Brief history of neoprene

Than_Bogan

My daughter just changed her major to Materials Engineering because Camaro wetsuits are so friggin' cool. (All of that sentence is "mostly true.")

With her permission, I share a short paper she wrote for a class assignment.

dchristman

Misspell alert. Camaro, not Camero.

MISkier

Great major and a cool write up. My daughter graduated with that degree several years ago and is working in the medical devices/implants field. Unfortunately, she did not take to the water skiing like I would have hoped.

DW

Very cool, another example of where the military need pushes technology that ultimately improves civilian life. +1 for another bright engineer:-)

ToddF

Now I want to know what camaro did to the structure of blacktec to make it warmer.
Part two of the paper.

MISkier

@ToddF, I believe that answer lies in what was done to make the outer shell hydrophobic.

Bruce_Butterfield

Cool! Another kid that inherited the engineer gene.

Skoot1123

Hmm - Engineers ROCK!

ral

"The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property."

WHAT could be COOLER than that???

Bongo

Love the basis: "My personal interest in open cell neoprene wetsuits comes from my participation in slalom water skiing. In Massachusetts, where I've lived my whole life, wetsuits are highly desired for the beginning and end of the water ski season."

My DD wanted to pursue Materials Engineering so she can either design water ski composition for D3 or shoe soles for Nike. I suggested that may be a little too narrow, both major and specific application in sports. She's now midway through her sophomore year in Mechanical Engineering. Written a couple assignments with water skiing as her core experience; more for writing composition than engineering, but still experiential.

jmhjgh

Thanks for sharing. I hope she enjoys her studies. My daughter is a recent EE grad and used her first paycheck to get a new Lyric from Brooks. Happy day!

drfred

I think she just sold a bunch of Camaro wet suits....thanks.

Anderson

@Than_Bogan That was a really cool research vignette. I learned something new today (and to me, very interseting). You must be proud of your daughter - it is fun to see our kids learn and grow :-)

PatM

What is it with engineers and water skiing? Either you are one or pretend to be one