Engineering Education & Research

KPBS recently reported on a Project Lead The Way summer training program for high school teachers across the country. The program took place at San Diego State University with engineering direction by Dr. Bruce D. Westermo, IL B ’74. Read the article

The program targets teachers to enable and prepare them to inspire K-12 students to become future engineers. This year’s program focused on writing computer programs. “This is not an honors program for just the brightest kids. What we tend to say is that this is for your top 80 percent kids in your class,” Dr. Westermo said. “And the important part is – the top 20 percent, they’d probably go into engineering or technology anyways. What this program does is help grab that middle 60 percent of kids that never saw the relevance of algebra or calculus. But when you see it applied to something and why you need to learn it – it suddenly opens them up.”

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Virginia Tech has announced that Dr. Robert G. Parker, NY O ’86, will become the head of the department of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering beginning in December 2012. Currently, Dr. Parker is a distinguished professor and the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute’s executive dean.

He received his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Click here to read the press release

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A White House-commissioned review reported findings this week related to the need for an upgrade to the U.S. federal science facilities in Antarctica. The study was led by Norman R. Augustine, (NJ D ’57) a former chairman and chief executive of the defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Read the article from The Chronicle of Higher Education for more information on the conclusions of the report that found a need for “a major overhaul of the largest research base on the continent.”

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