In the past, batteries ended up in landfills or banished to boxes in the basement and forgotten. But today, as a new awareness has revealed the environmental fallout of used batteries, recycling has become the option for battery disposal going forward.

Unless you strongly believe in the idea of making Mars a habitable planet, there really is no Plan B.

Robotics, artificial intelligence, real-time data: Industry 4.0 has us looking at the COVID-19 pandemic’s hard reset as a chance to grow stronger, more resilient and open to innovation.

When the nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, was forced to shut down because of a leak of radioactive water, there was widespread concern in the medical community. The reactor produced about a third of the world’s supply of medical isotopes required for cancer and heart disease tests around the globe. The predicted shortage would leave patients waiting for these life-saving tests.

Heads up! The future is robotic, especially when it comes to Industry 4.0. Not the chatty Star Wars type robot or the antagonistic HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but smart machines doing repetitive, precision or dangerous work – operated remotely by human voice command, touchscreen or joystick. The next generation of skilled workers, in fact, may be technicians who program and manage robotic equipment to undertake difficult or routine tasks, transforming manufacturing and other sectors.

Conditions in space can be hostile. There’s orbiting satellite and rocket debris, radiation from the sun, solar flares and extremes in temperature – not to mention the unknowns of extraterrestrial travel. Is it any wonder astronauts go through such intensive mission training to prepare for any eventuality?

The finishing materials for aircraft components, missiles, spacecraft and satellites are mission-critical in aerospace operations. Without that fine, protective coating, millions of dollars’ worth of technology might never get off the ground.

While most everyone has witnessed the spectacle of a rocket launch – at least on video, if not in person – have you considered the bone-jarring forces propelling that space vehicle?

Polyurethane and polymers – you can’t see them, but you should be happy that they are in everything from the cars we drive to the furniture we sit on – and even in the refrigerators that keep our food fresh. All have polyurethane in their actual material or use it to insulate and protect our food and houses.

Ted Messmer knows, more than most, the importance of having safe and reliable equipment when operating in severe conditions. He flew attack helicopter missions for the U.S. Army for seven years – two in Korea.

Hands down, one of the most pressing issues of the new decade is climate change. When a 17-year-old activist has the world’s attention – and sparred successfully on the subject with President Trump – you know it’s no longer business as usual.

The things we learn from our fathers can impact our lives in unimaginable ways. Dad’s advice can help us chart incredible careers, become corporate leaders or compete at the pinnacle of human endurance.

Old MacDonald had a farm. And on this farm he had a globally positioned autonomous tractor.

Batteries have become completely integrated in our lives. One could say we live in a cordless culture! We use them to power everything from children’s toys to household tools, from portable speakers to vehicles of all sorts. Nearly every bit of technology that we use when we are on the go relies on them.

When it comes to manufacturing for the aerospace industry, precision work and producing expert quality parts and sub-assemblies are just the starting point. But, when you are recognized with 5 Star Certification by an industry leader like Bombardier, you know that you are among the best of the best in your field.