• A custom 3-D-printable hypocycloidal air-motor project was scoped: 50 psi input, ≥200 steps, 200 oz-in output torque, with open-source tooth-profile optimizers (GearEvaluator C# code and fablab gears.py) offered to meet the spec.

• Participants documented a high-throughput AI-driven design loop: an unnamed researcher is running black-box optimization on 20,000 FEA/PDE simulations per minute to autogenerate part-catalog topologies, prompting a search for a “unified theory of transduction” from a Caltech MEMS workshop talk by Selden Crary.

• A spiral acrylic microfluidic membraneless filtration device was shown, laser-cut from acrylic with paper backing, illustrating rapid-prototyping of bioreactor components.

• Google Summer of Code 2009 selections were reviewed: BRL-CAD’s parametric/constraint projects and the Singularity Institute’s OpenCog work were highlighted as key open-source transhumanist efforts.

• A cycloid-reducer lobe-profile design paper using the instant-velocity-center method was archived and shared, along with a concise planar-linkage velocity-analysis algorithm (intersect perpendiculars to two velocity vectors to find the instant center, then V_Q = V_P + ω × r_PQ).

• Practical materials science debate: thin PEX/PVC plastics can flex where thin aluminum would crinkle, making them candidates for low-cost heat-exchangers and solar collectors, despite concerns about overheating and lack of hot-water ratings; real-world examples included radiant-floor PEX and a criticized white-PVC solar collector.