Volume V Issue 1
January 2009 |
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 Year
of Science: 2009
 In
2009, the world will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth,
the 150th anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species,
and the 400th anniversary of the publication of Kepler's first two laws
of planetary motion. To mark these events the American Institute
of Biological Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and more than
150 other organizations -- including the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center
-- have declared a Year of Science 2009. The goal of this national,
year-long celebration of science is to engage the public and improve
public understanding about how science works, why it matters, and who
scientists are. Each month in 2009 is focused around a scientific theme.
On the Year of Science 2009
website are theme - related resources, activities, video clips,
podcasts, student challenges, citizen science opportunities, and more.
The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center provides a broad range of career
planning information for just about every area of science, and also
offers profiles of scientists. Find out what it is like to work in
hundreds of fields, and explore salary levels, educational preparation
requirements, and employment trends. Most resources are also available
as PowerPoints, PDFs, and podcasts.
 Find
out more...
Mathematical
Model Predicts Migration
 In
the coming decades, millions of people will leave their home countries
and settle elsewhere. Understanding the patterns of human migration will
be crucial to global stability in the 21st century. The growing pace of
globalization has increased the level of human migration as individuals
and families move from one country or continent to another to escape
hardships or seek a better future. The world's future stability will
require the various countries that will lose and receive people to be
prepared for this trend.
Joel E. Cohen -- a researcher at Rockefeller University and Columbia
University -- and his colleagues have developed a sophisticated
mathematical model that gives policy makers a better estimate of which
countries and regions will face declining populations and which ones
will grow as people move around the world. The United Nations and other
agencies are interested in using this new approach, which is a departure
from traditional population modeling.
Find
out more about career paths in
mathematics...
Engineering
Students Develop Medical Devices
 SpineSmith
Partners is collaborating with several senior design teams in The
University of Texas Biomedical Engineering Department to help educate
students on the design, engineering, and commercialization process of
medical devices. The groups of biomedical engineering students will work
closely with SpineSmith's product engineers and Ph.D.s to take ideas
conceptualized by practicing spine surgeons and design products for
commercialization. This design process will educate the students and
offer real world experience in the medical device industry.
SpineSmith is researching and developing the cutting edge market of
regenerative medicine giving these students an opportunity to be
involved with an evolving market. SpineSmith is currently researching
and developing different technologies utilizing a patient's own adult
stem cells for tissue regeneration in orthopedics and the spine. With
more than 10,000 stem cell cases to date, SpineSmith hopes to
revolutionize the regenerative medicine market and give these students
an opportunity to make an impact in the product development process.
Find
out more about career paths in
biomedical engineering and
biomedical engineering
technology...
Degree
Profile: Radiologic Technologist
 Radiologic
technologists take x-rays and administer nonradioactive materials into
patients' bloodstreams for diagnostic purposes. They produce x-ray films
(radiographs) of parts of the human body for use in diagnosing medical
problems. They prepare patients for radiologic examinations by
explaining the procedure, removing jewelry and other articles through
which x-rays cannot pass, and positioning patients so that the parts of
the body can be appropriately radiographed. To prevent unnecessary
exposure to radiation, these workers surround the exposed area with
radiation protection devices, such as lead shields, or limit the size of
the x-ray beam.
 Radiographers
position radiographic equipment at the correct angle and height over the
appropriate area of a patient's body. Using instruments similar to a
measuring tape, they may measure the thickness of the section to be
radiographed and set controls on the x-ray machine to produce
radiographs of the appropriate density, detail, and contrast. They place
the x-ray film under the part of the patient's body to be examined and
make the exposure. They then remove the film and develop it. Radiologic
technologists should be sensitive to patients' physical and
psychological needs. Two-year associate degree programs are most
prevalent for this career path. Radiologic technologists hold about
196,000 jobs in the United States. More than 60 percent of all jobs are
in hospitals. The median annual earnings of radiologic technologists is
about $48,170.
