Volume IV Issue 7
July 2008 |
|
 |
 |
 Hollywood
Meets Engineering
 An
exhibit developed by the Museum of Science, Boston, in collaboration
with Lucasfilm, Ltd. explores the possibility that some of the robots,
vehicles and devices of the Star Wars films are closer to reality than
one might think. The exhibition showcases landspeeders, R2D2, and other
icons as engineering design challenges and highlights how researchers
are currently pursuing similar technologies.
"We were surprised and delighted when we were developing the exhibit, to
discover that many scientists working today were inspired by the fantasy
technologies in the Star Wars movies," said Lawrence Bell, senior vice
president at the Museum of Science and the lead investigator for the
project. "We developed the exhibit with the goal of continuing that
inspiration for the kids who will be the next set of future scientists."
Developed with the support
of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Research on
Learning in Formal and Informal Settings, the "Star Wars: Where Science
Meets Imagination" exhibition carries its messages with the help of film
clips, props, models, and costumes and invites visitor participation
with hands-on exhibits and activities. The exhibit is currently at the
Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, MN.
 Find
out more about career paths in
engineering,
science, and
technology...
Mapping
the Mathematics in Music
 The
connection between music and mathematics has fascinated scholars for
centuries. More than 2000 years ago Pythagoras reportedly discovered
that pleasing musical intervals could be described using simple ratios.
Now, three music professors -- Clifton Callender at Florida State
University, Ian Quinn at Yale University, and Dmitri Tymoczko at
Princeton University -- have devised a new way of analyzing and
categorizing music that takes advantage of the deep, complex mathematics
they see enmeshed in its very fabric. The trio has outlined a method
called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of
musical theory into that of contemporary geometry. They take sequences
of notes, like chords, rhythms and scales, and categorize them so they
can be grouped into "families." They assigned mathematical structure to
these families, so they can then be represented by points in complex
geometrical spaces, much the way "x" and "y" coordinates, in the simpler
system of high school algebra, correspond to points on a two-dimensional
plane.
Find
out more at www.princeton.edu...
College
Hiring Projections and Patterns
 Employers
expect to hire 8 percent more new college graduates from the Class of
2008 than they hired from the Class of 2007, according to the "Job
Outlook 2008 Spring Update" report of the National Association of
Colleges and Employers.
Despite that positive outlook, the current negative economic climate has
had an effect on the hiring prospects of new college graduates. In fact,
although hiring projections remain positive, they have cooled off since
the fall of 2007, when employers projected a 16 percent increase in
college hiring for the Class of 2008. That drop off, however, is
tempered by the fact that much of the negative impact is concentrated in
specific industries, such as finance, leaving a significant portion of
the market for new college graduates robust.
Another NACE report showed that employers are increasingly looking to
their internship programs to find new employees. Employers reported that
nearly 36 percent of the new college graduates they hired from the Class
of 2007 came from their own internship programs, up from 30 percent from
the Class of 2005. In addition, employers say they extended job offers
to nearly 70 percent of their interns; in 2001, they offered jobs to 57
percent. Survey findings also indicate that interns who become full-time
hires are more likely to stick with the organization than their
co-workers who didn't go through the program.
Find
out more about
internships and coops...
Degree
Profile: Atmospheric Science
 Atmospheric
scientists, commonly called meteorologists, study the atmosphere's
physical characteristics, motions, and processes, and the way in which
these factors affect the rest of our environment. The best known
application of this knowledge is forecasting the weather. In addition to
predicting the weather, atmospheric scientists attempt to identify and
interpret climate trends, understand past weather, and analyze today's
weather. Weather information and meteorological research are also
applied in air-pollution control, agriculture, forestry, air and sea
transportation, defense, and the study of possible trends in the Earth's
climate, such as global warming, droughts, and ozone depletion.
 Atmospheric
scientists who forecast the weather are known as operational
meteorologists; they are the largest group of specialists. These
scientists study the Earth's air pressure, temperature, humidity, and
wind velocity, and they apply physical and mathematical relationships to
make short-range and long-range weather forecasts. Their data come from
weather satellites, radars, sensors, and stations in many parts of the
world.
Meteorologists use
sophisticated computer models of the world's atmosphere to make
long-term, short-term, and local-area forecasts. More accurate
instruments for measuring and observing weather conditions, as well as
high-speed computers to process and analyze weather data, have
revolutionized weather forecasting.
