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UC Berkeley to Team Up with New Saudi University
University of California at Berkeley, USA, has announced a plan to team up with a soon-to-open graduate university in Saudi Arabia that would give UC Berkeley millions of dollars in exchange for its help in hiring professors and collaborating on research. The deal involves UC Berkeley’s mechanical engineering department and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, which is being built on the Red Sea at Thuwal, about 50 miles north of Saudi Arabia's second-largest city, Jidda. It is scheduled to open in the fall of 2009 and will accept students of both sexes. UC Berkeley’s role will be to help develop the new university's mechanical engineering curriculum, identify high-quality professors and participate in future joint research projects. Read more
2008 IEEE EDS Ph.D. Student Fellowship Program
The IEEE Electron Devices Society invites the submission of nominations for the 2008 Ph.D. Student Fellowship Program. The award is presented annually to promote, recognize and support Ph.D. level study and research within the EDS field of interest. At least one fellowship is awarded to a student in each of the following geographical regions every year: Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific. The award is a check for US$7,000 and a plaque presented at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).
The deadline is 15 May 2008. For more information, please visit the IEEE EDS Fellowship web page.
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University of Arizona is Shooting for the Moon
The University of Arizona (UA) Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department have teamed with Raytheon Missile Systems and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA to design, build, fly and operate a robotic lunar landing mission. The team, called Astrobotic Technology Inc., is competing with nine other groups for the Google Lunar X Prize, which offers a US$30 million purse for the first private robotic mission to the moon that meets operational specifications. The mission, if successful, could change the way space exploration is done, help UA students find jobs and enrich southern Arizona. Mission plans call for landing the rover about 500 meters from the Apollo 11 landing site where man first visited the moon in July 1969. Read more
Learn more about moon landings in IEEE Xplore®
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Students Given Access to Technical Software at No Charge
Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corp., announced last month a software giveaway to provide millions of college and high school students around the world with access to the latest Microsoft developer and designer tools. The Microsoft DreamSpark student program provides, at no charge, a broad range of development and design software for download. The program is now available to more than 35 million college students in Belgium, China, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. An expansion of the program to high school students, expected throughout next year, could potentially reach up to one billion students worldwide. “We want to do everything we can to equip a new generation of technology leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to harness the magic of software to improve lives, solve problems and catalyze economic growth,” Gates said. The set of free software includes Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition, Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition, and XNA Game Studio 2.0; Expression Studio, including Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design, and Expression Media; and the SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition as well as the Windows Server, Standard Edition. Read more
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MIT Students Imitate Life on Mars
Two students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, have simulated life on Mars in an effort to create an advanced carrier for use in fieldwork research to remote regions of space, including planetary exploration. To achieve their goal, the students have established a site in the Utah desert where landscape conditions closely mirror that of Mars. The students have been living as astronauts, including eating freeze-dried foods, wearing spacesuits, reusing their own water and inhabiting a foot locker sized container. Read more
Learn more about life in space in IEEE Xplore®
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Liberty Mutual Outlines Benefits of Renters Insurance
Renters insurance can protect the possessions that matter to you from theft, fire and some types of water damage. According to Liberty Mutual, your stuff may be worth more than you think when you consider any computers, flat screen televisions, digital cameras or sporting equipment you may own in addition to all your furniture, clothing and appliances. Renters insurance can help shield you from a financial setback, should your possessions get damaged or stolen—in your home or in your car. Averaging just US$10-12 per month, renters insurance is a smart way to make sure you’re protected. Your affiliation with IEEE may qualify you for extra savings. Get more information or a free quote from Liberty Mutual
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IEEE-USA Recognizes Winners of Online Engineering Video Scholarship
