alumni

Stanford Engineering Puzzle

November 2005

Stanford Engineering Puzzle - you said you wanted a harder puzzle!

Like last month, the puzzle below is inspired by the research of electrical engineering Assistant Professor Jelena Vuckovic, but this month there is a twist: two colors of dots. The puzzle looks similar but this twist makes it worth a new look. Next month Stanford Engineering will present an entirely new puzzle, but for those who have trouble waiting until December to unwrap presents, this month's variation might just tide you over.

Vuckovic's research has important applications in information technology. She precisely machines photonic crystals to control specific frequencies of light. An extreme close-up of one such crystal forms the background of the puzzle. The dark spots are holes etched into the crystal. Based on the spacing of these holes, the crystal will emit light of a specific frequency from the gaps between the holes.

Directions for Puzzle:

In the puzzle, your task is to complete the red and gray pulsing spots of light being emitted from some of these gaps. Upon successful completion, a "secret word" will be revealed. The alumni below are the first 10 who successfully completed the puzzle and e-mailed the secret word to staff member David Orenstein. If your name did not end up on the list, don't despair. The puzzle is meant to be fun. A smile is the real prize.

You must have Flash installed to run this puzzle, which was designed by Scott Kim of Shufflebrain and programmed by Larry Doyle of Cyberiandesign.

The winners circle (in order of response)

  • John Paff (BS 1987 ME)
  • Robin Bennett (MS 1983 Product Design)
  • Doug Clark (BS 1963 EE, MS 1969 MSE, PhD 1970 MSE)
  • J. Evan Deardorff (BS 1966 EE)
  • Mary Lubischer Pope (BS 1976 ME)
  • Howard Lynch (BS 1980 EE)
  • Larry Wagner (PhD 1981 EE)
  • Don Bly (PhD 1973 MSE)
  • Steven Zucker (PhD 1975 EE )
  • Michael Errotabere (MS 1976 AA)

Try your hand at our other puzzles in the puzzle archive.