October 2007
Providing interesting and useful information for engineering faculty. To subscribe click here.

Spotlight On Our Sponsors:

• NI LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Available
  www.ni.com/academic
  
  
• Join the Autodesk Faculty Lounge
  www.students.autodesk.com
  
  
• Baker Hughes - Careers for Students
  www.bakerhughes.com
  
  
• Low-Cost RF Bench Instruments from Agilent
  www.get.agilent.com/
  
  
• Heliocentris Fuel Cell Education Giveaway & Sale
  www.heliocentris.com/asee
  
  
• Student Design Competition
  www.aqmd.gov/tao/
  LeafVacuum.htm

 

NI LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Available

LabVIEW users can create and download VIs to operate and control the NXT robotics system using the LabVIEW Toolkit for LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT.

Learn more and download the toolkit today.

Join the Autodesk Faculty Lounge and get free design software, teaching tools, and more. www.students.autodesk.com

New Low-Cost RF Bench Instruments from Agilent

 No matter how fast or accurate your RF test solutions need to be, everyone’s on a budget. Get the performance, speed and reliability you need at affordable prices. Click here to learn more.

Heliocentris Fuel Cell Education Giveaway & Sale

Over 10 years & 10,000 clients later we still offer you the best quality solutions for fuel cell science education. Our fuel cell engineering products are designed to meet the needs of High Schools, Colleges, Universities and Research Facilities. Heliocentris products are designed for instruction, hands-on training, and application engineering.

Giveaway & Sale Details Here: www.heliocentris.com/asee

 Design Competition for a Rechargeable Electric Leaf Vacuum  

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (in Southern California) is conducting an engineering student competition to design and build a prototype of a rechargeable electric leaf vacuum that could meet the needs of commercial gardeners. 

• First
  Place
  $40,000
• Second Place
  $20,000
• Third Place (three awards)
  $5,000 each
  

Deadline for submittal of Engineering Design Proposals -- Dec. 5, 2007.

For details, go to www.aqmd.gov/tao/LeafVacuum.htm

New and Improved Journal of Engineering Education!

The Journal of Engineering Education is a peer-reviewed international journal published quarterly by the American Society for Engineering Education. It serves as an archival record of the leading scholarly research in engineering education.

Visit www.asee.org/jee/ to read it online.

In this Issue:

I. Databytes

• Percentage of Women Tenured/Tenure-Track Teaching Faculty Members by School
• Women Tenured/Tenure-Track Teaching Faculty Members by School

II. Congressional Hotline

• FEDERAL SPENDING ON RESEARCH LAGGED INFLATION IN 2006
• HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE VERSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ACT RENEWAL

III. Teaching Toolbox

• A New Option — THE STOCK MARKET MAY BE UNPREDICTABLE, BUT THE DEMAND FOR ENGINEERS WHO CAN DEVELOP SOFTWARE THAT PREDICTS RETURNS IS ANYTHING BUT

IV. Fellowship Programs

• The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
• The Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP)
• The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Research and Sabbatical Leave Program
• Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program
• The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG)
• The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
• The Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP)
  
   

I. Databytes

Back to the index.

II. Congressional Hotline

FEDERAL SPENDING ON RESEARCH LAGGED INFLATION IN 2006

For the first time since 1982, federal funding for research and development in academic science and engineering fields failed to keep pace with inflation during the 2005-06 fiscal year, the National Science Foundation reported. However, large increases in funding from industry and universities themselves prompted a 1.2 percent raise (after inflation) in total expenditures for academic research from all sources, to $47.76 billion. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE VERSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION ACT RENEWAL

House Republicans on the education committee unveiled an agenda for postsecondary education and training, including reforms they hope to include with renewal of the Higher Education Act. The legislation, introduced on Oct. 4, includes provisions to authorize year-round Pell grants ($6000 max), reduce interest rates for parent and graduate loans to 7.9%, and require the Education secretary to identify colleges that receive the most notices of copyright violations through “peer to peer” file sharing on campus networks. 

Back to the index.

III. Teaching Toolbox

A New Option 

By Thomas K. Grose

Most investors would find a crystal ball useful for mitigating risk: It wouldn't hurt to know in advance which stocks are going to soar and which are doomed to plummet, or the price of soybeans and sow bellies three months hence. Engineers are likely to look askance at crystal balls, however, especially when there are more accurate ways to channel the future. In recent years, a new breed of Wall Street soothsayers—financial engineers—has assembled a variety of quantitative techniques based on computer models, advanced math formulas, and financial theory that predict returns and assess risk.

When quantitative technology proved its effectiveness and began reshaping Wall Street more than a decade ago, the industry often turned to industrial or operations research engineers to design new investment tools: derivatives, which are complex financial products whose value is derived from other financial products, often futures; and arbitrage, an investing method that exploits market inefficiencies. These tools were put to use in hedge funding, as the engineers sought to reduce risk and deliver positive returns regardless of market conditions.

Following the success of these early financial engineers, a growing number of universities began offering master's degrees in financial engineering. By one estimate, there are 40 to 50 such programs today. Most are multidisciplinary programs that combine engineering, math and statistics, and business and economic courses.

Typical of these new financial engineering programs is the University of Michigan's (UM), based in its College of Engineering but run jointly with its School of Business and its School of Literature, Science, and the Arts. The growth of Michigan's financial engineering program has been swift, paralleling the rapid advancement of quantitative technologies in financial services. Michigan launched the program in 1997 with six students; today 95 are enrolled. In 2000, it graduated 20 students; this year, it expects to graduate 65.

UM's degree grew out of its industrial and operations engineering program. "That's the closest thing we have to a business school in engineering," explains Stephen Director, dean of the College of Engineering. Because the engineering college had a long history of running interdisciplinary programs, while Michigan's business school was less quantitative than most, "it made sense for it to grow out of here," Director says.

Princeton also runs a successful new program based in its six-year-old operations research and financial engineering department and run jointly with its business school. With 30 students currently enrolled, "We feel like we are blazing new ground, creating a new engineering discipline," says Erhan Cinlar, department head. Columbia University's industrial engineering and operations research department also runs its program with the business school, and has 65 students enrolled. At some schools, such as Stanford and Columbia, the program is called financial mathematics and is based in the math department. At others, including the University of California-Berkeley and MIT, it's anchored in the business school.

Roots: Square and Academic

Stephen Pollock, director of Michigan's program, is skeptical of programs that are primarily financial math or focused on empirical business theories. The engineering perspective is the glue that binds the complex formulas and economic theories together, he insists. "It is financial engineering," Pollock says, stressing the e-word. Indeed, Director adds, the finance industry began hiring engineering graduates because people with the skills to devise complex financial instruments "were not coming out of the business schools."

Problem solving and an ability to deal with uncertainty, Pollock and Cinlar say, are key engineering skills that financial engineers must learn. "To me," Cinlar explains, "an engineer is someone who has a problem and solves it. We concentrate on the problem, and we bring and use whatever tools we need to solve it." In the world of finance, helpful tools include modeling, complex equations, and such engineering problem-solving techniques as optimization and simulation. Guillermo Gallego, chairman of Columbia's industrial engineering and operations research department, says mathematicians too often look for abstract elegant solutions, while engineers seek to remedy real-world problems. As for uncertainty, Cinlar notes: "Most people want to avoid risk. We love it. And people are willing to pay us to show them how to avoid it."

Students attracted to financial engineering tend to be career-oriented—and interested in a fat paycheck. "There are many students who want this degree, not for the education, but for the perks," Pollock says. Gallego agrees. "They are bright students who like math but want it relevant." Pollock says some also view it as an M.B.A. shortcut, "a way to get into finance without the years of experience required for an M.B.A."

Roughly half of Michigan's financial engineering students have undergraduate degrees in engineering, with most coming from the industrial/operations research, electrical, and mechanical engineering disciplines. About 25 percent are physics and math majors, and about a quarter come from economics and business. Princeton's students tend to be equally divided among engineering and math undergraduates; Columbia's mostly have engineering and math degrees, though a few have degrees in economics.

Michigan, Princeton, and Columbia get many more applicants than they have places available. UM reports that total applications are down over the past two years. Nevertheless, Pollock admits that UM's program has about 25 percent more students than it should have. In both 2002 and 2003, it enrolled about 70 students. Tightened admissions standards will keep future classes in the 45 to 50 range. It is likely, however, that the number of universities offering the degree will increase because there is so much demand—much of it coming from foreign students. The overwhelming majority, 90 percent, of Michigan's applicants are from overseas, and they comprise 50 to 55 percent of those accepted. "Schools are going to go where the money is," Director says. Gallego says that "things usually move slowly in academia, but finance engineering is moving fast."

Nonetheless, Director cautions, running an interdisciplinary program can be a challenge for many schools, and turf wars have been known to break out. His college has a history of working with other schools and departments, but that's not true at all schools. "The first question is always, ‘How do we share the revenues?' " And faculty from different areas need to feel they are on equal footing. "It can't be one school pushing it on the others or trying to do it all itself."

Just as there is demand for the programs, there is usually a high demand for the graduates. "They are heavily recruited," Director says. Cinlar and Gallego agree that industry demand is currently strong. But, Gallego adds, two years ago students struggled to find jobs, "It goes with the economy." Pollock stresses that graduates must have strong communications skills. Some early Michigan graduates were foreign students who were expert at crunching numbers but whose English skills were weak, and they had a hard time finding jobs. Michigan's admissions process now looks for applicants who not only can handle the math but handle themselves in a business environment, Pollock says. "You will not get hired if you present yourself as a math nerd who hopes only to be asked to solve an equation."

Once grads do land jobs, the pay is good. Starting salaries tend to range from $50,000 to the low six figures. Companies that have hired UM students are a veritable Who's Who of blue-chip firms, including Lehman Brothers, T. Rowe Price Associates, J.P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

No one foresees a doctorate in financial engineering since the recipients are overwhelmingly career-minded and not looking for a life in academia. "But," Pollock says, "new models and methods need to be developed, so research needs to be done, and that will require Ph.D.'s." That said, these doctorates may not be in financial engineering; they'll likely be in industrial engineering or mathematics, with dissertations on subjects relevant to the field, such as financial math or modeling.

Michigan's program has experienced a few growing pains. Placement was initially somewhat hampered, Director says, because the engineering college was suddenly dealing with companies it had never dealt with before. Finding the right mix of skills among faculty members can also be a daunting task, though it helps that UM is a large school with a good-sized pool of qualified instructors. Most of the problems have been bureaucratic, Pollock explains, because faculty members have to deal with colleagues who might be located across campus, not across the hall. "But there haven't been any intellectual problems." Clearly a crystal ball isn't needed to predict that financial engineering has a bright future.

 Back to the index.


IV. Fellowship Programs
 

Postdoctoral

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.  This program is open to U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and offers a competitive stipend as well as insurance, relocation, and travel allowances.  The program offers one to three-year postdoctoral fellowships designed to increase the involvement of scientists and engineers from academia and industry to scientific and technical areas of interest and relevance to the Navy.  The program has a rolling admission.  Go to: http://www.asee.org/nrl/ .

Summer Faculty Fellowship Programs

The Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP).  This program is intended for U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have an earned doctorate in science or engineering and who hold full-time science or engineering faculty positions at U.S. colleges, community colleges and universities.  The duration of this summer fellowship is from 8 to 12 continuous weeks and research is performed on-site at Air Force laboratories.  There is a competitive weekly stipend, and relocation and daily expense allowances are available for those who qualify.  The application opens on August 1^st, 2007.  To apply online, go to : www.asee.org/sffp

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Summer Faculty Research and Sabbatical Leave Program. This program is intended for U.S. citizens who hold teaching or research appointments relating to science and/or engineering at U.S. academic institutions. A competitive stipend, relocation and travel allowances, and a pre-program site visit are offered. Application deadline is December 4, 2007. Go to: http://www.asee.org/summer.

Undergraduate/Graduate Fellowship

Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program. The purpose is to promote the education, recruitment and retention of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in science, mathematics, and engineering studies; the DoD is also interested in supporting the education of future scientists and engineers in a number of interdisciplinary areas. Scholarships and fellowships awarded include salary or stipend, full tuition, required fees, federal employee benefits, and up to $1000 book allowance per year.  The SMART Program will allow individuals to acquire an education in exchange for a period of employment with the Department of Defense. The program is intended for citizens and nationals of the United States; students must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for an award.  Application deadline is December 14, 2007.For information and to apply online, go to http://www.asee.org/smart

The Naval Research Enterprise Intern Program (NREIP). The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is now administering NREIP, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). NREIP is a ten week summer research opportunity for undergraduate Juniors & Seniors, and Graduate students, under the guidance of a mentor, at a participating Navy Laboratory. The stipend amounts for the program are $5,500 for undergraduate students and $6,500 for graduate students. U.S. citizenship required; Permanent residents accepted at certain labs. The application is currently open and must be completed by January 14, 2008. Go to: http://www.asee.org/nreip.

Undergraduate/Graduate The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). For U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent resident aliens at or near the beginning of their graduate studies, this program offers a stipend of $30,000 a year for three years and a $10,500 cost of education allowance and a one-time $1,000 travel allowance. For application and deadline information, go to: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. For additional program information, go to: www.nsf.gov/grfp .

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG). The fellowship program is sponsored by the Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the DoD High Performance Computing Modernization Program. This program is intended for U.S. citizens at or near the beginning of their doctoral studies in science or engineering programs. The fellowships are for three year tenures and include full tuition and fees, a competitive stipend, and a health insurance allowance. The application deadline is January 7, 2008.  Go to: http://www.asee.org/ndseg for applications and detailed program information.

High School

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP). The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is now administering SEAP, sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). SEAP is an eight week summer research opportunity at participating ONR laboratories for high school student who have completed at least grade 9, must be 16 years of age for most Laboratories, and a U.S. citizen. A graduating Senior is eligible to apply. The stipend for the summer program is $1,500 for new students; $1,550 for returning students. The application is currently open and must be completed by January 28, 2008. Go to http://www.asee.org/seap.