26 January 2001
Copyright © 2001 World Expertise LLC – All rights
reserved
A periodic electronic newsletter for engineering education leaders,
edited by Russel C. Jones, PhD., P.E.
The Canadian provinces of Quebec and Alberta have created
new programs to attract talented academics and to discourage them from leaving
for the U.S. According to an article by Janice Paskey in the Chronicle of
Higher Education, Quebec is waving the provincial income tax for certain
professors, about 23% of the annual salary of high-income earners. The policy,
announced last fall, has already helped McGill University in recruitment.
Alberta has set up a pool of US$8 million to help attract and retain faculty
members. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011803n.htm
An international panel of hundreds of scientists, meeting
in Beijing under UN auspices, has issued the most forceful warning yet on the
threat of global warming. Writing in the 23 January 2001 issue of the Washington
Post, Philip Pan reports that the panel predicts brutal droughts, floods and
violent storms across the planet over the century because air pollution is
causing surface temperatures to rise faster than anticipated. The unanimously
approved report says that the Earth’s average temperature could rise by as
much as 10.4 degrees over the next 100 years – the most rapid change in 10
millennia. Such a rise in temperature could melt polar ice caps and raise sea
levels by as much as 34 inches, causing floods that could displace tens of
millions of people in low-lying areas. The report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change cited evidence that most of the observed warming is
attributable to human activities, primarily the burning of fuels that produce
gasses that trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. The U.S. is the largest
producer of greenhouse gasses, with China ranked second. See http://www.washingtonpost.com
The February 2001 World Press Review features a
cover story entitled “Cold Feet on Global Warming”. It cites several
international press articles following up the UN climate summit at the Hague in
November which failed to produce an accord on cutting polluting greenhouse
gasses. From a French paper: “The U.S., with its wasteful lifestyle, annually
pours 5.4 tons of carbon dioxide per capita into the atmosphere – 20 times
what an African produces”. A British paper paints “A Grim Picture”,
another British paper cites a threat to Pacific Islands in “Sea Levels
Rising”, and articles from several countries are summarized in “Where do we
go from here?”. See http://www.worldpress.org
The MIT MediaLabEurope in Dublin has been attacked by some
Irish universities for getting too much scarce government money. According to
Karen Birchard writing in the Chronicle, the Irish prime minister has
committed US$50 million to the project. MIT had requested US$33 million for the
project plus US$18 million for a building, citing its record of innovation and
invention which could create the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in
Ireland. Local university leaders opposed giving such funding to an overseas
institution rather than a local one. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011202t.htm
Germany’s central research foundation, the DFG, has
announced a new program of “junior professorships” that will provide
independent support for young researchers hoping to carve out an academic
career. According to an article by Ohad Parnes in the 5 January 2001 issue of Science,
the traditional post-PhD Habilitation requirement which requires 6 years or more
in an academic apprenticeship under a senior professor is seen as a daunting
barrier to young scientists. The new program will offer to young researchers 3
years of support for their own projects, rather than having them dependent on
senior faculty members for support. At the same time, the German Donor’s
Association – the country’s major private science funding agency – has
announced funding for ‘research professorships’ for researchers under age
35, providing US$72,000 annually for a period of 4 years. These new programs are
seen as a direct challenge to the hegemony of senior professors, and are seen as
key steps in the eventual elimination of the Habilitation requirement. Today the
average German academic is 44 before he or she is eligible for a tenured
position. See http://www.sciencemag.com
Three institutes in Russia have been awarded a US$2.4
million grant by the Carnegie Corporation of New York: Tomsk State University,
Urals A.M. Gorkii State University, and Voronezh State University. According to
a notice by Karolina Augustynowicz in the Chronicle, the Centers for
Advanced Study and Education at these universities will enhance opportunities
for research, education, and scholarship in Russia. A joint effort with the
Russian Ministry of Higher Education, it as anticipated that five more such
centers will be funded over the next several years. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001012303n.htm
Newly inaugurated President George W. Bush is reported to
be considering splitting the role of chief science and technology advisor
between two appointees. According to a report by Jennifer Ruark in the Chronicle,
Mr. Bush has been advised by a Texas technologist to make such a split. But
reports indicate that he is having trouble finding candidates who are willing to
take the Science Advisor position if it is so downsized. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011501n.htm
The U.S. Congress eliminated the Office of Technology
Assessment (OTA) in 1995, at a time when its role appeared to be more important
than ever. Writing in the Winter 2000-01 issue of Issues in Science and
Technology, Daryl Chubin addresses “Filling the Policy Vacuum Created by
OTA’s Demise”. He addresses several needs not currently being adequately
met: the diminution of policy capability throughout the federal agencies; the
need for staff continuity and a refined and self-critical process for producing
policy analysis; and the lack of career opportunities to attract young people to
study and work in policy analysis. He concludes that there is a vacuum to fill,
and urges readers of the article to consider how to fill it appropriately. See http://www.nap.edu/issues
The Bush administration does not intend to dismantle the
direct-loan program, according to new Education Secretary Roderick Paige.
