The decade 2005-2015 saw an overall upward trend in undergraduate dual-degree programs combining at least two engineering disciplines. The data comes from ASEE’s Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges.

LSU Chemical Engineering Professor Uses Sunlight to Purify Water

Research could lead to safe drinking water in undeveloped countries

Nearly 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water, resulting in one child dying every 20 seconds from water-related illnesses. LSU’s College of Engineering is trying to change that.

Kevin McPeak, an assistant professor of chemical engineering and the first researcher-in-residence in BASF’s Sustainable Living Laboratory, located in the LSU College of Engineering’s newly-renovated engineering complex, is leading a team of researchers to develop a water disinfection system using visible light from the sun.

Traditional methods for solar-driven water purification only utilize ultraviolet light, which makes up 5 percent of the solar spectrum, whereas visible light constitutes more than 40 percent of the solar spectrum.

As a result, this unique portable water filtration system has the potential to provide safe drinking water in developing countries where traditional energy-intensive disinfection methods are not feasible.

“This opportunity to create chemistry with BASF elevates the chances of this research becoming a real solution to providing safe drinking water globally,” McPeak said. “There is great synergy between BASF’s sustainability mission—to make the best use of available resources—and our use of visible light from the sun to disinfect water.”

SAE MOBILUS™ - YOUR DESTINATION FOR MOBILITY ENGINEERING RESOURCES

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Explore, discover, access, and share more than 200,000 current and historical standards, technical papers, eBooks, magazines, and more—all delivered on the SAE MOBILUS platform. Flexible, targeted subscription options provide academics, executives, educators, and engineers with the content they need where and when they need it.

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This tool is the only resource that focuses and delivers trusted standards, research and technical information specific to the aerospace, automotive and commercial vehicle industries. Designed with the user in mind, SAE MOBILUS was created to streamline project work flows and simplify the research process by linking you to the resources needed – efficiently and effectively.
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Are you interested in creating or improving the makerspaces at your school?

MIT is hosting the 1st International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces on November 13-16, 2016 in Cambridge, MA. ISAM joins the people, knowledge and inspiration that help create Higher Ed makerspaces to maximize impact on the student learning experience and alumni success. Dale Dougherty, Founder and CEO of Maker Media, Inc., will present the keynote address.

ISAM makes available knowledge and best practices that have been proven to:

• Form student maker communities
• Get students excited about using these spaces
• Perpetuate a culture of safe, fun and responsible use
• Select appropriate practices, programming, safety policies, training, staffing and equipment.

ISAM features invited experts, technical paper and poster presentations, community discussion and networking events. Short courses on makerspace principles and practices are also being offered.

Higher education makerspaces impact the efficacy of student learning in fields from science and engineering to music and mathematics. These spaces foster beneficial interdisciplinary interactions and supportive peer communities that extend beyond the boundaries of a makerspace.

This nascent field is fast growing. Join the community of student and faculty advocates, administrators and university leadership, policy makers, researchers, managers, space designers and architects. Register today.

For full details, please visit project-manus.mit.edu/isam.

ISAM is organized by MIT, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Georgia Tech, Olin College, Stanford University and Yale University.

When You Need an IP Specialist, Help Is One Search Away

IPO’s IP Speaker Search Tool Brings Free IP Instruction to Institutions

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, intellectual property-intensive industries “support at least 45 million U.S. jobs and contribute more than $6 trillion dollars to U.S. gross domestic product.” Despite these figures, courses on IP—patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights—are seldom offered as a core part of most curriculums, even for STEM-based programs. Particularly in these fields, a strong basic knowledge of why IP is important, how to obtain protection, and key IP issues across industries is now crucial—and yet such knowledge remains largely out of reach.

Having an understanding of IP also helps to make STEM graduates more marketable once they enter the workforce. Many small companies do not have in-house IP counsel, and larger companies spend time educating new hires. Coming to the table fully armed with these skills can be a significant asset for employers. And for those who choose to pursue entrepreneurial paths, not understanding the importance of IP protection can literally mean the difference between failure and success.

