The Accelerator - April 2013

Engineer Your Future Welcome to The Accelerator, a monthly e-newsletter that keeps engineering students informed and helps them connect and succeed. Here you will find the latest news affecting student life, engineering, and higher education; information on contests, grants, scholarships, and internships; tips on career planning; and interesting examples of student research. Each of the categories immediately below links to a growing collection of useful sources. Sign up here. Now you can follow us on Tumblr!   CONTESTS | RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES | SCHOLARSHIPS | INTERNSHIPS News Missouri S&T Adds Microgrid to its Solar Village  The University's experiment will serve a complex of four solar-powered homes on campus. SBA Encourages Student Entrepreneurs   The Small Business Administration offers students resources and programs to manage and grow a business.   Texas Students Help Disabled Pianist Device enables a classmate born without the use of his legs to employ the pedal.   Illinois Students Design 100-mpg Car    Students have designed a car they say can reach 100 miles per gallon. Proportion of International Students Grows in Engineering   See which graduate schools enroll the highest numbers. Senate Proposal Offers More Visas for High-Skilled Workers  Immigration bill expands H1-B visas and STEM green cards. NACME Opens Middle School-Through-College Path  Initiative aims to identify minority youths who show promise in engineering.   More News  MOOCs Expand STEM Learning  With student enrollment now in the millions, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) revolution is spreading into engineering and other STEM fields as leading providers add more university partners. Stanford University recently joined the Harvard and MIT initiative to develop EdX, offering Stanford learning experiences to unlimited numbers of students virtually and for free. Meanwhile, Coursera is celebrating its first full year in operation. MOOCs' capacity to offer a range of STEM lab experiences is currently limited, but this may change as software improves. Read more.  From the Student Division   MACH 2013 Deadline Looms Graduate students interested in improving STEM education may join "Making Academic Change Happen" workshops offered by faculty at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.  Find out more on the division website. Post-secondary students can join the Student Division after becoming ASEE student members. Student dues are only $25/year. See recent notes from the Program Chair, the Division Chair, the Secretary & Treasurer, and the Zone Liaison, including information on the ASEE Annual Conference in Atlanta this June.     Read More  Resources Kick-start your career with great internships, fellowships, and contests that can help you get ahead in engineering. International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge NACME Evaluates Engineering Programs at Partner Universities Nuclear Energy Scholarships and Fellowships   And check out a video from Engineers Without Borders' recent Global Forum. Useful Links From ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) to WEPAN (Women in Engineering ProActive Network), some 30 professional societies, nonprofits, activist groups, and service organizations offer a variety of programs and information for engineering students. Click here for a complete alphabetical listing. Have an awesome student project or startup company? Or a great story about how you got your first engineering job? Tell us here.  Advertise With Us About This Newsletter The Accelerator is published by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), a non-profit organization committed to improving education in engineering and engineering technology. It is a collaboration between ASEE Editorial staff and the ASEE Student Division. Follow us on Twitter,Facebook, and Tumblr for more updates. Managing Editor: Jaimie N. Schock.   American Society for Engineering Education 1818 N Street, N.W., Suite 600 Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20036 Inspiring Innovation. Advancing Research. Enhancing Education.