knife blade and stop a .38-caliber bullet shot from 10 feet away.)  Kevlar® is also used for such products as: spacecraft and airplane components, coats and dress shirts, military and safety helmets, suspension bridge cables, radial tires and brake pads, racing sails, hiking and camping gear, fiber optics and cut-resistant gloves.

Education:  Degree in Chemistry from Margaret Morrison Carnegie College of Carnegie Mellon University in 1946. (The college was later merged entirely with Carnegie Mellon University).

 In Her Own Words:  Still amazed at how she discovered the fabric Kevlar®, Stephanie says: “I knew the direction in which to go, but I will tell you this: I never expected to get the properties I did the first time I spun it.” The discovery was “a case of serendipity,” she notes.

For more exciting stories on role models in science and engineering, visit the USA Science & Engineering website http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

We crave meat.  To satisfy our hunger Canadian feedlots ready some three and a half million cattle for slaughter every year.  And those cattle produce more than meat.  A single steer can crank out up to 30 kg of manure and urine every day, and some feedlots house over 40,000 animals!  That means more than a thousand tons of pee and poo have to be dealt with in some fashion every day!  Obviously, all that waste creates a massive odour problem caused by a huge array of smelly compounds that are released as a result of bacterial action on manure.  Most of these compounds have been identified, with indole, skatole and dimethyl sulphide, also present in human excreta, having been found to be particularly noxious.

Any effective odour control process has to destroy these compounds one way or another.  “Oxidation” as the term implies, requires reaction with oxygen, the simplest example of which is the process we know as combustion.  Just think of how natural gas, basically methane, combines with oxygen as it burns to yield carbon dioxide and water.  Other organic compounds, such as the variety of aldehydes, ketones, acids, esters and amines released from manure can also “burn,” but of course setting fire to feedlots is not a solution.  There are, however, “oxidizing agents” that have the ability to transfer oxygen to a variety of other compounds in what can be called a “cold” combustion process.  Potassium permanganate is one of these, and a solution can be easily sprayed on the ground to control the odour of manure.  Spraying with a 1% solution at the rate of about 8 kilograms of permanganate per acre three times a year is very effective at reducing the odours from cattle feedlot operations.  If animals are raised in an enclosed environment, ozone, a very strong oxidizing agent can be used to reduce odours.  In such feedlots air can also be collected and passed through beds of activated carbon that adsorb the smelly components, but this requires periodic replacement of the carbon which has a relatively short adsorbent life, making the process expensive

Methods of altering feed in order to reduce odours have also been investigated.  Humic acid is the black spongy matter present in soils that is a mix of compounds formed when dead plant matter undergoes microbiological degradation.  When incorporated into animal feed, it can lead to substantial reduction in the odour of manure.

Of course cattle feedlots are not the only place where odour problems are encountered.  Dairy, poultry, hog and sheep farms also battle the problem.  And it’s a big problem.  The total number of animals raised to meet human demands is stunning.  At a given time Canadian farms house some 12 million cattle, 12 million hogs, a million sheep and close to a hundred million chickens.  Just imagine the total amount of smelly compounds produced by all that manure.  But smell is not the only issue.  High odorant concentrations can kill animals and the effects of long term exposure of sub-lethal amounts are unknown.  Then there is the problem of workers being affected by gases and particulate matter released from manure.  Hydrogen sulphide, the classic odour of rotten eggs, is one of the components of manure smell and is highly toxic.  A number of farm workers have died while attempting to clean manure pits after being overcome by hydrogen sulphide.  There is also the problem of developing a lung disease known as “allergic alveolitis” after long term exposure to particulate matter containing a variety of antigens (compounds capable of causing allergies), particularly in chicken droppings.  Even aside from health issues, the revolting smells released by animal raising operations can be a nuisance to anyone living downwind.

