Category Archives: Engineering
Should engineering universities teach economics? – The Business Standard
Many public and private universities in Bangladesh offer science, technology, and engineering degrees at the undergraduate level. Buet, Cuet, Kuet, and Ruet are among the public universities that are solely dedicated to engineering degrees, which means no bachelor's degrees in economics, Social Science, or business education are offered at these institutions.
However, introducing a few degrees other than engineering at these universities can be very timely. At its very least, programmes like economics can add a lot of value to Buet and other engineering and technical universities.
In the subcontinent, modern engineering education started in the 1950s through establishing the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)s. Subsequently, Epuet and later Buet were established in Bangladesh in that continuity, and the other three BITs were set up. These BITs have now been upgraded to Cuet, Kuet, or Ruet.
Undergraduate-level economics programmes have been introduced in some of the IITs of India. For example, IIT Kanpur introduced a bachelor's degree in economics in 2005, and some IITs are currently offering PhD degrees in economics as well.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States is one of the most well-renowned educational institutions in the world. Although the name of this institution is associated with technology, it startedits economics department just after ten years of establishment in 1860.
Many world-famous educational institutions have names associated with technology, including GeorgiaTech, CalTech, where economics and other such subjects are also taught, besides engineering and technological subjects.
From our country's perspective, it may seem that only engineering, science, and mathematics should be taught at those mentioned universities of engineering and technologies, as their names suggest. And, teaching social science, economics, or business studies is not compatible with their name. But, what usually happens in the technical universities of developed countries is that many courses on science, mathematics, and statistics are found in the course curricula of social sciences. The opposite is also true for the course curricula of engineering degrees.
Many branches of the social sciences can be discussed, but especially the economics programme can be discussed in this discourse. The undergraduate programme in economics at good universities is usually designed in a way that those are equivalent to or not less than the equivalent of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programmes. Many US universities now consider economics programmes as STEM.
Because of teaching engineering and other social science subjects at the same time in these institutions, the uniqueness of tutoring science and technology are not lost and no research suggests otherwise either. Instead, diversity is prioritised in education. For example, artificial intelligence (AI), which is a new invention in the current age of technology, engineers, scientists, economists, and psychologists are currently working together to find ways of associating AI. In addition, the kind of data or programming used in engineering can be applied to economics programmes as well.
Say engineering universities decide to introduce programmes like economics. In that case, questions may arise about how the admission process can be conducted. One such question is if a separate admission exam needs to be arranged in that case.
In developed countries, at the secondary/higher secondary levels, there are usually no significant distinction between science, arts or business education at those levels of education. So, no such problem shows in their case. However, the admission process of IITs in India may work in our case.
At present, IITs in India usually admit students at the undergraduate level through the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). In all the IITs, where economics is currently being taught, the same test is taken for admission in both engineering and economics departments. It means that students are admitted only by taking exams in maths, statistics or science subjects for studying economics as aspiring students for engineering do.
These admitted students of IITs study physics, chemistry, mathematics, and some other basic engineering courses in their first year and in parts of the second. After successful completion of these courses, the students switch to real economics courses, such as microeconomics, macroeconomics, and its other branches, including econometrics.
Introducing a department like economics will naturally lead to a greater number of courses in economics, business, or social sciences - which can benefit engineering students alongside too. Students in the engineering department will be able to study more economics courses as elective subjects, making them more qualified in the job market.
On the other hand, the students from the economics programme can take some engineering courses as electives. The orientation of these courses can help the students do better in the future job market.
In the context of our country, after getting an engineering degree at the undergraduate level, many job seekers are getting employed in banking, insurance, business and corporate, or other public sector jobs. Moreover, many jobs are partly engineering and partly managerial or analytical in nature.
Furthermore, one has to get involved in managerial responsibilities at a certain stage of the engineering job. So, an extensive orientation of these subjects can make both groups of students good performers in their respective fields.
Lastly, some may raise the issue that many other universities in Bangladesh are teaching economics so that aspiring students can study in those universities. economics has become much more analytical and mathematical.
Now, it is even more challenging with the quick advancing nature of innovations these days. So, aspiring students of the country who are good at mathematics and science but may not have much interest in engineering itself can choose to study economics in engineering universities and that can bring good to the country.
