By the Numbers

Staff -- Control Engineering, 4/1/2006

32.1739 ft/sec² is g, the acceleration produced by Earth's gravity. By international agreement, the value for 1 gravitational unit is 9.80665 m/s² = 386.087 in/sec² = 32.1739 ft/sec². www.vibrationandshock.com/glossary.htm

3 students (from Singapore Polytechnic, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), and Lee College, Baytown, TX) received $1,000 scholarships as 2006 recipients of the James O. Gray-Fieldbus Foundation Educational Scholarship. Student experiences include use of fieldbus technology in pilot plant applications; in Bangladesh's natural gas transmission, distribution, and utility industries; and in organizing an ISA Student Section. Fieldbus Foundation www.fieldbus.org

1,300 Control Engineering readers participated in this year's customer satisfaction survey, including 644 respondents for PLCs, 324 for sensors and/or transmitters, 257 for operator interface hardware and software, and 236 for I/O products and systems. See article this issue. www.controleng.com

4 fundamental principles in the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) Code of Ethics say engineers should "uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment; being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients; striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines." www.asce.org/inside/codeofethics.cfm

198 exhibitors plan to showcase new products in assembly systems and equipment, robotics, design, hydraulics and pneumatics, computer technology, automatic identification, materials handling, control systems, environmental services, manufacturing IT, plant engineering, engineering design for manufacturing May 16 and 17 at AM Expo, in Greenville, SC. More than 35 conference sessions, May 15-17, cover topics including what's next in advanced manufacturing, RFID, HMI, PLCs, and I/O implementations. www.am-expo.com

5.5 m is the outside diameter of NASA's next-generation spacecraft. Design is expected to shorten development time, reduce reentry loads, increase landing stability, and permit safer travel for up to six crewmembers to Mars, four during lunar missions starting in 2018. www.nasa.gov/pdf/133820main_ESAS_Facts.pdf

57,600 photovoltaic panels from Sharp Electronics are part of the 10 MW Bavaria Solarpark, called the world's largest solar power system, which completed its first year of operation. PowerLight PowerTracker system follows the sun in single-axis motion, producing more electricity than conventional fixed systems. It also contains Siemens AG provided electrical construction and equipment, such as inverters. PowerLight Corp. www.powerlight.com

81% of IT technicians view wireless as an overlay to the cabling infrastructure, not as a replacement for cabling. Systimax Solutions www.systimax.com

$135,000 is what 53 students have received collectively since 2001 from the ISA Foundation, which also sponsors the annual ISA International Student Games, this year held in conjunction with ISA EXPO 2006 in Houston, TX, Oct. 17-19. www.isa.org/isafoundation