Cloud Hosting

A local man with cerebral palsy will receive the gift of going on family bike rides again just in time for his 27th birthday thanks to a group of University of Dayton engineering students who designed an electric bike with a trailer that can be easily transported and pulled by his family.

"We used to be a very active family, and Kain used to be very small," said Kain Hubler's mother, Erica Hubler, in a meeting with the first group of students working on the project. "And when he hit 14, he shot up to 6-2. We used to pull him. It's uncomfortable for him. It was too hard for us. We were missing out on that as a family. So if we go, he has to stay home. It's not inclusive. So he doesn't get to participate in family activities like he used to, because we don't have anything adaptive we can use for him."

Members of the group presented Kain's family with the trailer last month at the University of Dayton's Kettering Laboratories.

The students endeavored to create a design that incorporated Kain's wheelchair, rather than requiring Kain to transfer from his wheelchair to a bike, and at the same time, safely secured Kain and the wheelchair. From there, they designed an electric powering mechanism for the bike.

Twelve senior design students worked on the project for two years along with Kain's occupational therapist and family. A National Institutes of Health grant enabled the University of Dayton to partner with United Rehabilitation Services on the project. Kim Bigelow, a professor of mechanical engineering; Allison Kinney, an associate professor of mechanical engineering; and Becky Blust, director of the School of Engineering's Innovation Center, among others, mentored the students.

"I've learned a lot school can't teach you. I think this is a project we'll all look back on for the rest of our lives and it will be a big learning experience for all of us," said Jake Lucca, who graduated in May 2021.

Bigelow said she was struck by how well the students adapted to experiences outside of engineering, like working with Kain's family and occupational therapist to understand his needs and preferences, as well as the wrench thrown into the project by the pandemic.

However, Bigelow said, their reward of delivering Kain's family their bike will far exceed their hurdles.

"The students worked so much harder when they knew that's what's at stake," Bigelow said. "It's because they want to deliver on a promise to this family, and they know what that will mean to them.

"This is going to change someone's life the day we give it to them. They're going to know they do engineering that truly matters."

For interviews, contact Shawn Robinson, associate director of news and communications, at srobinson1@udayton.edu.

Read the original:

'Engineering that truly matters': Students give local man with cerebral palsy gift of family bike rides in time for 27th birthday - University of...

Millennium Dome (Photo by JR Harris on Unsplash)

"Automation is key," says Jaime Everard, Business Systems Manager at engineering consultancy Buro Happold. With 1,900 employees and 26 global locations, the 40-year-old company has delivered prestige projects such as the iconic Millenium Dome in London, the Atlanta Falcons Mercedes-Benz Stadium with its distinctive retractable roof, the Louvre Abu Dhabi and many others. Continued evolution of its IT systems is a key part of its ongoing growth. Everard says:

We don't want our engineers spending loads of time filling in data into the system. We'd like the system to be able to automate that as much as possible. Because ultimately, we prefer our people to be out there working with our customers.

I spoke to Everard in the run-up to this week's Experience4U virtual event, organized by Unit4, where he'll chat to Constellation Research analyst Holger Mueller about automation in professional services. Buro Happold has been a Unit4 customer since 2004 and our conversation touched on the various ways in which its use of the platform has expanded in recent years to streamline processes and reporting. One notable aspect of this is that the London-based firm has been able to pursue these innovations while still keeping its ERP instance on-prem, rather than having to upgrade to a version that runs in the cloud. Everard doesn't rule out going to the cloud in the future, but it's not a priority right now. He explains:

It's not that we're not going to adopt a Unit4 cloud solution going forwards. It's just getting the timing right for that. At the moment, we do have rack space in a data center, so we are able to sufficiently service all of our global people, in terms of getting access to the system. We've got a great internal infrastructure team that enables that. We use tools such as Citrix, etc, but obviously moving towards a more web-based architecture, which Unit4 provides.

We're almost providing our own cloud, because we just access our services through the data center, and we operate a global WAN to make sure that all of our offices are connected [to each other], and connected to our data center.

