January 2004

Welcome to the January issue of Connections, the American Society for Engineering Education's free e-newsletter.

Spotlight On Our Sponsors:

• National Instruments Academic Programs
  www.ni.com/academic
  
• Autodesk Student Portfolio 2004
  www.autodesk.com/
  education
  
• Texas A&M, 100 Faculty Openings
  http://thelook100.tamu.edu
• Respirometry Plus, Arthur Bench Respirometer
  www.respirometryplus.com

For more than 26 years, National Instruments has revolutionized the way engineers and scientists work by delivering virtual instrumentation solutions built on rapidly advancing commercial technologies, including industry-standard computers and the Internet. Our Academic Program offers curriculum resources, substantial discounts, product training, and special academic products that are ideal for integrating LabVIEW and virtual instrumentation in any research program or teaching curriculum. Visit www.ni.com/academic for more information on our Academic Program and special software and hardware discounts for Academia.

Help your students discover the extreme value of Autodesk Student Portfolio software.

Autodesk® has always offered your students access to industry-leading software at an affordable price. Now we're adding a "no expiration" bonus that makes our software offer the best of its kind. That's right, every available academic-career Autodesk Student Portfolio 2004 license NEVER EXPIRES. It can even be upgraded to another student version or transferred to a commercial license, all at a greatly discounted price. Autodesk Student Portfolio software titles are available at your campus bookstore or through an Autodesk Education Representative. For more information, go to: www.autodesk.com/education.

We're hiring more than 100 new faculty members.

The Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University is planning to add more than 100 new faculty members in all disciplines and areas of engineering. If you find this of interest, contact the dean's office at 979-845-2957, or access our Web site at
http://thelook100.tamu.edu/.

Texas A&M University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

For Teachers of Activated Sludge at College and Tech School Levels.

I would like to share my more than 25 years of experience in teaching activated sludge and showing the importance of biology in control of the treatment process. Process control tests initially were PHYSICAL tests including settleable and suspended solids, but this didn't make sense to me because more than half of the treatment process is BIOLOGICAL. The instrument I developed has since become the best means of measuring bioactivity of activated sludge for design and operation purposes, and it is an ideal teaching tool. We discount to educational institutions, and have a trial/rental plan. Visit www.respirometryplus.com, then e-mail me at robert@respirometryplus.com for details on use in a classroom, or telephone 1-800-328-7518.

ASEE News

New! ASEE K-12 Engineering Guidebook
ASEE's new "Engineering, Go For It" K-12 guidebook is dedicated to attracting high school students to engineering. The 64-page color publication is filled with stories about the fascinating work of engineers, information on life on campus, and a directory of over 400 engineering and engineering technology schools. "Engineering, Go For It!" features an eye-popping design and relevant stories-on for example, the role of electrical engineers in the music of Britney Spears and Fatboy Slim. Over 200,000 copies of "Engineering, Go For It!" have been sent to engineering colleges around the country. To learn more about "Engineering, Go For It!" or to order copies for your school, visit: https://www.engineering-goforit.com/index.cfm.

THE PREMIERE EVENT FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATORS

If your company can only afford to exhibit at one exposition in 2004, the 2004 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition is the smartest investment for your trade show marketing budget.

The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) will host the 2004 Annual Conference & Exposition in Salt Lake City, Utah from June 20-23 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. This year's theme "Engineering Education Reaches New Heights," already promises to be an excellent conference and exposition. The Annual Conference brings together Deans and faculty members, industry and government representatives, and other leaders in the field of engineering education. The 2004 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition also provides a forum for engineering educators and suppliers from around the globe to exchange ideas, effect curriculum changes, enhance teaching methods, and network with peers and others dedicated to furthering engineering education.

Please visit http://www.asee.org/conferences/
annual2004/exposition.cfm for all of the exhibit information-exhibitor prospectus and current floor plan. For additional information, please contact Kathi Springer, Manager of Exhibits and Sponsorships at (202) 331-3534 or k.springer@asee.org.

We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!

Post Jobs to 20,000 Engineering Faculty

Engineering schools now have the opportunity to post job openings in the CONNECTIONS e-newsletter sent to 20,000 engineering and engineering technology faculty monthly. If your school would like to advertise a job opening in CONNECTIONS, contact Paula Whitley at (202) 331-3528 or p.whitley@asee.org.

ASEE has launched a free monthly e-newsletter about K-12 engineering education. If you would like to receive this e-newsletter and keep up with developments in this rapidly developing field, please send an e-mail to pubsinfo@asee.org with your contact information.

In this Issue:

I. Science and Technology Briefs

• Nanotechnology Conquers the World - Michael Crichton's most recent thriller describes a scenario of technology run amok.
• Putting the Arts back into the Picture - Australian humanities educators believe they can complement engineering undergraduate education.
  

