The National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and to reinforce its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in the relevant science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral [...]

Engineering as diplomacy
You cannot look into the eyes of a child who is dying from a disease caused by drinking dirty water — something that rarely, if ever, happens in the United States — and not feel changed. You cannot stand before her parents without thinking, “I’m an engineer. There must be something I can [...]

Engineering school’s growth targets societal needs
The primary role of engineering as a discipline is to use scientific knowledge to do useful things for society. So in academia, engineering serves as a bridge between the natural sciences on one hand and the humanities and the social sciences on the other. Engineers are, of course, involved very [...]

James J. Duderstadt, President Emeritus and University Professor of Science and Engineering, The University of Michigan provides an extensive report on the state of engineering in the USA. The report focusing on engineering education and the role of engineering in the economy and society. Engineering for a Changing World - A Roadmap to [...]

Worker Shortage Called Maryland, USA Threat by Phillip McGowan, Baltimore Sun:
A shortage of workers with high-tech and other skills needed to fill defense and homeland security jobs threatens not only Maryland’s economic development but also the nation’s war on terrorism, according to a report released yesterday.
The Fort Meade Alliance, a group of business leaders that [...]

Baucus proposing free college tuition for math and science majors:
Sen. Max Baucus wants free college tuition for math and science majors as part of a $25 billion education incentives package that also includes help for rural teachers and more money for pre-kindergarten programs. Baucus, D-Mont., told The Associated Press he hopes to introduce his [...]

Follow the “Green” Brick Road?
Each year, roughly 25 million tons of fly ash from coal-fired power plants are recycled, generally as additives in building materials such as concrete, but 45 million tons go to waste. Fly ash bricks both find a use for some of that waste and counter the environmental impact from the manufacture [...]

Beyond the obvious health implications associated with obesity, scientists have concluded that all this excess weight results in a drastic increase in American’s gasoline usage, to the tune of 39 million gallons per year. This study, to appear in the upcoming issue of The Engineering Economist , stemmed from Professor Sheldon H. Jacobson’s [...]

Engineers and scientists in many fields of research may have a new reason to worry. After a National Academies of Science report last year warned that America’s future security and economic strength were at risk for lack of funding of basic research in engineering and the physical sciences, President George W. Bush responded [...]

“Starbucks coffee shops have mushroomed in China’s cities,” said Chinese President Hu Jintao, in Seattle, WA, his first stop on his U.S. visit. “If I were not serving in this office, I would certainly prefer to go into one of the coffee shops run by Starbucks.”
President Hu’s visit is not all jokes, [...]