To help bridge this IP gap, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) and the IPO Education Foundation (IPOEF) have developed an IP Speaker Search tool. The tool allows users to search a database by specialization in order to find an authority in the field who can educate groups about IP. This speaker will visit your institution free of charge to deliver vital information about how IP factors into your field of interest.

The tool is easy to use—just fill out the form and we’ll provide you with a list of names and contact information for individuals who might be able to help. Visit the search tool for free IP help today!

POLL: AMERICANS VIEW CLIMATE THROUGH POLITICAL PRISM

Party politics plays a big role in Americans’ attitudes toward climate change, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Thirty-eight percent of Americans care “a great deal” about global warming, the poll found, but of that group, 72 percent were Democrats and just 24 percent were Republicans. Another 35 percent said that they care “some” about climate change. Among supporters of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, and her GOP rival Donald Trump, the difference of opinion was even starker. Fifty-six percent of Clinton supporters care a great deal about the climate, while just 15 percent of Trump voters do. Skepticism about climate change runs deeper in the United States than it does worldwide, Pew found. Of 40 countries surveyed, a median 54 percent of people called climate change a major problem, while only 45 percent of Americans held that view. Pew also found that Americans tend to admire all scientists, particularly those in medicine; 76 percent say that have either a great or fair amount of trust in them. But climate scientists have a reputation problem: only 22 percent of Republicans say they trust them to give accurate information, while 54 percent of Democrats do. The poll also indicates that climate scientists aren’t getting their message across to the public. More than 90 percent of climate scientists agree that humans are the main cause of global warming, but just 15 percent of Republicans were aware of that consensus, and only around 40 percent of Democrats were. One area that Americans agree on regardless of politics: clean energy. More than 80 percent—including majorities in both parties—want to see the solar and wind industries expanded.

VII. INNOVATIONS

STARTUP SOARS BY MARKETING DRONES MADE WITH LEGOS Three entrepreneurs—Robb Walters, who has a doctorate in applied physics form Cal Tech; Amir Mirsch, who has degrees in engineering and math from MIT; and Holly Kasun, who has worked in marketing at companies ranging from Nike to Nokia—were working on ways to make microdrones smarter so they can fly autonomously. And they built their early prototypes using Lego bricks to cut time and costs. Then, as Wired magazine reports, the eureka moment came. They realized that making small drones with Lego bricks was a savvy and fun way to teach kids how drones work. So they set up Flybrix, which markets a kit that comes with Lego bricks, basic electronics, and software so that anyone can, within 15 minutes, have a drone—either a quadcopter, octocopter or hexacopter—assembled and airborne. Also included in the kit are a magnetomer, barometer and accelerometer, and users can add GPS or WiFi. The basic kit is now offered on the Flybrix website (flybrix.com) at a special introductory price of $169—a premium kit, which includes a remote control, goes for $229. Inasmuch as Flybrix is marketed as a STEM education toy, users can use other Lego blocks to customize their drones in any fashion they choose. Moreover, the software is open source, so they can tinker with its controls, as well. Flybrix has gotten permission from Lego to use its bricks as long as its products state they are drone kits made with Lego bricks, and are not “Lego drones.”

USING KEYBOARDS TO MONITOR PARKINSON'S PATIENTS Each year, 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder Parkinson’s disease. It’s caused by a loss of nerve cells in the brain that leads to the reduction of a chemical called dopamine. The disease slowly worsens over time, and its symptoms include tremors, motor difficulties and eventually disability and dementia. It cannot be cured, but drugs can help keep its symptoms under control. Determining the correct dosages requires doctors to monitor patients in their home or at a clinic—which limits how often physicians can keep tabs on patients. Now, however, MIT researchers in Madrid have developed software that can pick up on Parkinson’s signs as patients perform ordinary tasks at a keyboard, such as typing emails or writing Facebook updates. Keystroke dynamics is a technology initially developed for computer authentication, to replace passwords. But tests at Spanish medical showed that it also works to flag variations in the time it takes Parkinson’s patients to press and release keys. Monitoring patients as they go about routine typing activities at home could help doctors improve their treatment. Eventually, the system may also be used for early detection of Parkinson’s, which is difficult because the disease progresses so slowly. There’s also the potential that keystrokes could be used to detect or monitor other neurological or motor disorders.

