Posted on April 4th, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
Food processing requires a lot of engineering, from developing farm equipment to the automated baking and mixing machines used in prepared desserts. One of the most inventive stages comes toward the end, when the food is packaged. Johannah Frueh, a science teacher at Orange Charter School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, has incorporated the engineering behind designing and making food packaging into her seventh and eighth grade elective lab classes.
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Tags: Curriculum, Engineering Design Process, Food Industry, Grades 6-8, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering
Posted on March 29th, 2010 by ASEE
Japan is Cool Robot Central. There are ‘bots that play soccer, dance, climb trees, and swim – not to mention manning assembly lines. Now, the nation that has long dominated industrial robotics is grappling with ways robots can tackle society’s other challenges, like aiding firefighters and an aging population.
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Tags: Japan, Prism article, Robotics
Posted on March 29th, 2010 by ASEE
![chiefcook-small_thumb chiefcook-small_thumb](http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/chiefcook-small_thumb3.jpg)
Since “the world’s first cooking robot” appeared in China four years ago, roboticists around the world have devised a veritable army of new robots designed to serve and cook food. Although they’re too expensive for most eateries to adopt, they provide great entertainment and get people comfortable with the machines.
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Tags: Robotics
Posted on March 17th, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
Many schools include project-based learning in their classes, but few have embraced the concept quite as completely as the Da Vinci Science and Design schools in Hawthorne, Calif. “Actually, PBL is not worked into the curriculum, it is our curriculum,” says Nicole Tempel, Da Vinci Principal. Nearly every aspect of learning is tied to a project.
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Tags: Da Vinci, Education Policy, PBL, Project Based Learning
Posted on March 15th, 2010 by ASEE
“Space Science Mentor,” an article from the March 2009 issue of Prism magazine, profiles a Kentucky professor who involves his undergraduates in satellite launches. Hands-on research is often seen as a good way to engage undergraduates in science and engineering. But at Morehead State University’s ambitious space science center, it’s no mere exercise. As the center joins in preparing suborbital vehicles and a satellite for launch, sophomores and even second-semester freshmen help design and build payloads and operate ground-to-space communications.
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Tags: Aerospace, Astronomy, CubeSat, NASA, Satellites
Posted on March 8th, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
When Katie Cutler let her middle school students pick what to learn, she was blown over by their choice. They voted for wind energy, something she knew little about. As they learned by helping install a turbine at their school, so did she.
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Tags: Idaho National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Wind for Schools, Wind Technology, Wind Turbine
Posted on March 1st, 2010 by ASEE
![](http://teachers.egfi-k12.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/bridges_historical_ex.jpg)
Henry Petroski uses the example of several bridge construction projects to illustrate the importance to engineers of history and historical lessons in this article from Prism magazine, Oct. 2006.
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Tags: Bridge building, Bridge Design, Brooklyn bridge
Posted on March 1st, 2010 by ASEE
“Piercings, Not Pocket Protectors,” an article from the April 2007 issue of Prism magazine, describes how a team of fun, hip “nerd girls” are seeking to change the stereotype of female engineers.
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Tags: Girls Education, Prism article, Programs for Girls, Women in Engineering
Posted on February 22nd, 2010 by Jaimie Schock
Nanotechnology is increasingly important, but it can be a challenge for students to grasp. Luckily, a growing number of science museums and websites offer guidance. Start with a simple concept, experts say. For instance, how fast does a fingernail grow? One nanometer per second. And, make it fun.
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Tags: Museums, Nanotechnology, Summer Programs (Teachers)