Instead of upgrading the back-end, the focus has been on adding new ways to access it. A big part of the automation story has been a move towards 'headless' ERP. This means accessing the back-end system via a conversational layer in Buro Happold's case, the Microsoft Teams messaging app rather than going directly to the ERP application (the 'head') to see data or use functions. This was made possible with Unit4's Wanda chatbot technology, which the firm became the first on-prem customer to start using. It allows users to get information or complete actions directly from the Teams message stream, while the AI technology behind Wanda takes care of communicating with the back-end system. Everard elaborates:

People engaging with the systems having to go around different systems to do different tasks is quite time-consuming, especially when you're an engineer out there on the customer side. The great thing that Teams gives us, and being able to use Wanda through Teams, is a commonality of interface. They didn't even know necessarily what ERP system they're connected to. All they know is, it's doing what they need it to do on a daily basis, whether that's entering your absence, whether it's approving a task, approving an invoice. It can all be done through a common interface, and we do so much now within Teams.

The team has automated a range of different tasks using Wanda across HR and finance tasks, even including setting up and filling in timesheets. Teams is also useful for tracking collaboration around documents in SharePoint. Actions are much less likely to get missed when Wanda sends an alert than when a user receives an email reminder. Everard explains:

If Wanda is prompting you and saying, you've got an invoice to approve, it comes up as what they call a card. You can see the information in Teams, and you just simply click approve, reject, or update later. [Unit4 has] also built in quite a clever web app, which takes you to a very simplified version of the Unit4 tool, so that you can see the invoice, the receipt, all of those things, within there. Again, that's all linked up through Wanda and Teams.

All of these workflows have been built by Everard's team using Unit4's visual workflow builder, making sure that each workflow conforms to the company's internal authorization matrix. The visualization means that users can also track the status of outstanding actions in the workflow at any given time. He explains:

You build it as a diagram, and then you apply the rules into the steps in the diagram. So you can see, as you're building it, where it's going to go, who it's going to go to, how it's going to work. That also benefits the user, because it translates into a nice diagram or map, so they can see who it's with at any point in time.

Workflow flexibility was also useful when implementing Unit4's mobile-first travel and expense app. This had to accommodate very strict regional exchange rate rules in countries such as Poland, where the team implemented a connector to import the correct rates. Automating expense claims has made a big impact, especially with the advent of COVID and the switch to remote working. He explains:

Previously, it was just a matter of taking pictures [of receipts], and then when you got back in the office, you had to complete it within the system. But now you can do everything through the app, including taking pictures of receipts. We even have receipt recognition switched on, so in many cases, it will detect on receipt, what type of expense it is ...

We get the information in terms of approvals to the right people, they can see the receipt, they can say yes, I approve it's within policy, etc. So that's definitely been a big plus for us, adopting expenses. Good job we did do it before COVID. We finished it about three or four months before COVID. We've adopted that globally.

The team is now rolling out Unit4 Procure-to-Pay (P2P), which has just gone live in India and will roll out elsewhere over the coming months. This too will bring much-needed automation, as he explains:

That will bring a great deal of automation, and also will mean a lot of manual process will hopefully go the way of the dinosaur ... At the moment we have an invoice comes in the door, and our AP team have to code that in. With P2P, they won't have to do that anymore. The invoice will come in the door, and we'll be able to match it and then pay our suppliers off the back of that.

There's plenty else going on across the firm's business systems. It recently implemented a new image library, and has just adopted the Cornerstone learning management system. Meanwhile, there's a big project in hand to transition the Deltek project management platform to a new version.

Data analytics is another area where Buro Happold has made big strides in recent years. A dedicated internal team of three PowerBI experts have developed the internal data warehouse to provide curated data models to various parts of the organization, which allows people to generate their own reports. Doing this internally rather than relying on outside consultants "means we're delivering, first time, what the stakeholder wants," says Everard. It's proven its worth, particularly when navigating the uncertainties of the pandemic, as he explains:

That has given our leadership real visibility into what's happening. During the pandemic, frankly, if we didn't have those tools, our decision making would have been impacted.

It's really helped our decision making, so we're continually growing our offering. It's probably our most in-demand area.

To read diginomica stories from Unit4's X4U digital experience visit our Experience4U 2021 event hub. The virtual event runs from November 16-17th and sessions will be available afterwards to view on-demand. Click here to see the agenda and register now.

See more here:

Experience4U - how engineering consultancy Buro Happold is automating around its on-prem ERP - Diginomica

In honor of his work to develop new biomedical technologies, UM engineering Dean David Puleo has been inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Photo by Megan Wolfe/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

OXFORD, Miss. David A. Puleo, dean of the School of Engineering and professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Mississippi, has been inducted as a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

Puleo is among 115 inventors elected as 2020 fellows by the NAI, which recognizes and encourages inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and one of 11 chosen from the Southeastern Conference. The new fellows ceremony took place Nov. 3 during the academys 10th annual meeting in Tampa, Florida.

