News Bytes: The Latest in K–12 Engineering Education
–More Girls Than Boys Step Up to Science in Ohio
–Senators Petitioned to Increase Women’s Participation in Science and Engineering

Factoids
–Interesting Facts and Statistics for You to Use in the Classroom

Outreach Up Close
–Voices From the Classroom
–Student Robot Designers Face Off in Atlanta

Feature
–College Freshman Essentials: Textbooks, Pencils, Mentor

Amazing Engineering
–Distracting the Pain

Links
–Going Beyond Mechanics: www.learner.org/resources/series42.html?pop=yes&vodid=113895&pid=548#
–The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Engineering Galaxy: www.engineering–colleges.info

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This month, Ohio’s "State Science Day" drew more young women participants than young men. Statistics cited by The Ohio Academy of Science show that 55% of the 1,136 student participants on May 7 were young women. Since gender statistics were made available for the event in 1987, the State Science Day, held at The Ohio State University, has drawn more than 8,940 female students for an overall rate of 53% over 18 years. According to Mr. Lynn E. Elfner, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science, this large participation by women "indicates a robust interest and achievement in scientific research in grades 7–12." He also points out that many State Science Day participants go on to pursue science and engineering careers.

To learn more about Ohio’s State Science Day and the Ohio Academy of Science, visit www.ohiosci.org.

In an effort to raise awareness of the continued under–representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in this country, over 6,000 people have signed a letter petitioning U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D–OR) and George Allen (R–VA) to take action in advancing women’s full participation in these fields. Carol Muller, CEO of non–profit organization MentorNet, presented the letter to the two Senators along with representatives from other professional associations such as the Association for Women in Science, the Society of Women Engineers, the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network, the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

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According to statistics compiled by ASEE, total undergraduate enrollment in engineering rose to 373,957 in 2003, a 1.7 percent increase. Freshman enrollment failed to increase for the first time in three years. The decrease, however, was just over 1 percent. For more detailed information, visit http://asee.org/about/publications/profiles/.

Fun facts for the classroom:

Did you know that Bioengineering is the most popular major of female engineering students?

To learn other cool statistical facts about engineering and engineering technology colleges, visit http://asee.org/about/publications/profiles/.

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Voices from the Classroom allows undergraduate and graduate engineering students to relate their first–hand experiences working in K–12 engineering outreach. Read the entire articles at the EngineeringK12 Center website.

"I am very fortunate, for I have had several truly positive people to look up to in my life. To their credit, I attribute much of my success to these mentors. However, since September 2004, the shoe has been on the other foot. For the first time ever, I am carrying a new label with me. If you check the inside collar of my button–up shirts, you will find the words ‘50% Role Model’ printed in place of the cotton equivalent. Even though I am now respectfully known by my students as ‘Mr. Luke, The Teacher,’ I’d really prefer to be called ‘Mr. Luke, The Learner.’"

"It’s true: the sixth grade students at Angevine Middle School in Lafayette, CO, have taught me a thing or two in the past seven months. No, they were not able to help me calculate the required propellant mass to reach the International Space Station for one of my graduate classes; they have shown me something far more profound: the joy of learning. To see their eyes widen as they split water into its elemental gases with nothing more than a lead pencil and a battery was very rewarding. ‘Look! We see bubbles,’ they said with obvious astonishment. Then, they moved on to figuring out why the bubbles on one pencil tip were larger and more abundant than on the other. Their continual enthusiasm for learning is catching..."
––Luke Simmons, GK–12 Fellow, University of Colorado at Boulder

Read more about these engineering students’ experiences working with K–12 students at the EngineeringK12 Center website.

If you would like to contribute to "Voices from the Classroom," email c.kalyandurg@asee.org for details.

The Georgia Dome played host to a series of heart–pounding matches last month—but it wasn’t football that was causing the commotion. Fifty–two teams of high school students battled in Atlanta at the FIRST Vex Challenge, a new intermediate level of competition at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship. Created by RadioShack Corporation in cooperation with FIRST, the FIRST Vex Challenge allowed students to compete with robots that they designed on their own. The three winning teams hailed from Texas, Virginia, and Georgia.

The Challenge also launched the Vex Robotics Design System, a robotics line developed by RadioShack, FIRST, and the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute. Professors from the Institute are working together with FIRST and RadioShack to provide a K–12 robotics curriculum for teachers that goes along with Vex.

To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org. If you’d like to read more about the Vex Robotics Design System, visit www.vexrobotics.com.

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When MentorNet first started in the late 1990’s, Jill Tietjen was one of the first to sign up. The then–director of the Women in Engineering Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU) knew that the online mentor–matching program would only enhance the small volunteer–based mentor system that was already in place at CU. Giving her students the ability to choose the best mentor for their needs was important to Tietjen—the knowledge, awareness, and guidance they would gain would be invaluable.

That first year, 27 women signed up. Today, more than 65 CU students participate in MentorNet, and according to Beverly Louie, who became director of CU’s Women in Engineering Porgram in 2001, it is helping the university meet its goals for supporting women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. "I think interacting with [mentors] in academic positions is a real draw; it fills a void for these women," says Louie. "The women in engineering who participated have really benefited from the interactions and probably are reinforced in their goals of becoming engineers."

