Author Archives: curiouscat

Ranking Universities Worldwide

The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities provides another estimate of the top universities. The methodology is far ideal however I still find it interesting. The various attempts to rank schools can provide a general idea of impact of various institutions (though the measures are fairly crude). Still a sensible picture (especially at the country level) can emerge. And the various rankings should be a able to track shifts in the most influential institutions and relative country strength over time. How quickly those rankings track changes will vary depending on the measures used. I would imagine most will lag the “real” changes as it is easy to imagine many measures that would lag. Still, as I have said before, I expect the USA will lose in relative ranking compared to China, India, Japan, Singapore, Mexico…

The ranking methodology used here weighed rankings in: Jiao Tong academic rankings, Essential Science Indicators, Google Scholar, Alexa (a measure of web site visits to universities) and The Times Higher World University Rankings.

Country representation of the top universities (number of top schools in each country):

location Webometrics
Top 100		 Jiao Tong
Top 101		 % of World
Population		 % of World GDP*
USA 53 54   4.6%   30.4%
Germany 10   5  1.3   6.3
Canada   8   4  0.5   2.5
United Kingdom   6 10  0.9   5.0
Australia   3   2  0.3   1.6
Japan   1   6 2.0 10.3
The rest of Europe 16 13
Brazil   1   0   2.8   1.8
Mexico   1   0   1.6   1.7
Israel   0   1   0.1   0.3

* IMF, World Economic Outlook Database, September 2006 (2005 data)
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Lead the Way – Cleveland

Project Lead the Way introduces students to engineering (site broke the link so I removed it – poor usability):

Project Lead The Way offers hands-on curriculum to allow students a taste of the creativity, variety, teamwork and possibilities engineering fields are offering. The course teaches students the key elements and skills of engineering and technology-based careers.
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“In the five years we’ve had this program, we went from 20 to over 300 students,” he said. “Our goal is gender equity. We want to see more diversity. We started out with two females five years ago. Now we’re about 28 percent female. We’re seeing more African Americans and more Asians coming in.”

Related: Middle School Engineers – Getting Students Hooked on Engineering

Big Atlantic Sharks Disappearing, Study Warns

Tiger Shark

Big Atlantic sharks disappearing, study warns (phb broke link so I removed it):

Humans, mainly those in countries with a craving for shark-fin soup, have devoured so many of the oceans’ top predators that it has rattled the length of the marine food chain, according to a study to be published today in the prestigious journal Science. While previous studies have calculated declines by half or more, this one argues that seven of the largest sharks along the Atlantic Coast have all but vanished because of overfishing — down as much as 99 percent for bull, dusky and smooth hammerheads over the last 35 years.
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The study’s premise: As larger sharks disappeared, smaller ones and rays, both often prey, exploded over the same period. One in particular, the cownose ray, perpetuated to the point that by 2004 it gulped down much of the scallop population in Chesapeake Bay. ”I think that’s just the tip of an iceberg,” Fordham said. “There are so many connections we don’t understand. Sharks keep the oceans in balance.”

Photo by Jim Winstead

Related: As large sharks go away, scallops, clams follow – Arctic Sharks – 50 New Species Found in Indonesia Reefs

Yale Cultivates Young Scientists

Yale Science and Engineering Association (YSEA), Outreach programs cultivate young scientists:

Since 1989, YSEA has funded high-school science fair awards all over the world; in 2006, 241 outstanding high school students were awarded YSEA medals. By getting the Yale name into the public consciousness, YSEA hopes to draw high school applicants who intend to major in the sciences.
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For New Haven high school students, the New Haven Science Fair Program pairs them up with Yale graduate students for one-on-one mentorships. The students select a field that interests them, then develop an in-depth science fair project that teaches them about the scientific process. It’s an enjoyable introduction to the world of science research, and in early March, the students got the opportunity to show off what they’d learned in the yearly science fair, held in Commons.

Related: Science Education sites for students and teachers – science internships – science fairs

Neuroengineers Use Light to Silence Overactive Neurons

MIT neuroengineers’ pulsing light silences overactive neurons:

The work takes advantage of a gene called halorhodopsin found in a bacterium that grows in extremely salty water, such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. In the bacterium, Natronomas pharaonis, the gene codes for a protein that serves as a light-activated chloride pump, which helps the bacterium make energy.

When neurons are engineered to express the halorhodopsin gene, the researchers can inhibit their activity by shining yellow light on them. Light activates the chloride pumps, which drive chloride ions into the neurons, lowering their voltage and silencing their firing.
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The group also plans to use the new method to study neural circuits. Last year, Boyden devised a technique to stimulate neurons by shining blue light on them, so with blue and yellow light the researchers can now exert exquisite control over the stimulation and inhibition of individual neurons. Learning more about the neural circuits involved in epilepsy could help scientists develop devices that can predict when a seizure is about to occur, allowing treatment (either shock or light) to be administered only when necessary, Boyden said.

Related: Nanoparticles to Aid Brain Imaging – Feed your Newborn Neurons – Nanofibers Knit Severed Neurons Together

USC Innovation Institute Reinventing Itself

USC innovation institute reinventing itself:

Established in 2004, the institute was originally designed to help advance engineering after USC alumnus and venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, donated $22 million to the campus unit.
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In the spirit of innovation, Provost C.L. Max Nikias also announced he wants to develop in the next year a minor in innovation for all doctoral students, regardless of their discipline. “I want innovation to be the signature for the USC PhD diploma,” Nikias said. To oversee the institute’s new effort, USC officials last year recruited Krisztina Holly, a former director of an innovation center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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If one of USC’s 33,000 students has an idea, he or she should contact the institute that is housed in the Andrew and Erna Viterbi School of Engineering and speak with an innovator developer to determine if the idea has merit.

Related: Future of Engineering – Entrepreneurial Engineers – Innovation related blog posts

Global Technology Leadership

US ‘no longer technology king’:

Countries were judged on technological advancements in general business, the infrastructure available and the extent to which government policy creates a framework necessary for economic development and increased competitiveness. The Networked Readiness Index, the sixth of its kind published by the World Economic Forum with Insead, the Paris-based business school, scrutinised progress in 122 economies worldwide.

Despite losing its top position, the US still maintained a strong focus on innovation, driven by one of the world’s best tertiary education systems and its high degree of co-operation with industry, the report said. The country’s efficient market environment, conducive to the availability of venture capital, and the sophistication of financial markets, was also given recognition.

Related: WEF Report – Innovation Economy – USA Still Leads In Innovation – The World’s Best Research Universities – Asia: Rising Stars of Science and Engineering – European Innovation Scoreboard – Aussies Look to Finnish Innovation Model

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