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I am the only girl in my Mechanical Engineering batch. I never thought it would matter but, when I got good grades, some of my classmates would say it was because I am a girl. When I fail at something, the automatic assumption was that girls would not make good engineers. Things have improved from this start. I have made some friends but there is still a need for change.

Despite India being one of the few nations in the world to have the greatest number of scientists and engineers, women continue to be underrepresented. Social stigma, prejudice and societal norms affect educational choices and career paths and contribute to the gender imbalance in STEM disciplines. But recent movements encouraging women to pursue careers in Science and Technology hold out hope for increased representation and diversity in the future.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering is a wonderful field to pursue. The suggestion to do Mechanical Engineering came from my parents. I knew nothing about it and had no idea how I would build myself a career in it. Today, I believe it was the best decision I have made so far. Moreover, Mechanical Engineering, equips you with skills like critical thinking and collaboration. You can combine what you learn here with anything: from Electronics and Computer Science to even Art and more. Another reason to opt mechanical engineering was that it opened up opportunities in various sectors like Automotive, Supply Chain, Industrial Engineering, Aerospace, among others. This allows me to explore my interests and opens up various career opportunities.

Post COVID, I got an opportunity to present my paper at the Global Space Exploration Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia, where I met leaders from the Aerospace industry, astronauts of different nationalities and connected with space scientists, space lawyers, engineers and even artists and learned that there are multiple ways to enter this space. In the summer of 2022, I interned in Canada on developing a standard for testing of runway deicer projects.

Earlier this year, I participated in the MechAura 2022 competition by Collins Aerospace and was placed 12th among over 1000 applicants. The first round, held online, tested our technical abilities in Mechanical Engineering and Logical Reasoning. In the second, we were given a design challenge to test our conceptual understanding and how we applied it. In this round, I designed an armrest to solve the shared armrest issues in aircrafts. The final round was held in the Collins Aerospace office in Bengaluru and involved group discussions and interviews. I received a six-month internship offer and a Letter of Intent from the company. If my performance in the internship is satisfactory, I will be designated as a Graduate Engineer Trainee.

I certainly hope that we have more students studying Mechanical Engineering and more women not just studying but even pursuing it as an active career choice. The lack of gender diversity in these fields can lead to a narrow perspective and a lack of innovation. By encouraging and supporting girls to pursue careers in aerospace engineering and other STEM fields, we can increase the diversity of ideas, perspectives, and experiences, leading to better innovation and progress in these industries. Additionally, providing opportunities for girls in STEM can help to break down gender stereotypes and empower young women to pursue their passions and potential in all areas of their lives.

The writer is a fourth-year student of mechanical engineering at GITAM Deemed-to-be University, Vishakhapatnam

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Yukta Sharma on being placed 12th in Mechanical Engineering in India at MechAura 2022-23 - The Hindu

Frank Anteri works as a structural engineer specializing in the development of skyscrapers. In the following article, Frank Anteri discusses the evolution of these magnificent buildings, and how they have emerged as the embodiment of human ingenuity, engineering prowess, and artistic vision.

While skyscrapers have seemed to defy the laws of gravity since the 1800s, the powerful tug of the Earths core clearly has not simply disappeared. So how do these tall towers keep from toppling?

Skyscrapers first appeared during the 1800s when mass iron and steel production made it possible to support the upward growth of buildings without requiring impractically thick walls or an unreasonably wide base. Using concrete to reinforce the load-bearing capacity of the base level and the invention of the elevator were also crucial developments.

Frank Anteri explains how human ingenuity evolved from surviving in caves to building homes high in the sky.

During the 1800s, people began flocking to cities in larger numbers than ever before. This influx placed a significant strain on the square footage of city streets and begged the difficult question of how to accommodate the growing population. As a matter of space-saving practicality, engineers began to look skyward.

Frank Anteri says that, while skyscrapers only first appeared in the nineteenth century, evidence that humans have understood the physical and mathematical principles required to create high-rising buildings dates as far back as the ancient Egyptian pyramids and Mayan temples.

When it came to the challenge of increasing a buildings height while limiting its ground-level breadth, structural engineers rose to the occasion, and have continued rising ever since. What enabled them to carry out these feats was the development of mass-produced iron and steel, which provided the strength to allow for a much higher ratio of vertical to horizontal weight-bearing.

In addition to these metals, structural engineers also began using reinforced concrete, which combines the malleability of steel with the stability of concrete to ensure that these buildings have foundations sturdy enough to support their own weight, and then some.

Frank Anteri says that being equipped with these new materials, nineteenth-century engineers were able to avoid relying on the wide lateral frameworks used by the early Egyptians and Mayans, instead channeling the stabilizing weight farther downward over a narrower surface area.

The invention of the elevator was a pivotal step in the development of the skyscraper for multiple reasons. Given the difficulty of moving large or heavy objects up several flights of stairs, elevators offered a practical means of internal transportation. Additionally, elevator shafts began to play an important structural role as a weight-bearing backbone within the core of a building.

Frank Anteri says that since skyscrapers first appeared, engineering and technological advancements have made it increasingly possible to consider not only matters of practical stability, but also of a buildings aesthetic appeal. Throughout the 1900s, skyscrapers became far more stylized and ornate than the basic rectangular columns created just decades before.

