Volume II Issue 11
November 2006 |
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 Orion
Spacecraft for Moon/Mars
 NASA has selected Lockheed Martin Corp., based in Bethesda, MD, as the
prime contractor to design, develop, and build Orion, America's
spacecraft for a new generation of explorers. Orion will be capable of
transporting four crewmembers for lunar missions and later supporting
crew transfers for Mars missions. Orion could also carry up to six crew
members to and from the International Space Station.
The first Orion launch with humans onboard is planned for no later than
2014, and for a human moon landing no later than 2020. Orion will form a
key element of extending a sustained human presence beyond low-Earth
orbit to advance commerce and science.
Manufacturing and integration of the vehicle components will take place
at contractor facilities across the country. Lockheed Martin will
perform the majority of the Orion vehicle engineering work at NASA's
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, and complete final assembly of the
vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center, FL. All ten NASA centers will
provide technical and engineering support to the Orion project. Find out
more at www.nasa.gov/orion. Find
out about careers in
aerospace engineering...
Precollege
Museum and Science Center Experiences
 Many
science centers and museums offer diverse resources and programs that
help interested students explore real world applications of science,
mathematics, technology, and engineering.
Some offer weekend or summer programs for precollege students, and some
also have developed programs for teachers, including lesson plans and
activities for use in the classroom. Many offer hands on experiences
for exploring science, mathematics, engineering, computing, healthcare, and medicine
or health applications.
The Sloan Career
Cornerstone Center has developed a broad list of U.S. and virtual
museums that can offer students hands-on experiences to help them
explore what it is like to work in the fields of science, math,
engineering, technology, computing, healthcare, and medicine.
Find out more...
The
Art of Engineering
 On
a college campus, you might think it would be difficult to find two
subjects more different from each other than art and engineering.
Yet on the campus of
the University of South Florida, one engineering professor responsible
for teaching classes about differential equations and electromagnetism
has created a popular course that merges his research world with the
world of fine art.
Incorporating
the works of the masters, the tools of artists and the perspective of
engineers, David Snider has merged the two subjects into a single
attempt to broaden the perspectives of his students. Snider draws
students in with topics that span from general interest -- such as early
theories of light and the structure of the eye -- to more engineering
related topics including a detailed exploration of the wave nature of
light and the creation of cameras, from pinhole to digital.
"The course gives
engineering students the opportunity to think more creatively about the
impact of their field and the relationship between the arts and
engineering," said Sue Kemnitzer, the deputy division director for
education in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of
Engineering Education and Centers. "We also expect that more students
with these broader interests will be attracted to engineering careers."
Find out more about careers in
engineering...
Degree
Profile: Industrial Engineering
 Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to use the basic
factors of production -- people, machines, materials, information, and
energy -- to make a product or to provide a service. They are the bridge
between management goals and operational performance. They are concerned
with increasing productivity through the management of people, methods
of business organization, and technology. Although most industrial
engineers work in manufacturing industries, they may also work in
consulting services, healthcare, and communications.
 Industrial
engineers develop management control systems to aid in financial
planning and cost analysis and design production planning and control
systems to coordinate activities and ensure product quality. They also
design or improve systems for the physical distribution of goods and
services. Industrial engineers determine which plant location has the
best combination of raw materials availability, transportation
facilities, and costs. Many industrial engineers move into management
positions because the work is closely related.
Find out more about careers in
industrial engineering.
Financing
Undergraduate Education
 The
National Center for Education Statistics has released a report about how
undergraduate educations are financed in the United States. "Student
Financing of Undergraduate Education," was based on data from the
2003-04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study and provides detailed
information about undergraduate tuition and total price of attendance at
various types of institutions, the percentage of students receiving
various types of financial aid, and the average amounts that they
received.
The report showed that in 2003-04, three-quarters of all full-time
undergraduates received some type of financial aid ($9,900 average).
One-half took out student loans ($6,200 average), and 62 percent
received grants ($5,600 average). Forty percent received both grants and
loans (combined average $13,600). The average tuition and fees for
full-time undergraduates in 2003-04 were $2,000 at public 2-year, $5,400
at public 4-year, and $18,400 at private not-for-profit 4-year
institutions.
About one-fourth of full-time undergraduates did not pay any tuition,
because the entire tuition amount was covered by grants. Nearly one-half
of full-time low-income dependent undergraduates had their entire
tuition amount covered by grant aid.
 The
total price of attendance (tuition plus room and board and other
expenses) for full-time undergraduates in 2003-04 was $10,500 at public
2-year, $15,200 at public 4-year, and $28,300 at private not-for-profit
4-year institutions.
After subtracting all financial aid (including loans), the average
out-of-pocket net price of attendance for full-time low-income dependent
undergraduates was $6,000 at public 2-year, $5,600 at public 4-year and
$9,200 at private nonprofit 4-year institutions.
Find out more...
New
Materials Developed For Vascular Graft
 Virginia
Commonwealth University engineers and scientists have developed a new
material that may one day help patients with damaged arteries regenerate
new ones. The researchers have reported the design and fabrication of a
new material to be used for vascular grafts that in the future could
ultimately be implanted in patients undergoing coronary artery graft
surgery.
The material is a
blend of polydioxanone (PDO), a synthetic biodegradable polymer that has
been used in suture materials for years, and elastin fibers, used to
enhance elasticity and bioactivity of the graft. Elastin, a natural
polymer, is also a major component of the arterial wall and is critical
to the graft in providing a base for the cells to recognize and interact
with the body. Using a technique known as electrospinning, researchers
were able to manipulate the PDO-elastin composite into a conduit, or
hose, for use as a small diameter vascular graft.
The PDO-elastin blend
undergoes slow degradation and causes few adverse reactions compared
with previous materials used for the same purpose, said lead author Gary
Bowlin, Ph.D., the Harris professor of biomedical engineering in the VCU
School of Engineering. The purpose of the new material would be to help
a patient regenerate a new artery. If it works as designed the
researchers hope that at six months post-surgery, there would be no more
synthetic structure left.
"Regeneration needs to
be timed just right, and the cells regrowth needs to be strong enough so
that the patient's own artery can take over for the synthetic material
and promote regeneration," Bowlin said. "Additionally, the synthetic
material must degrade, because any foreign material in the body for an
extended time is susceptible to inflammatory response or even severe
infection such as staphylococcus."
Find out more about careers in
bioengineering, physics,
and materials engineering...
First
Tree Genome Deciphered
 An international consortium including the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), Genome Canada, and the Umeå Plant Science Centre in Sweden has
released the first complete DNA sequence of a tree, Populus trichocarpa,
the Black Cottonwood or poplar, one member of the most ecologically and
commercially valuable group of trees in North America.
"The poplar genome sequence
will provide researchers with a critical resource to develop faster
growing trees, trees that produce more biomass that can be converted to
fuels, and trees that can sequester more carbon from the atmosphere or
be used to clean up waste sites," said Secretary of Energy Spencer
Abraham. With a genome consisting of more than 480 million letters of
genetic code, Populus trichocarpa was sequenced eight times over to
attain the highest quality standards. Poplar was chosen as the first
tree DNA sequence decoded because of its relatively compact genetic
complement, some 40 times smaller than the genome of pine, making the
poplar an ideal model system for trees.
Find out more...
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