Volume IV Issue 5
May 2008 |
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 Students
Succeed on AP Exams
 More
than 15 percent of the public high school class of 2007 achieved at
least one AP Exam grade of 3 or higher -- the score that is predictive
of college success, according to the College Board's recent "AP Report
to the Nation." This achievement represents a significant and consistent
improvement since the class of 2002 when less than 12 percent of public
school graduates attained this goal.
Of the estimated 2.8
million students who graduated from U.S. public schools in 2007, almost
426,000 (15.2 percent) earned an AP Exam grade of at least a 3 on one or
more AP Exams during their high school tenure, the report documents.
This is up from 14.7 percent in 2006 and 11.7 percent in 2002. Earning a
3 or higher on an AP Exam is one of "the very best predictors of college
performance," with AP students earning higher college grades and
graduating from college at higher rates than otherwise similar peers in
control groups, according to recent reports from researchers at the
University of California at Berkeley, the National Center for
Educational Accountability, and the University of Texas at Austin.
The College Board's
Advanced Placement Program enables students to pursue college-level
studies while still in high school. Thirty-seven courses in 22 subject
areas are offered. Find out more about AP exams and other
precollege ideas for those
interested in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, computing,
and healthcare.
NOAA
Satellites Help Rescue People
 Armed
with personal locator beacons to send a distress signal, 353 people were
rescued in the United States and its surrounding waters in 2007 from
potentially life-threatening emergencies. These signals were transmitted
to rescue teams via a NOAA environmental satellite more commonly known
for providing information to weather forecasters.
NOAA's polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites, along with Russia's Cospas spacecraft, are part of the high-tech, international Search and
Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System, called COSPAS-SARSAT. This
system uses a network of satellites to quickly detect and locate
distress signals from emergency beacons on board aircraft and boats and
from handheld personal locator beacons (PLBs). When a satellite
pinpoints a distress location within the United States, or its
surrounding waters, the information is relayed to SARSAT Mission Control
at NOAA's Satellite Operations Center in Suitland, MD, and then sent to
a Rescue Coordination Center, operated either by the U.S. Air Force, for
land rescues, or U.S. Coast Guard, for water rescues. More details are
at www.sarsat.noaa.gov.
 Find
out more about careers in
atmospheric
science and biology...
Microsoft
Gives Students Access to Software
 Microsoft
Corporation Chairman Bill Gates recently unveiled a software giveaway
that will ultimately provide millions of college and high school
students around the world with access to the latest Microsoft developer
and designer tools at no charge to unlock their creative potential and
set them on the path to academic and career success.
The Microsoft
DreamSpark student program makes available, at no charge, a broad range
of development and design software for download. The program is now
available to more than 35 million college students worldwide. Broad
global coverage, as well as an expansion of the program to high school
students around the world, potentially reaching up to 1 billion students
worldwide, will continue throughout the next year.
Microsoft DreamSpark
is available to all students whose studies touch on technology, design,
math, science and engineering. Students of today are more technical in
their everyday lives than ever -- representing both their personal
interests and what is expected of them when they arrive in the workplace
for the first time. The following software will be available to empower
students to unlock their ingenuity by building critical skills:
Microsoft developer tools, including Visual Studio; Microsoft designer
tools, including Expression Studio; and Microsoft platform resources.
Find out more about Dreamspark at
http://channel8.msdn.com.
Explore
career paths in computer
engineering and software
engineering.
Degree
Profile: Physical Therapist
 Physical
therapists provide services that help restore function, improve
mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical
disabilities of patients suffering from injuries or disease. They
restore, maintain, and promote overall fitness and health. Their
patients include accident victims and individuals with disabling
conditions such as low-back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures,
head injuries, and cerebral palsy. Physical therapists examine patients'
medical histories and then test and measure the patients' strength,
range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance,
respiration, and motor function. Next, they develop plans describing a
treatment strategy and its anticipated outcome. Physical therapists also
use electrical stimulation, hot packs or cold compresses, and ultrasound
to relieve pain and reduce swelling. They may use traction or
deep-tissue massage to relieve pain and improve circulation and
flexibility. Therapists also teach patients to use assistive and
adaptive devices, such as crutches, prostheses, and wheelchairs. They
also may show patients how to do exercises at home to expedite their
recovery.