II. Congressional Hotline

• House Democrat Switches Parties, Giving Republicans a Larger Majority
• Bush Sets His Eyes on Mars
  

III. Teaching Toolbox

• Old Path to A New World - Native American students are returning to their roots to connect with engineering.
• Cyber Soldiers on the March - A club at West Point utilizes sensitive intelligence to train students in the growing field of information assurance.

IV. Feature Articles

• All the President's Friends - Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's president Sam Hulbert guided his school to the upper tier and stayed close to his students.
• Clean Machines - Hydrogen cars may solve the nation's pollution problem. The technology, however, is still a decade away.

V. ASEE News

• New ASEE K-12 Engineering Guidebook
  

I. Science and Technology Briefs

Nanotechnology Conquers the World
Famed sci-fi writer Michael Crichton's latest thriller, Prey, is based on the chilling notion that when nanotechnology, biotechnology, and computer science merge, the result could be technology run amok. It's a cautionary tale of what could happen if cutting-edge science is tainted by corporate greed and human hubris. His menace in Prey are swarms of microparticles that are the offspring of the marriage of the three aforementioned disciplines. And it's also a real page-turner that still manages to be a basic primer on those technologies.

Prey's basic premise is this: Xymos Technology, a Silicon Valley company with a fabrication plant in the no-man's-land of the Nevada desert, is working on a Pentagon project to create a swarm of nanoparticles that can be an eye in the sky. Each of the particles is a teeny-weeny camera, but as they swarm together, they network and form one larger flying camera that can't be shot down by enemy firepower. The nanocameras communicate with one another using agent-based algorithms, or distributed processing. As Crichton points out, when birds flock or ants forage, it's the combined intelligence of dozens or hundreds or thousands of small brains that allow them to function, and to function without any leadership. This so-called "emergent behavior" occurs even though it's not programmed into any member of the group. Agent-based programming is a hot field these days because the mimicking of successful biological populations can have real-world applications, like controlling big communications networks.

Things go wrong for Prey's boffins when their swarm cameras fall apart in wind. As the Pentagon loses interest, and funding begins to dry up, Xymos executives and researchers-fearing for their livelihood-panic and make some bad decisions. They code the molecules to have memory, which means they can learn. They also give them the ability to self-replicate and run on solar power. They then release them into the environment to let them solve the wind problem on their own. Which they do. Trouble is, they continue to evolve. By the hour. And they evolve into something scary and deadly.

How feasible is Crichton's nano-thriller? Well, clearly scientists have already warned about the need to keep strict controls on these technologies. And Crichton, in an introduction to Prey, certainly makes clear his own concerns. Still, for the sake of having a story to tell, Crichton has his scientists-motivated by cutthroat corporate realpolitik-give their nanobugs a combination of powers they don't really need. Would real scientists act so lamely? That's anybody's guess.

Putting the Arts back into the Picture
AUSTRALIA - The science and engineering disciplines in this island nation have the highest profiles on campus-and get the most grants. But now educators in the arts, social sciences, and humanities are demanding a larger share of the pie. Forty-five deans from Australian and New Zealand universities met recently to map out a strategy.

"We're not asking specifically for more public and private-sector funding-though that inevitably would flow from what we are demanding, which is: more recognition of our importance in broad-based universities," says Janet Greeley, executive dean of arts, education, and social sciences at James Cook University in North Queensland.

"We don't question the importance of science and engineering-but there's room for much more collaboration with the arts. For instance, major scientific and engineering breakthroughs often raise questions of social importance-ethics, impact on society, cultural shifts, and the like. We have a role to play."

In Europe and Canada, she says, there's been a focus on science-such as biotechnology-but with a strong arts component. In Australia and New Zealand, the arts tend to be overlooked in the rush to embrace science and engineering. "We are trying to correct this," she says.

The hugely successful export industry in selling education to students from mostly Asian nations to Australia's north plays a large part in the problem. "Many of these students demand science, engineering, IT, and business. So, social sciences, the arts, and philosophy increasingly have been overlooked," Greeley says. However, she has observed that as countries become more prosperous-as with, say, Singapore-"there's a shift again toward the social sciences. There's growing interest there in political science," she adds.

The deans plan to lobby the government in a more collective way. "Arts faculties are doing exemplary research that may surprise people," says Adam Shoemaker, dean of arts at Australian National University in Canberra. Through lobbying and media campaigns, the deans will highlight the importance of the arts and social sciences in well-rounded academic institutions.

Back to the index.

II. Congressional Hotline

House Democrat Switches Parties, Giving Republicans a Stronger Majority
Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas announced that he is switching parties to become a Republican, effective immediately. His switch gives Republicans a 229-204 advantage in the House, with one Democrat-leaning independent and one vacant seat. Hall, who was the highest-ranking Democrat on the Science committee, has served in the House of Representatives longer than any other current member. He said his switch was the result of his inability to win federal funding projects for his district solely because he was a Democrat.

"I have always said that if being a Democrat would hurt my district, I would either resign or switch," he said. "I don't think the Democrats will miss me over there. They couldn't have liked the way I voted. I feel better moving across the aisle so I can speak my conscience and not have to tiptoe around about it."