Writing in the Chronicle, Stephen Burd cites this and other directions
from Paige’s Congressional confirmation hearings. While most of the discussion
centered on elementary and secondary education issues, some Democratic Senators
expressed concerns about the new administration’s higher education priorities.
Paige supported Bush’s proposal to front load Pell Grants with higher stipends
in the first year, arguing that research shows that students who complete their
first year have a higher probability of staying in college and getting a degree.
See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011101n.htm
President Bush unveiled his large plan for education on his
second workday in the White House, a plan that aims to raise education standards
and improve public schools. According to a Chronicle report by Stephen
Burd, the package also contains proposal that would encourage families to save
more money for college, and would authorize the creation of new partnerships
between colleges and school districts to improve mathematics and science
teaching in elementary and secondary schools. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001012401n.htm
New faces in key science policy positions in Washington
have resulting in reactions ranging from pleasure to puzzlement, according to an
article by David Malakoff in the 12 January 2001 issue of Science. The
new faces include a new chair of the House spending panel that controls the
budgets of the National Institutes of Health; another that oversees research at
NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation;
and new heads at the Department of Energy and EPA. Warmest reception by sciences
advocates has been for Representative Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), new head of the
House Science Committee. This 10-term lawmaker is seen likely to focus on math
and science education, alternative energy sources, and environmental research.
Science lobbyists are still looking into other choices: Representative Ralph
Regula (R-OH), new head of the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees
the NIH budget, and Representative Sonny Callahan (R-AL) who now heads the
spending panel that oversees the DOE budget. See http://www.sciencemag.org
FY 2001 will be a banner year for federal research
programs, according to a report in the Winter 2000-01 Issues in Science and
Technology. The final budget agreement between outgoing President Clinton
and the Congress raises the federal R&D budget to about $90.9 billion in FY
2001, an increase of 9.1% over the previous year. Among the major R&D
funding agencies, only the National Science Foundation received less than the
administration requested – but it still got an increase of 13.2% over the
previous year. Non-defense R&D spending will increase by 11% overall,
compared to a 7% increase for defense R&D. See http://www.nap.edu/issues.
A similar review of R&D funding is also available in an article by David
Malakoff in the 5 January 2001 issue of Science. See http://www.sciencemag.org
“Rethinking the Land-Grant Research University for the
Digital Age”, an article in the January/February 2001 issue of Change by
Leann Parker, David Greenbaum, and Karl Pister, presents an interesting updating
of the 140 year old concept that has guided agricultural and engineering
colleges in support of societal priorities. The authors suggest K-12 education
as a major new mission focus for the Land Grant schools. They observe that even
if it is agreed that this focus is appropriate, doing so is no small task. They
suggest that the Internet may allow transformation of the Land Grant University
of the future that is capable of responding to the needs of K-12 education. See http://www.heldref.org
The U.S Department of Education has cleared the
Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in a conflict of interest
investigation concerning an evaluator who took a job at an engineering college
that he had judged just months earlier. According to a report by Dan Carnevale
in the Chronicle, the Education Department wrote to ABET: “After
careful examination of the materials you submitted, we agree that no violation
of ABET’s conflict-of-interest policy can be found”.
