Volume V Issue 11
November 2009 |
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 Does
Energy Grow on Trees?
 You've
heard about flower power. What about tree power? It turns out that it's
there, in small but measurable quantities. There's enough power in trees
for University of Washington researchers to run an electronic circuit,
according to results to be published in an upcoming issue of the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Transactions on
Nanotechnology. "As far as we know this is the first peer-reviewed paper
of someone powering something entirely by sticking electrodes into a
tree," said co-author Babak Parviz, a UW associate professor of
electrical engineering.
A study last year from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found
that plants generate a voltage of up to 200 millivolts when one
electrode is placed in a plant and the other in the surrounding soil.
The UW team sought to further academic research in the field of tree
power by building circuits to run off that energy. They successfully ran
a custom circuit solely off tree power. Co-author Carlton Himes, a UW
undergraduate student, spent last summer exploring likely sites. Hooking
nails to trees and connecting a voltmeter, he found that bigleaf maples,
common on the UW campus, generate a steady voltage of up to a few
hundred millivolts.
 Find
out about careers in science
and engineering...
Universities
Team Up on Futurity
 Futurity.org
is a new website originally developed as a beta by Duke University,
Stanford University, and the University of Rochester. Now it offers
information on the latest discoveries in science, engineering, the
environment, health, and more from dozens of North America's leading
research universities.
Learning about the new ways science, math, and engineering are applied
through research is a good way to find out what it might be like to work
in these fields. Many of the discoveries that impact our lives -- from
the products we use, the food we eat, the medicine that helps up, the
transportation we use, and even the way we communicate -- found their
start in research labs at universities and companies across the country.
Often students are involved in the research and gain first hand
experience while at school.
Find
out more about 180 career paths
in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and
healthcare...
NASA
Design Contest in Exploration Systems
 NASA
is currently inviting college students to get involved with NASA's
return to the moon by helping to design the tools and instruments needed
for the next-generation manned moon rover. Student projects will tackle
real problems to be solved for a successful manned lunar mission.
Examples of problems include: navigation in the darkness around the
moon's South Pole; sample retrieval and on-site analysis; radiation
detection and avoidance; communication with lunar outpost, with orbiters
and with Earth; video capture of sorties for transmission back to Earth;
astronaut rescue and recovery; and lunar regolith mitigation strategies
for rover and space suits. The
contest is open to U.S. citizens enrolled full-time in an accredited
post-secondary institution in the U.S., including universities,
colleges, trade schools, community colleges and professional schools.
Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged, across departments and
institutions. An e-mail notice of intent is due by Dec. 15, 2009. Final
entries are due on or before May 15, 2010.
Find
out more about precollege programs and
projects...
Degree
Profile: Cardiovascular Technologist
 Cardiovascular
technologists and technicians assist physicians in diagnosing and
treating cardiac (heart) and peripheral vascular (blood vessel)
ailments. They may specialize in any of three areas of practice:
invasive cardiology, echocardiography, or vascular technology. They
schedule appointments, perform ultrasound or cardiovascular procedures,
review doctors' interpretations and patient files, and monitor patients'
heart rates. They also operate and care for testing equipment, explain
test procedures, and compare findings to a standard to identify
problems. Other day-to-day activities vary significantly between
specialties.
The most common level of
education completed by cardiovascular technologists and technicians is
an associate degree. The majority of technologists complete a 2-year
junior or community college program, but 4-year programs are
increasingly available. The first year is dedicated to core courses and
is followed by a year of specialized instruction in either invasive,
noninvasive cardiovascular, or noninvasive vascular technology.
In terms of salary, the median annual earnings of cardiovascular
technologists and technicians is about $42,300. Cardiovascular
technologists and technicians hold about 45,000 jobs in the United
States. About 3 out of 4 jobs are in hospitals (public and private),
primarily in cardiology departments.
Employment of cardiovascular technologists and technicians is expected
to increase by 26 percent through the year 2016, much faster than the
average for all occupations.
Find
out more about a career as a
cardiovascular
technologist...
