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This paper seeks to examine how federal financial support of academic scientists shapes their collaborative behavior. More specifically, it investigates two questions: (i) are there threshold sizes of federal grants that have effects on collaboration? and (ii) do the threshold sizes differ by discipline? To test and model these questions, this paper uses data collected in a 2004-2005 survey by the Research Valuing Mapping Project (a project based at Georgia Tech and led by Barry Bozeman) of 2,086 academically based research scientists and engineers. The analysis in this paper reaffirms the positive relationship between federal funding and collaboration seen in previous works, but the findings suggest that there is in fact a threshold effect-as the positive relationship has a diminishing influence. The findings of this paper are more limited with respect to how academic disciplines' threshold levels differ. The results indicate a difference in the threshold levels between disciplines for three of the eight models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is engineering? What do engineers do? How is engineering related to, but distinct from, science? These questions all relate to the nature of engineering (NOE), and as engineering is incorporated into K‐12 education across the United States, the NOE is becoming increasingly important for students and teachers. While many policy documents call for students to learn more about the structure of the engineering discipline, little has been done to define the NOE construct. This paper presents key dimensions of the NOE via a framework synthesized from studies of the engineering discipline from philosophical, historical, and sociological perspectives, as well as perspectives from within the engineering field. The framework identifies and elaborates nine features of engineering, each of which capture an important aspect of the NOE. For teachers, these features serve as points of entry for discussing NOE ideas with students. For researchers, the features provide a set of constructs to guide future inquiries into teachers' and students' NOE knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent documents pertaining to K-12 education have fostered a connection between engineering and science education to help better prepare our students and future citizens to better meet the current and future challenges of our modern and technological society. With that connection, there has been a concerted effort to raise the visibility of engineering within K-12 science education, which is reflected in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the recently released Next Generation Science Standards. As states look towards the adoption and implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, it is important to take a deeper look at the shift in K-12 science education that is being suggested by these documents and what that means in terms of the potential changes for states that have chosen to adopt these standards. The main research question that has guided the work for this paper is: What is the extent and quality of the engineering that is present in state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards? This paper will present a detailed analysis of the landscape of engineering in K-12 policy before and after the release of the NGSS through a comparative case study of academic state science standards and Next Generation Science Standards. This comparison provides insight into what the widespread adoption of the NGSS would mean in terms of potential changes in the way we implement science education in the United States. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 52: 296-318, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 75 percent of U. S.-trained, noncitizen Ph Ds in science and engineering work in the United States after graduation, and 54 percent of those who stay take postdoctoral positions. The probability of postdoctoral participation is substantially higher for temporary visa holders than for permanent visa holders because of visa-related restrictions in the U. S. labor market. To identify the causal effects of visa status on entry into a postdoctoral position, this paper uses a unique shock to visa status generated by the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992. Eligibility for the act is used as an instrumental variable for visa status. Two-stage least-square estimates show that permanent visa holders are 24 percent less likely to take postdoctoral positions than temporary visa holders. The effects of a permanent visa vary considerably across research fields, but for most fields, it reduces postdoctoral participation significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the social science and engineering dimensions of search and rescue (SAR) in collapsed buildings. First, existing information is presented on factors that influence the behaviour of trapped victims, particularly human, physical, socioeconomic and circumstantial factors. Trapped victims are most often discussed in the context of structural collapse and injuries sustained. Most studies in this area focus on earthquakes as the type of disaster that produces the most extensive structural damage. Second, information is set out on the engineering aspects of urban search and rescue (USAR) in the United States, including the role of structural engineers in USAR operations, training and certification of structural specialists, and safety and general procedures. The use of computational simulation to link the engineering and social science aspects of USAR is discussed. This could supplement training of local SAR groups and USAR teams, allowing them to understand better the collapse process and how voids form in a rubble pile. A preliminary simulation tool developed for this purpose is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A continuing study of advanced short-channel CMOS/SOS arrays has been carried out at the RCA Microelectronics Center (MEC) and at RCA Laboratories, Princeton, NJ, since 1981. A technique to assess the reliability of a new process relatively quickly consists of high-temperature accelerated stress testing of ICs by maintaining the temperature at 200°C, while biasing half the inputs at the positive supply voltage and half at ground. The results of these accelerated stress tests together with device analysis, were used to calculate a failure rate and to determine that time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) is the principal failure mechanism. No mechanism unique to the CMOS/SOS technology has been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the factors that underlie the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and women engineers' intention to leave the occupation. The study draws from three