Responding quickly to his defection, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tapped Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) as the new ranking minority member on the Science Committee and Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX) to replace Hall on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Gordon will give up his position as the top Democrat on the Science Committee's Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, which will likely be filled by Rep. Nick Lampson (D-TX).

President Bush welcomed Hall to the Republican Party with open arms and endorsed him for re-election. "Ralph is a close friend of the Bush family. He is a well-respected leader of the highest integrity, and a tireless advocate for the people of Texas," he said.

Bush Sets His Eyes on Mars
President Bush on Wednesday, January 14, announced a bold plan to build a space station on the moon and send astronauts to Mars in the next two decades, setting a new long-term vision for NASA. His announcement was praised for its ambition but questioned for its cost on both sides of the aisle.

Bush seeks to increase NASA funding 5% annually for the next three years and 1% for two subsequent years, or about $1 billion over the next five years. Initial estimates suggest that manned missions to the moon and Mars could cost up to $1 trillion over the next few decades. In an election year with the increasing deficit as a major issue, lawmakers expressed caution over the fiscal impacts of Bush's plan. House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) noted before Bush's formal announcement that any major increases in space exploration funding will be difficult to pass through Congress. "Any decisions on the future of manned space flight must be made in the context of budget realities," he said.

Former Democratic Presidential contender Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-MO) commented, "I have nothing against NASA programs…but you can't shortchange the research that we need for things that need to happen here on Earth."

Indeed, a mention of the NASA proposal was conspicuously absent from Bush’s State of the Union speech on Tuesday, leaving supporters worrying that it is no longer one of Bush’s priorities after receiving a lukewarm reception from the public. The omission of any details about the space agency “raises questions about whether the president is serious about setting a new direction for NASA,” said Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), the ranking Democrat on the House Science Committee.

Back to the index.

III. Teaching Toolbox

An Old Path to a New World
For your average high schooler, Sundays tend to be more synonymous with sleep than they are with science. But on the sparse, chilly plains of North Dakota, a growing number of teenagers are devoting one Sunday a month during the school year-and two weeks of their summer vacations-to learning about math, science, and engineering. The students are part of the Tribal Colleges Collaborative Project-an expanding program of summer camps, Sunday classes, and scholarships aimed at encouraging North Dakota's young Native Americans to pursue advanced degrees in science and engineering. For these students, it's just a matter of returning to their roots.

Visit www.prism-magazine.org/mar03/toolbox.cfm to read the rest of this story.

Cyber Soldiers On the March
Imagine a college lecture where not only cellphones are forbidden but also pen and paper. Where armed guards stand outside and students are turned away as a matter of national security. As part of the Information Warfare Club, students from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point have the unique opportunity to attend highly sensitive briefings by the Secret Service, FBI, and National Security Agency, to name a few.

Visit www.prism-magazine.org/mar03/oncampus.cfm to read the rest of this story.

Back to the index.

IV. Feature Articles

All the President's Friends
By Alvin P. Sanoff

You might think that running a top-ranked undergraduate engineering program would be Rose-Hulman President Sam Hulbert's greatest achievement, but his real genius may be his warmth. Incredibly, he's on a first-name basis with most of the school's 1,800 students. Most college presidents don't remain in office for a decade, let alone more than a quarter of a century. But when Sam Hulbert retires as president of the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology next year, he will have spent 28 years at the helm of the Indiana institution. For both Hulbert and Rose-Hulman it has been quite a run.

Visit www.prism-magazine.org/mayjune03/friends.cfm to read the rest of this story.

Clean Machines
By Thomas K. Grose

Will "Freedom Cars" be zipping along America's highways in significant numbers in the next 10 years or so? That's a goal of the Bush administration. What President George W. Bush has dubbed Freedom Cars are fuel-cell vehicles powered by hydrogen-a clean, renewable resource-whose only emission is dribbles of water. In his State of the Union address last January, Bush announced plans to commit $1.7 billion over five years toward fuel-cell car research.

Visit www.prism-magazine.org/sept03/cleanmachines.cfm to read the rest of this story.

Back to the index.

Connections is brought to you by the American Society for Engineering Education.

Over 12,000 engineering and engineering technology faculty members and administrators enjoy the many benefits and services that ASEE offers. The Society's award-winning magazine ASEE Prism and academic publications (Journal of Engineering Education and Profiles of Engineering Colleges) keep members up to date with the best and latest in engineering education, engineering research trends, and academic issues, while 47 professional interest groups and a varied selection of meetings provide professional development and networking opportunities that no other society can offer within the engineering education community. Members also receive reduced rates at local and national conferences, discounts on ASEE products, money-saving members-only discounts on financial, insurance, and travel programs, plus an ever growing variety of online services. Our goal is to focus on issues that matter the most to you in our publications, meetings, and on-line services, and to enable you to interact with others who share your specific engineering and educational interests. To join online, just go to www.asee.org/members, or contact our member services department at 202-331-3520 for further information.

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