Jobs Increasing for German Engineers
Posted on March 26, 2008 Comments (1)
Growth in jobs rises for German engineers
Jobs in the sector – the backbone of Germany’s manufacturing industry – rose by 27,000 in January, the highest monthly increase since the 1960s, according to figures published on Tuesday by Gesamtmetall, the engineering employers’ federation. Some companies reported losing production because they could not fill vacancies quickly enough.
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He said that about one in eight of the approximately 6,100 engineering companies were having difficulties in recruiting qualified engineers and mechanics, with this in some cases leading to production cutbacks. “Many companies misjudged how quickly the economy would recover and therefore failed to take on sufficient trainees,” Mr Vajna said. There also remained a shortage of engineering graduates, he added.
Related: Germany’s Science Chancellor – Top 10 Manufacturing Countries 2006 – Best Research University Rankings (2007) – Country H-index Rank for Science Publications
2008 Intel Science Talent Search
Posted on March 25, 2008 Comments (1)
2008 Intel Science Talent Search
Fast forward to Intel STS 2008, where the 17-year-old senior from Durham, North Carolina, presented research focused on identifying stage II colon cancer patients at high risk for recurrence and the best therapeutic agents for treating their tumors. Whereas the standard method of characterizing tumors relies on visual information (such as size, degree
of metastasis, and microscopic structure), Shivani developed a “50-gene model” which uses gene expression to link multiple genetic events that characterize various tumor types to more accurately predict the recurrence of colon cancer. Additionally, Shivani’s model can be used to identify drugs that may be most effective in treating each patient.
In 2006 she attended the Davidson Institute, summer program at Davidson College and received the Davidson Fellows Scholarship.
And now I can segue to the Davidson Wildcats victories in the NCAA basketball tournament last weekend (I graduated from Davidson, by the way, and grew up in Madison). Davidson will play the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday. My picks are doing pretty well.
Related: 2006 Intel Science Talent Search – Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2007
Ballast-free Ships
Posted on March 25, 2008 Comments (2)
ballast-free ship’ could cut costs while blocking aquatic invaders
This week, the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. will implement new rules designed to reduce Great Lakes invaders. Ships will be required to flush ballast tanks with salt water before entering the Seaway, a practice corporation officials describe as an interim measure, not a final solution.
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Instead of hauling potentially contaminated water across the ocean, then dumping it in a Great Lakes port, a ballast-free ship would create a constant flow of local seawater through a network of large pipes, called trunks, that runs from the bow to the stern, below the waterline.
“In some ways, it’s more like a submarine than a surface ship,” Parsons said. “We’re opening part of the hull to the sea, creating a very slow flow through the trunks from bow to stern.
Related: articles on invasive plants – Invasive Plants: Tamarisk – Sails for Modern Cargo Ships
Engineering Education Online Seminars
Posted on March 25, 2008 Comments (0)
The Center for Engineering Educational Outreach has an engineering education seminar series that is available online: register for online broadcasts of all the remaining Tufts CEEO Seminar Series speakers for Spring 2008.
Some excellent seminars allow online participants are able to submit questions to the speaker via chat at the end of the seminar (time permitting). “Due to resource limitations, CEEO Spring 2008 Seminar Series are not currently being archived for later viewing or download.” That is a shame shame. They should post them on You Tube or SciVee or something. The advantage of asynchronous distribution of valuable content should be provided given the available tools today.
Seminars are at 4pm unless otherwise noted
Monday, Mar. 31 – The Robotic Fly: Innovations in very small robots. Rob Wood, Harvard University
Wednesday, April 9 (special time – 1:30 – in Nelson Auditorium) – Supporting Innovation: Engineers and Policy – Bill Wulf, University of Virginia.
Tuesday April 22 – LEGO Education: Looking Forward – Jens Maibom Vice President, the LEGO Group & General Manager, LEGO Education.
Monday, Apr 28 – Investigating Knowledge Fluency in Engineering Design– Ann McKenna, Northwestern University
Monday, May 12 – LEGO Americas – What does the future bring?- Soren Torp Laursen – President, LEGO Systems
Monday, June 2 – Conceptual Continuity: Using informal science literacies to promote students Science Learning – Bryan Brown, Stanford University,
Science Serving Society – Speech Australian Minister for Innovation
Posted on March 24, 2008 Comments (0)
Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Australia, speech to the National Press Club of Australia: Science meets Parliament
When societies invest in science, they are investing in their own future. They are entitled to expect a fair return on that investment.
They’re entitled to know we are using the country’s intellectual and technical capacity to deliver outcomes that matter to them – stronger communities, more good jobs, a cleaner environment, better public services, a richer culture, greater security for themselves and their children. Everybody here knows the rules of professional scientific conduct – think independently, put emotion aside, reject received authority, be faithful to the evidence, communicate openly.
These are good rules – rules I wholeheartedly endorse – but there’s one more I’d like to add – remember your humanity. Remember you’re part of a wider society – one that you have a special ability and therefore a special duty to serve. This doesn’t just apply in the physical sciences, but in the humanities and social sciences as well. When I say science I mean knowledge in all its forms.
Related: Engineering Economic Benefits – Authors of Scientific Articles by Country – Economic Strength Through Technology Leadership – Science and Engineering in Global Economics – Aussies Look to Finnish Innovation Model – Invest in Science for a Strong Economy
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6 Inch Bat Plane
Posted on March 23, 2008 Comments (1)
A six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat would gather data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time.
That’s the Army’s concept, and it has awarded the University of Michigan College of Engineering a five-year, $10-million grant to help make it happen. The grant establishes the U-M Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology, called COM-BAT for short. The grant includes an option to renew for an additional five years and $12.5 million.