For high school students interested in pursuing degrees in engineering and the sciences, especially for women and under–represented minorities, a mentor can be a wonderful asset for educational and career guidance. Finding a career role model—someone a student can see themselves becoming, someone they can use as a sounding board for their questions and concerns—can be a key element in keeping them in the STEM fields.

For these students, joining a mentor program in college could be something to consider as they prepare to graduate from high school. Many students even see the benefits of a relationship with a mentor once they enter the workforce. "If you’re familiar with the mentoring process before you get into the workplace ... you’ll start looking for mentors when you’re out of school," says Tietjen. "I think that’s an incredible leg up for women and minorities."

MentorNet is a nonprofit, online network that provides e–mentoring for women in engineering and science. Their mission is to further women’s progress in scientific and technical fields through the use of a dynamic, technology–supported mentoring program, as well as promoting a diversified, expanded, and talented workforce. To learn more about MentorNet, visit www.mentornet.net.

If you’d like to know more about the University of Colorado, Boulder’s Women in Engineering Program, go to http://engineering.colorado.edu/wiep.

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This article is taken from the Apr. 2005 issue of Prism, ASEE’s award–winning magazine.

AUSTRALIA—Down–under IT engineers hold high hopes for a new virtual–reality computer game they helped develop to lessen pain levels in hospitalized child patients. A team at the Adelaide–based University of South Australia adapted virtual reality technology for use among children after examining promising U.S. research involving pain reduction among adult burn victims. A trial involving children with cerebral palsy, who had undergone surgery on ligaments in their legs and faced post–operative physiotherapy, resulted in a reduction in pain averaging 41.2 percent. Another trial with child burn victims achieved similar results.

To play the game, the child straps on head–mounted goggles, with a computer projecting images onto the lenses, or mini–monitors. Players use a sensor pack in the headwear and a simple mouse, but they actually drive the game by moving the head. The researchers adapted the equipment so users can rely on head movements, applying minimal finger pressure on a small mouse only as a trigger when firing at targets, instead of keyboards or joysticks.

Researchers believe that virtual–reality technology is superior to regular computer games, because it isolates the user from external distractions, reducing sensations of pain and anxiety. It’s more engaging than watching a television show or a DVD because the children are part of the game. Patients become fully absorbed and less aware of pain and procedures affecting them.

Child patients who rated their pain on a visual analogue scale as 7 or 8 out of 10 during the non–virtual–reality part of burns dressing were rating it as 1 or 2 when they wore the virtual–reality unit. At present, the technology is unsuitable for children younger than 5 because of their underdeveloped motor control skills.—Chris Pritchard

You can view this article in the Apr. 2005 issue of Prism at www.prism–magazine.org/apr05

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Real–world physics demonstrations, computer animations, videos on static electricity, the atom, and time—all are available for educators at "The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond." This website sponsored by Annenberg/CPB, a public broadcasting organization dedicated to improving the quality of teaching in U.S. schools, provides 52 half–hour long videos that assist in teaching scientific and technical concepts. The videos even feature professors from the California Institute of Technology who help explain and clarify concepts.

The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond can be found at:
www.learner.org/resources/series42.html?pop=yes&vodid=113895&pid=548#

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE ENGINEERING GALAXY: www.engineering–colleges.info

No, this is not some weird sequel. The Online Guide to Engineering Colleges and Careers is a non–commercial, completely free–access online guide to U.S. colleges offering ABET–accredited degree programs in engineering. Brought to you by the Engineers Dedicated to a Better Tomorrow (a.k.a., DedicatedEngineers), this guide is meant to be a one–stop–shop for students looking for information on schools offering engineering degrees.

Visit the Online Guide to Engineering Colleges and Careers at: www.engineering–colleges.info.

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GET SSET PROGRAM

Female students entering the 9th and 10th grades in the fall of 2005 are invited to apply for the GET SSET Program––a free, one–week residental sport, science, engineering adn technology summer program from Aug. 7 to Aug. 14, 2005.  Held at the MIT campus, GET SSET supports girls’ interests in science and technology at an impressionable age.  Tuition for the program is fully–funded through the support of individuals, businesses and foundations.

Girls can find the application for GET SSET at www.newfund.org.
 

Registration for the 2005–06 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science & Technology has begun at www.siemens–foundation.org and www.collegeboard.com/siemens. The Siemens Westinghouse Competition is a research–based science and math competition for high school students, which is administered by the College Board. The competition awards college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. Students may enter as individuals or as part of a team. Entries are judged at the regional level by scientists and faculty at six leading research universities: Carnegie Mellon University; University of Notre Dame; University of California, Berkeley; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology; and The University of Texas at Austin. The national finals are judged by a panel of prominent scientists and mathematicians.
 

Take the ASEE K–12 Teacher Survey

ASEE has embarked on a project to learn what makes K–12 teachers tick—and specifically, to learn what they think of engineering as an academic and career pathway for their students. The survey will take about 10 minutes and will help ASEE complete a report on the best practices in engineering education. All teachers of students in grades K–12 are encouraged to take the survey, which is available online here.  To view the current results of the survey, click here.

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