Arts + Science = New Curriculum?

I've been reading a lot lately about the union of science, engineering and technology with the humanities and social sciences.

Princeton announced a $25 million gift from Dennis J. Keller and his wife, Constance Templeton Keller, "to strengthen links between engineering and the liberal arts"
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S20/75/72A00/ .

Columbia University 's School of Engineering and Applied Science headlines their page "Engineering - The Newest Liberal Art," http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/pages/academics/undergraduate_studies/index.html.

Today's New York Times Science Section has a lead story "Curriculum Designed to Unite Art and Science," http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/science/27angi.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.

And a few examples in IEEE Xplore:

Engineers as Problem-Solving Leaders: Embracing the Humanities, Jablokow, K.W., IEEE Technology and Soceity Magazine/Winter 2007

An Approach to Undergraduate Engineering Education in the 21st Century , Kastenberg, W.E.; Hauser-Kastenberg, G.H.; Norris, D36th Annual Frontiers in Education Conference, Oct. 2006

Shaping the Future of American University Education: conceiving engineering as a liberal art, Barke, R.; O'Neil Lane, E.; Knoespel, K., 2001 Proceedings, International Symposium on Technology and Society



My background is English, business and information science: among the 1.8+ million articles in IEEE Xplore are at least a few I don't understand (written with a smile). But whenever I need perspective on engineering and politics, or management, or economics, even philosopy, sociology, and some pretty arcane arts, I'm rarely disappointed. Try using IEEE Xplore in ways you don't expect. I'd love to know what you find -- and how you're able to use it.

Stanford IEEE Presents Analog Filters with Robert Pease

Tuesday, May 27
Invitation to Students, Engineers and Technicians:

Primary Topics will be: Low-Pass, High-Pass, Band-Pass, and Notch Filters, using op-amps and R's and C's. "Passive" filters using L's and C's will be mentioned briefly. Related aspects of R's, C's, and Amplifiers will be discussed. The use of National's Webench will be featured. We'll leave
time for Q & A.

Biographical Info for Robert A. Pease
Robert A. Pease graduated from MIT in 1961 with a BSEE degree. He was employed at Philbrick Researches up to 1975 and designed many Operational Amplifiers and Analog Computing Modules. Pease joined National Semiconductor in 1976. He has designed about 24 analog ICs including power regulators, voltage references, and temperature sensors. He has written about 65 magazine articles and holds about 21 US patents. Pease is the self-declared Czar of Bandgaps since 1986. He enjoys hiking, and trekking in Nepal. His position at NSC is Staff Scientist. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Pease has written the definitive book, TROUBLESHOOTING ANALOG CIRCUITS (May 1991), now in its 17th printing. It has been translated into French, German, Dutch, Polish, and Russian. Pease is a columnist in Electronic Design magazine, with over 250 columns published. The column, PEASE PORRIDGE, covers a wide range of technical topics. Many of Pease's recent columns are posted at: http://electronicdesign.com/Departments/DepartmentID/6/6.html

Pease also has posted many technical and semi-technical items on his main web-site: http://www.national.com/rap Pease was inducted into the Electronics Engineering Hall Of Fame in October 2002. Refer to: http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=17269&Extension=pdf. See Pease's other web site at http://www.transtronix.com/

Pease is also the Dean of NSC's Analog University, which provides many engineering classes on analog topics.

Stanford IEEE Presents "Sustainability in a Corporate World"

May 29, presented by Accenture Technology Labs.

"Accenture leads the SMART Building Alliance (SBA), providing Enterprise Energy Management Solutions and decreasing building-based energy spend. The SBA Solution uses a comprehensive building analysis and open IT standards to leverage existing building management system infrastructure. Sophisticated analytics identify energy saving opportunities and continuous optimized control keeps buildings operating at peak efficiency. The SBA solution creates value in the form of reduced energy consumption, reduced maintenance costs (labor, parts, and inventory) and reduced environmental impact."

Speakers:
Brent Blum - Accenture Technology Labs Consultant
Brent Blum has been with Accenture since 2004 and has held a variety of roles related to the Sensor and Mobility space. These roles have included Online Health Services, Core Sensor Telemetry Architecture, and the SMART Buildings Alliance. He continues to have a strong interest in telematics as well as a variety of Web 2.0 technologies, RFID, IPTV, automotive technologies and the role of technology in society.

Sean A. Stauth – Accenture Technology Labs Consultant
Sean A. Stauth is a consultant within the Mobility and Sensors group at the Accenture Technology Labs. He has been working on developing Enterprise Resource Planning Mobile applications for executives and helping define the Tech Labs' strategy in the mobility space. Recently, he has been instrumental in establishing the technical architecture vision for the SMART Buildings Alliance.

Han C. Choi – Accenture Technology Labs Analyst
Han C. Choi is an analyst with the Accenture Technology Labs and a former Stanford IEEE officer. While earning a degree in Electrical Engineering, he was involved in a wide range of research experiences spanning from electrical engineering to socioeconomics. During his time at the Technology Labs, he has primarily focused on designing a robust and flexible framework capable of handling the unique and versatile challenges of the energy management industry.

Sample IEEE Xplore articles on "enterprise energy management"
Right Power, Right Price, Forth, B.; Tobin, T., IEEE Computer Applications in Power, 15, 2, pp 22-27
Enterprising Energy Management, Van Gorp, J.C, IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 2, 1, pp. 59-63

Stanford Spring Mixer - May 5, 2008

Stanford IEEE hosted its annual spring mixer on May 5, 2008 in David Packard Electrical Engineering Atrium. Over 30 IEEE, EE and related engineering students attended the annual event. This year, speakers industry were invited to give a first-hand candid view on high technology entrepreneurship. Emily Melton, the director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Munjal Shah, CEO & Founder of Riya.com gave a panel style discussion on entrepreneurship to members of the EE, CS, and IEEE community at Stanford. Following the talk, a dinner was served and attendees were encouraged to mix and meet each other and the speakers.

GRE to Add Non-Cognitive Test

Students hear me talk ad nauseum about the importance of the soft skills to success in today's hyper-competitive world.

Today's "Inside Higher Education" includes news of the Educational Testing Services' (ETS) plan to add a "Personal Potential Index" to the exam required for admission to many graduate/PhD programs. IMHO this would work to the advantage of IEEE student leaders, who are pretty uniformly impressive in the sought-after abilities: "knowledge and creativity, communication skills, team work, resilience, planning and organization, and ethics and integrity. "

For more, see: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/22/ets

Pathfinder on Power and Energy

One of the young engineers I met early on at Drexel, Anuj Jain, emailed with a question about finding resources on renewal energy, and ways to participate in the global "conversations" on relevant issues. IEEE has an exhaustive pathfinder covering everything from "Education and Careers" to "International Perspectives" to "Communities and Discussion Groups."

Take a look at: http://www.ieee.org/portal/site/refguides/menuitem.c0ff26d5c7a183f144e72f8e5bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=pesguide&path=refguides/pes_guide&file=default.xml