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December 3, 2008 12:55:36 PM CST

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13 Stories

 Haiti School Collapse 
 Kills At Least 30 

Poor repair job, not recent rains, doomed building, mayor says

Associated Press Associated Press Nov 7, 08 4:21 PM CST
(Newser) - At least 30 people, many possibly children, died in Haiti today when a school building collapsed, AP reports. The school, in a village in the hills above Port-au-Prince, experienced a partial collapse in 2000. Before today, the building was under construction, and the town’s mayor said structural problems, not recent rains, were behind the disaster. More »

More about:  Brazil • disaster • school • Chile • Haiti • collapse • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • Red Cross • engineering • Doctors Without Borders

 Perfect Swing? 
 Forget the Wrists 

Drive guided by when power applied, not golfer's strength

BBC BBC Nov 5, 08 6:29 PM CST
(Newser) - After decades of laborious calculations, a Canadian professor says he's discovered the precise mechanics of the perfect golf swing. It’s all in the arms, it turns out—not the wrists. By measuring professional swings caught in high-speed photos, Robin Sharp has determined that the optimum swing doesn’t depend on the golfer’s strength or size, but how and when power is applied, BBC reports. More »

More about:  golf • science • engineering • University of Surrey

 Contest Offers $25K for
Best 'Crazy Green' Scheme

X Prize proposals to be posted on YouTube

CNET CNET Sep 11, 08 2:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - The X Prize Foundation is at it again, this time with a new eco-challenge offering $25,000 for the best “crazy green idea” to stop global warming, reports CNET. The organization, famous for its high-stakes engineering contests, is looking for breakthrough ideas in energy and housing. Proposals must be presented in two-minute concept videos, and posted on YouTube by October 31. More »

Scientists Closer to
Invisibility Cloak

New material geared towards military, medical uses

LiveScience LiveScience Aug 10, 08 5:24 PM CDT
(Newser) - Soon Harry Potter may not be the only one wearing an invisibility cloak. Researchers today announced a new material that bends light away from objects, causing "negative refraction" and "cloaking." The technology, which adds to earlier research veiling two-dimensional objects, will likely conceal military devices and improve medical techniques, LiveScience reports. More »

More about:  military • engineering • scientists • invisibility • metamaterials

Top Engineers Shun Military

Costs soar as sought-after
project managers
head for private sector

New York Times New York Times Jun 25, 08 2:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Greater "geek cachet" and higher pay is diverting engineering managers from the military into places like Microsoft and Google, the New York Times reports. The result is a dearth of  managers overseeing military projects, which government investigators largely blame for long delays and $295 billion in cost overruns. The shortage has forced the military to increasingly rely on consultants, who often lack the skills and incentive to hold down spending. More »

More about:  Google • Microsoft • Pentagon • military • engineering • military recruits • Pentagon waste

 Most Lucrative College Majors 

Computer engineering tops list for grads seeking quick cash

Forbes Forbes Jun 21, 08 4:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - College students looking for fast cash after graduation should study computer engineering, Forbes reports. Here are the most lucrative college majors, with salaries for beginners and veterans alike: Computer engineering ($60,500-$104,000) Economics ($48,000-$96,200) Electrical engineering ($59,900-$96,100) Computer science ($54,200-$94,000) Mechanical engineering ($56,900-$88,100) More »

More about:  college • finance • psychology • economics • mathematics • engineering • college graduates

Germans Get Engineers Started Young

Top firms aim to turn kindergartners
toward tech careers

Financial Times (UK) Financial Times (UK) Jun 17, 08 12:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - With a personnel shortfall that's serious and getting worse, Germany wants to get its next generation of engineers started as soon as possible, the Financial Times reports. Hundreds of companies are sending materials and experts to kindergartens to try interest youngsters in technology and science. They hope getting the tots interested early will preserve Germany's reputation as a land of engineering. More »

More about:  Germany • education • engineering • preschool • Siemens • engineers • kindergarten

 Damn Straight!
 Leaning Tower
 Stabilized 

Tower shored up for at least another 300 years

Times (UK) Times (UK) May 29, 08 3:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Italian engineers have stabilized the leaning Tower of Pisa, safeguarding it from toppling over for at least another 300 years, the Times of London reports. The famously off-kilter tower began tilting shortly after construction started in 1173, and was in danger of falling. Engineers didn't try to straighten it completely, as Benito Mussolini once dictated, but succeeded in getting it back to its 19th century angle. More »

More about:  Italy • architecture • engineering

 Self-Fixing Plane in the Works 

Self-repairing process mimics the way human body heals

Gizmag Gizmag May 28, 08 5:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - British aerospace engineers are working on technology that could create self-repairing aircraft, Gizmag reports. In a technique very much like nature's healing process, resin would "bleed" out of damaged parts of the plane and harden, making a damaged aircraft strong enough to continue to fly until it could be repaired properly on the ground. More »

More about:  airplane • aviation • plastic • 787 Dreamliner • aerospace • aircraft • engineering • invention

 Volvo Promises
 Crash-Proof Car
 By 2020 

Road deaths will be history, Swedes say

Reuters Reuters May 1, 08 4:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Volvo executives have vowed to create an un-crashable, injury-proof car by 2020, Reuters reports. The car manufacturer is adapting technology developed for commercial aviation to create a vehicle that will take over the controls in a dangerous situation and brake or steer out of harm's way. Engineers are hopeful such technology will eventually eliminate annual road death tolls. More »

More about:  Ford • safety • engineering • Mercedes Benz • Volvo • sonar • radar

 Panel: US Math System 'Broken' 

Group, worried about future competitive disadvantage, advises focus on basics

Washington Post Washington Post Mar 13, 08 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - A presidential panel today called US math education “broken” and demanded greater focus on key skills ranging from preschool to middle school, the Washington Post reports. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel responded to concerns that Americans are growing less competitive in the realm, and pointed the way to better teaching, better textbooks—and even reducing “math anxiety.” More »

More about:  George W. Bush • science • education • student • global economy • mathematics • engineering • elementary school • preschool • middle school • algebra

US Schools Not in Dire Decline, Study Says

Report blasts myth of kids lagging in math, science, reading

BusinessWeek BusinessWeek Oct 27, 07 5:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Despite dire warnings, US students rank well against worldwide peers in math, science, and reading, according to a new study. In fact US scores are rising, and students are graduating with more science and engineering diplomas than the US market can sustain. So why all of the hullabaloo about US kids in decline? Because of misinterpreted data, reports BusinessWeek .  More »

More about:  science • education • Bill Gates • higher education • mathematics • engineering • SAT • chemistry • Urban Institute • National Academy of Sciences

Why US Math, Science Ed is OK

Writer cites against-the-grain report ranking US in second place globally

BusinessWeek BusinessWeek Oct 26, 07 11:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Americans aren’t as deficient at math and science as usually reported, writes entrepreneur and Harvard Law Fellow Vivek Wadhwa in a Business Week op-ed. He cites an Urban Institute report with results contradicting many long-held beliefs about American science education, which places American science students consistently second in the world. More »

More about:  science • education • mathematics • engineering • science education • Urban Institute

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