Md Rashedur Rahman Sardar is a member of the Bangladesh Civil Service and is currently pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the United States.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
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Should engineering universities teach economics? - The Business Standard
An asteroid is spotted 2 hours before it slams into the Earth at 11 miles per second – Interesting Engineering
It's such a rare occasion for astronomers to detect an asteroid before it impacts the Earth that only 4 asteroids had been spottedbefore they entered the Earth's atmosphere:2008 TC3, 2014 AA, 2018 LA, and 2019 MO. But now, it's been 5 with the discovery of 2022 EB5.
On March 11th, the astronomer Krisztin Srneczky observed a small rocky objectusing the Schmidt telescope at the Piszksteto Mountain Station. It was 2 hours later whenit crashed into Earths atmospherenorth of Iceland.
The asteroid is estimated to be 10 feet wide andmoved at a speed of 11 miles per second.
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The aftermath of 2022 EB5 is not certain, but it is believed that it either burned up in the atmosphere or fell into the Arctic Ocean. If it burned up, it is not known whether any residualfragments have made it to the ground or not, either.
The International Meteor Organization, on the other hand, is looking for information from anybody who may have witnessed 2022 EB5's dazzling meteor. A flash of light or a boom was observed by a few persons in Iceland. You can submit your report from this link if you think you've seen the meteor.
Most of the asteroids in the Solar system orbit the Sun in a vast ring between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This area called the Asteroid Belt is estimated to containmore than 200 asteroids that are larger than 60 miles in diameter. In addition to that, there are between 1.1 million and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 0.6 milesin diameter and millions of smaller ones, according to NASA.
Although big collisions are really rare, thousands of tiny meteorite fragments hit the Earth each year. Most of these occasions, however, are unanticipated and go unreported because they occur in wide swathes of uninhabited woodland or in the open waters of the oceans.
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Chemical engineering professor collaborates on $6M NSF biosensor project – Office of Communications and Marketing
Biomanufacturing, or the production of biomaterials, is an emerging economic sector with significant growth potential in states like Alabama, Maine, New Hampshire and Wyoming. Research underway in Auburn Universitys Department of Chemical Engineering is poised to help these states realize that potential.
As part of a recently awarded National Science Foundation EPSCoR grant, assistant chemical engineering professor Robert Pantazes will participate on an interdisciplinary research team to develop sensors to promote quality control in the biomanufacturing sector. The four-year, nearly $6 million project approximately $550,000 of which is designated to Auburn combines Pantazess efforts with those of Jeffrey Halpern at the University of New Hampshire, Eva Rose Balog at the University of New England, Caleb Hill at the University of Wyoming and Andrew Crawley at the University of Maine to develop the biosensors and integrate a workforce development program to train a new biotechnology workforce in these jurisdictions.
Monitoring biomanufacturing processes is difficult to achieve in real time and typically requires measurements to be taken off-line from the process. The sensors developed by the research team will allow for continuous monitoring in the biomanufacturing process.
Learn more about the project here.
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Girls and engineering are the focus of outreach event – Nevada Today
Hands-on engineering design projects, a VR experience and other activities designed to spark interest for middle school students in engineering were offered by the College of Engineering and its partners Feb. 24 at Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day on the University campus.
About 50 middle school girls, genderqueer and non-binary students from the Carson City School District participated in the event, sponsored by the College and its partners Envirolution, a nonprofit that supports STEM education efforts, and the Society of Women Engineers. In addition, 15 professional engineers from eight local companies attended to mentor students throughout the day, allowing them to envision a career in engineering.
Were so glad to work with our partners to offer this experience to local students. Introducing young people to engineering particularly from underrepresented groups in engineering professions is so important to developing a strong and vibrant engineering workforce, Loren Pietsch, MAKE Nevada coordinator, said. Our goal of the event is to expose young students to engineering, empower them with STEM skills and show them that engineering is not only a great career choice but also a way to change the world.
Women comprise only 15% of the engineering workforce and one way to increase that number is to engage with them early in life. Studies have shown that involving students in unique experiences early in their education fosters interest in engineering. Envirolutions began the Introduce a Girl to Engineering Program in 2018 in partnership with Tesla. Since then, this event has impacted more than 700 middle school students from 25 schools throughout Nevada and more than 1,000 students nationwide.
In addition to Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, theColleges K-12 outreach programsoffer five opportunities for young people to learn more about engineering.
