News Update August 2, 2005
CT News Update:
An Online Newsletter from Campus Technology
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News for Tuesday, August 2, 2005
*Business Leaders Want to Double Science & Technology
Grads by 2015
*NSF Pledges to Step Up Diversity Among Science &
Engineering Students
*Columbia University, Verizon Partner on VoIP
*Pennsylvania Governor Funds Online Learning Enterprise
*Deals of Note Across U.S. Campuses
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Business Leaders Want to Double Science & Technology
Grads by 2015
U.S. colleges and universities during the next decade
should be turning out twice as many science and
technology professionals, according to a report issued
recently by the Business Roundtable, a high-profile
public policy group made up of the nation’s top CEOs.
To meet this goal, the federal government should step
up research funding and create more scholarships and
loan-forgiveness programs for students pursuing
technology-related degrees in two-year and four-year
institutions.
The Business Roundtable report, “Tapping America’s
Potential: The Education for Innovation Initiative”
cites sagging statistics in terms of the number of
science and technology students now graduating from
U.S. universities and colleges.
Specifically, the Business Roundtable warned that 90
percent of the world’s scientists and engineers will
be living in Asia, if the federal government d'es
not make an effort to reverse science and technology
enrollment trends. Further, the group pointed to the
fact that South Korea, which has one-sixth the
population of the U.S., now graduates just as
many engineers.
To stimulate more interest in the pursuit of science,
technology and engineering careers among U.S. students,
the Business Roundtable made the following recommendations:
* Top U.S. officials should address the current decline
in research & development spending by requiring a minimum
seven percent increase in funding levels across key
agencies. As of now, funding for higher education is
down in agencies such as the National Science Foundation
(NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST), the Defense Department and the Department of Energy.
* Federal agencies should specifically look at increasing
funding in key programs such as the Defense Department’s
Science, Mathematics and Research Transformation (SMART)
program; NASA’s Science and Technology Scholarship Program
(STSP) and NSF’s Robert Noyce Scholarships.
* Government officials should create more scholarships
and loan-forgiveness programs in the science and
technology fields. Further, the group suggested that
students planning to teach math and science--particularly
in “high-poverty” schools be allowed to participate in
such programs.
* Government Officials should boost the level of Pell
Grant funding available to students pursuing
technology-related careers.
* Policymakers should include incentives in the Higher
Education Act and in state policies to promote universities
to turn out more science and engineering majors.
In response to the report, Education Department officials
agreed that a 100 percent increase in the number of U.S.
science and technology professionals is attainable.
“The call to double the number of science, technology,
engineering and mathematics graduates with bachelors’
degrees by 2015 is a worthy goal and a realistic one,
if we make the right choices,” said U.S. Secretary of
Education Margaret Spellings.
The Business Roundtable report is available at
http://www.businessroundtable.org/publications/publication.aspx?qs=2AF6BF807822B0F1AD1478E
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NSF Pledges to Increase Diversity Among Science &
Engineering Students
In a new report, “Broadening the Participation in
America’s Science and Engineering Workforce,” the
National Science Foundation acknowledged that efforts
to pull more minorities and people with disabilities
into science and engineering fields has proved
“slow and uneven.”
NSF specifically cited poor participation of
disadvantaged students in the agency’s Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program (STEP).
The findings were prepared by the Committee on Equal
Opportunities in Science and Engineering (CEOSE),
which is composed of NSF advising officials from
corporations and schools such as Carnegie Mellon
University.
COSE proposed that NSF “continue to use policy
levers to focus attention of researchers and
institutions on the need to broaden STEM
participation.” COSE also suggested specifically
that funding officials consider options to draw
more Native Americans into STEM participation.
More information on the COSE report is available at
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104307&org=NSF&from=news
Columbia University, Verizon Partner on VoIP
Officials at the Department of Computer Science at
Columbia University in New York announced an agreement
with Verizon Laboratories to conduct a pair of research
projects to advance Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
technology.
Verizon Laboratories will entirely fund the endeavor
which will be split between the exploration of
security-related VoIP applications and the advancement
of Presence, a method of messaging that lets users or
devices find each other, regardless of location.
At the conclusion of the research, Verizon will assume
all equipment and prototypes developed during the program
and use those assets to enhance the company’s VoIP solutions.
Information on the VoIP project is available at:
http://newscenter.verizon.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=92779
Pennsylvania Governor Funds Online Learning Enterprise
Pittsburgh-based online learning company Education
Management Corp., recently received $665,000 in funding
from Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell’s office and
pledged to use a portion of the funds to bolster online
learning at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Under provisions of the award, the Governor’s Action
Team (GAT) worked closely with Education Management
Corp., to expand the company’s online learning division.
Information on the award is available through Rendell’s
office at http://www.state.pa.us/papower/cwp/view.asp?Q=444636&A=11
Education Management Corp.’s Website is at
http://www.edumgt.com/index.shtml
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Deals of Note Across U.S. Campuses
* Stanford University’s Manoharan Nanoscale Facility
recently selected Minus K Technology to provide vibration
isolation solutions necessary to advance nanotechnology
research. Minus K Technology’s Website is at
http://www.minusk.com/
* Cedarville University (OH) recently selected 5G
Wireless Solutions, Inc., to provide its Campus-Wide
Area Networking (C-WAN). 5G executives claim that C-WAN
is different from other campus broadband options, because
it requires only two cellular-style base stations, while
other solutions wrap in as many as 100 individual access
points. The company’s Website is at
http://www.5gwireless.com/
* University of Texas at Austin recently tapped Envivio Inc.,
to supply the company’s Mindshare Presentation system used
to record classroom lectures and other events. Mindshare
Presentation relies on MPEG-4 technology to decrease the
bandwidth requirements normally associated with such
applications. Envivio’s Website is at
http://www.envivio.com/
* Cornell University (NY) recently hired sales, service
training and consulting firm, Richardson, to further its
eCornell online learning division. Richardson’s Website
is available at
http://www.richardson.com/
* InFocus Corp. announced recently that it has acquired
The University Network (TUN), a provider of on-campus
narrowcasting solutions in use in more than 75 universities.
The InFocus Website is located at
http://www.infocus.com/
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