Find
out more about a career as an
atmospheric
scientist...
High
School Students Build Antarctic Submersible
 Shipping
and assembling some scientific instruments in Antarctica can cost
millions of dollars, thanks in part to the logistics needed to get
materials and personnel to the southernmost continent on Earth. But a
relatively meager $5,000 investment returned a wealth of experience for
students at a California High School and the research team with whom
they worked at McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation's (NSF)
logistics hub in Antarctica.
Using "off-the-shelf" materials and working with graduate students and
technicians from marine biologist Gretchen Hofmann's laboratory at the
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), two female graduates of
Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, CA, built an underwater, camera-equipped
"rover" that appears to be able to meet the challenges of the harshest
environments on Earth.
The submersible rig has been dubbed M'RAJE (pronounced "mirage"), from
the first initials of its creators, and it is providing Hofmann and her
team with an extra set of eyes to observe fish in their natural
environments--a task made difficult in waters frequently covered by many
meters of ice. Hofmann studies the environmental genomics of Antarctic
fishes and how they respond to variations in water temperatures,
responses that could tie closely to climate change.
For Hofman, the melding of research and education is a serious priority.
M'RAJE was built by Ryan Garner and Amanda Wilson, both high-school
seniors at Cabrillo High at the time. The two worked closely with
graduate students Jessica Dutton, Mackenzie Zippay and Elizabeth
Hoaglund in Hofmann's lab to turn the design into a workable prototype.
Although scuba divers usually assist Hofmann's team in scouting the
underwater landscape, a successful rover design could complement the
work that human divers can do. For example, the rover has a maximum
tether length of 100 feet, which allows it to operate at the outer
limits of safe diving for humans. M'RAJE made roughly 10 successful
dives during the last Antarctic research season, between October and
December 2007.
Find
out more about careers in biology
and environmental
engineering...
Buoys
Help Ships Avoid Endangered Whales
 Busy
shipping lanes in Massachusetts Bay are safer for endangered North
Atlantic right whales now, thanks in part to a network of smart buoys.
The buoys listen for whale calls and relay information so that ship
captains can avoid collisions with the whales.
The new warning system marks a major step forward in protecting the
world's last remaining North Atlantic right whales from ship collisions,
a leading cause of death for the species. Fewer than 400 of these whales
are estimated to remain. The high-tech buoys were designed by scientists
and engineers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bioacoustics Research
Program and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The realization of
the listening network represents the culmination of a major effort
involving scientists, government agencies, and environmental groups.
"Thanks to these efforts, for the first time, ship captains can receive
continuous information on where the whales are so they can slow down and
avoid tragic collisions," said Dr. Christopher W. Clark, lead scientist
on the project and director of the Bioacoustics Research Program.
"Scientific studies indicate that the death of just one or two breeding
females a year will lead to the population's extinction. Slowing down
for whales will make a big difference." A map showing where the whales
are being detected is at
www.listenforwhales.org.
Although right whales have migrated along the Atlantic Coast for
millennia, places like Massachusetts Bay that were once safe havens are
now crisscrossed by commercial shipping lanes, cluttered with fishing
lines, and buried in the near-deafening noise of traffic.
Find
out more about careers in science
and engineering...
Health
Care Innovations and Tools
 A
new resource that allows users to learn, share, and adopt innovations in
the delivery of health services was recently launched by the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality. The
Health Care Innovations
Exchange website includes both successful innovations, and attempts
at innovation that failed. Profile examples include an intensive care
unit's successful efforts to shorten patient stays by setting and
adhering to daily care goals; an initiative by geriatricians, nurse
practitioners, and social workers to help seniors avoid institutional
care by visiting seniors at home; and a patient/physician e-mail
communication system that overcomes the inconvenience of automated phone
systems and accommodates the difficult schedules of both the physician
and the patient. Visitors can browse innovations by the patient
population (newborns, females, ethnicity), stage of care (preventive,
intensive, emergency), setting of care (hospital, home), and other
factors.
Find
more information about careers in
healthcare...
Career Cornerstone News is a publication of the
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. Click here
to subscribe.
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
education or non-profit email lists.
|
|
