Presents an overview of the teaching of plastics at various levels of technological education in the Netherlands focusing on mechanical engineering. Highlights the design process and discusses the Dutch perspective of the role of materials engineering in engineering curricula. (ML)

Presents a rationale for the teaching of materials in engineering degree courses. Reviews the requirements established by various professional engineering bodies in the United Kingdom for accredited engineering degree courses. Discusses the aims of the course as well as instructional concerns. (ML)

Introduces a research activity program in which 10 students worked during the summer as part of a team that developed software for a larger project. Lists names of students, the professors with whom they worked, and their research efforts. (RT)

This syllabus describes the course background, central themes and issues, texts, resources, and recommended readings. Main topics are the sociology of information technology, computers and social change, telecommunications, computers and human interactions, applications in working, and social issues and political implications. (YP)

Discusses some of the federal and state engineering research initiatives that have been launched in recent years, including the National Science Foundation's Engineering Research Centers. Proposes that the status of the United States' competitiveness may depend on how well we manage this process as much as on the resulting technologies themselves.…

Describes the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a non-profit research cooperative designed to conduct research in the field of integrated circuits, principally in U.S. universities, with membership restricted to U.S.-owned companies. Analyzes SRC's impact on the U.S. educational system. (TW)

Discusses the development of innovation and business incubators, including the stages of innovation typically addressed by such programs. Describes the efforts of the Thayer School, a graduate professional school at Dartmouth College, in establishing an innovation incubator. (TW)

Addresses the recent shifts in the United States research system. Discusses the Congressional activities of the 1980s that have encouraged the restructuring of the traditional research sectors, and the breaking down of old barriers. Poses several unresolved questions regarding federal policies in research and technology development. (TW)

Describes a course for third- or fourth-year chemical engineering students designed to acquaint them with the chemical industry. The course deals with productivity, characteristics of the chemical industry, sources of information, industrial intelligence, research and development, patent law, technology transfer, and quality control. (TW)

Calls for increasing the number of women into science and engineering professions, while improving the competitiveness of the United States at the same time. Suggests that more of the current statistics regarding women in these professions be publicized, and programs be initiated to actively recruit more women into these careers. (TW)

Describes the biochemical engineering and industrial biotechnology programs of the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada). Provides descriptions of graduate courses, along with a sample of current research activities. Includes a discussion of the programs' mechanisms for technology transfer. (TW)

Addresses the guidelines most institutions of higher learning use in determining to what extent their faculty can be involved in outside consulting. Reports on a study detailing the amount of time engineering faculty spent doing consulting. Outlines a set of pros and cons concerning faculty consulting. (TW)

Discusses the National Science Foundation's program to establish Engineering Research Centers (ERCs). States that this effort has provided a new impetus to interdisciplinary research efforts on university campuses. Claims that the concept of bringing together industry, academia, and government is necessary in addressing engineering research and…

Japan's postwar research and development (R&D) efforts have passed through several phases to bring the nation to what may be called "relative parity" with the United States. This document examines the characteristics of Japanese and U.S. R&D efforts. Topics compared include: national science resource patterns; science and…

The key to New Zealand's future prosperity lies in the promotion of science and technology. Two major issues are identified: (1) the need to close the scientific and technological manpower gap that is increasingly being experienced; and (2) the need for a re-organized system of vocational education. The implications for teaching and learning in…