Lynn Neergaard

Brainstormer, Christian, Engineer, Foodie, Idea generator, Parent, Scientist

There are two things you need to know ; Why I believe ideas ought to be spread, and what happens after ideas are spread. For the last couple decades of my career, I have supported spaceflight and on-orbit materials processing experiments. Because of the expense of landing something from space, anything coming from space must be worth a lot per pound. There will never be deliveries of thousands of tons of newSteel from orbit to the surface. However, on-orbit experiments can allow driving forces to be evaluated in the absence of density-based phase separation. Those insights may allow new processes to be developed and implemented so newSteel can be made in Pittsburg. The kind of things it is worthwhile to get from space are information and data, in other words, ideas. Ideas are very valuable, but weigh nothing. They can be shipped around the world at the speed of light. As a commodity, ideas not only have high specific value, they are not conserved. Those ideas that can be shared ought to be shared because when I share my idea with you, you are enriched without impoverishing me. This does not apply of course to trade secrets or restricted information. ideas don’t just originate one place then spread someplace else to be either accepted or rejected. Ideas react with each other. A bad idea and a goofy idea can get together and bear a brilliant child. An idea that makes limited sense in one context can be the key to solving a really big problem in another.

Displacing ignorance with knowledge

There is a three-step process for changing the world. 1. Figure out what you think needs doing 2. Find out who is trying to do that 3. Help them While it is fashionable in the USA to emphasize individual achievement, the great evils of the world are being abated by organizations of people rather than individuals. Whatever it is that really exercises you, be it human trafficing, slavery, malnutrition, governmental opression, or widespread ignorance, there is an organization addressing that. Even if you do not have the skills to address the issue, you can help by keeping the organization going. As an example, even though I am not trained medically I was involved in finding the key to preventing Spina-Bifida. But that is a story for another time.

Ceramic Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering