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| September 2010 | Subscribe |
PREMIER SPONSOR |
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In This Issue:
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Products & Programs FROM OUR SPONSORS:
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II. Congressional Hotline |
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OBAMA SIDESTEPS SENATE TO NAME ENGINEER TO TOP SBA JOBWinslow Sargeant came to Boston from Barbados as a child and holds electrical engineering degrees from Northeastern, Iowa State and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. From 2001-05, Sargeant worked at the National Science Foundation in the engineering directorate as program manager of the Small Business Innovations Research Program in Electronics. Most recently, he has been at Venture Investors, working with entrepreneurs to create innovative companies in underserved communities. So, the Obama administration figured he was the right choice to be chief counsel of advocacy at the Small Business Administration.
Sargeant's nomination cleared the Senate Small Business Committee, but not before Republicans argued that the SBA position should go to a lawyer with regulatory experience. The job entails making the case for small business in the policymaking and regulatory process. It appeared the full Senate wouldn't approve him without a debate. But floor time was never scheduled. So the White House made Sargeant one of four recess appointments the president made during the Senate's August break. Olympia Snowe, ranking Republican on the Senate Small Business Committee, said she was "outraged" that President Obama had shortcircuited the confirmation process, CQ reported. Sargeant is now on the job.
FOLLOW THE MONEY -- TO EARLY RETIREMENTTime was when service on a Congressional appropriations panel brought power in Washington and gratitude from constituents. That may no longer be true. CQ notes that four of six congressional incumbents who lost party primaries this year were longtime appropriators, and three GOP appropriators lost primary bids for other offices. These losses and pending retirements, including that of House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, portend "significant changes" on both House and Senate spending panels next year.
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III. SOUND OFF! |
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WELCOME TO CONNECTIONS' LATEST FEATURE, SOUND OFF!We want to know what you think on a variety of issues. Each month, we'll publish a question. The following month, we'll publish the best answer we receive, and reward that contributor with a $30 Amazon gift card. (Send responses to: connections@asee.org. Please limit answers to no more than 300 words.) This month's question: As you read above in Congressional Hotline, President Obama named Winslow Sargeant, an electrical engineer, to a top post in the Small Business Administration. He's one of several engineers named to high-level posts in the Obama administration. Would you like to see more engineers named to top policy-making positions in the federal government, and why or why not?
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IV. Innovations |
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PUTTING SOME STING INTO SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGYBio-solar cells? That's what researchers at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology have in mind. They're developing cheap-to-make photovoltaic cells that use unique proteins harvested from bioluminescent jellyfish. They're called green florescent proteins (GFPs), and they glow. Researchers insert them between two aluminum electrodes, and they form strands between the two plates. Once they're exposed to ultraviolet light, they generate current by absorbing photons and emitting electrons. Jellyfish, unlike some other useful deep sea denizens, are at no risk of being overfished -- indeed, they are overpopulating some ocean areas. The Chalmers investigators say that use of GFPs will eventually lead to a wider variety of solar cells, including some that work at the nano level, and others that produce their own source of light. Learn more about Solar Cells from Bioluminescent Jellyfish
A HOLE LOTTA RACKETEngineers at Prince Sports are on to a winner with their patented OTechnology racket. What they've done is strategically place along the racket's frame a series of holes: some round, some oval and some trapezoidal. That doesn't sound like much of a change, but the holes help make the rackets lighter, while reducing drag and enlarging the so-called "sweet spot." Prince veep Steve Davis, a mechanical engineer and former college tennis player, got the idea after seeing a doodle of a tennis racket with holes in it. Prince has also introduced the concept to other gear: hockey sticks, baseball bats, lacrosse sticks -- even archery bows. Learn more about how Prince Engineers Make a Racket STUDENTS BUILD SUPER-FAST CAR; BATTERIES INCLUDED
Electric cars may be green, but can they be red-hot fast, too? Yep. An electric car, the Buckeye Bullet 2.5, which runs purely on battery power, recently hit a speed of 320 m.p.h. at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. Its two-way average speed: 307.66 m.p.h. Once it's certified, it will beat the previous battery-powered car speed record by more than 60 m.p.h. The car was designed and built by the Buckeye Bullet team, a group of mechanical engineering students at Ohio State University. Team Buckeye is no stranger to this game. Last year, the team's hydrogen-powered Buckeye Bullet 2 set a world record for fuel cell-propelled land vehicles with an average speed of 302.87 m.p.h. BB 2.5 is essentially the same car, but it took the students 11 months to change over from a fuel cell to a stack of lithium-ion batteries. And they've clearly got more records in mind: note that decimal point in the car's name. It's merely a test vehicle for Buckeye Bullet 3. Learn more about Ohio State University's Buckeye Bullet
Find More Innovations in ASEE's eGFI Student Blog
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V. NEW BOOK RELEASES (Sponsored Section) |
New from Oxford University PressOxford University Press is pleased to announce the acquisition of several titles for the Introduction
to Engineering course previously published by Great Lakes Press:
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Authoritative, Innovative, Detailed . . . now available in a new edition from Oxford University Press!
