SWE - Winter 2009 - (Page 54) ENGINEERING WORLD VIRGINIA TECH Two Virginia Tech NSF CAREER Award Winners Researching Engineering Capstone Design. Marie C. Paretti, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of engineering education at Virginia Tech, has earned a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award for her research regarding the experience of engineering capstone design courses for students and faculty. The goal of her research, titled “An Exploration of Faculty Expertise and Student Learning in Capstone Experiences,” is to better understand how this kind of teaching happens and what kinds of things faculty do to effectively balance their roles as teachers, evaluators, and mentors to best support student learning. Her findings will help train the next generation of design faculty and increasingly enhance undergraduate engineering education. “Capstone design courses are one of the pillars of contemporary engineering Marie Paretti education, and I am delighted to have this opportunity to contribute to the growing body of educational research in this area,” Dr. Paretti explained. “The NSF CAREER award will enable me to conduct an extended study of faculty expertise in this important arena, and in doing so, help the larger community to learn from the best teachers in the nation.” Americans suffer each year are fatal; stent deployment within hours of the incident can be lifesaving. A coronary stent or elastic tube implant is a permanent insert Nakhiah Goulbourne placed in the artery to act as a scaffold to keep the artery open and allow proper cardiovascular flow. Dr. Goulbourne is interested in this research because the percentage of stent implant failures is as high as 20 to 30 percent. Also, there is a lack of diagnostic tools to dynamically monitor the mechanical state of the stented artery. The award also allows the recipient to focus on education and outreach, and Dr. Goulbourne plans to use her CAREER award to work with middle school children. Moving up in Semiconductors Freescale Semiconductor announced the appointment of Lisa Su, Ph.D., to the position of senior vice president and general manager, networking and multimedia. Dr. Su joined Freescale in 2007 as senior vice president and chief technology officer, leading the company’s Technology Solutions Organization and driving the company’s technical roadmap and research and development activities. Said Rich Beyer, chairman and CEO, “Lisa’s significant technology and product management experience make her an excellent choice to lead this business.” Before joining Freescale, Dr. Su led global semiconductor Lisa Su research and development for IBM and also held various technical and business positions with IBM. the biennial update from the Center for Women’s Business Research. As of 2008, the Center projects that the 10.1 million women-owned firms, which are 50 percent or more women owned, employ 13 million people and generate nearly $2 trillion in annual revenues. These businesses represent 40 percent of all firms. The new projections also show that there are 7.2 million majorityowned (51 percent or more) womenowned businesses that employ 7.3 million people and generate $1.1 trillion in annual revenues. Majority women-owned firms comprise 29 percent of all firms. Women-owned firms exceeded the growth rate of all firms 10 percent to 9 percent, matched the growth in employees at 2 percent, and grew their revenues by 14 percent compared with 15 percent for all firms. Retail trade has the largest number of firms owned by women (1.4 million) and wholesale trade generated the most sales (over $400 billion). With more than 2 million, accommodation and food services has the most employees. Between 2002 and 2008, the five fastest-growing states for womenowned firms (in rank order with fastest growing listed first) are: Nevada and Arizona (tied for fastest growing), Florida, Texas, Maryland, and Georgia. VIRGINIA TECH A Different Way of Seeing Our World The Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences has launched an online, interactive exhibit that reveals fascinating stories about the world by allowing people to view changes in energy use around the world. The display, Lights at Night, provides a navigable, astronaut’s-eye view of the Earth at night using satellite data that span a decade. Comparing the differences in energy use over time can starkly illustrate trends about people’s economic, political, and living situations in many different regions of the world. Created with satellite data from the National Oceanic and Researching a Heart Stent Sensor. Innovative work on a new type of heart stent sensor earned Nakhiah Goulbourne, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech, a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award. The focus of Dr. Goulbourne’s research is the development of specific models and experiments to describe what happens to a human artery equipped with a stent that has a unique type of in situ polymer strain-sensing device. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, half of the more than 1 million heart attacks 54 SWE WINTER 2009 FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR Positive Numbers for Women-Owned Firms Women-owned firms are keeping pace with all firms according to
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