Smells are also a major problem in animal processing and rendering operations.  Fish meal processing produces trimethylamine and putrescine, both with terrifying smells.  Rendering of beef offal yields many odourous compounds and processing of feathers generates the likes of acrolein, acetaldehyde, methyl mercaptan, diethylamine, n-propylamine, ammonia and hydrogen sulphide.  Many of these can be eliminated by circulating the air inside the facility through “chemical scrubber” solutions.  A solution of lime water can be used to remove ammonia, hydrogen sulphide can be removed by potassium permanganate, aldehyde smells can be removed using a sodium bisulphite solution, sodium carbonate can neutralize acids and calcium hypochlorite is a powerful oxidizing agent.

Environmental issues also crop up.  Ammonia released from animal excreta can be absorbed by nearby bodies of water where it can stimulate the growth of algae which in turn uses up the dissolved oxygen content of the water depriving fish of oxygen.  Basically, animal production facilities are a major source of air pollution as well as of water pollution from feedlot run-off.

And then there is the problem of methane production.  Ruminant animals, such as cattle, sheep, buffalo, and goats have a digestive system that can convert otherwise unusable plant materials into nutritious food and fiber.  But this same helpful digestive system also produces methane, a gas that has no smell but is a potent “greenhouse” gas that plays a role in global warming.  Livestock production systems can also emit other greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide.  Globally, ruminant livestock produce about 80 million metric tons of methane annually, accounting for about 28% of global methane emissions from human-related activities.  An adult cow may be a very small source by itself, emitting only 80-110 kgs of methane a year, but with about 1.2 billion large ruminants in the world, they constitute one of the largest methane sources.

There is yet another issue.  The raising of animals requires huge amounts of water.  It’s not only the water they drink, it’s all the water used to grow the crops they eat.  So, there’s no question about it, raising animals is not an environmentally friendly process, and is not an efficient use of crops or water.  So why do we do it?  I think the simple answer is that most of us like the way they taste.  And when environmental issues raise a stink, we just hold our noses.

(Send Us Your Comment: Dan Lipinski, one of only a few engineers in Congress, is responsible for bringing nanotech advocacy to the House!  What do you think of the role he’s playing?)

Born in Chicago into a political family, Congressman Dan Lipinski (who represents the 3rd District of Illinois) is the son of former U.S. Congressman Bill Lipinski.  Dan replaced his father in Congress in 2005.  Always fascinated with solving problems, Dan gravitated to engineering and science as a young student. “I remember in high school,” he says,  “my calculus and physics teachers — especially Father Thul and Father Fergus — helped mold my childhood fascination into an interest in engineering.” These teachers, together with informal field trips to places like the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, helped motivate him to pursue engineering in college.

Why He’s Important: As one of only a handful of engineers in Congress today, Dan wields considerable influence in helping his colleagues in the House and Senate to better understand and debate important issues in science and engineering that come before them– and to be an advocate for technological innovation in America, as well as for advances in science education. His key duties include: serving as a member of the House Committee for Science and Technology; as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, member of the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, and as co-chair of Congress’ Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus.

 Other Achievements: Dan is one of the leading supporters in Congress of STEM education and the critical role it plays in training the next generation of innovators and assuring America’s global competitiveness. In addition, as an engineer, he is particularly a staunch advocate for the emerging field of nanotechnology (a branch of engineering that designs and creates materials and tools at the atomic and molecular levels).  Nanotechnology — which he terms “the next industrial revolution” — holds promise in many industries including the quest for more powerful computers and communications devices as well as for medical-science applications.  When not advancing such issues in the halls of Congress, Dan speaks often on these matters to community groups, schools and industry.

Education:  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University, a Master’s degree in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Duke University.  Before joining Congress, Dan was a professor at the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Tennessee.

 In His Own Words:  “We are seeing America’s competitive edge erode. It is clear that America needs to act now if we want to continue to lead the world in basic research, invent the next generation of products, and reinvent our manufacturing base. But while government has an important role to play, I understand that economic success comes primarily through the private sector, through businesses like [start ups].”

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