Volume III Issue 9
September 2007 |
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 So
Just What is E8?
 Ever
since 1887, when Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie discovered the
mathematical group called E8, researchers have tried to understand the
extraordinarily complex object described by a numerical matrix of more
than 400,000 rows and columns. Now, an international team of experts
using powerful computers and programming techniques has mapped E8 -- a
feat numerically akin to the mapping of the human genome -- allowing for
breakthroughs in a wide range of problems in geometry, number theory,
and the physics of string theory.
"Although mapping the human genome was of fundamental importance in
biology, it doesn't instantly give you a miracle drug or a cure for
cancer" says Jeffrey Adams, project leader and mathematics professor at
the University of Maryland. "This research is similar: it is critical
basic research, but its implications may not become known for many
years." Team member David Vogan, a professor of mathematics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), presented the findings. The
effort to map E8 is part of a larger project to map out all of the Lie
groups--mathematical descriptions of symmetry for continuous objects
like cones, spheres and their higher-dimensional counterparts. Many of
the groups are well understood; E8 is the most complex.
Find out more...
Positive
Trend in Starting Salaries
 Starting
salary offers to new college graduates continue to rise, reflecting the
positive job market for Class of 2007 graduates, according to a new
report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Computer
science graduates saw their average offer bump up 2.5 percent to
$52,177. The engineering fields also enjoyed across-the-board increases,
although none were spectacular. Chemical engineering graduates,
typically one of the highest paid majors reported in Salary Survey, saw
their average offer climb by 5.6 percent over last year at this time to
$59,707. Civil engineering graduates posted a solid increase; their
average rose 4.8 percent to $47,750. The average offer to computer
engineering graduates rose 3.2 percent to $55,946. Electrical
engineering graduates posted a mere 1.6 percent increase; still, their
average offer stands at a hefty $54,915. Mechanical engineering
graduates saw one of the higher-end increases of the engineering
disciplines. Their average salary offer rose 5.7 percent to $54,695,
pushed along by a good number of offers from aerospace manufacturers who
extended an average offer of $56,382 to mechanical engineering grads.
Find out more about salary trends within each
degree field profiled on the Sloan
Career Cornerstone Center...
Top
Ten Materials Moments in History
 The
Minerals, Metals and Materials Society has released the
Greatest Materials Moments in
History:
1. The Periodic
Table of Elements - the indispensable reference tool for those in
the field.
2. Fe Smelting - Around 3500 B.C., Egyptians smelt iron for the
first time, using tiny amounts, mostly for ornamental or ceremonial
purposes. This is the first processing secret of what will become
the world's dominant metallurgical material.
3. Transistor - This becomes the building block for all modern
electronics and the foundation for microchip and computer
technology.
4. Invention of Glass - Around 2200 B.C., northwestern Iranians
invent glass. This becomes the second greatest nonmetallic
engineering material (following ceramics).
5. Optical Microscopy - In 1668, Anton van Leeuwenhoek develops
optical microscopy, capable of magnifications of 200 times and
greater, enabling study of the world invisible to the human eye.
6. Modern Concrete - In 1755, John Smeaton invents modern concrete.
7. Crucible Steel Making - Around 300 B.C., metal workers in south
India develop crucible steel making, producing "wootz" steel.
8. Cu Extraction and Casting -
Approximately 5000 B.C., people in the region of modern Turkey
discover that liquid copper can be extracted from malachite and
azurite, and that the molten metal can be cast into different
shapes.
9. X-ray Diffraction - In 1912, Max von Laue discovers the
diffraction of x-rays by crystals, inspiring the theory of
diffraction by crystals.
10. Bessemer Process - In 1856, Henry Bessemer patents a
bottom-blown acid process for melting low-carbon iron, leading to
the era of cheap, large tonnage steel, enabling massive progress in
transportation, building construction and general industrialization.
Find out more about careers in
materials science...
Degree
Profile: Nursing
 Registered
nurses (RNs), regardless of specialty or work setting, perform basic
duties that include treating patients, educating patients and the public
about various medical conditions, and providing advice and emotional
support to patients' family members. RNs record patients' medical
histories and symptoms, help to perform diagnostic tests and analyze
results, operate medical machinery, administer treatment and
medications, and help with patient follow-up and rehabilitation.
RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or
injury, including post-treatment home care needs, diet and exercise
programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy.