 Physical
therapists need a master's degree from an accredited physical therapy
program and a state license. Physical therapy assistants support the
efforts of physical therapists and earn an associate degree from an
accredited physical therapist assistant program. So there are several
options if the field of physical therapy is of interest to you!
Find
out more about careers in physical therapy...
New
Fabric May Power Your iPod
 Nanotechnology researchers at the
Georgia Institute of Technology are developing a shirt that harvests
energy from the wearer's physical motion and converts it into
electricity for powering small electronic devices worn by soldiers in
the field, hikers, and other users.
The research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), details
how pairs of textile fibers covered with zinc oxide nanowires generate
electricity in response to applied mechanical stress.
Known as "the piezoelectric
effect," the resulting current flow from many fiber pairs woven into a
shirt or jacket could allow the wearer's body movement to power a range
of portable electronic devices. The fibers could also be woven into
curtains, tents, or other structures to capture energy from wind motion,
sound vibration, or other mechanical energy.
"The two fibers scrub
together and the piezoelectric-semiconductor process converts the
mechanical motion into electrical energy," says Zhong Lin Wang, a
Regents professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at
the Georgia Institute of Technology. "Many of these devices could be
put together to produce higher power output."
Wang and collaborators Xudong Wang and Yong Qin have made more than 200
of the fiber nanogenerators. Each is tested on an apparatus that uses a
spring and wheel to move one fiber against the other. The fibers are
rubbed together for up to 30 minutes to test their durability and power
production. The researchers have measured current of about four
nanoamperes and output voltage of about four millivolts from a
nanogenerator that included two fibers that were each one centimeter
long. With a much improved design, Wang estimates that a square meter of
fabric made from the special fibers could theoretically generate as much
as 80 milliwatts of power. So far, there is only one wrinkle in the
fabric, so to speak - washing it. Zinc oxide is sensitive to moisture,
so in real shirts or jackets, the nanowires would have to be protected
from the effects of the washing machine.
Find
out more about careers in engineering...
How
Medical Physics Has Changed Healthcare
 Many
of the greatest inventions in modern medicine were developed by
physicists who imported technologies such as X rays, nuclear magnetic
resonance, ultrasound, particle accelerators and radioisotope tagging
and detection techniques into the medical domain. There they became
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scanning,
nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) scanning, and
various radiotherapy treatment methods. These contributions have
revolutionized medical techniques for imaging the human body and
treating disease. Throughout 2008, the American Association of
Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), is calling attention to the many ways in
which medical physics has revolutionized medicine. A few highlights
include:
X
rays: Discovered in 1895, the application of these rays to medical
imaging was recognized and embraced immediately.
Magnetic Resonance: Just a few years after discovering the
phenomenon of magnetic resonance, it took a few more decades before
the discovery led to the development of MRI, which is routinely used
today to image the human body.
Radioimmunoassays: In 1977, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or
Medicine was awarded Rosalyn Yalow for her development of
radioimmunoassays, a sensitive diagnostic technique that can
quantify tiny amounts of biological substances in the body using
radioactively-labeled materials.
Computer-assisted Tomography: In 1979, Allan M Cormack and Godfrey
Newbold Hounsfield won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
developing CT, which has revolutionized imaging because CT provides
images with unprecedented clarity.
Find
out more about careers in physics
and medicine...
Academic
Degrees Demystified
 For
those considering a career in science, mathematics, engineering,
technology, computing, or healthcare, it can sometimes be confusing to
determine which degree will best prepare you for work in a particular
field. For example, let's say you are interested in a career in
electrical engineering. How do you decide if you want to earn a
bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a bachelor's or
associate's degree in electrical engineering technology? And, you can
also earn a master's degree in electrical engineering! The differences
between the variety of academic degrees can now be explored at the Sloan
Career Cornerstone Center. A new site section demystifies the different
degrees, and includes a look at the expectations and rewards of a range
of degrees including Traditional Academic Degrees (Associate's,
Bachelor's, Master's, and Research Doctorate Degrees), Professional
Degrees, and special non-academic degree programs such as Postdoctoral
Programs.
Find
more information about
academic degrees...
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