 The
year 2005 in Washington, D.C., began with a wallop of
snow and an inauguration. The first presented the usual
challenge to Washington, which considers itself a southern
city, and the latter gave us pomp as well as pause for
reflection. What factors, influences, or happenstance
guide a life to success? In Prism, this month's
cover story, "The
Mechanics of a Career," looks at what makes
an individual decide to become an engineer. The article
consists of brief life stories told by accomplished
engineering educators who reflect on the circumstances
that guided them along the road to engineering and successful
careers. None of them, it appears, started out wanting
or planning to be an engineer. I hope you will enjoy
reading about how other educators' engineering
careers evolved.
"A Click Away"
looks at a new resource available to K-12 teachers,
engineering college faculty, and students. The newly
launched K-12 TeachEngineering (TE) digital library
collection represents more than two years of planning
and admirable collaborative work among four engineering
colleges. Jacquelyn Sullivan, TE project leader, says
the development team combined years of experience working
with teachers and students to come up with a first-rate
curriculum with an inviting feel. The online digital
library at www.TeachEngineering.com
provides hands-on lessons and activities involving science
and math concepts for young students. Click and see
for yourself.
"You Call This
School?" describes an innovative undergraduate
program at Caltech called the Summer Undergraduate Research
Fund (SURF). In this program, science and engineering
students work with mentors in Caltech's engineering
department and at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. Students
develop projects that compete for fellowship research
and a $5,000 stipend while learning firsthand about
the rigors and rewards of research.
As always, we have tried to provide an intriguing
mix of articles. I would be interested in your thoughts
and comments.
Frank L Huband
Executive Director and Publisher
f.huband@asee.org
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