Find
out more about a career as a
radiologic technologist
and other careers in
healthcare...
Is
Coop Key to Female Engineering Student Retention?
 Virginia
Tech is the co-recipient of a $499,990 three-year National Science
Foundation grant to study how cooperative education and related
on-the-job experiences affect female undergraduate engineering students.
The study, Pathways to Work
Self-Efficacy and Retention of Women in Undergraduate Engineering,
is one of the first to investigate how co-op opportunities and other
formal work experience programs impact the retention rate of female
undergraduate engineering students. In addition, the study will examine
programs, such as mentoring, advising, and academic living communities,
to see how they contribute to self-efficacy and retention.
Coops are available at many accredited engineering programs in the U.S.
-- but the range of offerings varies considerably. Some universities
offer wide options at many different firms, while others only have a few
offerings. It is a good idea to ask about coop options when considering
attending a particular university, and also to chat with existing
students about their own coop experience.
 Over
95 percent of engineering students at Northeastern and all students at
the Rochester Institute of Technology participate in cooperative
education; while both the University of Wyoming and Virginia Tech do not
require the experience, and thus serve as comparison schools for
statistical purposes.
Currently, women are underrepresented in engineering. They make up only
18.6 percent of engineering bachelor degree recipients and, in 2006,
held only 11 percent of engineering positions.
Find
out more about coop programs for
engineering students and explore
resources about diversity and
for women...
MIT
Creates Tiny Backpacks For Cells
 MIT
engineers have outfitted cells with tiny "backpacks" that could allow
them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building
blocks for tissue engineering. The polymer backpacks allow researchers
to use cells to ferry tiny cargoes and manipulate their movements using
magnetic fields. Since each patch covers only a small portion of the
cell surface, it does not interfere with the cell's normal functions or
prevent it from interacting with the external environment.
The researchers worked with B and T cells, two types of immune cells
that can home to various tissues in the body, including tumors,
infection sites, and lymphoid tissues -- a trait that could be exploited
to achieve targeted drug or vaccine delivery.
Cellular backpacks carrying
chemotherapy agents could target tumor cells, while cells equipped with
patches carrying imaging agents could help identify tumors by binding to
protein markers expressed by cancer cells. Another possible application
is in tissue engineering. Patches could be designed that allow
researchers to align cells in a certain pattern, eliminating the need
for a tissue scaffold. The polymer patch system consists of three
layers, each with a different function, stacked onto a surface. The
bottom layer tethers the polymer to the surface, the middle layer
contains the payload, and the top layer serves as a "hook" that catches
and binds cells. Once the layers are set up, cells enter the system and
flow across the surface, getting stuck on the polymer hooks. The patch
is then detached from the surface by simply lowering the temperature,
and the cells float away, with backpacks attached.
Find
out more about careers in science...
The
Next Step in Health Care: Telemedicine
 Imagine
a scenario where doctors from different hospitals can collaborate on a
surgery without having to actually be in the operating room. What if
doctors in remote locations could receive immediate expert support from
top specialists in hospitals around the world? This environment could
soon become a reality thanks to research by a multi-university
partnership that is testing the live broadcast of surgeries using the
advanced networking consortium Internet2. Rochester Institute of
Technology is collaborating with a team led by the University of Puerto
Rico School of Medicine that recently tested technology, which allows
for the transmission of high quality, real time video to multiple
locations. Using a secure, high-speed network, an endoscopic surgery at
the University of Puerto Rico was broadcast to multiple locations in the
United States. The experiment also included a multipoint videoconference
that was connected to the video stream, allowing for live interaction
between participants. The team will next conduct additional tests with
different surgical procedures and an expanded number of remote
locations. The researchers' goal is to transfer the technology for use
in medical education and actual diagnostic applications.
Find
out more about careers in
medicine and medical
technology...
Career Cornerstone News is a publication of the
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