Volume III Issue 3
March 2007 |
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 Funding
Education Beyond High School
 The
U.S. Department of Education recently released a comprehensive guide to
federal student aid for students and their families looking to fund a
college education. Published by the Department's Office of Federal
Student Aid, "Funding Education Beyond High School" provides an overview
of the process for applying for federal student aid as well as detailed
steps for taking action during each phase. The guide addresses such
topics as basic eligibility requirements, the types of federal student
aid (grants, work-study and loans), completing the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for new and renewal applicants, and loan
repayment and consolidation. The guide concludes with a glossary
clarifying financial aid terminology and a complete list of state higher
education agencies.
Last year, federal student aid helped approximately 10 million students
meet the cost of higher education. For a copy of the 2006-07 guide,
which is recommended for current college students, visit
www.edpubs.org or call
1-877-4ED-PUBS, with identification number EN0648P, while supplies last.
(The 2007-08 version, suggested for high school students, will be
available in December.) For the online version or to reach the Federal
Student Aid Information Center, visit
www.studentaid.ed.gov or call
1-800-4-FED-AID.
Think
Summer!
 Summer
programs are an excellent way for precollege students to experience
science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine firsthand!
The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, maintains a continually updated
list of national summer programs
in all of these fields. While many programs are offered through
universities, several national programs are sponsored by corporations or
other groups at various U.S. locations. Some are targeted toward girls
and underrepresented minorities. Examples of national programs are
Destination Science Summer Camps, IBM EXITE Camps, Microsoft DigiGirlz,
the Science and Engineering Apprentice
Program at the US Office of Naval Research, and the Summer Internship
Programs in Biomedical Research, from the National Institutes of Health.
Most universities offer one or more summer programs for local high
school students. For state-by-state lists of summer programs for
precollege students, click here.
The
Smell of Money
 It's
not hard to recall the pungent scent of a handful of pocket change.
Similar smells emanate from a sweat-covered dumbbell or the water
emerging from an old metal pipe. Yet no one has been able to identify
the exact chemical cause of these familiar odors. Now, researchers
supported by the National Science Foundation and Germany's UFZ
Environmental Research Center have shown that these odor molecules come
not from the penny or the pipes, but from metal-free chemicals erupting
into the air when organic substances like sweat interact with the
metallic objects. The researchers -- Andrea Dietrich, Dietmar Glindemann,
Hans-Joachim Staerk and Peter Kuschk, all from Virginia Tech -- believe
the findings could help identify problem odors in potable water or aid
doctors searching for disease markers in sweat or other body fluids.
"We are the first to
demonstrate that when humans describe the 'metallic' odor of iron metal,
there are no iron atoms in the odors," said Dietrich. "The odors humans
perceive as metallic are really a body odor produced by metals reacting
with skin." One of the chemicals produced in the reaction is
1-octen-3-one, which has a mushroom-metallic smell and very low odor
threshold, meaning that humans can smell it in extremely minute
concentrations. "This may have provided an evolutionary advantage that
allowed early humans to track wounded comrades or prey," Dietrich added.
Find
out more about careers in chemistry...
Degree
Profile: Statistics
 Statistics
is the scientific application of mathematical principles to the
collection, analysis, and presentation of numerical data. Statisticians
contribute to scientific inquiry by applying their mathematical and
statistical knowledge to the design of surveys and experiments; the
collection, processing, and analysis of data; and the interpretation of
the results. Statisticians may apply their knowledge of statistical
methods to a variety of subject areas, such as biology, economics,
engineering, medicine, public health, psychology, marketing, education,
and sports. Many economic, social, political, and military decisions
cannot be made without statistical techniques, such as the design of
experiments to gain Federal approval of a newly manufactured drug.
 One
technique that is especially useful to statisticians is sampling --
obtaining information about a population of people or group of things by
surveying a small portion of the total. For example, to determine the
size of the audience for particular programs, television-rating services
survey only a few thousand families, rather than all viewers.
Statisticians decide where
and how to gather the data, determine the type and size of the sample
group, and develop the survey questionnaire or reporting form. They also
prepare instructions for workers who will collect and tabulate the data.
Finally, statisticians analyze, interpret, and summarize the data using
computer software.