Undergraduate engineering students from three universities have been recognized by IEEE-USA for their winning entries in the organization's first "How Engineers Make a World of Difference" online engineering video scholarship competition. IEEE-USA Communications Vice President Paul Kostek announced the winners during last month’s Engineers Week. First prize (US$2,500) went to Ben Toler and Emile Frey of Louisiana Tech University; second prize (US$2,000) went to Yilin Pei of the University of Florida; and third prize (US$1,500) was awarded to Samuel Chanjaplammootil, Kevin Hooper and Michael Jaco of Texas Tech University. The three winning entries were judged most effective in reinforcing for an 11- to 13-year-old audience how engineers are "cool" and can improve the quality of life of the world around them. The three-judge panel included Andrew Quecan and Suzette Presas, electrical engineering graduate students and IEEE student members at the University of South Florida; and Nate Ball, a mechanical engineer and host of PBS' "Design Squad." IEEE-USA will launch its 2008-2009 online engineering video scholarship competition in September. View the winning entries
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Middle School Team Earns National Engineering Award
A team of middle school students from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, won the IEEE-USA Best Communications System Award at the National Engineers Week Future City Competition National Finals on 20 February 2008. Taking the award for most efficient and accurate communications system were students Emily O’Brien, 13; Courtney Strait, 13; and Stephanie Wenclawski, 14; engineer-mentor and IEEE member Gary Bishop; and teacher-sponsor Jean Oberbroeckling. The team developed a component for their future city design called “xMax.” According to the students, the technology allows for a fast, non-line of sight connectivity between a user and a cell tower, with much less radio frequency energy required. Judges were intrigued that the team considered non-line of sight, as well as energy and propagation range issues in their project. Read more
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Microsoft, Infosys Find a New Way to Discover Talent
Faced with the challenge of finding workers with specialist skills and high levels of employee attrition, some technology firms are finding it hard to locate new talent. As a result, Microsoft’s India unit and local software company Infosys Technologies Ltd. have started what they call efforts at “incubating talent” on an experimental basis. Microsoft Global Technical Support Center (GTSC) has allowed about 65 engineering students, studying in their last year at local engineering colleges, to carry out projects on weekends at its Bangalore facility. The program lasts for one year, during which the students are mentored and trained before working on projects. “Attracting suitable talent with a product and engineering mindset is a big challenge,” said Sashi Kumar, General Manager at Microsoft GTSC. The company, which mainly used to hire experienced hands from other technology firms, has started recruiting from campuses in recent years. Still not assured of sizeable numbers, Microsoft thought about incubating talent as a new way of finding workers with the right skills. Read more
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Sun Sparc Plan Expected to Boost Education in Chip Design
Sun Microsystems Inc. and China’s Ministry of Education have embarked on a three-year agreement in an effort to provide greater hands-on computer programming education opportunities for students. With this plan, Sun’s Sparc microprocessor technology will be used to teach students how to design chips. "The key thrust of this program is a realization that the students of today are the programmers of tomorrow," said Fadi Azhari, Director of Marketing for Sun's multi-threaded processors. "We want to have more hands and brains working on our technology," he added. Under the deal, at least 100 educators a year will receive training on Sun's systems and China will establish several Sun centers of excellence. Read more
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Report: Excessive Computing Creates Negative Effect on Student Learning
A report issued by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy reveals that extreme computer use in the classroom can yield a negative effect on student learning. Students who have more access to computers at home than in the classroom perform more poorly in math, reading and science than students with less computer usage. The report adds that computers are more beneficial to high school students than elementary students. Critics of the report say the findings are outdated and that computers are necessary tools in the classroom that can enhance learning when used properly. Read more
Learn more about computers in classrooms in IEEE Xplore®
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Top Intern Employers for 2008 Announced
CollegeGrad.com recently named the top intern employers for 2008, speculating that more than 46,000 intern positions will be up for grabs in 2008. While Walgreen’s topped the list with 7,350 interns expected to join the company this year, the number of interns being hired in other companies varied widely in the survey, with one company hiring as many as 2,500 and others a few as five. Overall, there is only expected to be a .5% increase in hiring over last year. Regardless of the small increase in hiring practices, experts say an internship is a valuable experience and can be key to opening new opportunities. According to Jolie Chehadeh, Campus Recruiting Program Lead for Thomson, "interns experience the organization firsthand and make an informed decision on whether it is the right long-term career fit, and the organization is able to evaluate the skills and overall fit of the intern through firsthand experience." Read more
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