An annual survey of college faculty pay shows faculty in "hard-to-hire" disciplines such as engineering, accounting, physics, and computer science continue to command higher-than-average salaries, while disciplines recently at the bottom of the pay scale remain there. At all ranks except full professor, private college faculty earned more. (MSE)

Discusses some of the barriers that impede minority success in college and gives suggestions for overcoming them. Describes the California Minority Engineering Program (MEP) as a successful program that has been replicated at several California universities. Presents the three structural elements and gives suggestions for starting a MEP program.…

Lists barriers that limit the recruitment of women from the existing pool of eligible women into engineering programs. Discusses several components that are important to successful recruitment of women. Uses the program at Purdue as a successful example. Suggests special steps for faculty and administrators to follow. (CW)

Reports on a study conducted to determine whether a common relationship exists for faculty size in U.S. engineering colleges. Suggests that an index of normative loading can possibly be established. (RT)

Describes a course offered at Polytechnic University (New York) which is designed to provide an introduction to professional engineerig ethics as presented through the history of engineering, codes of conduct of professional societies, case studies and hypothetical situations. (TW)

Information-structuring courses offered at the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok, Thailand) present concepts, patterns, hypotheses, and procedures for discussion on the basis that their consideration can contribute to better idea organization, text production, and text interpretation for engineering and other technology students learning…

Describes a polymerization reactor engineering course offered at Michigan Technological University which focuses on the design and operation of industrial polymerization reactors to achieve a desired degree of polymerization and molecular weight distribution. Provides a list of the course topics and assigned readings. (TW)

Examines some of the assumptions associated with attempts to define the "engineering method." Critiques a previously stated definition of this method, and offers an alternative definition that attempts to include the ideas put forth in the previous definition. Discusses the use of engineering heuristics in both definitions. (TW)

Announces the establishment of two research centers by the National Science Foundation under its new Minority Research Centers of Excellence (MRCE) program. Describes the goals of these centers at Meharry Medical College (Nashville, TN) and at Howard University (Washington, DC). (TW)

Reports on a study in which two spatial tests were given to science and engineering majors and to students in nursing and agriculture at Purdue University (Indiana). Scores from the tests consistently contributed a small but significant amount of success on measures of performance in chemistry. (TW)

Presents three specific examples of chemical engineering problems which can be interactively solved on personal computers with commercially available software. Illustrates the potential impact of interactive problem solving on chemical engineering. Discusses how this has been accomplished at Ben Gurion University (Israel) and the University of…

Describes an experiment involving data acquisition by a computer, digital signal transmission from the computer to a digital logic circuit and signal interpretation by this circuit. The system is being used at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Discusses the fundamental concepts involved. Demonstrates the alarm experiment as it is used in…

Discusses demand for chemists and chemical engineers in 1986 and the first half of 1987. Examines the employment outlook by degree, time of year, industry, and institution. Makes predictions for the next year. Examines the starting salaries for B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. chemists. Discusses inequities by degree, experience, and gender. (CW)

Points out the need to provide engineers with training in human relations. Describes the process of developing a document defining the problem and steps to be taken toward solution, submitted to students for their evaluation. (JM)

Although the crisis in precollege science and mathematics education has passed, various efforts are underway to improve the quality of education in these areas and to resolve existing problems. Several of these efforts are discussed, including the role of the National Science Foundation, industry role, and others. (JN)