To decrease the density of the buildings central core and add exterior designs, many skyscrapers now have an additional weight-bearing exoskeleton. By spreading the stabilizing weight of the structure across a broader surface, exoskeletons have become another reflection of how structural engineering combines form and function in architecture.

Although style is now an influential consideration in the design of a skyscraper, ensuring a floorplans safety and practicality remain each structural engineers primary concern.

During the planning process, engineers must account for a number of different factors, including the fixed weight of the building material, the variable weight of objects and occupants inside the building, and the potential weight of snow and ice during the winter months in certain climates.

In addition to balancing various weights, structural engineers must also consider environmental factors such as whether or not the soil quality will permit building directly on top of the land, or if a deeper and more sturdy foundation must first be installed. Frank Anteri explains that as building materials respond differently to changing temperatures, climate type and seasonal shifts must also be accounted for.

If a building site is located in a region prone to specific natural disasters like earthquakes, fires, or high wind conditions, certain lateral reinforcements must be installed to help minimize any structural movements or potential damage caused by such forces.

Frank Anteri explains that even beyond the nature-dependent considerations involved in the design process, structural engineers also have to consider the cost of necessary materials. Given their height and need for strong, high-quality metals in mass quantities, the price of these projects can escalate rather quickly.

In response to such issues, engineers may choose to use a less-conventional structural arrangement. One such example is a diagrid system, which uses less steel than a traditional frame by arranging beams in a diagonal pattern.

As one of the most decisive factors in a skyscrapers creation, the amount of funding available often has a more significant impact on a buildings height classification than the physics involved in its construction. In fact, many engineers believe that when it comes to skyscraper height, theres still plenty of room to grow.

Frank Anteri notes that skyscrapers were born of the need to accommodate a growing city population, developments in the production capacity of iron and steel, techniques of concrete reinforcement, and the strategic weight-shifting calculations of structural engineers. With further practical developments, such as the elevator, more attention could be directed toward style, resulting in the wide variety of skyscrapers across the world today.

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Frank Anteri Discusses the Evolution of Skyscrapers and Structural ... - Downbeach.com

The North Korean nation-state threat actor known as Kimsuky has been linked to a social engineering campaign targeting experts in North Korean affairs with the goal of stealing Google credentials and delivering reconnaissance malware.

"Further, Kimsuky's objective extends to the theft of subscription credentials from NK News," cybersecurity firm SentinelOne said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

"To achieve this, the group distributes emails that lure targeted individuals to log in on the malicious website nknews[.]pro, which masquerades as the authentic NK News site. The login form that is presented to the target is designed to capture entered credentials."

NK News, established in 2011, is an American subscription-based news website that provides stories and analysis about North Korea.

The disclosure comes days after U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies issued an alert warning of Kimsuky's use of social engineering tactics to strike think tanks, academia, and news media sectors. Last week, the threat group was sanctioned by South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Active since at least 2012, Kimsuky is known for its spear-phishing tactics and its attempts to establish trust and rapport with intended targets prior to delivering malware, a reconnaissance tool called ReconShark.

The ultimate goal of the campaigns is to gather strategic intelligence, geopolitical insights, and access sensitive information that are of value to North Korea.

"Their approach highlights the group's commitment to creating a sense of rapport with the individuals they target, potentially increasing the success rate of their subsequent malicious activities," security researcher Aleksandar Milenkoski said.

The findings also follow new revelations from the South Korean government that more than 130 North Korean watchers have been singled out as part of a phishing campaign orchestrated by the government-backed hacking group.

What's more, with North Korea earning a significant chunk of its foreign-currency income from cyber attacks and cryptocurrency heists, threat actors operating on behalf of the regime's interests have been observed spoofing financial institutions and venture capital firms in Japan, the U.S., and Vietnam.

Cybersecurity company Recorded Future connected the activity to a group tracked as TAG-71, a subgroup of Lazarus which is also known as APT38, BlueNoroff, Nickel Gladstone, Sapphire Sleet, Stardust Chollima, and TA444.

The adversarial collective has an established track record of mounting financially motivated intrusion campaigns targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, commercial banks, and e-commerce payment systems across the world to illegally extract funds for the sanctions-hit country.

"The compromise of financial and investment firms and their customers may expose sensitive or confidential information, which may result in legal or regulatory action, jeopardize pending business negotiations or agreements, or expose information damaging to a company's strategic investment portfolio," the company noted.

The chain of evidence so far suggests that Lazarus Group's motives are both espionage and financially driven, what with the threat actor blamed for the recent Atomic Wallet hack that led to the theft of crypto assets worth $35 million, making it the latest in a long list of crypto companies to be stung by hacks over the past few years.

"The laundering of the stolen crypto assets follows a series of steps that exactly match those employed to launder the proceeds of past hacks perpetrated by Lazarus Group," the blockchain analytics company said.

"The stolen assets are being laundered using specific services, including the Sinbad mixer, which have also been used to launder the proceeds of past hacks perpetrated by the Lazarus Group."

The rest is here:

Kimsuky Targets Think Tanks and News Media with Social Engineering Attacks - The Hacker News