Right Stuff

At the present stage of materials science, researchers either find a good material by chance, in which case they hunt around for legitimate uses for it, or they search for materials with specific properties and use techniques such as combinatorial chemistry to generate a lot of testable compoimds. 

Most of the important materials used today have been foimd in this way. 

The process certainly works, for modern technology enjoys an impressive array of materials, including various metals, plastics, ceramics, and 

The same technique can be used to modify a compound that particularly interests researchers. Suppose this compound almost but not quite fulfills an engineer s requirements. Perhaps after a slight modification, such as the addition of a hydroxyl group (OH) at a certain point or the deletion of an acidic group elsewhere, the compound will work. Researchers may set up conditions in which the compound reacts with a number of chemicals, producing a vast array of compounds that have the same basic structure but differ by a chemical group or two. Somewhere in this collection may be a winner. 

Designing materials rather than relying on trial and error would be much faster and more efhdent. Imagine a team of construction workers trying to raise a skyscraper without benefit of a blueprint or architect— one mistake and the whole thing tips over. Developing new materials without a plan can be just as frustrating. 

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The performance of human beings is profoundly influenced by the culture of the organization (see discussion of the right stuff above). Unit/plant/company cultures vary in the degree of decision making by an individual operator. Cultures vary in their approach to the conflict between shutdown for safety versus keep it running at all costs. Personnel in one plant reportedly asked Is it our plant policy to follow the company safety policy In an organization with an inherently safer culture, people would say, "Our plant policy is to follow the company safety policies and standards ... 

Wolfe, T. (1979). The Right Stuff New York Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. 

The fundamental objective in this section is to describe the factors and procedures to select the right material for a specific structural application. The right stuff for a material, as for a fighter pilot or an astronaut, is a complex combination of characteristics. To select the proper material requires being able to characterize and evaluate various composite materials (or metalsl) and to compare their attractive characteristics with the behavioral features required for a particular structure. Finally, a materials selection example of a space truss design problem will be addressed. 

Turning again to seminar scheduling, we produce the model shown in Figure 9.5. This happens to apply the same framework twice. Both Rooms and Instructors are constrained to provide the right stuff Instructors have skills, Rooms have various facilities (projectors,... 

Green MF, Kern RS, Braff DL, Mintz J. 2000. Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia Are we measuring the right stuff . Schizophr Bull 26 119-136. 

Tom Wolfe is a journalist, novelist, and essayist, who often writes about American popular culture. Wolfe received a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale and spent several years as a newspaper reporter and magazine writer before publishing his first book, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby in 1964. Some of his other works include The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968), The Right Stuff (1979), The Bonfire of the Vanities (1985), A Man in Full (1998), and Hooking Up (2000). This essay was first published in The New York Times in 1979. 

By now, you ve planted a seed in the interviewer s mind and it will continue to grow. In essence, you ve made a sale. Your success story has hit a responsive chord with your interviewer, and you can practically see his or her mind working "This candidate is very strong. This person has all the right stuff to be groomed for a major, creative spot in customer service. Her (His) experiences indicate that she d (he d) be extremely effective at this sort of work. Her (His) story is convincing. We need to get those customers back. Can I afford to pass this opportunity to hire someone who might help reverse a serious downtrend in the company s service record We need people who can take initiative."... 

To run the race for Supply Chain 2020, companies need to train. Like an athlete training for a competition, the teams need to be agile, to listen to coaching, and to make the right investments. Most organizations need to work on these three behaviors to have the right stuff to win the race. 

Another downside of an overdependenee on the key individual is the increasing complexity and multitude of tasks that an effective hearing conservation program demands. There is an expectation in our culture that an individual with expert audacity (the right stuff ) should be able to always get it right. There may be similar expectations for other personne performing even the most mundane tasks. 

Watson, R.W. and McDonnell, T.R 1984. Additives—The Right Stuff for Automotive Engine Oils. SAE Paper No. 841208. 

Personally, I ve never yet found a writer who has the "right stuff" who isn t a member of the WGA (the Writers Guild of America). That doesn t mean that such writers areni out there it means that you ll be looking for a needle in a lot of very large haystacks. And even many WGA writers who I ve "auditioned" have been less than stellar. 

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