Chief Scientist for the Rocky Mountain Institute and MacArthur Fellow, Amory Lovins, describes how small gains in efficiency at the consumption point can trigger gains that are magnitudes larger at higher levels and discusses how engineering must be practiced and taught fundamentally different.
Related: MIT Hosts Student Vehicle Design Summit – 59 MPG Toyota iQ Diesel Available in Europe – Webcast: Engineering Education in the 21st Century
The above webcast shows protein synthesis, from a 1971 Stanford University video with Paul Berg (Nobel Laureate – 1980 Nobel Prize for Chemistry and National Medal of Science in 1983). The film does not exactly present the traditional scientist stereotype. It does pretty much present the typical California 1970′s hippie stereotype though.
Related: Friday Fun – CERN Version – Roger Tsien Lecture On Green Florescent Protein
2008 Data from Spencer Stuart on S&P 500 CEO shows once again more have undergraduate degrees in engineering than any other field, increasing to 22% of CEO’s this year.
| Field |
|
% of CEOs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |||
| Engineering | 22 | 21 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Economics | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | ||
| Business Administration | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | ||
| Accounting | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | ||
| Liberal Arts | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | ||
| No degree or no data | 3 | 3 | ||||
The report does not show the fields for the rest of the CEO’s. 39% of S&P CEOs have MBAs. 28% have other advanced degrees. The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard tied for the most CEO’s with undergraduate degrees from their universities at 13. Princeton and the University of Texas had 9 and Stanford had 8.
While the CEO’s have engineering education backgrounds the work they have done is often in other functions. The top function that CEO’s that have worked in during their careers: Operations (42%), Finance (31%), Marketing (24%), Sales (17%), Engineering (11%).
Data for previous years is also from Spencer Stuart: S&P 500 CEOs are Engineering Graduates (2007 data) 2006 S&P 500 CEO Education Study – Top degree for S&P 500 CEOs? Engineering (2005 study)
Related: Another Survey Shows Engineering Degree Results in the Highest Pay – Science and Engineering Degrees lead to Career Success – The Future is Engineering
Stanford launches $100 million initiative to tackle energy issues
He is convinced that Stanford research can influence national energy policy for the better. “The wonderful resources that are available at Stanford, and the multidisciplinary approach they have to developing working solutions, are really attractive in terms of making things happen,” he said.
On a personal level, Precourt said, “Stanford made a huge impact on my life, as I look back on it. It was a superb education and I made some wonderful friends that I’ve taken with me for my lifetime.” Precourt donated $50 million to the energy institute that bears his name.
A $40 million gift from Steyer and Taylor will create a new research center as part of the institute, the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy.
Related: MIT’s Energy ‘Manhattan Project’ – Engineers Save Energy – Google Investing Huge Sums in Renewable Energy and is Hiring – more posts on Stanford
Stanford gets $75 million for stem cell center
He said he was driven to fund research after President Bush, in August 2001, forbid the use of federal funds for stem cell research that involved the destruction of human embryos. “It’s very narrow-minded,” Lokey said of the position. “This is about lives being saved.”
…
Some 350 scientists will work in the 200,000-square-foot Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, the school said. The center is also getting a $43.6 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The institute, the state’s $3 billion stem cell funding unit, was created by a 2004 state initiative from research advocates opposed to Bush’s restrictions.
Related: Chinese Stem Cell Therapies – Scientists Cure Mice Of Sickle Cell Using Stem Cell Technique – Funding Medical Research – post on funding science
Cool invention helps tired players bounce back
It’s also a proven athletic performance enhancer – billed as better than steroids without any ill effects.
“We use the Glove primarily for health reasons,” said Dan Garza, the 49ers’ medical director. “But outside of sports, it has potential for a lot of exciting things. This technology is a much more effective way of cooling the core temperature than what we would typically do – misting, fanning, cold towels, fluids.”
