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Yoyo Despin for Spacecraft

March 21, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

You may have seen the yo-yo trick called "Around the World", but you probably didn’t know that spacecraft that actually do go around the world have their own yo-yo trick.

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March 21, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

The 100-Year Flood Is Not What You Think It Is

February 28, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

How do engineers combine statistical hydrology and societal risk tolerance (two of my favorite topics) to characterize flooding?

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February 28, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

Tuned Mass Dampers in Skyscrapers

February 14, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

In many of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, there’s a secret device protecting the building and the people inside from strong motion due to wind and earthquakes. Did you know you can tune a skyscraper just like a guitar?

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February 14, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

Arduino Garden Controller

January 20, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

Gardening in the modern age means making things more complicated and arduous, with electrons, bits, and bytes. Behold: the garduino.

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January 20, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

Groundwater Flow Model

January 20, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

I was commissioned to build this model in support of a presentation about geotechnical engineering. The goal is to illustrate the flow paths that groundwater takes under an obstruction (e.g. a sheet pile or cutoff wall).

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January 20, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

Particle Photon Weather Station

January 20, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

For me, discussing the weather is more than idle small talk. So when I got interested in web-enabled electronics (the Internet of Things), I knew immediately that my first project be related to the first thing I do when I log onto my computer at work each day: check the weather.

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January 20, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

International Space Station Orbit Tracker and Pointer

January 20, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

There’s a growing movement of people who believe that our space agencies are underfunded and that humanity isn’t paying enough attention to our present accomplishments and future plans in space exploration. Well, I know one way to direct attention to something: Point at it.

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January 20, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse

Arcade-Style Puzzle Box Mini Game

January 19, 2016 by Grady Hillhouse

I have this deep-seated desire to turn every knob and push every button and flip every switch that I see.

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January 19, 2016 /Grady Hillhouse
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