Education
hrynyshyn | November 17, 2010There's an advertising feature in the latest GQ that champions 17 "Rock Stars of Science." Each ad includes a genuine rock music star alongside three or four genuine scientists, some Nobel laureates among them. The idea is to make science sexy.
Will it work? Chris Mooney, co-author of Unscientific America, is one of the minds behind the campaign. if you want to know more about it, head on over to his Intersection blog, where he writes about the risks of the project:
Was it an absolute requirement for them to carry on like this (see right) to make their point?
Unfortunately yes--if they were…
drorzel | November 7, 2010
Democrats didn't lose the battle of 2010. They won it. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine
"Politicians have tried and failed for decades to enact universal health care. This time, they succeeded. In 2008, Democrats won the presidency and both houses of Congress, and by the thinnest of margins, they rammed a bill through. They weren't going to get another opportunity for a very long time. It cost them their majority, and it was worth it.
And that's not counting financial regulation, economic stimulus, college lending reform, and all the other bills that became law under Pelosi. So spare…
mikethemadbiologist | November 4, 2010We read that a conservative Texas faith tank has convinced the Texas Legislature to force universities to release a "profit-and-loss" statement for every professor:
A 265-page spreadsheet, released last month by the chancellor of the Texas A&M University system, amounted to a profit-and-loss statement for each faculty member, weighing annual salary against students taught, tuition generated, and research grants obtained.
Ms. Johnson came out very much in the black; in the period analyzed--fiscal year 2009--she netted the public university $279,617. Some of her colleagues weren't nearly so…
drorzel | November 4, 2010
Blog U.: 7 Ways College Has Improved Since 91 - Technology and Learning - Inside Higher Ed
"We spend so much time worrying about what is wrong with our U.S. higher ed system that it is easy to lose sight of how much the system has improved over the past 20 years. This is a mistake, as if we fail to honor our successes we will forget that change can and does happen, and that our colleagues are working incredibly hard each and every day to improve our institutions.
My point of reference is admittedly limited and biased -- as I graduated from one elite, private institution in 1991 (Washington…
jgoldman | November 1, 2010
In March 2000, Dr. Simon Chapman and colleagues from the University of Sydney published a paper in which they assessed the effectiveness of an educational intervention for the prevention of dog bites in children.
"Prevent-a-Bite" is an educational programme designed for primary school children. The programme aims to instill precautionary behaviour around dogs, assuming that this might reduce the incidence of attacks. A randomised controlled trial of the efficacy of the intervention was conducted in Australian children aged 7-8 years who were presented with an unsupervised opportunity to…
drorzel | October 30, 2010
The Forever Blog « Easily Distracted
"There's been talk that blogs are over and Twitter and Facebook are king. I meant to say something about this issue when the end of Bitch Ph.D was announced, since that was an important blog for me and many other people. I think it's only half-right to say that the day of the blog is done.
No matter what alternative venues might come into existence, many blogs were going to have finite lifespans. Even group blogs are not really publications with an identity that stands apart from their authors, into which new authors can come and old ones depart while…
mikethemadbiologist | October 21, 2010So my first thought upon reading that a fraternity pledge ritual involved chanting in a public place "No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal" was "Frat boys are still assholes. Nice to see that some things remain constant." Then I read that this happened at Yale, and my next thought was, "I wonder which of these assholes, when he graduates, will be hired by J.P. Morgan." ("You're one of the anal rape guys? Congratulations, you're hired!")
Then, upon further reflection (such as it is for the Mad Biologist), I stumbled across the following question:
Why haven't they been suspended, or, preferably,…
kcollins | October 20, 2010Ohhh...you might even get to WALK on some ooblek. THAT would be cool!
Check out what this MIchigan Tech Exhibit has in store at the Expo.
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Michigan Technological University's MindTrekkers are taking STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to the heart of the nation--the National Mall in Washington, DC. And they're making it so much fun that it might just turn casual onlookers into science geeks.
"We want people of all ages to have fun learning the science behind the mystery"
MindTrekkers, a traveling science road show produced by Youth Programs at…
jdupuis | October 20, 2010
The False Security of Technology? What Might We Be Missing?
Reading Instrumentally
Why blogging still matters
Outsourcing Plus (Partnering to provide more online ed choices)
Long Road to Open Access
The Down-side of Technology? On Class Time
Wikimedia: Power, Leadership, and Movement Roles
Gaming as Teaching Tool
Blogs in higher education - some ideas about their benefits and downsides
Portrait of the Scholar as Blogger
7 Essential Skills You Didn't Learn in College
Principles for Open Bibliographic Data
The Web Parenthesis: Is the "open Web" closing?
Rebuilding an Academic Law Library Part…
kcollins | October 19, 2010Thanks Johns Hopkins University for posting about your involvement in the USA Science and Engineering Expo and all the cool things you plan to show at the Expo. It's going to be great!
October 18, 2010
By Phil Sneiderman
Homewood
Filed under Whiting School of Engineering
Six teams of Johns Hopkins researchers with expertise in nanotechnology, particle physics and other fields will participate this weekend in an ambitious event centered on the National Mall in Washington: a mammoth exposition at the inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival.