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Girls and engineering are the focus of outreach event - Nevada Today
City Engineer Robert Phillips to Retire After 33 Years of City Service | City of Madison – City of Madison, Wisconsin
Madisons City Engineer Robert Rob Phillips will retire at the end of April after over three decades of service to the City.
Phillips graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering in 1987. His career continued with promotions to more advanced engineer positions leading Public Works projects, managing federally-funded projects and leading the Citys Bridge Inspection and Construction Program. From 1992 until 2010, he served as Principal Engineer for the Transportation Design Section, and Assistant City Engineer. In 2010 he was promoted to City Engineer and has served in that role for the past 12 years.
Robs work leaves an incredible legacy in the infrastructure of our city, said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. He has provided steady and conscientious guidance to the Engineering Division over the years, and has been instrumental in many City-wide projects. His experience and expertise will be missed.
Phillips was involved in significant projects like the construction of John Nolen Drive in conjunction with the construction of Monona Terrace, the reconstruction of East Washington Avenue, the construction of County Highway M and rebuilding of most of the major streets that serve downtown. He additionally led the Citys Emergency Operations Center during the 2018 floods, which also led to the watershed studies underway in the city now.
I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish over my time with the City, Phillips said. We have been named best place to live, weve achieved platinum bike rating, were among one of the safest cities of our size for pedestrians, and so much more. These are not my personal accomplishments. It is an effort that involves every department. We collectively provide quality service to our residents and visitors and it shows. It makes a difference.
The City will conduct a nationwide search for Phillips successor. Engineering Division Deputy Division Manager Kathy Cryan will serve as interim manager of the Engineering Division.
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Two Texas A&M Faculty To Join National Academy Of Engineering – Texas A&M University Today
Two Texas A&M University faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Mladen Kezunovic and Vijay Singh are among 111 new members and 22 international members who will be inducted in October. NAE members are elected by peers, who are current NAE members.
Once inducted, Texas A&M will be home to 30 NAE members among the current faculty. Membership is one of the highest global professional honors an engineer can receive in their career.
As component of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, NAE began under the same congressional act President Lincoln signed in 1863 to establish the National Academy of Sciences. Under this act, NAE is directed whenever called upon by any department or agency of government, to investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the same congressional charter. The 2022 NAE elections bring the total number of U.S. members to 2,388 and 310 international members.
A reception for Kezunovic and Singh will be held Tuesday, March 1 at the Bethancourt Ballroom in the Memorial Student Center. Those who would like to join in the celebration are invited to attend the event at 6:15 p.m. via livestream.
Kezunovic is a Regents Professor and Eugene E. Webb Professor. He was elected to the NAE for his contributions to automated analysis of power system faults and leadership in education in protective relaying. Read more about his accomplishments on the College of Engineering website.
Mladen Kezunovic.
Texas A&M Engineering
Singh is a University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor and Caroline & William N. Lehrer Distinguished Chair. He was elected to the NAE for his contributions to wave modeling and development of entrophy-based theories of hydrologic processes and hydroclimatic extremes. Read more about Singh on the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences website.
Vijay P. Singh.
Laura McKenzie/Texas A&M AgriLife Communications
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Two Texas A&M Faculty To Join National Academy Of Engineering - Texas A&M University Today
This is the Osom OV1, a new phone from Essentials former engineers and designers – The Verge
Osom, the company formed by Essentials employees after the startup went under, has released new details about its upcoming OV1 phone, including a very familiar list of build materials. Meant to compete with flagships from Apple, Google, and Samsung, the OV1 will have a stainless steel and titanium housing, a ceramic back, Corning Victus cover glass, and a Qualcomm processor.
The stainless steel is for the phones frame, while titanium will be used for accents like the power and volume buttons as well as the ring around the camera bump, according to Android Police. It sounds like the phone will have a heft to it Osom says the OV1 will be noticeably bigger than the Essential Phone, which had razor-thin bezels and a 5.7-inch screen. The company also says the phone will come in white and matte black but that there are some surprises to come in colors.
