March
2018


Student News & Voices
Learn news that affects engineering, engineering tech, and engineering ed  students, what they're up to, and what they have to say...in their own words.

 
Capture the Buzz: Amid worries about large-scale die-offs of honeybees, beekeepers are looking for more ways to monitor hive health. Enterprising engineering students from Illinois State University have found ways to listen in on apiaries without disturbing their inhabitants. Read more.
   
Black Hole (in our hearts): Stephen Hawking's passing sent waves of grief through the universe. Alyssa Hillary, an autistic graduate student, penned a moving essay on what his presence meant to disabled students. Read more.

Punished for Good Grades: "Study hard, earn good grades and career success will follow. Actually, a new study finds that this common advice given to college students isn't true." According to an article at Inside Higher Ed, women in STEM fields face a steep consequence for being, well, too good. Read about it here    
 

Academic & Professional Development Resources
Tips on navigating politics, from classroom to office.

Dress for Success: What on earth does 'business casual' mean? What do you wear to an internship? Or a job interview? Does it differ? No matter who you are, this stuff is confusing when you're going into a new career. Read more here  

Networking Nerves: Are you an introvert? Does networking feel "slimy" to you? The fact is that a lot of jobs are earned or referred through schmoozing, which a lot of people find uncomfortable. Overcome your fears here. 

Typo Terror: When can a typo in an application document crater your chances at an academic career? Shouldn't hiring committees forgive these things--you are human, after all! The Chronicle of Higher Education makes the case for an extra round (or two) of proofreading. Read it here.  

Funding & Internships
Opportunity abounds!

This month's highlights:

American Muscle offers four $2,000 awards for students in automotive majors each spring semester, and two each fall. This is open to outgoing high school seniors as well as current undergrads.
Application Deadline: June 15.


The Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) challenge is an innovation award of up to $20,000 from the National Institutes of Health and VentureWell open to teams of undergraduate biomedical engineering students in the United States. Application Deadline: May 31 .

Videos & Entertainment
Because sometimes you just need a break!

Video: Engineering Animal Robots: Check out the hyper-realistic movements of these bio-inspired robots from engineer Ian Ingram!  Watch it here.

Video: Mixology 101: Concrete:
Concrete is one of the most ubiquitous materials that make up our cities, but few outside of civil engineers give it much thought. Here, from Practical Engineering, is a short and interesting take on the basics of concrete mixing. Watch it here.

Video: Robot Ski Tournament:  If you're missing the frozen fun of the Winter Olympics, check out these skiing robots made by teams of students and tech companies. Watch it here.