July 16, 2008

What Makes an Engineer Tick?
How to attract young people to engineering? Tell them how they can make a difference in the world and show them how creative problem solving and teamwork make the profession rewarding. These messages are more appealing than emphasizing technical skills or the challenges of math and science, according to a report from the National Academy of Engineering. The study tested effective messages and provides strategies and tools to improve public understanding of engineering and boost the ranks of the profession. Georgia Tech engineering dean Don Giddens chaired the NAE effort. More >

UGA, Emory Explore Asthma-Thunderstorm Link
A collaborative study by climatologists and epidemiologists at the University of Georgia and Emory is exploring the link between asthma and thunderstorms. The first in-depth study of its kind in the South – where hundreds of thousands suffer from asthma and thunderstorms are prevalent – found a 3 percent higher incidence of emergency room visits for asthma attacks on days following thunderstorms. The team used meteorological data gathered at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and a vast database of 10 million ER visits at 41 hospitals in and around Atlanta. More >

Technology Helps People with Disabilities
Georgia Institute of Technology engineers have developed a new technology that will help people with severe disabilities lead more independent lives. A new tongue-drive system attaches a magnet the size of a grain of rice to a person's tongue, which can then direct a cursor on a computer screen, navigate a wheelchair across a room, or aid in other tasks. More >

MSM Works to Eliminate Health Disparities, Shortages
Morehouse School of Medicine has won a three-year, $580,000 grant to address health disparities and health workforce shortages in Georgia. The largest-ever gift by the Healthcare Georgia Foundation will help MSM's Satcher Health Leadership Institute prepare leaders to eliminate disparities in health. More >

SAT Writing Test a Good Predictor of Success
University of Georgia economists have found that the new writing portion of the SAT entrance exam is a much better predictor of academic success than the verbal and math portions of the exam. Students who scored well on the writing test are more likely to earn higher GPAs and enroll in more credit hours, and less likely to withdraw from classes, the study says. This first independent, academic study of the redesigned SAT accounted for personal factors that strongly influence success in college, such as parents' education and the students' high school. More >

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Photo credits: Columbia Theological Seminary, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology. Morehouse School of Medicine, University of West Georgia.