Boeing donates $10 million to Chicago science ed
Chicago, IL - Toward the end of 2007, Boeing gave $10 million to support youth science education in Chicago. The money will be split equally between Chicago’s Adler Planetarium and the Museum of Science and Industry. Both institutions will use the grant to create exhibits and programming intended to inspire young people to pursue careers in the STEM fields.
The gift to the planetarium will be used to help fund new exhibitions and support science and math education initiatives. At the museum it will help create an interactive exhibition on historical and present-day exploration. Visitors will also see educational programs and get info about STEM careers.
The award was announced jointly by Rick Stephens, Boeing SVP of HR and admin, and Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley at “Chicago science in the city,” a series of events to let residents experience various fields of science.
Baron D. Thrower joins Liberty Mutual
Portsmouth, NH - Baron D. Thrower has joined Liberty Mutual as SVP and general manager of infrastructure. Thrower was most recently SVP in the network computing group at Bank of America. Before that he was SVP of ops and IT for the American College for Testing, and spent twenty-one years at ITT Telecommunications, where he got certified as a Six Sigma master black belt.
Thrower has a BSCS from Langston University (Langston, OK). He began his career in data processing at Cannon Air Force Base. He’s a member of the Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF), a top-level mentoring and career development organization for African Americans.
Rockwell Collins hosts disability discussion
Cedar Rapids, IA - In October, Rockwell Collins hosted a panel discussion as part of National Disability Employment Awareness month. The panelists were James Whalen from the Evert Conner Rights and Resources Center for Independent Living, Heidi Hora from Goodwill Industries, Delaine Petersen from the ARC of East Central Iowa and Andrew Day from Rockwell Collins.
The discussion was moderated by Meg Thompson, company VP of government systems strategy development. More than 160 employees participated in the discussion either live or via teleconference.
As part of its commitment to diversity, Rockwell Collins hosted seven events in connection with federal heritage and recognition months in 2007.
Are tech jobs dropping in the U.S.?
Washington, DC - The Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST) has released “Is U.S. science and technology adrift?,” a report that assesses employment and compensation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations and examines the status of science in the U.S. The commission concludes that following years of strong growth, the STEM share of all U.S. employment has dropped.
In 2006, STEM professionals accounted for 5 percent of all employed civilians in the U.S., down from 5.6 percent in 2000 and 2001.
Between 1995 and 2002, IT employment rose 75 percent faster than the rate of job growth for the general economy, but compensation scales for IT workers did not rise much. IT jobs account for more than 42 percent of all STEM employment, but the 1990s boom in IT jobs has ended.
STEM professions in the chemical industry posted employment losses between 2003 and 2006, although pay scales rose a little. Employment in industrial engineering continued to decline over the period.
MEs did better between 2003 and 2006, and aerospace engineering and medical science enjoyed above-average growth in employment between 2003 and 2006.
“For years we’ve heard alarm bells from all sectors about the supply side of the STEM workforce,” says Lisa Frehill, exec director of CPST. “This report calls for a critical shift of attention to the demand side of the equation. We must consider why certain occupations are not faring well domestically, and the impact that might have on the nation’s long-term economic outlook.”
This report is the latest to come out of CPST’s STEM workforce data project. The project uses data from U.S. federal agencies as well as private sources of information to identify, compile and distribute reliable statistics on STEM workers in the U.S. and assess the place of STEM professionals in the workforce.
“Is U.S. science and technology adrift?” is available at www.cpst.org. Earlier works in the series can also be accessed there.
HESTEC Week held at Texas-Pan-Am
Edinburg, TX - The sixth Hispanic Engineering, Science and Technology (HESTEC) Week was held at the University of Texas-Pan American in September. The event is the culmination of a year-round effort to attract Hispanic students to the STEM professions.
The HESTEC conferences were started and are hosted by Texas congressman Ruben Hinojosa and the university. Since 2002, more than 25,000 pre-college students have participated.
One popular event was a “Latinas in STEM” day attended by more than a thousand high school girls and their mothers. Another winner was the robotics expo day sponsored by ExxonMobil. The day offered hands-on workshops and a robotics competition.
For more information, see www.hestec.org.
Gunjit S. Sikand gets CSU-LA award
Los Angeles, CA - Every year California State University- Los Angeles (CSU-LA) recognizes the contributions of its alumni and students to their professions, communities and the university. This year the school’s service award went to Gunjit S. Sikand, chair of Sikand Engineering and Associates.
Sikand taught CE at CSU LA from 1958 to 1978, and currently serves on the advisory board of its school of engineering, CS and technology. He was born in the Punjab region of India and earned a BS from the University of East Punjab, a BSCE from Auburn University (Auburn, AL) and an MSCE from the University of Colorado.
He is a fellow of ASCE and the Rotary Foundation and a member of USC Associates and Lambda Alpha International. In 1990 Sikand set up the Sikand Foundation which makes contributions to hundreds of charities and provides scholarships for engineering students.
Wyeth awards Taiwan team
Madison, NJ - The technical operations and product supply division of Wyeth pharmaceuticals recently introduced a diversity business award for employees who have drawn on the strengths of their heritage to achieve business results. The awards are given to cross-functional teams that achieve success through collaboration of people from diverse cultures, regions and backgrounds.