The organizations mission is to enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

I am flattered that my colleagues nominated me for fellowship in the NAI, and my induction is a great reflection of the efforts of my students and collaborators during my career, Puleo said. My membership provides the opportunity to bring recognition to some of the outstanding innovators and their work at Ole Miss.

I look forward to seeing my Ole Miss colleagues recognized for their impressive technological innovations that positively affect lives across the state, nation, and world.

Election to NAI fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.

Ole Miss researchers create technologies that have impact in many areas, from health care to the environment to national defense, said Josh Gladden, vice chancellor of research and sponsored programs. Dean Puleos induction into the National Academy of Innovators represents yet another level of recognition for the outstanding research being conducted here.

The 2020 NAI class, which has made a notable impact in a variety of fields, represents 125 research universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutes worldwide. The inductees are named inventors on nearly 4,000 issued U.S. patents.

Puleos inventions provide improvements in the repair and regeneration of tissues, such as bone, cartilage and tendons.

One of his technologies is intended to treat large defects in bone caused by trauma, whether a warfighter injury or a civilian car accident. Polymeric Prodrug (U.S. Patent No. 9,433,638) provides a polymer that is composed of a bone-promoting drug and that can be formed into solid implants or 3D scaffolds.

While the biomaterial slowly degrades following placement in the defect site, the released drug molecules encourage healing of the injury.

A second invention could benefit athletes or even weekend warriors who injure a meniscus, a cartilage-like cushion in the knee joint. Such small tears are typically treated by cutting away free-floating pieces, even though the loss of tissue can lead to arthritis.

Crosslinker Enhanced Repair of Connective Tissues (U.S. Patent No. 10,278,947) describes, among other forms, a patch that releases a chemical that meshes the damaged tissue to restore mobility.

More than 1,000 NAI fellows have generated aome 11,000 licensed technologies and companies, created more than 1.4 million jobs and generated some $190 billion in revenue.

Puleos time in higher education includes 27 years at the University of Kentucky before joining the UM engineering school in 2018. He is a renowned biomedical engineer with research expertise focused on using biomaterials for tissue regeneration in dentistry and orthopedic surgery.

He is a fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, the Biomedical Engineering Society and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. A member of the Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, Puleo received UKs Excellence in Teaching for Biomedical Engineering in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and the Deans Award for Excellence in Research in 2013.

As a researcher in the area of regenerative biomaterials, Puleo has served as principal investigator and co-investigator of federally and privately funded grants and contracts totaling $13.5 million. His research has led to nearly 17 intellectual property disclosures, patent applications and patents, plus a start-up company.

Read this article:

Engineering Dean Inducted into National Academy of Inventors - Ole Miss News

Welcome toPaycheck to Paycheck, where workers with the same job across the U.S. share how much they earn, how they got to their salary and their best negotiating tips. Ready to join the salary transparency conversation?Apply to be a part of the series here.

In this installment, a 27-year-old shares how she makes $93,000 working as a software engineer in Austin.Read how her salary stacks up to other software engineers around the U.S.

At 27 years old, Sarah has already reached a salary milestone she didn't expect to hit for another few decades.

She currently works as a software engineer for a start-up in Austin, where she joined the company at a base salary of $80,000. It was her first job in tech after working as a speech pathologist for two years, and the pay was far above what she thought she'd be earning at her age.

"Had I continued as a speech pathologist, I would be lucky to make $80,000 a year after 20 years of working at one location," she tells CNBC Make It.

After the start-up closed a big deal at the end of 2020, Sarah was awarded a $13,000 pay raise, bringing her annual salary to $93,000 a year.

Here's how Sarah advocated for her pay in recent years, and why she believes it's important for her to share her earnings as a woman working in a male-dominated field.

Sarah, who asked to be identified by her first name only to speak freely about her pay, went to college and grad school to become a speech pathologist. After graduation, she had trouble finding steady work that paid her a full-time wage.

She made it work by taking two part-time jobs, one at a nursing facility that paid $26 an hour, and a weekend job at a hospital that paid $34 an hour. "It was hard work and long hours," she says. "At the end of the day, I didn't enjoy the work and needed a different path."

One day, Sarah confided in a female friend who works as a software engineer, who sat her down and explained what her day-to-day looked like. For the first time, Sarah could picture herself working in tech.

