Contributors to American technological prowess include 1968 Nobel laureate Luis Walter Alvarez, Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman astronaut, who is now deputy director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and Dan Arvizu, who heads the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

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Tags: Engineering in History, History, Minority Group Engineers

Hawthorne Math and Science Academy in Los Angeles is challenging the notion that inner city schools are too beset with urban problems to succeed. And, it’s doing so with help from major corporations. “It’s all about future workforce development!” says a Northrup Grumman coordinator.

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Tags: Competitions for Students, Corporations, Outreach for Schools

In Scaling Britain, a new BBC TV program on English engineering and architecture, Jonathan Foyle clambers up iconic buildings to explore such intriguing topics as the physics of flying buttresses, and the materials science of stained glass.

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Tags: Architectural, Architecture, Television, Television show

An engineer-turned-teacher, Christopher Tolbert inspires both at-risk and advanced students with challenges that convert gasoline-powered cars to run on electricity. In Tolbert’s high-octane classroom, “every student is held accountable.”

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Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Feature: Teaching the Engineer’s Way

Tags: Cars, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Green Technology, Mechanical engineering

Girls in the California Bay area who may have never met an engineer now have an introduction – and more. Through the Chabot Space & Science Center, the Techbridge program connects girls with female technical role models with student groups, engaging them in hands-on activities, workplace tours, and school visits. And Techbridge mentors the mentors, ensuring they know how to inspire students’ passion for learning. “Opening Minds, Raising Sights,” from the December issue of Prism magazine, describes the appeal of the program.

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Tags: Engineering outreach, Mentoring, Programs for Girls, Women in Engineering

Kicking off with a songfest and building up to a huge expo on the National Mall, a two-week series of events in October will answer the question — “How do you make science and engineering fun?” — in hundreds of ways.

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Tags: Events, Family events, USA Science and Engineering Festival 2010

Last year, Brittany Hinyard’s eighth graders became astronomers. Students built models of the solar system, used software to make planets gravitate toward or apart from each other, and sought out information on satellites. Teaching this way, emphasizing inquiry, multiple science disciplines, and team learning, requires an extra commitment. But for Hinyard, there have been rewards in prestige and professional satisfaction.

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Tags: Astronomy, Science Teachers, Teachers

When the iPhone first came out in June 2007, some people bought one just so they could take it apart, examining the components, how the devices were assembled, and the design choices Apple made. These curious gadget freaks were engaging in reverse engineering, a practice instructors are now bringing into the classroom. By dismantling simple machines like bicycles, power tools and toys, students get hands-on experience that helps them design products of their own.

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Tags: Reverse Engineering, Systems Engineering

A simulated shipwreck tested students from four Boston-area schools, who, through the MIT Sea Grant/Sea Perch Program, built remotely operated underwater vehicles to check for leaks of hazardous cargo and salvage the wreck.

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Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Feature: Pooling Their Talents

Tags: Building robots, Marine engineering, Robotics, U.S. Navy, Underwater Robot