The award went to a group of employees in Hsinchu, Taiwan for their work on aseptic manufacturing improvement for a pharmaceutical product. Larry Wu leads the team and Tom Chang is technical director for the site; team members are Andy Chen, Betsy Chen, Tricy Chen, Katy Cheng, C. K. Ho, Tyro Hsu, Steve Lin, Carlo Marino, Lai Pun Wong, Dona Reber and Daisy Teo.
UGS “Go PLM” software donations benefit education
Plano, TX - UGS PLM software is helping build the technical workforce of the future. UGS, a division of Siemens Automation and Drives, supplies product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services. Now it’s sending its software to educational institutions around the world through its “Go PLM” project.
One recent activity is an in-kind grant of PLM software to underserved schools around Baton Rouge, LA. The gift let some 50,000 students get hands-on experience with the sophisticated software.
The Hazelwood Central High School (Florissant, MO) robotics team used the new software to manage its project, and wound up winning the St. Louis regional rookie all-star award for the work. “We appreciate the outstanding software which helped in our first competition,” said team mentor Katherine Sylve.
PLM training centers have been established at leading universities across China. Centers at the Southern University of Engineering and Science, Shanghai University Institute of Technology, Shanghai University, Dalian University of Technology (DUT) and the DUT school of automotive engineering will certify thousands of undergrad and graduate students annually, supporting local manufacturers with quality engineers trained on the latest industry software.
A grant to Taxila Pakistan University of Engineering and Technology awarded 100 sets of UGS cutting-edge CAD/CAM tools to the school’s EE and ME department CAD/CAM labs. The materials give undergrads an introduction to CAD/CAM work while graduate students use them for advanced research.
For more information check out www.ugs.com/partners/goplm.
NISH presents workplace innovation awards for assistive technology
Washington, DC - At its 2007 grassroots advocacy conference, NISH, formerly the National Institute for the Severely Handicapped, presented its national scholar awards for workplace innovation and design to three college student groups. The awards recognize assistive technology devices created by engineering students working with local community nonprofit agencies.
This year’s winner was a universal box-taping device designed by Nicole Gaffney, Clark Nelson, Angela Setera and Chris Setera of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in collaboration with BH Services of Rapid City, SD.
Second place went to an improved tape-cutting process designed by Melissa Labrie of Western New England College, in collaboration with Goodwill of Springfield/Hartford, MA.
Third place was a sight and sound timer designed by Andres Afanador and Laura Malone of the University of Northern Carolina in collaboration with Goodwill of Eastern North Carolina.
NISH assists nonprofit agencies employing people with severe disabilities. See www.nish.org for more info.
CCNY-led team creates science curricula
New York, NY - Funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, a team headed by two CCNY professors is developing a physical science course for elementary schools in urban and other disadvantaged settings.
Early exposure to scientific concepts like matter and energy has been shown to benefit students’ future ability to do well in science. But many U.S. elementary school children, especially in poorer districts, get little or no instruction in science.
The new “Physical science comes alive: exploring things that go” program will include study units for kindergarten through fifth-grade classes. Each unit will focus on design and testing of kinetic toys, or the development of game-playing strategies using principles of mechanics and electricity. The projects will use materials available at little or no cost so poorer districts can take full advantage of them. A teacher training component will show teachers how to present the information effectively.
Gary Benenson, professor of ME at CCNY and principal investigator for the project, notes that technology education incorporates analytical and critical thinking skills that “are essential to preparing children for careers dependent on math and the sciences, such as engineering, architecture and industrial design.”
ACM joins MentorNet
New York, NY - In September 2007 the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM, www.acm.org) joined MentorNet, making individual e-mentoring from MentorNet professional members available to ACM’s 20,000 student members around the world. ACM is an educational and scientific society for computing educators, researchers and professionals.
MentorNet provides expertise in engineering, technology, math, science and computing. ACM student members will have the opportunity to develop e-mail relationships with specialists in their chosen fields. Mentees can be undergrad or grad students, post-doc candidates or untenured faculty. ACM professional members will be welcome to become MentorNet mentors.
“This partnership enables ACM and MentorNet to reach many more students and professionals in computer science and engineering around the world, and to engage them in beneficial mentoring relationships,” says Carol Muller, MentorNet’s founder and CEO.
HP announces grants
Palo Alto, CA - Since 2004 HP has supported technology in the classroom with a series of “technology for teaching” grants. Cash grants and donations of HP equipment support classroom teachers K through college.
This year the grants will total $6 million, to K-12 public schools in the U.S., including Puerto Rico, and colleges and universities in Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
The grants support efforts to improve student achievement through innovative uses of technology in the classroom. Preference is given to projects that have a focus on math or science, especially in schools serving a population of low-income students.
At the college and university level the grants support redesign of math, science, CS, IS and engineering courses to increase the number of students graduating, especially when the proposals serve students who are underrepresented in these fields.
More information, proposal forms and submission deadlines are available at www.hp.com/go/hpteach.
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