The letter did indicate, however, that the department would examine the
policies of the accreditation board the next time ABET was reviewed for
Education Department recognition. ABET, however, has recently decided not to
seek ongoing recognition from the Education Department, for independent reasons
stemming from perceived misfit between the department’s standards and ABET’s
new “outcomes assessment” model. See http://chronicle.com/2001/01/2001012208n.htm
An annual survey of freshmen suggests that political
engagement among first-year students has reached an all time low, even though it
typically jumps in election years. According to a report in the Chronicle by
Alex Kellogg, only 28% of entering college students reported an interest in
“keeping up to date with political affairs”. In 1966, that figure was 60%!
The freshman survey, conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at
UCLA, in its 35th year, aims to show how the attitudes and
aspirations of college freshmen change over time. Even though 28% indicated that
they felt ‘overwhelmed by all they had to do”, those doing volunteer work
held steady with last year at 81%. The gender gap among computer users has
nearly closed according to the study, but women remain much less confident of
their technological knowledge than their male counterparts. See http://www.chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001012203n.htm.
An overview of the report is available at http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/heri.html
ASEE’s Prism feature three articles on K-12
education in its February 2001 issue. An article by Alvin Sanoff describes how
engineering schools are forging new relationships with K-12 teachers to help
make science and math more exciting for kids. Stephen Budiansky describes
trouble with K-12 science textbooks, charging that they do not help children
grasp the most basic concepts about the world we live in. And Wray Herbert
describes a curriculum that works – at Edison Friendship Junior Academy, where
children do not memorize vocabulary or definitions, but end up learning facts
and a lot more. See http://www.asee.org
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is calling
on colleges to do a better job of measuring what students learn, according to an
article by Beth McMurtrie in the Chronicle. The president of the Council
says that the traditional measure of how much students learn – grades – no
longer satisfies employers, lawmakers, or the public. Government and businesses
want to know more specifically what kind of competencies the students have. The
Council is concerned that federal policymakers will step in to fill this need if
colleges do not. Interest in improving student learning measures is heightened
by both distance learning and the internationalization of higher education. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001012403n.htm
In a Change article on service learning, Edward
Zlotkowski asserts: “It is in the swampy lowlands of real world experiences
that real complexity resides. The academy’s problems, in contrast, are the
manageable ones.” The author
traces developments in service learning over recent years, particularly those
documented in a series of volumes by the American Association for Higher
Education. He states that “ As a subset of experiential education, service
learning naturally provides faculty with a variety of ways to engage students in
the learning process”. He draws a distinction between academic service
learning and traditional community service. See http://www.heldref.org
The training that PhD students receive is not what many of
them want, and it does not prepare them for the jobs they eventually take,
according to a new survey. As reported in the Chronicle by Scott
Smallwood, the survey sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts the survey
indicates that complaints center on such factors as lack of career advice and
unclear requirements. The survey of more than 4000 doctoral students at 27
universities found a three way mismatch among the purpose of doctoral education,
the aspirations of students, and the realities of their careers. Students find
that doctoral education is ‘unnecessarily mysterious’ – keeping them
unclear about how their course work applies, how much time they will spend with
their advisor, or who will pay for their dissertation work. See http://chronicle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011704n.htm.
