Engineering Library Blog

When: February 2nd, 2010 at 4:30 pm (Open to the public)

Where: Lewis Library, Room 138

Book: "Félix Candela : engineer, builder, structural artist"

Authors: Engineering Professors Maria Garlock and David Billington

Book: The widely acclaimed book “Felix Candela: Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist” is the subject of the next Lewis Science Library book talk. It will be presented by its Princeton authors, Maria Garlock and David Billington, who refer to Candela’s work as “structural art” that adheres to three important tenets: “the first is the true ethos of engineering, namely the drive to conserve natural resources; the second is the ethic of engineering, to resist wasting money; and third, the aesthetic of engineering, to avoid the ugly”. For insight into the writing of the book, and the creation of the exhibition held here in October 2009, see the video "An Interview with Maria Moreyra Garlock" and read the related story in the Princeton Weekly Bulletin.

Candela is especially known for dramatic, innovative thin shell concrete roof structures built in Mexico in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  An exhibition of scale models of Candela’s masterworks is on display in the Friend Center atrium.

Princeton University Libraries have a one month trial subscription to Reaxys, "a web-based search and retrieval system for chemical compounds, bibliographic data and chemical reactions." (About Reaxys)

Reaxys provides information from the essential chemistry databases Beilstein (organic) and Gmelin (inorganic) as well as chemical patent information. Gmelin and Beilstein are currently available through the CrossFire software offered on computers in the Engineering and Lewis Library.

The trial ends on February 20th, 2010. Access is through IP authentication to those in the Princeton University network. To begin searching visit http:www.reaxys.com/

Training documents, videos, powerpoint slides, and a links to webinar registration is available at http://www.info.reaxys.com/training-center

If you have any questions or comments about this trial, please let us know.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers or IEEE has just launched a website dedicated to information about Smart Grid technology, or "the next-generation, managed electrical power system that leverages increased use of communications and information technology in the generation, delivery and consumption of electrical energy."

IEEE hopes the website will be "an integrated gateway to Smart Grid intelligence, education and news from IEEE and other expert sources... designed for manufacturers, policymakers, educators, academics, governments, engineers, computer scientists, researchers and other stakeholders in the power and energy, information technology (IT), and communications industries." (Press Release)

To learn more, visit IEEE Smart Grid at  http://smartgrid.ieee.org/

 or watch this short video on Smart Grid technology.

Princeton University Libraries now have online access to the Daily Labor Report from 1996. This online subscription from the Bureau of National Affairs provides news coverage of key employment-related developments plus labor legislation, court decisions, regulatory actions, and administrative rulings. The online content offers a variety of ways to discover information in the reports including advanced searching, hot topics, key features, and indexes. For content before 1996, microfiche and print copies are available in Firestone Library http://tinyurl.com/y85e4r3

For more information or to start searching visit: http://news.bna.com/dlln/

According to a January 6th, 2010 article in the Daily Princetonian, "U. offers faster, more reliable wireless service," Princeton University's Office of Information Technology recently improved the wireless network by "...[blocking] IPv6 packets at each wireless access point on campus."

So what is IPv6?

A keyword search for "IPv6" in the Library Catalog will actually lead to some quick answers that don't require heading in to the library.

Catalog IPv6 search results.

In particular, there are two e-books linked from the catalog that offer a history and brief explanation of IPv6.

IPv6 Essentials by Sylvia Hagen

and

To lead or to follow : the next generation Internet and the transition to IPv6 : hearing before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives

Looking for more indepth and technical information on IPv6 implementation or transition?

Try a keyword search in either IEEE Xplore (from the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers) for IPv6 or in the ACM Portal (from the Association for Computing Machinery).

Get library help during reading period!

Research Clinics in the Engineering Library will continue during reading period. Come by the Engineering Library for help with your thesis, paper, or any library research. The Engineering Librarians are here to help!

When: Wednesdays 3:30-5:30pm

Where: Engineering Library, Room 105

All are welcome and no appointment is necessary!

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has a developed a new iPhone and iPod touch application called iResearch. You can use iResearch to browse through AIP journals from anywhere.

Princeton and PPPL employees can also set up an account to download articles and read them off-line using the iPhone wireless network or a non-Princeton wi-fi connection. To do this users must first create a free AIP user account and password using a computer accessing the internet from within the Princeton (or PPPL) network.

To save an article to be viewed later (can be viewed off-line), navigate to the article and touch the Save Locally button in the lower right hand corner of the screen. To access articles later, from the iResearch home page, touch the My Articles button.

iResearch is free and is available in the iTunes store. For more information visit: http://scitation.aip.org/iphone

December 9, 2009 -- Energy efficiency technologies that exist today or that are likely to be developed in the near future could save considerable money as well as energy, says a new report from the National Research Council. Fully adopting these technologies could lower projected U.S. energy use 17 percent to 20 percent by 2020, and 25 percent to 31 percent by 2030.

• News Release
• Report in Brief 
• Full Report

Source: WhatsNew@NationalAcademies.org

Princeton University Libraries have a one month trial to MyiLibrary, an e-book library with content in 20 academic subject areas from hundreds of publishers. Browse by subject, publisher, or title and perform keyword searches. MyiLibrary allows printing or downloading of up to 10 pages in PDF format from e-books.

To start reading visit http://lib.myilibrary.com/ from Princeton University.

Princeton's current subscription includes content from the following agencies and will continue to be available after the trial has ended: IAEA, International Development Research Center, International Labour Organization, and the United Nations.

If you have any questions or comments on the trial or MyiLibrary please let us know.

Princeton University has a trial subscription to Springer Matrials, the new Landolt-Bornstein database. This database is a huge resource for physical and chemical data and inlcudes 165,000 substances and material systems, 3,000 properties, and 1,000,000 literature citations. The new interface inlcudes keyword and advanced searching, and the ability to browse by subject area, Landolt-Bornstein volume, or periodic table. The trial is available until January 29, 2010 at http://www.springermaterials.com.

Please have a look and let us know what you think.