Talking to Osoms founder and CEO, Jason Keats, he said that the OV1 wasnt intentionally meant to evoke the Essential Phone. The resemblance is just the natural result of having the same team engineering and designing it. In my opinion, it still manages to stand out the materials are still relatively uncommon in most phones, even five years after we heaped praise on the Essential Phones build. Arguably, Apples probably the closest with the iPhone 13 Pros stainless steel sides and ceramic shield, but I think most people would be able to immediately tell the difference between the iPhone and an OV1. (Plus, theres the price Osom hasnt said exactly how much its phone would cost but told Android Police itd come in well under $1,000, which is where the 13 Pro starts.)
The OV1 was supposed to be fully revealed this week, according to TechCrunch, but Osom is pushing back its announcement and ship date so it can upgrade the phones processor. The company says itll use a Snapdragon 8 series chipset, though it cant give specifics, according to TechCrunch. Qualcomm recently switched up its naming scheme for chips with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, though it seems unlikely that the OV1 will use that specific chip given its vow of silence.
Osom says the phone will get all-day battery life and that itll have ultra-wideband, or UWB, the same tech other manufacturers like Apple, Google, and Samsung use for things like precision location tracking and digital car keys. Keats wouldnt say exactly what that radios for but said that the company has some interesting stuff cooking that it would announce later. It will have room for two physical SIM cards Keats says the company purposefully chose not to go with an e-SIM to avoid tying itself to particular carriers. (He also mentioned that partnering with a particular carrier was a devastating mistake for Essential.)
Osom says that its also learned from the camera missteps at Essential and that it wants the OV1 to have a truly flagship camera experience. Design-wise, the OV1 has a camera bump, something the Essential phone avoided. That bump holds the two rear cameras, running at 48 and 12 megapixels. The front-facing camera will be 16MP. Because of how important software is to the mobile photography experience, its hard to say how those specs will translate into snapshots at this point.
Finally, theres the USB cable that comes in the box. Theres usually not a lot to say about those, but Osoms including one with a neat trick: the ability to flip a switch that physically disconnects the data pins, so you can feel more comfortable charging your phone from a public outlet. Keats couldnt say how fast the OV1 will charge, just that it will be impressively quick. It is BYOB (bring your own brick), though it wont ship with a charger in the box.
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This is the Osom OV1, a new phone from Essentials former engineers and designers - The Verge
Nova Credit hires from Apple and Meta leader as head of engineering – Finextra
Nova Credit, the fintech unlocking opportunities for those historically excluded from the credit system and companies looking to serve them, today announced it has expanded its engineering team with the appointment of Yacine Azmi as Head of Engineering.
As Head of Engineering at Nova Credit, Yacine is responsible for all areas of the engineering function, in addition to ensuring the team is set up to effectively execute on business goals. He joins Nova Credit following his experience as a Software Engineer Leader at Meta where he led engineering pillars for the Social Impact Giving organization. Prior to that, he was Engineering Manager at Apple where he established a multidisciplinary R&D team that led technology development for new product concepts, like AirPods and AirPods Pro, and special projects across iOS, watchOS and embedded platforms.
As a U.S. immigrant who has experienced first-hand the obstacles associated with accessing financial services as newcomers, Yacine will leverage his technical expertise to improve financial inclusivity to those underserved by the current system.
Upon immigrating to the United States more than 10 years ago, I found myself confronted with many of the hurdles that I see newcomers today still having to overcome. As I learned about the work Nova Credit is doing for immigrants and underserved communities, I couldnt believe these solutions werent already in place, said Yacine. A lot of my work has been driven by social good, so the opportunity to join the Nova Credit team and provide my expertise to make its solutions even more accessible is a perfect match. I look forward to working closely with the leadership team to grow Novas product suite and to develop a stellar engineering team that can help me to do so.
Im incredibly excited to welcome Yacine to the Nova Credit team as he brings his engineering superpowers and own immigration journey to take our mission forward," said Misha Esipov, co-founder and CEO of Nova Credit. "Yacine has exceptional experience in building and managing world class engineering teams and that experience will ensure that our people and systems will thrive as we grow our product suite and take it global."
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Nova Credit hires from Apple and Meta leader as head of engineering - Finextra
Hill Named College of Engineering Employee of the Second Quarter – University of Arkansas Newswire
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Jerra Hill
Jerra Hill, fiscal analyst in the Industrial Engineering Department, was named Employee of the Second Quarter for the College of Engineering. This award recognizes staff who play an integral part in the college's daily routines.