Some RNs also are trained to provide grief counseling to family members
of critically ill patients. RNs work to promote general health by
educating the public on various warning signs and symptoms of disease
and where to go for help.
 RNs
also might run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood
drives, and public seminars on various conditions.
RNs can specialize in one or more patient care specialties. The most
common specialties can be divided into roughly four categories -- by
work setting or type of treatment; disease, ailment, or condition; organ
or body system type; or population. RNs may combine specialties from
more than one area -- for example, pediatric oncology or cardiac
emergency -- depending on personal interest and employer needs.
Find out more about career paths in
nursing....
Thirty-Two
Mile Cable Installed for
First Deep-Sea Observatory
 Oceanographers
have completed an important step in constructing the first deep-sea
observatory off the continental United States. Workers in the
multi-institution effort laid 32 miles (52 kilometers) of cable along
the Monterey Bay sea floor that will provide electrical power to
scientific instruments, video cameras, and robots 3,000 feet (900
meters) below the ocean surface. The link will also carry data from the
instruments back to shore, for use by scientists and engineers from
around the world.
The Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS) observatory, due to be
completed later this year, will provide ocean scientists with
24-hour-a-day access to instruments and experiments in the deep sea. The
project is managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Currently, almost all oceanographic instruments in the deep sea rely on
batteries for power and store their data on hard disks or memory chips
until they are brought back to the surface. With a continuous and
uninterrupted power supply, instruments attached to the MARS observatory
could remain on the sea floor for months or years. If something goes
wrong with the instruments, scientists will know immediately, and will
be able to recover or reprogram them as necessary. Slightly thicker than
a garden hose, the MARS cable is buried about 3 feet below the sea floor
along most of its route, so it will not be disturbed by boat anchors or
fishing gear. MARS also will serve as a testing ground for technology
that will be used on more ambitious deep-sea observatories. As planned,
such observatories will use thousands of kilometers of undersea cables
to hook up dozens of seismographs and oceanographic monitoring stations.
They will provide scientists with new views of sea floor life, and a new
understanding of the global tectonic processes that spawn earthquakes
and tsunamis.
Find out more...
Eye
Disease Gave Great Painters Vision!
 Michael
Marmor, MD, wanted to know what it was like to see through the eyes of
an artist. Literally. After writing two books on the topic of artists
and eye disease, the Stanford University School of Medicine
ophthalmologist decided to go one step further and create images that
would show how artists with eye disease actually saw their world and
their canvases. Combining computer simulation with his own medical
knowledge, Marmor has recreated images of some of the masterpieces of
the French impressionistic painters Claude Monet and Edgar Degas who
continued to work while they struggled with cataracts and retinal
disease. The results are striking. In Marmor's simulated versions of how
the painters would most likely have seen their work, Degas' later
paintings of bathers become so blurry it's difficult to see any of the
artist's brushstrokes. Monet's later paintings of the lily pond and the
Japanese bridge at Giverny, when adjusted to reflect the typical
symptoms of cataracts, appear dark and muddied. The artist's signature
vibrant colors are muted, replaced by browns and yellows.
"These simulations may lead one to question whether the artists intended
these late works to look exactly as they do," said Marmor who has long
had interest in both the mechanics of vision and vision in artists. "The
fact is that these artists weren't painting in this manner totally for
artistic reasons." Degas and Monet were both founders of the
Impressionist era, and the style of both painters was well-formed before
their eye disease affected their vision. But their paintings grew
significantly more abstract in later life as, coincidentally, their eye
problems increased. Find out more
online, and find out more about career paths in
medicine and
bioengineering....
Challenge:
Design a Self-Driving Car
 Free
of drivers or remote control, a handful of cars, vans and SUVs guided
only by on-board computers will drive a closed, urban course, bypassing
obstacles and each other in a race on November 3, 2007. The race
demonstrates how these unmanned vehicles help the United States military
safely operate supply missions. The Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency Grand Challenge is a competition in which teams from around the
country conceive, design and implement autonomous vehicles capable of
driving themselves. In 2004 and 2005, the grand challenge involved
driving up to 150 miles in desert environments, at speeds of up to 40
miles per hour. This year's grand challenge race, the Urban Challenge,
which will involve driving up to 60 miles on city streets, including
interacting with other (autonomous) vehicles.
Find out more...
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