The Glove works by cooling the body from inside out, rather than conventional approaches that cool from outside in. The device creates an airtight seal around the wrist, pulls blood into the palm of the hand and cools it before returning it to the heart and to overheated muscles and organs. The palm is the ideal place for rapid cooling because blood flow increases to the hands (and feet and face) as body temperature rises.
“These are natural mammalian radiators,” said Dennis Grahn, who invented the device with Stanford colleague Craig Heller.
Cool, you can buy your own for only $2,000 
(The Glove used to be called Core Control) High resolution image. Related: Research on Reducing Hamstring Injuries – The Science of the Football Swerve – Randomization in Sports – posts on science and athletics
Stanford’s “autonomous” helicopters teach themselves to fly
Very cool. Related: MIT’s Autonomous Cooperating Flying Vehicles – The sub-$1,000 UAV Project – 6 Inch Bat Plane – Kayak Robots
2007 Data from Spencer Stuart on S&P 500 CEO shows once again more have undergraduate degrees in engineering than any other field.
| Field |
|
% of CEOs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |||
| Engineering | 21 | 23 | 20 | ||
| Economics | 15 | 13 | 11 | ||
| Business Administration | 13 | 12 | 15 | ||
| Accounting | 8 | 8 | 7 | ||
| Liberal Arts | 6 | 8 | 9 | ||
| No degree or no data | 3 | 3 | |||
The report does not show the fields for the rest of the CEO’s. 40% of S&P CEOs have MBAs. 27% have other advanced degrees. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton and Harvard tied for the most CEO’s with undergraduate degrees from their universities at 12. University of Texas has 10 and Stanford has 9.
Data for previous years is also from Spencer Stuart: 2006 S&P 500 CEO Education Study – Top degree for S&P 500 CEOs? Engineering (2005 study)
Related: Engineering Education Study Debate – posts on science and engineering careers – Science and Engineering Degrees lead to Career Success – The Future is Engineering
Interview with Donald Knuth by Andrew Binstock, April 2008:
Still, I hate to duck your questions even though I also hate to offend other people’s sensibilities – given that software methodology has always been akin to religion. With the caveat that there’s no reason anybody should care about the opinions of a computer scientist/mathematician like me regarding software development, let me just say that almost everything I’ve ever heard associated with the term “extreme programming” sounds like exactly the wrong way to go…with one exception. The exception is the idea of working in teams and reading each other’s code. That idea is crucial, and it might even mask out all the terrible aspects of extreme programming that alarm me.
I also must confess to a strong bias against the fashion for reusable code. To me, “re-editable code” is much, much better than an untouchable black box or toolkit. I could go on and on about this. If you’re totally convinced that reusable code is wonderful, I probably won’t be able to sway you anyway, but you’ll never convince me that reusable code isn’t mostly a menace.
Related: Donald Knuth – Computer Scientist – Programmers at Work – Preparing Computer Science Students for Jobs – Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years – Curious Cat Ubuntu posts
Love at First Byte by Kara Platoni:
Its subject, combinatorial algorithms, or computational procedures that encompass vast numbers of possibilities, hardly existed when Knuth began the series. Now the topic grows faster than anyone could reasonably chronicle it. “He says if everyone else stopped doing work he would catch up better,” deadpans Jill Knuth, his wife of nearly 45 years.
Art of Computer Programming, Volume 1: Fundamental Algorithms – Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2: Seminumerical Algorithms – Art of Computer Programming, Volume 3: Sorting and Searching
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The Future is Engineering
Posted on July 1, 2006 Comments (25)
Do Great Engineering Schools Beget Entrepreneurism? by Brent Edwards provides two great links.
How to Kick Silicon Valley’s Butt by Guy Kawasaki:
If I had to point to the single biggest reason for Silicon Valley’s existence, it would be Stanford University—specifically, the School of Engineering. Business schools are not of primary importance because MBAs seldom sit around discussing how to change the world with great products.
Why Startups Condense in America:
Both essays make many excellent points – read them! Continue reading →
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