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VIII. THE K-12 REPORT

WATSON IS NOW HELPING KIDDIES LEARN MATH Watson, IBM’s cognitive computer technology, has come a long way since it creamed two human champions on Jeopardy five years ago. It’s been used to assist cancer doctors on possible treatments. More recently, a startup company, ROSS Intelligence, began using it as platform to market speedy legal-research assistance to law firms. Now the IBM Foundation says Watson is ready to do something really challenging: teach 3rd grade math. For the past two years, it has worked with the American Federation of Teachers and some of its members to develop Teacher Advisor, an artificial-intelligence system that enables teachers to pose questions and helps them build personalized lesson plans. A teacher can seek out the best lesson plans—derived from other teachers who are math experts—then customize them for his or her classroom needs. It can also help teachers come to grips with Common Core standards—a national set of learning goals—and implement them in their lessons. Watson helps teachers understand the prerequisites used for each block of skills and suggests exercises to teach them. A recently completed pilot program involved around 200 teachers around the country. IBM notes that because Watson is self-learning, the system will continuously improve the more teachers use it.

WHITE HOUSE LAUDS TOP SCIENCE AND MATH TEACHERS Last month, the White House honored 213 K-12 science and math teachers—108 K-6th grade teachers and 105 7th-12th grade teachers—at its annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching event. Each recipient was awarded $10,000 from the National Science Foundation and an expenses-paid trip to Washington for three days of speeches and symposia. Among the speakers were Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Megan Smith, the U.S. chief technology officer, and France Cordova, NSF director. The awards are the highest honor given by the government to math and science teachers. The NSF determines the winners from recommendations it receives each year from states and territories (nominations can be made at the PAEMST website https://www.paemst.org). Among this year’s recipients were Kimberly Bowen, who teaches math at the Rainbow Elementary School in Madison, Ala. Bowen, who has taught for more than 30 years, often employs hands-on lessons that provide students with a solid conceptual understanding of numbers. Recipient Wendy Osterman, who teaches 7th grade math and algebra 1 at the Sashabaw Middle School in Clarkston, Mich., is a proponent of data-driven instruction. Keith Wright, who spent 10 years teaching 11th grade chemistry and middle-school science at the Renaissance School in Springfield, Mass., has started a new job teaching chemistry at Hampshire Regional High School. Wright gives his students opportunities to learn via real-world fieldwork experiences.

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Job–hunting? Here are a few current openings:

1. Computer Science -- 3 opportunities

2. Engineering Education -- 3 opportunities

3. Materials Engineering -- 1 opportunity

Visit here for details: http://www.asee.org/sales-and-marketing/advertising/classified-advertising/job-postings

HERE’S THE LINEUP FOR NEXT EDITION OF PRISM MAGAZINE

COVER: BREXIT—British academics opposed their country’s pullout from the European Union—and with good reason. UK universities benefit from membership. What will Brexit mean for Britain’s engineering students, faculty, and researchers, and future U.S.-UK and U.K.-EU collaboration?

FEATURE: VETERANS—Thousands of veterans of the Afghan and Iraq wars have enrolled in engineering—about a third of returning soldiers benefitting from GI Bill tuition subsidies. Success stories include a Ph.D. candidate at Carnegie Mellon. But many struggle due to lack of preparation and switch fields before obtaining a degree.

FEATURE: MAKERS—What are some of the most inventive ways that engineering schools are making use of maker spaces?

XI. COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

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