The full report on the survey is available at http://www.phd-survey.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation has
announced a project to increase the impact of the PhD by turning the findings of
recent studies of doctoral education into concrete reforms. According to an
article in the Chronicle by Scott Smallwood, the Responsive PhD project
plans to give universities examples of how to respond to calls for reforming
doctoral education. Project organizers plan to promote practices that encourage
students to think in more interdisciplinary terms in their graduate work and
develop bold career options. See http://chronocle.com/daily/2001/01/2001011704n.htm
The U.S. is not turning out enough scientists and engineers
to make discoveries that will pay off in 50 years, according to Professor Paul
Romer of Stanford University. As described in an article on the front page of
the 25 January 2001 Wall Street Journal, Romer says that colleges
discourage undergraduates from majoring in science and engineering by making
courses much harder than other fields, and by relegating undergraduate teaching
in such fields to graduate students. He is taking his message to Washington and
is proposing a scheme to correct the situation. He proposes a federal program to
change the incentives – dangle $10,000 a head to colleges that increase their
output of undergraduate science and engineering majors; and offer 100,000
promising high school students a $20,000 a year fellowship if they go into
graduate study in these fields. See http://www.wsj.com
Eastern Illinois University is offering a study abroad
program in Egypt, focused on the Toshka Project which is creating a new valley
for the Nile River in the western desert of Egypt. The three credit course in
early June will allow students to meet the project’s engineers and officials,
and to study its far reaching effects. It will also include visits to classic
sites in Egypt. Open to undergraduate and graduate students, the course
enrollment deadline is February 15th. See http://www/eiu.edu/~tech/StudyAbroadPage.htm
For an interesting personal account of a rewarding study
abroad experience, see an article in the Winter 2001 Bent of Tau Beta Pi by
Emily Hackett: “My First Semester as a Graduate Student in Beijing – An
Engineer Abroad”. The author describes how she successfully took classes
alongside Chinese classmates and integrated herself into their academic system
and culture with only four semesters of Mandarin as language preparation. Her
study in China was funded by an NSF graduate research fellowship. See http://www.tbp.org
Japanese students are using cellular phones to send and
receive e-mails so heavily that even class time is not sacred. According to an
article by Alan Brender in the Chronicle, 90% of Japanese students own
cellular phones capable of sending e-mails, and 65% of 915 students at seven
universities surveyed by a faculty member admit to having sent or received at
least one e-mail message during class. Each e-mail costs only about 3 cents, but
the huge volume – sometimes over 100 messages a day – adds up to significant
costs. Some universities are developing other uses for this technology, such as
advising students of canceled classes and nagging those behind in tuition
payments. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2001011601t.htm
Personal computer sales may have slowed, but the U.S.
market for hand held computers doubled to more that $1 billion last year.
Writing in the 25 January 2001 issue of the Wall Street Journal, Pui-Wing
Tam reports that manufacturers sold
3.5 million of the devices – variously called organizers, pocket PCs, and
personal digital assistants – in 2000. Over that year the cost of such units
dropped 11% to $294, suggesting pressure on manufacturers profit margins. In
sharp contrast, U.S. PC sales grew only 10% in 2000. See http://www.wsj.com
At a recent Ubiquitous Computing Conference, some
universities that require students to own laptops reported that they have
fostered better communication and collaboration, which in turn have enhanced
teaching and learning. According to Florence Olsen writing in the Chronicle,
other universities are not so sure, and ask for research to
quantitatively show whether using laptops is better for students than teaching
without them. The cost to students of requiring a laptop is of concern, and some
universities have found ways to spread out payments to ease the burden on
parents. Providing reliable computer support and maintenance is essential to the
success of any mandatory computing program. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2001010902t.htm
The goal of seamlessly combining the analog world with user
friendly computing, to handle most aspects of daily life, is becoming one of the
computer industry’s hottest priorities. Writing in the January/February 2110 Technology
Review, Robert Buderi notes that IBM has committed nearly $500 million over
the next 5 years to study ‘pervasive computing’, and other companies are not
far behind. Three broad frameworks define the current efforts: 24 hour
availability of computing power every day; wireless networks and devices; and
software to work behind the scenes to keep humans from having to be bothered
with details. For news on pervasive computing, see http://www.ebiquity.org
The theme of the January 2001 issue of IEEE Spectrum is
‘Always On – living in a networked world’. In reviewing the current state
of networking, Spectrum notes: “The Net’s exploding growth reveals
its flaws – like sluggish last-mile data rates and whimsical wireless delivery
– and spotlights key management, security, and regulatory issues”. Articles
include: ‘Optical networks brace for even heavier traffic’, ‘Let’s not
go broke repaving the last mile’, ‘Keeping the Net up’, and
‘Comprehensive testing maximizes a site’s value’. See http://www.spectrum.ieee.org
Telecommuting, hyped as one of the big trends of the last
decade, is now having its worth doubted by some employers. According to an
article in the LA Times, a recent survey found that 62% of the 648
employers polled said that they would hire fewer teleworkers in the future.