Hill has been a member of industrial engineering since May of 2011. She is the financial manager for the Master of Science in operations management and M.S. in engineering management graduate programs in the Department of Industrial Engineering.
Hill's supervisor, Rich Ham, associate director for the engineering management and operations management programs, nominated Hill, stating her "performance consistently exceeds position requirements, goals and management's expectations." Ham said, "Jerra consistently ensures that her work product is of the highest quality and accuracy, regardless of the work hours required for completion."
He continued, "As the program has grown, she directly supports over 800 students and the resource needs of more than 60 faculty. She developed transparent processes to navigate the complex reimbursement and cost-share agreements with other programs and Global Campus. Unlike other programs, the M.S. in operations management and M.S. in engineering management operate solely on income and must adjust the budget based on revenue."
In his nomination of Hill, Ham stated, "Demonstrating flexibility, she also manages a $50,000 marketing/recruitment budget and coordinates more than 10 conference booths annually. Jerra designed the tools to effectively handle $3.5 million of gross revenue, returning nearly $900,000 to central administration, Global Campus, the college and the department. Her resource management initiatives resulted in over $75,000 of annual savings that not only directly affected her programs but allowed the department, college and university to hire faculty and invest in infrastructure. Additionally, Jerra negotiated non-credit course reimbursements for the program exceeding $50,000."
Greg Parnell, professor of practice and director of the M.S. in operations management and M.S. in engineering management programs, commented: "Jerra has been a critical member of our team. She has provided us the financial management and visibility we needed to make agile decisions on marketing, new course developments and new certificate developments that have maintained the enrollment growth in both programs."
Ed Pohl, professor and head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, stated, "Jerra has done an outstanding job supporting our distance education programs in the department. She is a skilled financial analyst who does an excellent job keeping the program directors apprised of all financial management issues with the programs. Her dedication and support have made a significant impact on our programs, and her efforts are truly appreciated."
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Hill Named College of Engineering Employee of the Second Quarter - University of Arkansas Newswire
Diverse Podcast: Nina Ahuja on having an Engineering Foundation with another STEM Occupation – All Together – Society of Women Engineers
In this special SWE Diverse Episode for Black History Month, Joanne I. Hill, the secretary for the African-American Affinity Group for the Society of Women Engineers, sits down with Nina Ahuja, the social media lead for the African American Affinity Group for SWE. Nina also has her own business where she consults with small and medium organizations on their process implementations and improvement initiatives. Listen as Nina talks about her background in engineering and what led her to pursuing a different career while utilizing her engineering degree.
Nina Ahuja is very passionate about the Project Management world. She was first exposed to Project Management while on an internship as she completed her Masters of Science in Engineering in Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Michigan Dearborn. Since graduation, she has worked in a variety of industries within corporate America. More recently, she focuses on her own business where she consults with small and medium sized organizations on their process implementations and improvement initiatives utilizing a strategic project management approach. She has been actively involved with her local PMI chapter for years; she is most passionate about the Women in Project Management Forum and volunteering with ongoing chapter efforts. In addition to her PMI involvement, she has also been an officer is her local Society of Women Engineers section and is currently the Social Media Lead for the African American Affinity Group for SWE.
Joanne I. Hillis a Product Marketing Manager at Intel Corporation on the Cities and Transportation Road Infrastructure team, within theNetwork and Edge Internet of Things (NEX IOTG)Autonomous Transportation and Infrastructure (ATI) Group. Her responsibilities include understanding the customers needs and translating them into software/hardware product solutions for the go to market business strategy in the Road Infrastructure Segment. Prior to her arrival at Intel, she has over 20 years in the Automotive, Construction, and Transportation industries in the Product Development and Manufacturing functional areas.
Joanne holds a BS Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca New York, and MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.
Joannes depth of organizational participation within the Society of Women Engineers in the professional section as well as the National Society of Black Engineers on the collegiate and professional level, has ranged from being a local conference volunteer to professional development, conference planning, and chapter president leadership roles. These activities have allowed an easy segue to share her professional and technical skillset to positively enhance and impact her community. Joanne is originally from the south side of Chicago and now lives in Portland Oregon region.
SWE Blog
SWE Blog provides up-to-date information and news about the Society and how our members are making a difference every day. Youll find stories about SWE members, engineering, technology, and other STEM-related topics.
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