My best engineered object is my Blackberry. It does almost everything one needs (phone, email, address book, web browser, task list - and more) and it does everything exceedingly well. There is a reason they call them CrackBerries, i.e. they are so effective that you become addicted to having one. — Marc Donohue, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, JHU Whiting School of Engineering

Sprig and Fletcher, my two 11 ½ year-old Jack Russell terriers, are perfectly engineered for what they do, although whether I own them or they own me is up for debate. Their compact, muscular bodies, keen sense of smell, and boundless energy make them “natural born killers” and they’ve presented me with many corpses of squirrels, raccoons, birds, and even a box turtle.  They regularly corner and tag-team groundhogs.  Once, their determination was broken only by centrifugal force. [more] — Catherine Rogers Arthur, Curator of JHU Homewood Museum and JHU Instructor

My iPod shuffle is an amazing device. No moving parts, long battery life and so far it seems virtually indestructible. I listen to it when I run. I decided to start running again earlier this year and I found a training program designed to get me in shape to run a 5K in 8 weeks. I just downloaded the podcasts from iTunes and I was off. I also listen to it in the car quite a bit and when I'm working in the yard. — Glenn Simmons, Director of Design and Publications, JHU

My best engineered object is my Canon Digital Rebel XT because with this I can capture all those precious moments in life - family events, beautiful vacation spots around the world, and of course my beautiful daughters! I know I'll be able to look back for the rest of my life and remember all the wonderful things I've experienced thanks to this simple but powerful object! — Scott Kugler, '94, Mechanical Engineering

The best engineered object I own is my TiVo. In fact, I will go on record and say the TiVo will go down as the greatest invention of the 21st century. My TiVos (yes, I actually own three) have revolutionized my life. There is a bond between me and the simple black or silver boxes. They are in many ways my children. (I know this borderlines on obsession and I have looked into T.A.A. groups--TiVo Addicts Anonymous.) [more] — Daniel Creasy, Senior Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions, JHU

The object that would retain the best ever engineered object title in my lifetime would be the cochlear implant. Being handicapped with profound hearing loss, the cochlear implant gave me an upgraded quality of life. As my hearing loss was too great to benefit from normal hearing aids, I underwent cochlear implantation at 13 years old, and since then, it has never failed to help open new paths that I possibly could never have taken (such as playing the piano). I've met many young and old people who, once hindered by their hearing loss, have now gained a new lease of life with this device. Upgrading to a cochlear implant from hearing aids, for me, is akin to upgrading to a Ferrari from a much broken-down and rusty Ford! — Joseph Heng, '11, Biomedical Engineering

I think that my best engineered object is my family's piano. We've had a Boston upright piano for almost 12 years. While it's humble compared to, say, the Steinway grand piano used by soloists at Hopkins Symphony Orchestra concerts, it's in great condition. Plus, I've become sentimentally attached to it after playing it for so many years. Furthermore, just thinking about the action of a piano and all the instrument's components is always enthralling. — Kate Flores, Undergraduate, Class of 2010, Neuroscience Major, Classics Minor

Macintosh / Mac OS X - Tightly integrated hardware and software makes for a computer system that "just works", and includes enough software right out of the box to be useful. — Howard Schoeberlein, Electrical Engineering '82, APL Principal Professional Staff