Managers say that teleworkers are more difficult to monitor in terms of
productivity, and that office-based workers tend to resent their home-based
colleagues. In another survey, 34.6% of managers were concerned about legal and
risk management issues associated with teleworking. However, the International
Telework Association and Council believes that negative feedback come from
employers who are not committed enough to the concept to have thought the whole
process through effectively. See http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905356303&rel=true
After 17 years of planning, dozens of reviews and
redesigns, and billions of dollars, the U.S. scientific centerpiece of the
international space station is ready to open its hatches for business. Writing
in the 19 January 2000 issue of Science, Andrew Lawler describes the
8.5-meter long aluminum vessel which is ready for launch from the Kennedy Space
Center next month. About 120 researchers have already been chosen to conduct
experiments in the lab, but until the space station assembly is completed in
2006 the lab will mostly be used as a staging area. With more room, bigger crew,
more computer and electrical power than the Russian Mir, the new lab is expected
to serve as a new paradigm for research in space for at least a decade. See http://www.sciencemag.org
A Canadian task force has been named to advise the
government on how to guarantee that distance education and other broadband
network services are within the reach of all Canadian citizens. According to an
article by Florence Olsen in the Chronicle, the government wants
Canadians to receive the higher education and health care benefits that
universal broadband service would make possible, with a target date of 2004. The
task force will try to identify the technical, political, and fiscal barriers to
providing universal broadband service, and will advise the government on its
role in overcoming those obstacles. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2001011201u.htm
Educators fear that a proposal to help accommodate new
Web-surfing cell phones and other hand held devices could displace instructional
television operations at more than a thousand schools. The Federal
Communications Commission is to select a preferred band of spectrum for third
generation services, and the spectrum now used for Instructional Television
Fixed Service is being considered for reallocation. Large corporations such as
Sprint and Worldcom are looking to negotiate leases to accommodate these new
services. See http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i19/19a02901.htm
The Congressional Web-Based Education Commission has issued
its final report, calling on Congress to recognize the crucial role the Internet
can play in education and to help remove some of the barriers that are blocking
widespread use of the Web in education.. According to an article in the 9
January 2001 issue of Higher Education Technology News, the report calls
on the government, industry and the education community to cooperate and enact a
seven point agenda. Included in the agenda: make powerful new Internet
resources, especially broadband access, widely and equitably available and
affordable for all learners; provide continuous and relevant training and
support for educators and administrators at all levels; build a new research and
development framework around learning in the Internet age; develop quality
online educational content that meets the highest standards of educational
excellence; revise outdated regulations that impede innovation and replace them
with approaches that embrace anywhere, anytime, any-pace learning; protect
online learners and ensure their privacy; and sustain funding via traditional
and new sources adequate to the challenge at hand. The report is available at http://www.webcommission.org
In a report sent to Congress this month, the U.S.
