Competition spurs innovation like nothing else. It appears that a new golden age of engineering and science competition is upon us, with substantial monetary prizes going to the victors.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then competition must be the mother of innovation. The motivational power of monetary prizes in engineering competition is well proven, just look at the aerodynamic innovation in Formula 1 racing from 1967-2007 as an example.

Stanley in the 2005 DARPA Grand ChallengeOfficial press photo released by the VW Press Department

One of the most dramatic examples of an aerodynamic device is a Formula 1 racing car. It wasn't always so, in fact pre-1967 F1 cars made very little use of aerodynamics. The thinking at that time was to optimize cars for straight-line speed, i.e., minimize drag.

1967 Honda Formula 1 Car, pre-wing era

Uboatworx is selling personal submarines that are straight out of a James Bond movie.

U-Boat Worx Submersibles

Two standout books, one from Joseph Katz and the other from Simon McBeath, are worthy additions to any racecar aerodynamics enthusiast's library.

Dimples on golf balls and vortex generators on wings are both designed to induce turbulence in boundary layers.

Dimpled Golf BallCopyright 2007 StockPhotography.com, used with permission

"Good artists copy, great artists steal"
- Pablo Picasso

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then surely it's time nature headed to the patent office.

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly...Revel in your time."
- Tyrell (Joe Turkel), BladeRunner (1982)

It appears that the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) consultancy to the cars is gone.

F1 Car by Advantage CFDSymscape does not hold the copyright on this picture.

Today we understand turbulence well enough so that airplanes don't fall from the sky and liquid fuel igniting inside a rocket engine produces enough thrust to blast payloads into space.

Turbulent SmokeLicense: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, vanessapr

Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) software enhances product design and manufacture. In the parallel world of video games and movies, CAE-like software gives life to breath-taking effects and virtual realism.

Plasma Pong

Ever noticed when you walk a dog it always wants to investigate the area just beyond the range of its leash? Seems the same universal rule is in play configuring Computational Aided Engineering (CAE) simulations, slightly too big to fit the available resources. If only we had a leash to rein in errant simulations.