SWE - Winter 2009 - (Page 60) ENGINEERING WORLD essential to foster a culture that values diversity. One way companies can demonstrate their commitment to diversity is to increase the female representation on their boards of directors and other leadership entities. Six Key Challenges to Our Nation’s Infrastructure As reported in the “Associated Construction Publications,” Sept. 18, 2008, The National Academies upcoming report covers the major challenges in tackling the country’s five critical infrastructure systems: water, power, transportation, telecommunications, and waste management. The report is designed to initiate a publicpolicy debate on the role of these systems in meeting the nation’s needs for the next hundred years. Lynda Stanley, executive director of the academies’ Federal Facilities Council, which initiated the study, commented, “We have not established priorities for what our infrastructure should do for us.” The eight-member group preparing the study identified six key challenges facing the nation’s infrastructure: • Shifting the direction and routines of transportation systems to meet increasingly global commerce patterns • Improving the ability of systems to rebound following natural disasters • Upgrading or improving existing systems to improve their performance • Adapting or replacing existing power lines and electrical systems with energy-efficient alternatives • Identifying long-term revenue streams for operating, maintaining, and repairing systems • Overcoming public inertia to addressing infrastructure needs The goal is to reframe the debate around the core challenges so that the country can move beyond the current pattern of simply replacing or repairing what already exists, noted Stanley. She called for the debate to shift from focusing on the infrastructure itself to looking at the services that are provided and then determining what infrastructure is needed to meet those services. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING: The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology invites applications for one tenure track faculty position anticipated to be filled at the Assistant Professor level, although a higher rank may be considered for candidates with exceptional background and experience. A Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or related field is required. Applicants with a terminal degree in a related field should have at least one degree in mechanical engineering. Preference will be given to applicants with demonstrated classroom teaching experience and government or industrial work experience. The successful candidate will teach both undergraduate and graduate courses as well as develop externally funded research, supervise undergraduate student design teams and graduate student theses, and perform other professional duties. The successful candidate will be expected to teach core mechanical engineering courses and develop technical and graduate electives in accordance with their area of expertise. Applicants must possess strong written and oral communication skills. The Department of Mechanical Engineering has a strong commitment to engineering education and offers Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Master of Engineering degree programs. The Department also contributes to a growing multidisciplinary Ph.D. program in microsystems engineering in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. The Mechanical Engineering Department offers aerospace engineering, bioengineering, automotive engineering, and energy systems options to students completing their baccalaureate in mechanical engineering. The emphasis of our program is on career-oriented, hands-on education with a mandatory co-op program. Candidates are sought who can contribute to existing and developing sponsored programs in the Department and College. Our primary focus for the open position is an individual who can contribute to the growth and development of one or more of the above curricular options. We seek applicants with a strong commitment to engineering education, student mentoring, and personal professional development. A hallmark of the Mechanical Engineering Department is its diverse instructional faculty whose composition is 24% female. RIT is an equal opportunity employer. Members of protected classes and individuals with the ability to contribute in meaningful ways to the Institute’s continuing commitment to cultural diversity, pluralism, and individual differences are strongly urged to make an application for employment. Rochester is an area rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, with a population comprised of 20% African and Latino Americans and another 7% of international origin. Apply online at https://mycareer.rit.edu. Search for IRC25995. Please submit a letter of interest with a vita, a clear statement of teaching interest and philosophy, an overview of research interest and plan for future development, stated career objectives, and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of four references by January 31, 2009. Review of applications is ongoing and the search will remain open until the position is filled. The proposed start date is August 24, 2009. Tell That Computer You Usually Look Younger People who hope to keep their age a secret won’t want to go near a computer running this software. Like an age-guesser at a carnival, computer software being developed at the University of Illinois estimates a person’s age with relative accuracy. But, unlike ageguessers, who can view a person’s body, the software works by examining only the person’s face. For example, age-recognition algorithms could stop underage drinkers from entering bars, prevent minors from purchasing tobacco products from vending machines, and deny children access to adult Web sites. In addition to performing tasks such as security control and surveillance monitoring, electronic customer relationship management could also use age-estimation software. Estimating someone’s age is not an easy task. The aging process is determined not only by a person’s genetic makeup, but by many other factors as well, including health, location, and living conditions. Consisting of three modules — face detection, discriminative manifold learning, and multiple linear 60 SWE WINTER 2009 https://mycareer.rit.edu https://mycareer.rit.edu
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