If multidisciplinary databases don't bring in the desired results, browse the listings of databases under specific subjects, such as History of Science, Politics, Sociology or Engineering & Technology to identifiy the best place to search for journal articles.
For the historical literature start with:
A few starting points for the technical literature related to your topics are suggested below:
When searching databases, look for the FindIt@PUL button. This will lead you to a menu of options for acquiring the specific paper or article. You may be able to download the full-text immediately, or to submit an Interlibrary Loan request if the Main Catalog gives no results.
Encyclopedias are always a good starting point for any research. AccessScience, The McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology combines review articles, with recent research updates, biographical information and a dictionary. A collection of reference works that may be of use is the Gale Virtual Reference Library, which includes encyclopedias on a variety of topics. In the engineering library's reference section, we also have Building the world : an encyclopedia of the great engineering projects in history (call number Engineering Library (ST): Reference T56 .I44 2006).
Handbooks are concise reference books that provide specific information about a subject. Through CRCnetBASE we have access to handbooks in engineering, material science, clean tech and other areas.
Biographical sources should be consulted when researching inventors and innovators. American National Biography Online is an excellent resource.
For worldwide business and economic information use ABI/Inform.
Browse the library's newspaper collections for in-depth news coverage (both current and historical).