Freshmen Pre-Orientation Programs (FPOPs) can be powerful outreach tools for incoming college students and provide an exciting introduction to the field of engineering. The benefits reach not only the first year students, but also the upperclassmen who help to run the programs and the departments that sponsor them. A family of three engineering…

Several high-level committees have concluded that current domestic and global trends are threatening America's global science and engineering (S&E) preeminence. Of the challenges discussed, few are thought to be as serious as the purported decline in the supply of high quality students from the beginning to the end of the S&E pipeline--a decline…

There is little theoretical or experimental research on how beginner-level trainees learn CAD skills in formal training sessions. This work presents findings on how trainees develop their skills in utilizing a solid mechanical CAD tool (Pro/Engineer version 2000i[squared] and later version Wildfire). Exercises at the beginner and intermediate…

Upon numerous requests to provide ranking of world universities by broad subject fields/schools/colleges and by subject fields/programs/departments, the authors present the ranking methodologies and problems that arose from the research by the Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University on the Academic Ranking of World…

EU graduation and the recruitment of industrial engineers (IEs) have been investigated. An increasing demand is observed for graduates in almost all industrial engineering (IE) subjects. The labour market in the EU is evolving towards the service sector even if manufacturing still represents a significant share of both IE employment and gross…

This article examines how high school science and mathematics course-taking creates pathways toward future baccalaureate degree attainment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors in Florida 4-year universities using Burkam and Lee's (2003) course-taking categories developed using national student datasets. This study…

Researchers who track the American labor market told Congress last week that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the United States has more than enough scientists and engineers and that federal agencies and universities should reform the way they train young scientists to better match the supply of scientists with the demand for researchers. At a…

The General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ) in engineering was piloted in about 100 centers and with over 3,000 students in British further education colleges during 1994-95. A small-scale project monitored the introduction of the GNVQ in engineering in eight colleges: three each in the north and south and two in the Midlands. Findings…

This document records the oral and written testimony of witnesses who addressed the issue of how to strengthen research and education in engineering design and manufacturing at U.S. universities. The testimony includes a review of recommendations from two studies of the National Research Council and of the plans and programs of the National…

As part of its General Information Programme, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has for many years concerned itself with training in the use of information by preparing guides and organizing meetings and seminars on the subject. There are now an enormous number of specialized information users whose…

This paper illuminates experiences related to introducing finite element methods (FEM) in mechanical and civil engineering courses at the University of Camaguey in Cuba and provides discussion on using FEM in postgraduate courses for industry engineers. Background information on the introduction of FEM in engineering teaching is focused on…

This report is designed to pull together the data that are available on the status of blacks in undergraduate education for use in initiating methods to improve the allocation of human resources in science and engineering in the United States. The listings and tabulations used data from the CASPAR data base and the High School and Beyond…

This report describes a program which provided on-campus seminars and workshops at the College of Staten Island, Kingsborough Community College, and Hostos Community College in New York. The program was designed to improve recruitment and especially retention of women and minorities in associate degree science and engineering-related programs.…

Technical writing scholars have discussed, but not resolved, the ethical problems of ghost authorship (Should the technical editor have a place on the title page?) and multiple authorship (Can nine people really author an eight-page essay?). These ethical questions, however, are trivial when compared with the significantly more grave and…

Discusses the importance of student-teacher interpersonal relations, giving examples of how teacher talk can increase teaching effectiveness. Examines five categories of teacher talk and how these categories can be related to various classroom interactions. (MLH)