Reverse engineering is the process of examining an existing product and developing a new product design that copies the first product. Reverse engineering has a bad reputation because of its use in the copying of brand name products. However reverse engineering does have its place in our innovation toolkit. There are any number of reasons why a company may need to reverse engineer its own legacy products. The folks at the University of Arizona have undertaken what must be the ultimate reverse engineering project. They are attempting to reverse engineer the lost art of producing "Ru-glazed Ceramics". Ru-glazing is a Chinese ceramics process which hasn't been used in over 900 years. To say we misplaced the recipe is an understatement. Now Professor Pamela Vandiver and the team at the University of Arizona are using the tools of modern science to attempt to duplicate this lost process. Best of luck to the team and try not to misplace that recipe card again.
