Adult Interviews

Patrick Sexton Third Hour

My dad
1. Q: Where do you work?
A: Van-Rob Tecumseh

2. Q: What is your position?
A: Senior Quality Specialist

3. Q: What kind of work do you do?
A: He is responsible for launching new model vehicles, responds to automotive customer complaints, coordinates interplant quality job instructions, and handles interplant quality concerns.

4. Q: What type of education was need?
A: Has a four year college degree but doesn't know if it was required.

5. Q: Do you enjoy your job?
A: He enjoys it sometimes but not all the time; said it has its ups and downs

My Uncle

1. Q: Where do you work?
A: Endo Technologies

2. Q: What is your position?
A: Retail Sales Manager

3. Q: What kind of work do you do?
A: Sells repair services, sells refurbished equipment, resolves customer issues, build relationships with potential customers, and mentors potential sales representatives.

4. Q: What type of education was needed?
A: He has a four year college degree which wasn't need for the current company he works at but was for his former job.

5. Q: Do you enjoy your job?
A: He absolutely loves it because he says it's like running his own company, the better he does the more he gets paid, he likes the freedom it gives him, and he doesn't have to go into an office but can work out of his home.

Emerging Technology, Part 1

            This year a company by the name of Semprius created more efficient solar panels. These solar panels can convert about 34 percent of the light that hits it into electricity. Semprius said that their solar panels could compete with fossil fuel plants in some places. Semprius uses a new material that maximizes the efficiency of turning light into electricity. This new material is called gallium arsenide, and converts 34 percent light to electricity compared to silicon which only converts about 23 percent. Gallium arsenide is more expensive however, but Semprius is finding a way to cope with this problem. These solutions include shrinking the solar cells, using glass to concentrate the sunlight, and by not having to cool off the solar panels due to their size. This will hopefully lower the cost of use for solar energy. A drawback however is that the solar panels work the best under cloudless skies.

            Assumptions that can be made under this article are that solar energy may overtake fossil burning types of energy and that solar energy may start to become more prevalent in the near future. What surprised me the most in this article is that the cost of solar energy is pretty low and the new improvements to solar panels can lower the price by two cents. What also surprised me is the difference of how much more light is converted to electricity in the gallium arsenide compared to the silicon. These types of solar panels are probably not going to be seen in our area too soon and will be used more in the Southwest where there is more sun and fewer clouds. Hopefully with more improvements we will see more solar panels in our area.

Some emerging technologies that are being used now that were emerging in 2009 include Software-Defined Networking which allows researchers and computer scientists to tap into routers and control a network’s layout, Biological Machines which include the combination of robotics and living things (this also includes tissue that can replace damaged organs), and the Intelligence Software Assistant which is now used in the form of SIRI for iPhones.