The free two-day expo on the National Mall and…
kcollins | October 18, 2010On Business Wire
The White House Science Fair this morning launches a week of activities that concludes with the USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo on the National Mall this weekend 10/23-10/24. From the White House, to an Expo hosted by Lockheed Martin and put together by 850 leading science organizations, to over 50 satellite events brought to you by AT&T, everyone from pre-schoolers to grandparents can join in this national effort to revitalize our young people's interest in pursuing careers in these fields. The USA Science & Engineering Festival is expected to draw more…
kcollins | October 16, 2010In case you missed this on Huffington Post back in September.
~~ written by Larry Bock
Sept 13th 2010
We pride ourselves on being a nation of diversity. But when it comes to diversifying our workforce in high-tech fields of tomorrow, well, let's just say we still have a lot of work to do.
Consequently, as we attempt to motivate more young students into the areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), it is paramount that we also increase our efforts to include more women and underrepresented minorities in these fields.
To put it succinctly, if America is to retain its role as a…
kcollins | October 14, 2010Thank you Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers for supporting HR 1660 and your support for STEM education in Eastern Washington! Read below:
13 October 2010
Dear Friends,
I write to you with tremendous excitement about the recent passage of H.R. 1660, which promotes the objectives of the first USA Science & Engineering Festival. This national festival, which will take place in Washington, DC from October 10-24, 2010, will feature over 550 organizations from across the United States.
As a strong proponent of innovation, education and entrepreneurship, I support this festival and all the…
cmonforton | October 11, 2010The population of Ann Arbor Michigan swelled this past weekend with football fans. It was the annual Michigan vs. Michigan State football game and I was in town to witness some of the fanfare. The sidewalks, parking lots, porches, lawns and frat house balconies were jam-packed with people. Everybody, I mean EVERYBODY was wearing a t-shirt to show their allegiance to either the Wolverines (Michigan) or the Spartans (Michigan State). A few contrarians and oddballs, like me, wore shirts promoting other schools, all in the spirit of fun and camaraderie.
As I took in the football Saturday…
kcollins | October 11, 2010Shout out to ieee-usa today's engineer for their post on the Festival!!
By Robin Peress
What happens when you combine the best minds in STEM education with best practices in entrepreneurship? One striking result is the forthcoming USA Science & Engineering Festival, whose special events will blanket the country in October and culminate in a two-day exhibition bash on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall.
The human comet behind this tour-de-force is Lawrence A. Bock, a San Diego-based serial entrepreneur (by his own description), who said he took many of the rules for launching a successful…
kcollins | October 10, 2010Thanks to Aunni Y Design for all the help getting the word out. We appreciate all the twitter RTs and tweets and blog posts. Thanks for being a great Festival Partner!
AFRICAN-AMERICANS CELEBRATE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
2010 USA Science and Engineering Festival (USASEF)
http://www.usasciencefestival.org/
501(c)(3)/non-profit organization
USASEF HOST: Lockheed Martin
October 10 - 24, 2010
Click Here for Print Ready Version
WASHINGTON, DC - African-Americans to be featured throughout theInaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival (USASEF), October 10 - 24, 2010, AND featured in…
jgoldman | October 1, 2010Here at The Thoughtful Animal, we are conducting series of seven-question interviews with people who are doing or have done animal research of all kinds - biomedical, behavioral, cognitive, and so forth. Interested in how animal research is conducted, or why animal research is important? Think you might want to do some animal research of your own someday? This is the interview series for you.
Andrew Thaler (twitter, blog) is pursuing a doctorate in the marine biology at the Duke University Marine Lab. He is especially interested in population genetics in hydrothermal vent communities. He is…
pharyngula | September 30, 2010The Pew Forum surveyed Americans on their knowledge of religion, and discovered that the group most generally knowledgeable about world religions was…those unshriven hellbound godless folk. This does not sit well with many believers, who have long preferred to relegate atheists to a hell of total unawareness of the gods, smugly assuming that if only we knew what they knew, we'd be True Believers in god in general and their specific, narrow sect in particular. That we might actually know what they believe and not only choose to not believe, but also to regard their superstitions as ridiculous…
pharyngula | September 29, 2010The UMM biology program is looking to replace a recent retiree, and we need someone who is an excellent teacher, competent to teach cell biology and a basic genetics course, and with some interesting expertise that can be used for upper level electives in your specialty and can provide undergraduate research opportunities. We will need this wonderful person by Fall of 2011, so if you think you fit the bill and want to be involved in an excellent undergraduate teaching program, send an application in soon! The committee here is champing at the bit to find out who our future tenure track…
kcollins | September 24, 2010Thanks EPA for the blog post last week! We need all the help we can get with getting the word out to everyone about the Festival.
Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.
By Aaron Ferster
Back to school season always seems so refreshing. I find the excitement my kids show as they crack open new books and get reacquainted with long-lost schoolmates infectious. And this year, I'm happy to feel like we here at EPA are part of it.
The science communication team that I work with has been enlisted to help plan the Agency's exhibition at the…