theories: Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, turnover theory, and Rhodes and Doering's (1983) integrated model of career change. We proposed that both work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) influence women's intention to leave an engineering occupation by decreasing their commitment to the occupation. Using insights from the above theories and models, we further examined how perceptions of support from the organization changed the relationship between commitment to the occupation and intention to leave the occupation, as well as how conflict between work and family was related to intention to leave the occupation. We tested our predictions using time‐lagged data from a sample of 245 women engineers. The results revealed that occupational commitment mediated and explained the positive relationship between FIW and occupational turnover intentions but not the relationship between WIF and occupational turnover intentions. In addition, perceptions of organizational support influenced the relationship between occupational commitment and occupational turnover intentions and also the indirect relationship between FIW and occupational turnover intentions. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings as well as future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To meet the growing demand for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and remain competitive in the fields of science and technology over the next decade, the United States is expected to need more than 1 million additional STEM professionals. This would require an annual increase of 34% in undergraduate STEM degrees over the next decade to meet the projected need. Purpose: This study examined the relationship between Advanced Placement (AP) STEM course‐taking in high school and selection of college STEM majors and whether the relationship differs by gender and race/ethnicity. Design/Method: For controlling student and school factors, a binary logistic regression model with the clustered standard error was utilized to determine the relationship between AP STEM course‐taking and STEM major selection. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted to further understand how AP STEM course‐taking was associated with engineering major selection. The analysis included a series of interaction effects tests, examining the variation of gender and racial/ethnic differences in STEM and, more specifically, engineering major selection as a function of AP STEM course‐taking. Results: Findings indicate gender and AP STEM course exposure are significant in predicting STEM major selection. Interaction effects test results further show that the relationship between AP STEM course‐taking and STEM major selection varies significantly by gender. A similar pattern is found in the relationship between AP STEM course‐taking and engineering major selection. Conclusion: This study provides much‐needed empirical evidence to understand the relationships between AP STEM courses course‐taking in high school and the selection of college STEM majors and how such relationships vary by race/ethnicity and gender. Additional research is encouraged to inform future educators and policymakers in promoting equity for students in pursuing paths to STEM and, more specifically, engineering‐related careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has been a top destination country for science and engineering (S&E) graduate education for foreign talent for many years. Despite the clear existence of foreign students in the USA, relatively little is known about the factors influencing the flow of foreign students. In this study, we examine foreign doctoral students in science and engineering, and test whether 'ethnic affinity' plays a role in the ethnic composition of research laboratories (in what follows, 'labs') in US universities. In order to test this hypothesis, we conduct a web search, and select 164 science and engineering laboratory web pages for analysis. Among these 164 labs, 82 are directed by foreign-born faculty (Korean, Chinese, Indian or Turkish). These 82 are matched with labs that are in the same department of the same university, but directed by a native ( US origin) faculty member. We find strong evidence that labs directed by foreign-born faculty are more likely to be populated by students from the same country of origin than are labs directed by native faculty. The percentage of students working in a lab from a nationality (foreign or native) is higher when they share nativity with the director. We seek to draw attention to the effect of affinity on the ethnic composition of research labs at the micro level that translates into the ethnic composition of the scientific community at the macro level. Further, these results emphasize the role of lab directors in future enrolments, creating scientific human capital, and contributing to the 'brain circulation' phenomenon in the global context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the outcome of the 14th Advances in Reliability Technology Symposium (ARTS) held in Manchester, New Hampshire in December 2000. Reputation of the ARTS; Benefits of attending the ARTS; Importance of the ARTS.

In this current era of the fourth industrial revolution, the fifth generation of distance education has held out hopes of unique opportunities for engineering. With the aim of investigating the field of engineering through distance education, this study conducted a systematic review involving text‐mining and social network analysis to examine 120 publications on this topic. The time trend analysis found that there has been a steadily increasing interest in engineering through distance education. Analysis of subject areas revealed that a considerable amount of the publications on engineering through distance education falls under the social sciences subject area, suggesting that there is a need for more interdisciplinary studies. In examining the geographical distribution of the publications, it was observed that most contributions come from the United States, a developed country that has invested heavily in educating students through distance education. The research patterns identified through text‐mining and social network analysis revealed three major themes: (I) technology‐enhanced distance engineering education, (II) e‐learning and m‐learning, and (III) virtual and remote labs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Announces several international conferences organized by several professional engineering associations in the U.S. and Yugoslavia. Objectives of the 7th International Conference on Numerical Methods for Thermal Problems; Call for papers for the International Conference on Numerical Methods in Laminar and Turbulent Flow in California; Organizers of the International Conference of Non-Linear Engineering Computations in Yugoslavia.

