Sandia Labs on Enron betting pools and flying diapers

Posted by: Stephen Baker on July 01

Sandia National Lab chief technology officer Richard Stulen just visited. A few highlights:

* Network analysts at Sandia studied the patterns of the e-mails in the last months of Enron Corp. They located a betting pool within the company. (Makes sense, considering that Enron’s entire business was based on gambling, both mathematical and legal.)

* Sandia researchers working with GM have designed a next-gen engine that could cut fuel consumption in half. It will take years before GM has those engines in its cars and trucks, though. He estimates that hydrogen engines are 15-20 years away, and adds: “We’d like someone to get aggressive with plug-in hybrid diesels.”

* Proctor & Gamble uses supercomputers to maximize diaper manufacturing. They have to simulate the racing lines of diapers, moving them ever faster while tweaking them to change the aerodynamics—and keep the diapers from taking flight.

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Reader Comments

matthewkahler

July 3, 2008 10:12 PM

The audience this is talking about is the consumers and drivers. The article is to both inform and persuade both on what the people have to expect in the furture. The writer is using outline form in this article to further the mini subjects. The tone is informative to let the consumers and the audience to know what to expect in the future.

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In Blogspotting Senior Writer Stephen Baker and Associate Editor Heather Green take a look at how cutting-edge technologies are changing business and society. Whether its blogs or wikis, data crunching or data targeting, technology’s advances are reshaping the world that we live in.

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