"I never saw myself as cut out to be a software engineer," Sarah says. "I don't know if that's because I'm a woman or some other reason. The second she gave me those details, I was like, 'I can totally see myself doing that. Why am I not already doing that?'"

Sarah looked into ways to transition into tech. She found free and low-cost online courses and taught herself to code after work. She added her skills to her LinkedIn page, and a recruiter with an Austin-based start-up invited her to apply for a six-month software engineering internship.

After Sarah completed the internship, she was hired on as a full-time employee. She now has almost two years of experience working as a software engineer.

Sarah didn't negotiate the rate of her paid internship she was shocked to be hired at all.

"At the time, I was just thrilled that someone was going to pay me," she says. The internship posting listed a pay range of $16 to $24 an hour, and the company offered Sarah $24 an hour right off the bat. "Maybe it was strategic on their part, but in my mind I felt I was already getting the upper range," she says.

When her internship ended, however, she came prepared to negotiate her full-time salary. The company offered her a base salary of $72,000 a year.

But based on her research using online salary databases, focusing in on her level of experience and the Austin market, Sarah thought she should be making more.

Around the same time, Sarah's younger brother was starting his first software engineering job and secured a role that paid $100,000 straight out of college. "It was a bigger company in a different market, so you can't directly compare the two," Sarah says. Still, "I felt like I deserved more than that $72,000. I mean, what does my brother have that I don't?"

Knowing that her pay could go much higher, Sarah brought the pay rates she found online to negotiate. HR raised her offer to $80,000, which she accepted.

"At $80,000 I was pleased but still ambitious to get more," Sarah says.

After a few months of hard work, her perseverance paid off. Her company closed a large deal at the end of 2020 and rewarded all employees with raises. Sarah's new salary now comes out to $93,000 a year. She also recently earned a $2,500 performance bonus.

"Now at around $95,000 with my bonus, I'm really proud to be making what I make," Sarah says.

Moving forward, Sarah knows to always negotiate for more, "even if you think you got the upper range of what's available. Someone else will always negotiate, most likely a man, so you shouldn't miss that opportunity."

Tech jobs are known for commanding high pay, thanks to an exploding need for people to build the products and services we rely on every day, and a shortage of workers with the right skillsets to keep pace. The average software engineer earned roughly $153,000 in 2020, according to a report from Hired, a marketplace for tech jobs.

But for such a fast-growing and socially impactful industry, tech is widely known for its lack of racial and gender diversity. Like many industries, white men are consistently paid more than peers who are Black, Hispanic and women making discussions of salary transparency and pay equity all the more important.

As a white woman, Sarah is fully aware of these gaps and tries to be as open about her pay as possible. "Transparency is key to be paid fairly," she says. "Had I not had access to data online, I probably would have accepted what I was offered when I deserved to be paid more."

She wants her own salary story to help other people new to tech, especially women and young girls thinking of entering the field.

"In the bigger picture, there aren't enough role models of women in tech being transparent about their work and what they make, which could help young girls aspire to do that," Sarah says. "A lot of girls think of tech as a field that they don't belong in I know I felt that way."

Check out:

From $70,000 to $120,000: Heres how much 3 software engineers earn around the U.S.

This 26-year-old doubled his pay by switching to computer scienceand using a key negotiating trick

15 of the top companies for women working in tech

Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Go here to see the original:

This speech pathologist taught herself to codenow she earns $93,000 as a software engineer - CNBC

The worst result, after buying shares in a company (assuming no leverage), would be if you lose all the money you put in. But if you buy shares in a really great company, you can more than double your money. To wit, the Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTR) share price has flown 138% in the last three years. Most would be happy with that. It's down 1.4% in the last seven days.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth.

In the last 3 years Altair Engineering saw its revenue grow at 9.2% per year. That's a very respectable growth rate. It's fair to say that the market has acknowledged the growth by pushing the share price up 33% per year. The business has made good progress on the top line, but the market is extrapolating the growth. It would be worth thinking about when profits will flow, since that milestone will attract more attention.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

earnings-and-revenue-growth

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. So it makes a lot of sense to check out what analysts think Altair Engineering will earn in the future (free profit forecasts).

It's nice to see that Altair Engineering shareholders have gained 61% (in total) over the last year. That's better than the annualized TSR of 33% over the last three years. The improving returns to shareholders suggests the stock is becoming more popular with time. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Altair Engineering better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Altair Engineering you should be aware of.

Story continues

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

See the article here:

Investors in Altair Engineering (NASDAQ:ALTR) have made a strong return of 138% over the past three years - Yahoo Finance