Career counselors must continually enhance their knowledge and skills to assist clients contemplating careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Therefore, the authors review STEM disciplines and theory‐driven strategies for assisting diverse individuals to explore, enter, and persist in STEM careers. Appropriate use of career assessments can contribute greatly to this effort. To identify available measures for STEM‐focused domains and constructs, the authors conducted a journal content analysis of stand‐alone STEM‐related career assessments from 1983 to 2016, identifying 39 articles with 153 measures. Notable results included the emergence of social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory as prevailing frameworks for instrument development, a wide variety of disciplines and journals represented, an underrepresentation of minority samples, and untapped potential for cross‐discipline and researcher–practitioner collaboration. Useful strategies and resources for counselors and recommendations for enhancing career assessments and interventions are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Research regarding international female engineering graduate students tends to be aggregated with that about the experiences of international students in the United States or as the struggles of female engineers in engineering disciplines. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the unique experiences of international female students in U.S. engineering graduate programs. Purpose/Hypothesis This study examined the theoretical intersections of sustainability and liminality in the experiences of international female graduate students in U.S. engineering programs. The study explored the tensions and challenges faced by international female engineering students in navigating engineering graduate programs. Design/Method Using qualitative detailed interviews and focus groups conducted with 49 participants, I explored the ways international female engineering students understood the tensions they experienced and developed strategies of persistence in responding to their liminal status within the engineering graduate programs. Results Three themes on the practices of sustainability in navigating liminality emerged from the data: constructing inclusion, challenging invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy. The themes reflect the everyday strategies of survival the students participate in amid the challenging environment of the academic organizations. Conclusions International female engineers in U.S. graduate engineering programs exist in liminal spaces where their identities are continually being challenged. Through reconstructing inclusion, challenging their invisibility, and reengineering professional efficacy, they transform these liminal spaces to their advantage and persist in their struggles with the challenges they experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices (RAGAGEPs) play an important role in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Process Safety Management standard (29 CFR 1910.119). Since 2007, OSHA issued numerous RAGAGEP-related citations under the Petroleum Refinery Process Safety Management and PSM Covered Chemical Facility National Emphasis Programs. Even though the PSM standard became effective over 20 years ago, noncompliance with PSM's RAGAGEP requirements remains an issue. This article reviews RAGAGEP basics from OSHA's perspective, using examples from national emphasis program inspections to illustrate common RAGAGEP compliance problems. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 33: 156-161, 2014 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the earnings of highly-skilled foreign, temporary workers and how changes in visa system affect their earnings. We use the National Science Foundation's 2003 National Survey of College Graduates and find that foreign students and temporary workers earn less than natives and permanent immigrant workers on average. Changes in visa status increase earnings, but initial visa status conditions later earnings growth along visa pathways. This implies that migrant workers ability to achieve steady, rather than discontinuous, earnings growth requires policies that make their visa portable, that it permits them to readily change employers. An admission system that favours fully-portable permanent visas may improve worker productivity. The findings also indicate that the selectivity of foreign S&E students is not as great as that of new workers admitted from abroad; another argument against 'stapling' permanent visa status to foreign graduate degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents one of the first systematic usability investigations for a Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) editor. This research is motivated by the fact that although VGI is now widely consumed, contribution rates are lagging considerably. Compared to traditional GIS interfaces, with complex interfaces resulting in high cognitive loads and barriers to participation, VGI tools and interfaces need to be easy to use and learn to encourage and facilitate contributions. This article develops a case study of OpenStreetMap, one of the most successful VGI projects, and its default editor, Potlatch2. Ten participants with no prior experience of VGI contribution, were instructed to contribute data to OSM in a structured exercise, while being monitored using an eye tracker and audio/video screen capture software. Each participant was asked to Think Aloud, i.e. describe what they were thinking and doing as they completed the tasks. The results highlight significant usability issues impacting learnability, especially from the perspective of a new contributor: hidden functionality, lack of user feedback between interactions and the inefficient and inconsistent placement of functionality and map controls. The facilitation of VGI contributions clearly depends on designing targeted interfaces, optimized to the needs of specific levels of contributors with defined goals and expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND In recent years, engineering education research (EER) has emerged as an internationally connected field of inquiry through the establishment of EER conferences, interest groups within engineering education societies, Ph.D. programs, and departments and centers at universities. Improving the preparation and training of engineers through EER is critical to solving major engineering challenges in sustainability, climate change, civil infrastructure, energy, and public health. PURPOSE The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to introduce EER as a field of inquiry, and (2) to describe the U.S. and Northern and Central European approaches to EER as two examples of the diversity of approaches. SCOPE/METHOD The article is organized around a framework from the European didaktik tradition, which focuses on answering the w-questions of education. The major sections describe what, why, to what end, where, who, and how EER is conducted. CONCLUSION Northern