CSU engines lab: ‘We are the transition into practicality’

The scientists at Colorado State University Engines and Energy Conservation Lab in Fort Collins do not tidy up the place for guests. 

One lab looks especially grungy, like the garage of a busy mechanic, and it smells like grease and gas and maybe a little sweat. That is exactly the point. 

“I know it looks like everything is disarray,” said Dan Olsen, one of the faculty members at the lab. “I’ve been in some really clean labs. It’s usually because they don’t have any work.” 

Work is not a problem here. The engineers who teach and work full-time at the lab like to…