Engineering Communication

Course Overview: Developed leadership, technical writing, engineering ethics, and engineering communication skills

Dyson Sphere Infographic Poster [Image]. (2019).

Caplan, M. E. (2019, September 4). Stellar engines: Design considerations for Maximizing Acceleration [Image].

Technical Paper: Dyson Spheres

Abstract: A Dyson Sphere is a shell, ring, or swarm-like megastructure that envelopes the sun, extracting large proportions of electromagnetic radiation energy using reflective solar sails and energy-collecting satellites. Although different Dyson Sphere configurations have different perks and drawbacks, they all work to achieve the same goal: supplying humanity with nearly unlimited amounts of clean, readily available energy. Doing so will result in a better standard of living and rapidly increase the rate of technological development, leading to inconceivably powerful supercomputers and other large-scale technology such as mass drivers. Such drivers will use the sun’s mass as fuel and work in conjunction with the Dyson Sphere to propel our solar system to locations within and beyond the Milky Way, enabling the human race to become an intergalactic species. Before humanity can reap such benefits, a Dyson Sphere configuration must first be constructed. Using current technology, we will need to disassemble multiple planets, starting with Mercury, to provide enough raw material for the megastructure. Autonomous excavators and refiners will work in conjunction to synthesize the first reflective solar sails and solar collecting satellites. They will be positioned into orbit via electromagnetic launchers and conventional rocket propulsion methods to redirect energy back to Mercury. This will greatly speed up the building process, enabling us to add to the Dyson Sphere over time and increase our energy harvesting capabilities. Once finished extracting most of the usable energy from Mercury, we can further disassemble the inner and outer planets depending on our energy requirements.

Technical Paper
Technical Presentation
Non-technical Demonstration

Ethics Case Paper

Shortened Situation Overview: In a hypothetical situation, I am the owner of a reserves consulting firm that evaluates the value of various oil-related purchases and investments. Consulting is an industry in which confidentiality must be maintained at all times as a means to ethically serve clients. A violation will likely result in legal repercussions and the near-immediate closure of my company. A client with whom I have a good working relationship, Elena, recently asked me for an immediate update on the reserves for her firm named “Small Oil Company.” After further discourse, I discover that she is prepared to invest a substantial portion of her company’s value, $10 million in the form of assets, by taking a lease on a 25,000-acre plot of drilling land that is supposedly rich in oil. According to my expert knowledge, for the site to be profitable, it would need to produce at least 700 - 1,000 barrels of oil per day. Two days later, I was asked by a younger client, Large Independent Oil Company, about a technical question related to the same project as Elena. Due to the fact that this client has a 25% non-operating interest in the land adjacent to the land for up for lease, they obtain all of the data needed to determine the profitability of the well that Elena is interested in. After comparing the oil extraction rate with the initial investment price, I realized that the well was not as profitable as the rumor suggested. Considering that I now have all of the information needed to know that Elena’s investment will very likely fall flat while putting her business and livelihood in jeopardy, I am now in a vulnerable position to ethically serve her as a client. Read my Ethics Paper for an explanation of the course of action that I saw fit.

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