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VI. The K-12 Report |
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THE SCIENCE (AND MATH) BEHIND PUNTING, PASSING AND KICKINGBack in February, NBC Learn -- the educational arm of the TV network -- and the National Science Foundation (NSF) teamed to create a video-based website that gave kids an understanding of the math and science behind the athletic events in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The site, Learn the Science of the Olympic Winter Games, was a big success, receiving more than a million unique page hits, the New York Times blog The Fifth Down reports. So now that NBC Learn and the NSF have shown that science and sports do mix, they're joining forces with the NFL to produce a 10-part documentary that examines the physics and other science and math involved in pro football. The Science of NFL Football series can be viewed for free at NBCLearn.com/NFL or at Science360.gov, and it's geared toward both middle- and high-school students. The site features top players talking about how their bodies feel during a play, the Times blog explains, then has scientists explaining the science and math behind those plays as they're rerun in super-slomo. Soraya Gage, executive producer at NBC Learn, tells Fifth Down: "Getting athletes to talk about what they do hooks the kids and the students. And when it's coming from an idol, a sporting hero, they sit up and listen." Read more about how "Science and Sports Team Up" in ASEE's eGFI Teachers Blog
MARYLAND HIGH SCHOOL DRAWS STUDENTS WITH AGRI-SCIENCEThis fall, when 60 incoming freshmen start classes in a special magnet program at North Harford High School in rural Maryland, they'll be studying a lot more than the usual core subjects. They'll also be spending plenty of time outside the classroom in computer labs, barns, pastures and forests, the Baltimore Sun reports. That's because they'll be the first tranche of students in the Harford School District's new Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences program. The focus of the program is natural resources and environmental studies, with an emphasis on science. It was designed with help from the University of Maryland's Institute of Applied Agriculture. "This is a heavily science-based program for bright kids who want to use their hands and be outside . . . We need these kids to protect our environment and increase the production of our farms," Glori Hyman, the institute's acting director, told the Sun. It proved immediately popular: the district received 120 applications for the 60 slots. Harford schools have several other magnet programs, as well, that cover such areas as engineering, science and homeland security. Read more about the "Science Class in Fields and Forests" in ASEE's eGFI Teachers Blog HOW TO SELL COMPUTER SCIENCE TO K-12 SCHOOLS
Computers and information technology make the world go around these days, and are essential to America's economic future. But getting students, parents and school officials to support computer-science curricula in K-12 public schools remains a hard sell, explains Xconomy, an online tech-business magazine. How to get schools to more fully embrace CS was the topic of a recent three-day conference at the University of Washington's department of computer science and engineering. Sponsored by Google, it brought together math and science teachers, and computer science professors and professionals for lectures and workshops on how to better integrate computer science into K-12 education. The key is finding ways to use computer science in all types of classes, Ed Lazowska, a professor of CS, told Xconomy. One session focused on bunking common misconceptions about computer science. Such as: the only available jobs for CS grads are programming; the jobs are solitary and require sitting in front of a computer all day; only top-level math and science students need apply; graduates end up in jobs that require 18-hour days and 60-plus-hour weeks. Lazowska told the gathering that CS career prospects were very strong, with starting salaries ranging from $60,000 to $80,000. He also told the group that while students should choose a major they're passionate about, and not just for vocational reasons, "I have newspaper reporters come to me and ask if students should be majoring in CS, and I say, 'Well, what do you want them to major in, journalism?'" Read more about "Not Just Codes and Programming" in ASEE's eGFI Teachers Blog
Find More K-12 Education News in ASEE's eGFI Teachers Blog
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VII. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS |
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Job-hunting? Here are a few current openings:1. Civil Engineering -- 3 opportunities 2. Computational Engineering -- 1 opportunity 3. Department Head -- 1 opportunity 4. Space Systems -- 1 opportunity Visit here for details:
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VIII. COMING ATTRACTIONS |
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OCTOBER PRISM
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IX. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS |
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THE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND RESEARCH FOR TRANSFORMATION (SMART)
SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE PROGRAM
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ASEE INTRODUCES NEW WEB SITE/MEMBERSHIP DATABASE
On September 1st, ASEE introduced a new web site and a consolidated membership/papers/registration database system. Visitors to the new site will find a new layout, a new style, newly organized content and new logins. ASEE members will need to activate their account, log in with an email address and password. Beyond the new look and feel, ASEE will have an updated section for online membership renewals and personal information updates. Please be aware, however, that some web site functions and resources to which you are accustomed may not be available immediately or may be working from August 31 data for a short time. Meanwhile, be assured that Member Services and all other ASEE departments are here and ready to help you while all the conversions and updates are completed. http://www.asee.org/
HOW CAN TODAY'S GLOBAL ENGINEERS SUCCESSFULLY COMPETE?
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION LAUNCHES SURVEY ON THE SKILLS REQUIRED TO SUCCEED
What skills and experiences will today's engineering students need to develop while in school and throughout their careers to successfully compete in today's global workplace? This question is the focus for a group of corporations affiliated with the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Corporate Member Council, who recently released an online survey aimed at enhancing the preparation, performance and employability of engineering graduates living and working in an increasingly global context. Educators, employers, students, and professional engineers throughout the global engineering community are encouraged to participate in the survey at http://ifees.net/activities/Attributes-of-a-Global-Engineer-Survey.cfm. To obtain feedback from the largest possible audience, ASEE has collaborated with the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES), to make the survey available in Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please reply to connections@asee.org with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line - please include the email address that you would like removed from the mailing list. This Newsletter was sent to you by: American Society for Engineering Education Managing Editor: Tom Grose |