Find out more about careers in
statistics.
Leadership
Makes a Difference
 Leadership
makes a difference, according to a new report from the National
Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Employers responding to
NACE's Job Outlook 2007 survey said that the job candidate who has held
leadership positions has the edge over those with no such record. "When
employers consider two equally qualified new college graduates for a
position, what influences their decision about which candidate to
choose? In our survey, employers reported that the candidate's having
held a leadership position would influence the decision very much," says
Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.
Nearly three-quarters of the employers responding to the NACE survey
also expressed a preference for hiring candidates with relevant work
experience.
For those in high school
this means taking the time to volunteer on a community project, or
organizing an event or program that benefits others. It can also mean
participating in national programs and projects that allow students to
work as a team toward a goal such as designing a new robot system or
solving a mathematical challenge. At the college level, the study
underscores how critical internships or coop programs can be to charting
an early career path. Not only do these real-world work experiences give
student a chance to explore different career paths, they also offer
opportunities for college students to develop their personal leadership
styles.
 Many
universities coordinate coop or internship opportunities for students
both during the school year and over summer break. For those considering
different careers field, the three summer breaks during the college
period offer an opportunity to work in different industries, or on
different projects in one field. The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center
offers links to national programs and
projects at the precollege level as well as resources for
coop and internship programs for
college students.
Advances
in Tissue Imaging
 A
diagnostic device that resembles a mammography unit can detect
tumors as tiny as one-fifth of an inch in diameter, which may make it a
valuable complementary imaging technique to mammography, say researchers
at Mayo Clinic, who helped develop the technology along with industry
collaborators Gamma Medica and GE Healthcare.
This new technique uses a new dual-head gamma camera system and
is sensitive enough to detect tumors less than 10 millimeters (about
two-fifths of an inch) in diameter in 88% of cases where it is used.
Early findings from an ongoing comparison of the device with mammography
show that it can detect small cancers that were not found with
mammography, say the investigators.
"Our ultimate goal is to
detect small cancers that may be inconspicuous or invisible on a
mammogram for high-risk women with dense tissue," says Mayo Clinic
physicist Michael O'Connor, Ph.D. The investigators also say their
device will likely be only slightly more expensive to use than
mammography, and will be much more comfortable for women because much
less pressure is needed to for a useful image. "We hope that our studies
will eventually show our device to be almost as sensitive as magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), which is probably the best diagnostic test
available to date, but is not widely used because of its expense," says
Stephen Phillips, M.D., a Mayo radiologist and a study co-author. An MRI
scan costs as much as ten times more than a traditional mammogram and
involves injection of a contrast agent. Mammography uses low-dose X-rays
(ionizing radiation) to create images of the anatomy of tissue.
If the tissue is very dense, it can only accurately help in tumor
diagnosis in 30 to 50 % of cases, says Deborah Rhodes, M.D., another
study co-author. Yet women who have dense tissue are four to six times
more likely to develop cancer, and more functioning tissue
is available in which disease can occur, she says.
Find out more about careers in
medicine and bioengineering...
Students
to Fly On 'Weightless Wonder'
 Thirty-four
undergraduate student teams have been selected to fly and conduct
experiments aboard NASA's "Weightless Wonder" reduced gravity aircraft
this spring. The unique learning experience is part of NASA's Reduced
Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. The program has given
undergraduate teams the chance to research, design, fabricate, fly, and
evaluate reduced gravity experiments annually since 1995.
The "Weightless Wonder" is
a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-9 that conducts parabolic flights. The
plane does a steep climb followed by an equally steep descent, producing
about 18 to 25 seconds of weightlessness. Each team will have about 32
parabolas to run experiments, with gravitational forces ranging from
zero gravity to Martian-like levels at one-third Earth's gravity. Four
of the teams have been selected for the program's first lunar gravity
flights. These experiments relate to areas of interest such as
propulsion, areas that NASA is investigating as it prepares for future
lunar missions. Lunar gravity is one-sixth that of Earth. Each proposal
was evaluated for technical merit, safety and an outreach plan. Past
proposals have included topics such as aviation, biology, medicine and
communications.
Find out more...
Career Cornerstone News is a publication of the
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. Click here
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