• SKDB (Structured Knowledge Database) is presented as an “apt-get for hardware” that automatically identifies required parts and tools, downloads CAD files, and generates assembly instructions for open-source devices, distinguishing itself from file-sharing sites by encoding functional interfaces and compatibility rules.

• A live demo produced a randomly-generated Lego assembly graph (http://adl.serveftp.org/lab/fenn/pngs/lego_cgraph.png) and a presentation PDF (http://adl.serveftp.org/lab/presentations/updates-from-austin.pdf), illustrating early SKDB capability to model Lego parts with interfaces (studs, holes, anti-studs) and automatically mate components.

• Participants shared an open-source AFM CAD package (http://heybryan.org/books/papers/AFM.zip) and discussed low-tech probe fabrication techniques such as acid-etch sharpening and flame pulling, with plans to add parametric AFM designs to SKDB.

• Academic design-representation formalisms—Function Structure (FS) graphs, Configuration Flow Graphs (CFG), and Design Assembly Matrices (DAM)—were debated; background slides and papers were provided, though some participants dismissed them as overly complex.

• Business-model brainstorming centered on monetizing SKDB by selling ready-to-assemble hardware kits (thermocycler, AFM, open-source CNC mill redesign) for users unwilling to source parts themselves, with long-term visions of price-aware optimization and contract manufacturing in China.

• TeraGrid supercomputing resources (Ranger, Kraken, Abe, Lonestar, Lincoln GPU cluster) were discussed for obtaining CPU-year allocations to run large-scale molecular-dynamics simulations using NAMD.

• The recent paper “Recent de novo origin of human protein-coding genes” (http://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2009/08/31/gr.095026.109.full.pdf) was shared, highlighting novel human-specific genes absent in chimps and gorillas.

• Lego was proposed as a rapid-prototyping platform, referencing Japanese Lego fab projects, YouTube demos of a Lego book scanner, and the concept of a Lego “universal constructor,” with evolutionary-design papers (Regli & Peysakhov) and Cambridge assembly-graph work cited as prior art.