and Central European educational approaches focus on authentic, complex problems, while U.S. approaches emphasize empirical evidence. Additionally, disciplinary boundaries and legitimacy are more salient issues in the U.S., while the Northern and Central European Bildung philosophy integrates across disciplines toward development of the whole person. Understanding and valuing complementary perspectives is critical to growth and internationalization of EER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are novel materials with remarkable properties; possible beneficial applications include aircraft frames, hydrogen storage, environmental sensors, electrical transmission, and many more. At the same time, precise characterization of their potential toxicity remains elusive, in part because engineered nanostructures pose challenges to existing assays, predictive models, and dosimetry. While these obstacles are surmountable, their presence suggests that scientific uncertainty regarding the hazards of CNTs is likely to persist. Traditional U.S. policy approaches implicitly pose the question: 'What level of evidence is necessary and sufficient to justify regulatory action?' In the case of CNTs, such a strategy of risk analysis is of limited immediate utility to both regulators essaying to carry out their mandates, and users of CNTs seeking to provide an appropriate level of protection to employees, customers, and other stakeholders. In contrast, the concept of anticipatory governance suggests an alternative research focus, that is: 'Given the conflicted character of the data, how should relevant actors respond?' Adopting the latter theoretical framework, this article argues that currently available data support treating CNTs 'as if' they are hazardous, while simultaneously highlighting some systemic uncertainties in many of the experiments carried out to date. Such a conclusion implies limiting exposure throughout product lifecycles, and also points to the possible applicability of various conceptual tools, such as life-cycle and multicriteria decision analysis approaches, in choosing appropriate courses of action in the face of prolonged uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND The US, has experienced a shift from a manufacturing-based economy to role that overwhelmingly provides services and inflammation. This shift demands that technological skills be more fully integrated with one's academic knowledge of science and mathematics so that the next generation of engineers can reason adaptively, think critically, and be prepared to learn how to learn. PURPOSE(HYPOTHESIS) Project Lead the Way (PLTW) provides a pre-college curriculum that focuses on the integration of engineering with science and mathematics. We documented the impact that enrollment in PLTW had on student science and math achievement. We consider the enriched integration hypothesis, which states that students taking PLTW courses will show achievement benefits, after controlling for prior achievement and other student and teacher characteristics. We contrast this with alternative hypotheses that propose little or no impact of the engineering coursework on students' math and science achievement (the insufficient integration hypothesis), or that PLTW enrollment might be negatively associated with student achievement (the adverse integration hypothesis). DESIGN/METHOD Using multilevel statistical modeling with students (N = 140) nested within teachers, we report findings from a quantitative analysis of the relationship between PLTW enrollment and student achievement on state standardized tests of math and science. RESULTS While students gained in math and science achievement overall from eighth to tenth grade, students enrolled in PLTW foundation courses showed significantly smaller math assessment gains than those in a matched group that did not enroll, and no measurable advantages on science assessments, when controlling for prior achievement and teacher experience. The findings do not support the enriched integration hypothesis. CONCLUSIONS Engineering education programs like PLTW face both challenges and opportunities to effectively integrate academic content as they strive to prepare students for college engineering programs and careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of DataNet, an enabling cyberinfrastructure for open access, and long-term preservation of digital data funded by the National Science Foundation, and its vision. The various opportunities that DataNet will afford science and engineering are outlined. The anticipated impacts of DataNet on discovery and learning are also discussed. The DataNet partnership architecture is described, as well.

Based on a three-year experience of developing, facilitating, and assessing NSF-funded workshops on Rigorous Research in Engineering Education (RREE), the authors present four representations of engineering education scholarly work in the United States, specifically teaching and research. Many of the representations describe the relationships between engineering research, education research, teaching, and assessment. For each of the representations, assessment data are presented to evaluate which aspects resonated with workshop participants and which needed to be changed for wide acceptance by a U.S. engineering education audience. It was found that participants preferred continua to dichotomy and were more receptive to models that were introduced inductively through active learning exercises. Lessons learned, implications for the field, and future plans for further development of the paradigm are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the declining numbers of foreign students and science and engineering enterprise in the United States. Share of immigrants in various subfields of science and engineering employment; Impact of the September 11 terrorist tragedies on the number of foreign students and workers; Indicators of declining foreign enrolments; Impact of changes in the country's immigration policy.

Announces the AIENG 96: Eleventh International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Engineering to be held in Clearwater Beach, Florida from September 11-13, 1996. Sponsors of the event; Contact information; Deadline for the submission of abstracts and final paper.

The article discusses the reasons for optimism about the development of legitimate scientific and engineering base for science education in the U.S. The demand for flexibility and ability to continue learning has become so little in engineering that institutions have been forced to enhanced the educational process by implementing new technologies. On the other hand, to assure equal opportunity in the engineering field, public education must provide a foundation for all children that can allow them to enter the scientific and technological field.

Focuses on the Detroit Area Pre-college Engineering Program (DAPCEP). Interaction between students and DAPCEP alumni; Awards received; Benefits of the program for science and engineering community employers; Contact information.