Implanted
Tooth Helps Restore Vision
 Blind
for nine years, Sharron "Kay" Thornton has just regained her sight
through a first-in-the-U.S. surgical procedure at Bascom Palmer Eye
Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The
procedure -- modified osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (MOOKP) -- implanted
her eyetooth in her eye, as a base to hold a prosthetic lens. Thornton,
60, was blinded by Stevens-Johnson syndrome in 2000, a rare, serious
skin condition destroys the cells on the surface of the eye causing
severe scarring of the cornea.
On Labor Day weekend, after the last in a series of surgeries by corneal
specialist Victor L. Perez, M.D., associate professor of ophthalmology
at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, bandages were removed from Thornton's
eyes and she was able to recognize faces only hours after her surgery.
Two weeks following her surgery, she is already reading newsprint with a
visual acuity of 20/70 and it is expected to improve further as her
surgical scars heal.
 Developed
in Italy, MOOKP has proven effective as a solution to end-stage corneal
disease where severe corneal scarring blocks vision and corneal
transplants are no longer an option but the eye's internal structures
and optic nerve remain healthy. Patients may have suffered trauma to
their cornea, the outside surface of the eye where a contact lens would
sit, from chemical injuries, thermal burns, and inflammatory or
autoimmune disorders, such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Bascom Palmer
Eye Institute is the largest ophthalmic care, research and educational
facility in the southeastern United States. More than 250,000 patients
are treated each year with nearly every ophthalmic condition and more
than 18,000 surgeries are performed annually.
Find
out more about a career as an
ophthalmologist and explore dozens of other
healthcare and
science careers...
Engineering
and Computer Science Grads Earn Top Salary Offers in 2009
 Which
new college graduates are faring best when it comes to salary in the
current economy? According to a new report from the National Association
of Colleges and Employers (NACE), engineers are pulling down the highest
starting salaries.
NACE's Summer 2009 Salary Survey report shows that four engineering
disciplines and computer science account for the many of the disciplines
getting the highest starting salary offers. According to the survey, the
average starting salaries were:
- Petroleum
Engineering: $83,121
- Chemical Engineering: $64,902
- Mining Engineering: $64,404
- Computer Engineering: $61,738
- Nuclear Engineering: $61,610
- Computer Science: $61,407
- Electrical Engineering: $60,125
- Mechanical Engineering: $58,766
- Systems Engineering: $57,438
- Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering: $58,358
- Materials Engineering: $57,349
- Engineering Technology: $56,477
- Aerospace Engineering: $56,311
- Agricultural Engineering: $54,352
- Bioengineering: $54,158
- Information Systems: $52,089
- Civil Engineering: $52,048
 The
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center offers complete profiles on each of
these fields, including preparation,
employment, responsibilities, an "average" day, and career path
forecasts. There are also podcasts about each field to listen to on the
go, career RSS feeds, and a new twitter page that can
help you keep track of career news too!
Find
out more about 180+ degree fields...
Engineers
Design Self-Righting Buildings
 A
new earthquake-resistant structural system for buildings, just
successfully tested in Japan, will not only help a multi-story building
hold itself together during a violent earthquake, but also return it to
standing up straight on its foundation afterward, true and plumb, with
damage confined to a few easily replaceable parts. The team that
designed the system was led by researchers at Stanford University and
the University of Illinois. During testing on a massive shake table, the
system survived simulated earthquakes in excess of magnitude 7. The
system dissipates energy through the movement of steel frames that are
situated around the building's core or along exterior walls. The frames
can be part of a building's initial design or could be incorporated into
an existing building undergoing seismic retrofitting. They are
economically feasible to build, as all the materials employed are
commonly used in construction today and all the parts can be made using
existing fabrication methods.
Find
out about career paths in engineering...
Career Cornerstone News is a publication of the
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. Click here
to subscribe.
The Sloan Career Cornerstone Center has a
limited number
of endowment and sponsorship opportunities for organizations,
foundations, or corporations who wish to support those
considering career paths in science, technology, engineering,
mathematics, or healthcare.
Find out more...
This newsletter may be reproduced in other
non-profit publications with credit and links to
the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
It may also be forwarded to internal
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