U-M researchers will focus on the microelectronics. They will develop sensors, communication tools and batteries for this micro-aerial vehicle that’s been dubbed “the bat.” Engineers envision tiny cameras for stereo vision, an array of mini microphones that could home in on sounds from different directions, and small detectors for nuclear radiation and poisonous gases.
Low-power miniaturized radar and a very sensitive navigation system would help the bat find its way at night. Energy scavenging from solar, wind, vibration and other sources would recharge the bat’s lithium battery. The aircraft would use radio to send signals back to troops.
“These are all concepts, and many of them are the next generation of devices we have already developed. We’re trying to push the edge of our technologies to achieve functionality that was not possible before,” said Kamal Sarabandi, the COM-BAT director and a professor in the U-M Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
COM-BAT also involves the University of California at Berkeley and the University of New Mexico. It is one of four centers the Army launched as a collaborative effort among industry, academia and the Army Research Laboratory to work toward this vision of a small, robotic aircraft that could sense and communicate. Each of the four centers is charged with developing a different subsystem of the bat, a self-directed sensor inspired by the real thing.
Read more
Tags: Funding,Michigan,plane,Research
Students Create “Disappearing” Nail Polish
Posted on March 22, 2008 Comments (3)
‘Vanishing’ colour gives schoolgirls chance to beat ban on nail varnish
The dramatic change is caused by a chemical reaction between the varnish and the ultraviolet light in natural sunlight. The polish was devised by pupils from Albion High School, Salford, who thought the “vanishing” colour may help them beat the school’s ban on nail polish.
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They came up with the idea while working on an enterprise project with Paul Haywood and Sam Ingleson from Salford University’s school of art and design.
Not exactly what I would create but it is great to see students using scientific thought to find solutions they desire.
Related: The Chemistry of Hair Coloring – Engineering Students Design Innovative Hand Dryer – Student designs a baby high chair – Engineering Student Contest Winners Design Artificial Limb
Scientific American Frontiers Webcasts
Posted on March 22, 2008 Comments (0)
All shows of the PBS TV show, Scientific American Frontiers are available online. The shows feature Alan Alda exploring a wide range of scientific ideas. Specific information for teachers if provided for each show. Shows include:
- Going Deep – “In 1977, scientists aboard Alvin were exploring the Galapagos Rift in the Pacific Ocean when they made one of the most important discoveries in modern biology. Hydrothermal vents are underwater volcanoes erupting magma-heated, mineral-rich water out of cracks on the seafloor thousands of feet beneath the surface. Despite the enormous pressure and total darkness, the vents were found to support an astonishing array of animal life.”
- The Dark Side of the Universe – Dark matter, dark energy and the universe.
- Natural Born Robots – “The next generation of robots swim like fish, play soccer and even experience emotions.”
- Science and Sports – “Science enables people to run quicker, climb higher, hit farther, and sail faster in this sports special.”
Related: BBC In Our Time Science Podcast Archive – Curious Cat Science Webcast Directory – Online Science Resources for Teachers – UC-Berkeley Course Videos Online – ScienceLive video archive from Cambridge University
Giant Star Fish and More in Antarctica
Posted on March 21, 2008 Comments (1)
Photo by John Mitchell, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Read a great deal about the New Zealand Census of Antarctic Marine Life project: 26 scientists and 18 crew took a 50-day voyage aboard RV Tangaroa in February-March 2008.
Slow growth rates, late reproductive maturation, prolonged periods of embryonic development, and low predation rates that are typical of Antarctic waters contribute to long life-spans for many species and can also result in large size animals. Animal physiology is thought to play a role as well, as those groups that require large amounts of calcium should not, in theory, grow well in Antarctic waters. This is because the calcium carbonate (needed for growth of shells, or starfish ‘tests’) has low solubility in very cold seawater. Yet starfish, which have a calcareous exoskeleton or ‘test’ which needs lots of calcium, can reach much larger sizes than found in New Zealand waters, as seen in [photo].
Another crucial part of the story is that the low sea temperatures allow more oxygen to be dissolved in the sea water than in warmer latitudes. Sea spiders for example are not only larger, but reach more than 1000 times the weight of most temperate species. Amphipod crustaceans in the Southern Ocean are also large; more than five times as long as the largest temperate species.
Related: Ocean Life – Arctic Sharks – Antarctic Fish “Hibernate” in Winter – Lake Under 2 Miles of Ice
Google Summer of Code Projects
Posted on March 21, 2008 Comments (0)
Over the last three years Google Summer of Code has provided 1500 students from 90 countries the chance to work on open source projects. Each participant will receive $4,500 as a stipend. Student applications will be accepted from March 24th to March 31st.
Details on the software projects are available now. Given the short time that the application is actually open getting a start looking for projects that interest you might be wise.
externs.com offers listings of science internships and engineering internships.
Related: Preparing Computer Science Students for Jobs – Open Source for LEGO Mindstorms – Open Source: The Scientific Model Applied to Programming – posts on fellowships and scholarships
Tags: computer science,global,Google,jobs,open source,programming,software
Radiation Tolerant Bacteria
Posted on March 20, 2008 Comments (2)
This image is from the Eye of Science web site (which has many great images):
Other species of Geobacter bacteria can eliminate petroleum contamination in polluted water and convert waste organic matter to electricity. Geobacter sp. are anaerobic bacteria (living without oxygen) that use metals to gain energy in the same way that humans use oxygen. Coloured scanning electron micrograph, Magnification: x3,600 and x4,800
Related: Geobacter metallireducens at the microbe wiki – The Art and Science of Imaging – 2006 Nikon Small World Photos – Bacterium Living with High Level Radiation – Art of Science at Princeton (2005) – Get Your Own Science Art
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