Recently I was able to chat with one of the new members of the Author Program on our Mathcad Resource Center, Ted Diehl, Ph.D. Ted is the founder of Bodie Technology, Inc. which creates “Tools for Analyzing Noisy & Challenging Problems™”. In our conversation we focused on Kornucopia®, a Mathcad-based software. See what he has to say about Mathcad, Kornucopia®, and even lacrosse!
Anna: When did you start using Mathcad and why?
Ted: I think that I’m actually one of the longest users of Mathcad. I began using Mathcad before it was even officially released for the first time. I was participating in a summer co-op while I was in college and the IT director let me use a copy of the software to try out. I ended up being able to use it to re-design and better understand radar equipment on vessels. There was a problem with communication and vibrations on the vessel and with Mathcad, I was able to help figure out the problem and diagnose a solution. I actually still have the Mathcad document for this product and was able to show it to the original writer of Mathcad, Allen Razdow, a couple of years ago. He said it might be the oldest known, user document!
Anna: Wow, you’ve been using Mathcad for such a long time! Sticking with one tool for that long is pretty unusual. What about Mathcad has drawn you to keep working with it?
Ted: The best thing about Mathcad is that in one environment, I can mix in my thoughts, either with pictures, text, or equations, and then solve those equations and graph them. I can read and write tons of data easily. Mathcad is like a nerve center that all data can go into and be assessed.
Anna: Tell us about some of the applications where engineers are using Mathcad and Bodie Technology products to improve their analysis.
Ted: Our customers include the US Army, Department of Defense, and manufacturers of medical devices, portable electronics, and heavy equipment. Our unique training courses and Kornucopia® software assist their analysts working with nonlinear simulations and a variety of challenging experiments. As an example, Atrium Medical uses our Kornucopia® software to provide a consistent means of interpreting measured data from the testing of implantable medical devices. They efficiently “clean” experimental data providing a more accurate and reliable basis for correlation, ultimately improving their FEA models. And of course, the reusable Mathcad-based Kornucopia® worksheets provide clear and traceable documentation of these processes.
Anna: Can you tell me some more about your Kornucopia® software?
Ted: The name Kornucopia® is just like the one used during Thanksgiving, and means the horn of plenty. This is because Kornucopia® provides a variety of functionality, techniques, and tools. It combines many of the features of different analysis software into one. Kornucopia® builds on Mathcad functionality and in some cases further enhances existing Mathcad functions. Kornucopia® is a tool that allows people to efficiently manipulate and clean-up “messy”, real-world data, ultimately enabling significantly improved interpretations and value for experimental data and nonlinear simulation results.
Kornucopia® logo
Anna: What are some favorite Kornucopia® functions for users?
Ted: I would say some of the most popular Kornucopia® functions are “smoothXY_k”, “unpack_k”, and “averageXY_k” (You can tell if a function is from Kornucopia® if it ends in “_k”). “smoothXY_k” removes noise from data sets. It packages high-tech digital signal processing lowpass filtering technology into an easy-to-use approach that’s more accurate and more robust than simple running average smoothers.
“unpack_k” allows the user to take complicated data files that have intermixing headers and data text (commonly found in data derived from experiments or simulations), then finds, separates, and consolidates the data in a very organized manner that can then be processed easily in Mathcad. Usually when you ask an engineer to work with this type of complicated data file, they create a bunch of different files by manually cutting and pasting; wasting time and using a process that is prone to errors. The “unpack_k” function is very flexible, taking in user-specified markers and returning data in a nested array. It is a tremendous time saver.
“averageXY_k” averages multiple curves. So if you supply 5 curves to the function, your result would be a single curve that represents the average of the 5 curves. The function is very powerful as it automatically regularizes all curves that are supplied and provides users with a variety of averaging algorithms to choose from. Anyone who has ever tried to average multiple curves, especially in cases where the curves come from different sources, knows how difficult this can be and they will find “averageXY_k” to be invaluable. You can read more about functions here.
Anna: How do your coworkers and clients respond to using Mathcad and Kornucopia®?
Ted: Everyone really likes Mathcad and Kornucopia® as a seamless bundle. Right now, Kornucopia® works with Mathcad 14 and 15 and it will be offered on the Mathcad Prime platform in the future. Customers tell us that they love these products because they allow you to think on a high level and enable you to document that thought process. An interesting fact about Kornucopia® is of its 50,000+ lines of code, approximately 98% of Kornucopia® is actually written in Mathcad itself, using Mathcad programs. This speaks volumes about the power of the Mathcad platform. Combining Kornucopia® and Mathcad, you can do incredibly powerful things.
Mathcad and Kornucopia® working together
Anna: What do you envision for the future of engineering?
Ted: It’s a really interesting time in engineering. We have the best computers and more software than ever before. It’s a concern of mine that this technology is so advanced and accelerated that young people aren’t learning the fundamentals. It is crucial that managers and engineers remain fluent in knowledge. Engineering is moving at an extremely fast pace. Because of the technology and because of the current economic state, the workforce is more portable. Multiple people need to understand documents. People come and go from companies, and as a result, it’s really important that workflows can be documented clearly. Because of tools like Mathcad and Kornucopia®, that have good documentation and ever-growing functionality, companies and engineers are able to keep up.
Anna: Thanks for sharing, Ted. Let’s finish up this conversation with something fun. I’ve read that you were an All-American in Lacrosse at RIT, and an inductee in RIT’s Mechanical Engineering Academy and Sport’s Hall of Fame. Are there any connections between engineering and lacrosse?
Ted: This is true! I would say there is definitely a connection. Lacrosse is a game of physics; think about how one has to rotate the stick to hold a ball, and use your body with mass and momentum to play aggressively and to maintain your balance. Having an engineering and a science background helped me gain that insight on the field and helped me handle my body against opponents. I think what’s really relevant is the equipment. Over the years, the equipment has changed significantly because of engineers’ applied research. It’s also true for golf. Sporting equipment is lighter, stronger, and less restrictive to athletes.
You can check out some of Ted’s work or learn more about him by visiting Engineering Resources, powered by Mathcad. Or, if you’d like to become a contributing author like Ted, please fill out this form.
