Volume II Issue 4
April 2006 |
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 New
Process Builds Electronics Into Optical Fiber
 Scientists
from Penn State University and the University of Southampton have
demonstrated a new way to combine microelectronics and optical fibers --
a development that opens up potential applications in fields as diverse
as medicine, computing, and remote sensing. The researchers discovered
how to fashion a thin, flexible tube of ultra-clear glass (an optical
fiber) that has a hollow core packed with microscopic wires made of a
semiconductor such as germanium. The scientists then created solid-state
electronic devices, including a transistor, inside the semiconductors.
"This advance is the basis for a technology that could build a large
range of devices inside an optical fiber," says Penn State chemist John
Badding, one of the lead authors of the report. Indeed, he says, it
could help meet one of the greatest challenges in modern information
technology. How do you rapidly and efficiently exchange information
between optical fibers, which have proved to be the ideal medium for
transmitting data (in the form of light pulses), and solid-state
microelectronic devices, which are by far the most effective tools for
manipulating and processing the data? "If the signal never leaves the
fiber, then it is faster, cheaper and more efficient," says Badding.
What's
a Degree Worth?
 The
job prospects for new college graduates look encouraging as employers
recently said they plan to hire 14.5 percent more new college grads in
2005-06 than they hired in 2004-05. But the increased number of jobs
available isn't the only good news for these students; they can also
expect to see higher starting salary offers, according to results of a
new survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
As a sample, the salary showed that computer science graduates would
earn an average starting salary of $50,046. Chemical engineering
graduates saw an average salary offer of $55,900; civil engineers earned
$44,999, electrical engineering were offered $52,899, and the average
offer to mechanical engineering grads was $50,672. The Sloan Career Cornerstone
Center
includes current salary information and details about these and other
degree fields.
Science
and Engineering Visualization Challenge
 Some
of the most powerful statements of science, engineering, technology,
computing and mathematics are not made in words. From the diagrams of
DaVinci to Hooke's microscopic bestiary, the beaks of Darwin's finches,
Rosalind Franklin's x-rays or the latest photographic marvels retrieved
from the remotest galactic outback, visualization of research has a long
and literally illustrious history.
The National Science Foundation and Science, published by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, are seeking participants for
the fourth annual "Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge." The
competition recognizes scientists, engineers, visualization specialists,
and artists for producing or commissioning innovative work in visual
communication.
The ability to convey the essence and excitement of research in
digitized images, color diagrams, multimedia, and animation has given
researchers the perspective needed to set new research directions and
equipped other citizens to see and understand complex science concepts.
Award categories include: Photographs, Illustrations, Interactive Media,
Non-Interactive Media, and Informational Graphics.
Winners in each category will be published in the September 22, 2006
issue of Science Magazine and Science Online and displayed on the NSF
website.
Find out more
details and read about last years winners...
Degree
Profile: Environmental Engineering
 Using
the principles of biology and chemistry, environmental engineers develop
solutions to environmental problems. They are involved in water and air
pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues.
Environmental engineers conduct hazardous-waste management studies in
which they evaluate the significance of the hazard, offer analysis on
treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps.
They design municipal water
supply and industrial wastewater treatment systems. They conduct
research on proposed environmental projects, analyze data, and perform
quality control checks. They provide legal and financial consulting on
matters related to the environment.
Environmental engineers are concerned with local and worldwide
environmental issues. They study and attempt to minimize the effects of
acid rain, global warming, automobile emissions, and ozone depletion.
They also are involved in the protection of wildlife.
 Many
environmental engineers work as consultants, helping their clients to
comply with regulations and to clean up hazardous sites.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
environmental engineering graduates should have favorable job
opportunities. Employment of environmental engineers is expected to
increase much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014.
Find out more about careers in
environmental engineering.
Project
Takes Fish into the Digital Age
Galapagos shark (Carcharhinus
galapagensis) - Credit: UCSD Keck Center for fMR
The same medical technology used to image brain tumors and torn knee
ligaments is now taking the field of marine biology to a new dimension:
anyone with Internet access will be able to look at fish as never
before. The National Science Foundation has awarded researchers at the
University of California at San Diego and Scripps Institution of
Oceanography a grant to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to create a
high-resolution, 3-dimensional, online catalog of fishes.
The five-year, $2.5 million Digital Fish Library project will support
development and application of new MRI technology that, in conjunction
with novel data analysis and visualization methods, penetrates soft body
tissue to provide 3-D images of physiological structures.
The plan is to image the internal anatomies of the entire range of
fishes. This variation is part of the challenge, as standard MRI is
designed to image the anatomy of humans who slide inside large
cylindrical "coils" that capture data that is then processed to create
detailed computer images. New hardware will be developed to accommodate
the shape of fish and differences in fish tissue.
The technology will enable researchers to acquire and process
high-resolution data of various fish anatomies. Using this powerful and
versatile imaging tool, scientists, students and anyone in the public
will be able to digitally probe and dissect these fishes online from
anywhere.
Education modules within the Digital Dissection Tool will cover the
basics of MRI, digital image processing of 3-D MRI data, as well as
aspects of marine biology. Virtual dissections will help preserve fish
specimens, unlike traditional, physical dissections that often destroy
them. That is even more important with rare specimens.
Strong
Link Between Challenging Studies and Degree Completion
 Completing
academically challenging course work in high school dramatically
increases the likelihood of a student earning a bachelor's degree,
according to a recent U.S. Department of Education study. The study, The
Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion From High School Through
College, found that the academic intensity of a high school curriculum
is the strongest indicator of postsecondary degree completion,
regardless of a student's major course of study.
The Toolbox Revisited
studies the High School Class of 1992 as it moved from high school to
higher education. Through high school and college transcripts, the study
examines students who attended a four-year college at any time,
including students who started out in community colleges. The data on
which the study is based cover a period of eight and a half years for
degree completion.
The study found that the
academic intensity of the student's high school curriculum counted more
than anything else in precollegiate history in providing momentum toward
completing a bachelor's degree. Academic intensity was defined as
students who, through grade 12 in1992, had accumulated:
 3.75
or more Carnegie units of English
3.75
or more Carnegie units of mathematics
highest
mathematics of either calculus, precalculus, or trigonometry
2.5
or more Carnegie units of science or more than 2.0 Carnegie units of
core
laboratory
science (biology, chemistry, and physics)
more
than 2.0 Carnegie Units of foreign languages
more
than 2.0 Carnegie Units of history and social studies
1.0
or more Carnegie Units of computer science
more
than one Advanced Placement course
no
remedial English; no remedial mathematics
View the
full
report or find out more
about precollege career planning tips
on the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
Science
and Engineering Indicators 2006
 Citing
a "changed world" in the global picture for science and technology, the
National Science Board has released its biennial report "Science and
Engineering (S&E) Indicators 2006." In doing so, members of the board
appearing in a Capitol Hill briefing expressed concern that today's K-12
students in science and mathematics are not improving their learning
relative to international peers, boding a potential loss for the United
States of its global prominence in discovery and innovation.
In recent years,
mathematics scores have been rising slowly for U.S. students on national
assessments, but they have not been doing the same in science. And
internationally, U.S. students in both science and math still perform
near the middle of the pack among industrial nations on the Trends in
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Indicators 2006 also reports that
the number of science and engineering degrees awarded at all levels is
rising, especially bachelor's and master's degrees. Graduate enrollments
also are on an upward course across all major U.S. demographic groups.
Find out more...
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