Department of Education said that a lack of flexibility in financial aid
regulations hurts the advancement of distance education programs. Writing in the
Chronicle, Dan Carnevale reports that rules originally written to protect
fraud – such as one that prevents institutions offering more than 50% of their
courses at a distance from providing federal student aid – are inhibiting. The
report does not make specific recommendations about what Congress should do, but
does provide evidence that rules need to be permanently changed. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2110012401u.htm
Hoping to present a united front against the onslaught of
technology companies offering distance education products and partnerships, four
state universities have formed an alliance to share information and make joint
technology purchases. According to an article by Jeffrey Young in the Chronicle,
the partnership is informal, and includes the University of California at
Berkeley, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Washington, and the
University of Wisconsin. The focus of collaboration will be in four areas:
marketing, technical issues, student services, and faculty relations. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2001012301u.htm
Public colleges and universities in Colorado will cooperate
in sharing and developing online courses jointly in an effort to keep the
state’s distance education programs competitive with the rest of the country,
according to an article by Dan Carnevale in the Chronicle. In a plan
approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, all 28 of the state’s
public institutions will collaborate in developing a catalog of all of their
online courses and creating reciprocity agreements. Students will be able to
take courses from any of the institutions and accumulate the credit in the
colleges in which they are enrolled. Some 15 other states have created similar
collaborative groups. See http://chronicle.com/free/2001/01/2001011001u.htm
The current issue of the International
Journal of Engineering Education (Volume
17, Number 1, 2001) is a special
issue on Learning Styles, edited by Terrance O’Brien. Two general themes are
covered in the several articles in the journal: innovative approaches to
teaching and learning, and student achievement and attitude toward instruction.
The primary impetus for this special issue was the awareness that considerable
research on student learning is being conducted both inside and beyond the field
of engineering education, much of which has meaningful implications for
engineering education. See http://www.ijee.dit.ie
The Winter 2000-01
edition of Issues in Science and
Technology has several theme
articles on Transportation Safety, with emphasis on the automobile. Articles
include: ‘Using safety labels to make cars safer’, ‘Civilizing the sport
utility vehicle’, ‘Too old to drive’,
‘Auto safety and human adaptation’, ‘Improving air safety – long
term challenges’, and ‘Real numbers’. See http://www.nap.edu/issues
From the 26
January 2001 Chronicle of Higher
Education:
Ø
Dean, School of
Engineering, Purdue University, IN
Ø
Canada Research Chairs
(2000 chairs by the year 2005)
Ø
Dean, Engineering and
Mines, University of North Dakota – Grand Forks
Ø
Dean, College of
Engineering, Cornell University, NY
Ø
VPAA, Arkansas State
University
Ø
VPAA, Southern
Polytechnic State University, GA
Ø
Provost and VP, Alfred
University, NY
Ø
VPAA, SUNY Albany, NY
Ø
Provost, University of
Vermont
Ø
President, Stephen F.
Austin State University, TX
Ø
President, Utah System of
Higher Education
From the 19
January 2001 Chronicle:
Ø
Dean, School of
Engineering, University of Alabama – Birmingham
Ø
Industrial Engineering
Faculty Positions, American University of Armenia
Ø
Dean of Engineering,
University of New Mexico – Albuquerque
Ø
Dean, Graduate College,
University of Iowa
Ø
VPAA, University of
Illinois – Urbana/Champaign
Ø
Provost and VPAA, Montana
State University
Ø
Dean, College of
Computing Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Ø
Dean, Graduate College,
Oklahoma State University
Ø
VP Research, Clemson
University, SC
Ø
President, Arizona Board
of Regents
Ø
President, Tennessee
Board of Regents
Ø
President, Texas State
University System
From the February
2001 ASEE Prism:
Ø
Dean, College of
Engineering and Technology, California State University, Los Angeles
Ø
Department Head,
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona – Tucson
Ø
Chair, Mechanical and
Industrial Engineering, Marquette University, WI
Ø
Chair, Department of
Engineering, Old Dominion University, VA
Ø
Chair, Civil and
Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan
Ø
Dean, University of
Alabama – Birmingham
Ø
Head, Chemical
Engineering, University of Minnesota – Duluth
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