Category Archives: Students

Items for students and others, interested in learning about science and engineering and the application of science in our lives. We post many of the general interest items here.

String Theory is Not Dead

The Universe on a String by Brian Greene (author of The The Elegant Universe).

String theory offers a new perspective on matter’s fundamental constituents. Once viewed as point-like dots of virtually no size, particles in string theory are minuscule, vibrating, string-like filaments. And much as different vibrations of a violin string produce different musical notes, different vibrations of the theory’s strings produce different kinds of particles. An electron is a tiny string vibrating in one pattern, a quark is a string vibrating in a different pattern. Particles like the photon that convey nature’s forces in the quantum realm are strings vibrating in yet other patterns.
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Without the exact equations, our ability to describe these attributes with precision is limited, but the theory gives enough direction for the Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic particle accelerator now being built in Geneva and scheduled to begin full operation in 2008, to search for supporting evidence by the end of the decade.

Science and Engineering Internships for Summer 2007

Office of Naval Research Science & Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP)

SEAP provides competitive research internships to approximately 250 high school students each year. Participating students spend eight weeks during the summer doing research at Department of Navy laboratories.

Requirements:

* High school students who have completed at least Grade 9. A graduating senior is eligible to apply.
* Must be 16 years of age for most laboratories
* Applicants must be US citizens and participation by Permanent Resident Aliens is limited.
* The application deadline is February 17, 2006.
Continue reading →

Engineering Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak

Disappear into thin air? Scientists take step toward invisibility by Peter N. Spotts:

Flip a switch and make something disappear? It’s been the stuff of science fiction for decades. Now, two Duke University scientists and their colleagues have built the world’s first device to render an object invisible.

At least, it’s invisible to microwaves.

But researchers say the work demonstrates that, in principle, objects could be made to disappear from radar, cameras, and other detection devices. The trick? A new class of engineered substances called metamaterials.

Update: more info from Duke, including a video.

Cancer-Killing Virus

Scientists Say Cancer-Killing Virus Developed (site broke the link so I removed it)

South Korean scientists have said they have developed a new genetically altered strain of virus which is highly efficient in targeting and killing cancer cells. The new therapy developed by the team from Yonsei University uses a genetically-engineered form of the adenovirus, which normally causes colds.

The adenovirus was implanted with a human gene that is related to the production of relaxin, a hormone associated with pregnancy. When injected into cancerous tumors, the virus quickly multiplies in the cancer cells and kills them, the team said.

There are many more wonderful announcements than wonderful treatments. Still this is one in the long line of potentially wonderful treatments. If it turns out to be successful the whole world will benefit. That we all will benefit from such breakthroughs is why I am glad so many countries are investing in science and engineering (also see: Worldwide Science and Engineering Doctoral Degree Data).

CDC Urges Increased Effort to Reduce Drug-Resistant Infections

The US Center for Disease Control has again urged hospitals to increase efforts to reduce drug-resistant infections. In 1972, only 2 percent of these types of bacteria were drug resistant. By 2004, 63 percent of these types of bacteria had become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat them, and methicillin-resistant “staph” infections, often referred to as MRSA, are a growing problem. The CDC press release. This press release is focused on reducing the transmission of such dangers bacteria to patients. Other CDC efforts focus on improving the system to reduce the production of such virulent bacteria.

I know the Pittsburgh area has done a fair amount of work in the reduction of MRSA transmission. Several white papers on their efforts are available. A great PBS documentary covers this and other health care improvements.

Possibilities Ahead for Engineers

Possibilities and challenges ahead for engineers

To that end, engineering institutions should avoid focusing solely on lecture-based courses and ensure that students participate in team projects, research and experiential learning. Students should also learn communication skills and gain understanding of ethics and social responsibility, business organization, innovation and product development, in addition to engineering fundamentals, Vest said.
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The Senate is now working on legislation that would invest in making the United States more competitive with other nations when it comes to science and engineering education. The National Competitiveness Investment Act is based on recommendations from a recent federal report called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” which argued that science and engineering education is vital to U.S. economic interests.

Previous posts on proposed legislation: Graduate Scholar Awards in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math – Proposed Legislation on Science and Education – Science and Engineering Innovation Legislation – The Innovation Agenda – Science and Engineering Fellowships Legislation

The Emperor of Math

Shing-Tung Yau: The Emperor of Math by Dennis Overbyte

For nine months of the year, Dr. Yau is a Harvard math professor, best known for inventing the mathematical structures known as Calabi-Yau spaces that underlie string theory, the supposed “theory of everything.”
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But the other three months he is what his friend Andrew Strominger, a Harvard physicist, called “the emperor ascendant of Chinese science,” one of the most prominent of the “overseas Chinese” who return home every summer to work, teach, lobby, inspire and feud like warlords in an effort to advance world-class science in China.

K-12 Engineering Education

Program aims to steer students into engineering (site broke the link so I removed it – poor usability):

Throughout the year, they will use the same tools that engineers use in the field to learn concepts of mechanics and simple machines.
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Across the country, 27 universities have partnered with Project Lead the Way, a non-profit organization, to train high school and middle school educators planning to teach the program.
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Helm said one student in the program in Texas designed a thin and flexible life vest to fit more comfortably over foul-weather gear worn by shrimpers on the Gulf Coast.

“The Coast Guard liked it so much they bought the idea from her,” she said.

Learn more about Project Lead The Way and see more posts on other such projects: Middle School Engineers (another post on project lead the way which includes many related links) – Directory of Science Education Sites – Engineering Education Program for k-12 – Inspiring Students to be Engineers

Singapore Engineering Week

Students at Singapore Engineering Week

See Singapore Engineering Week activities at Singapore Polytechnic. If you located in Singapore you can attend but even if not the site offers interesting ideas for others.

Events include: Fun with Small Practical Circuits where “participants will develop a project using basic electrical/electronic devices such as resistors, transistors, basic sensors, etc.”

Solar Toy Car where: participants will learn the principle of photovoltaic technology and build a mini-solar car through the hands-on exercise.

Engineering of Customised Foot Insole:

Currently, the static deformation or foot shape is used in customised insole design. However, such method cannot accurately describe the behaviour of the foot during locomotion as dynamic deformation differs significantly from static deformation. Participants will have the opportunity to determine the differences between static and dynamic deformation of the plantar tissue and how this information can be used to engineer customised foot insoles.

Inside Live Red Blood Cells

Technique reveals inner lives of red blood cells:

For the first time, researchers at MIT can see every vibration of a cell membrane, using a technique that could one day allow scientists to create three-dimensional images of the inner workings of living cells.
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Soon, the researchers hope to extend their view beyond the cell membrane into the cell, to create images of what is happening inside living cells — including how cells communicate with each other and what causes them to become cancerous.

“One of our goals is create 3D tomographic images of the internal structure of a cell,” said Michael Feld, MIT professor of physics and director of the Spectroscopy Lab. “The beauty is that with this technique, you can study dynamical processes in living cells in real time.”

Example of what that will look like: The Inner Life of a Cell – Animation – ok actually that level of detail may still be fairly far away 🙂