An article in the 3 August 2010 Daily Illini highlights the recent work of Bill Hammack, UIUC Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and iFoundry Fellow.

Funded by iFoundry, Hammack, along with 2010 graduate Jon Markowski, uses an unorthodox approach  to highlight the importance of whatever is being taught in the series of short videos that explain engineering and science to a general audience.  The entire Daily Illini article is located here and Professor Hammack’s videos may be found at www.engineerguy.com.

A team made up of Northeastern University College of Engineering faculty members recently conducted an experiment studying whether good students are born naturally smart or are self-made. They hypothesized that students could be better poised for success if they possessed greater “grit”, or the drive to persevere through setbacks, along with a baseline level of aptitude. The instructors from the team are a part of the core team of the College of Engineering’s Gateway program, which supports first-year-engineering students in their transition from high school to college and into their areas of engineering interest. For more information on the study, check out the article here.

iFoundry’s freshman pilot expands this Saturday, 21 August 2010, to an incoming class of 300 students at the second annual iLaunch kick-off activity. This group, now called Illinois Engineering Freshman Experience (iEFX), will engage in various team-building activities at the 4H Memorial Camp. The students are also enrolled in the Introduction to the Missing Basics course and a project section, as well as the extracurricular piece called the iCommunity.  Visit here to view pictures from the 2009 iLaunch event.

iLaunch, the Fall 2010 iEFX program’s kick-off activity, will take place on 21 August 2010. All participating students will have the opportunity to meet their fellow peers, student and faculty advisors, and other members of the iFoundry staff! Students will engage in team building activities throughout the day at the 4H Memorial Camp. For any additional information, please contact iFoundry Coordinator, Tracey Johnson at tjohnsn@illinois.edu.

Dr. Rahul Choudaha recently posted an article on DrEducation.com regarding the high percentage of Indian students that are submitting applications to top-100 U.S. universities, as well as the decrease in acceptance rates of these students. Also, Dr. Choudaha reported that 3 out of 4 Indian students are enrolled in engineering, computer science, or business at these universities. This is primarily driven by the expansion of engineering programs at the undergraduate level in India. In addition, it indicates the popularity of career-safe, professional programs among Indian students. To read the entire article, check out this website.

Jonathan Naber speech
Johnathon Naber, senior in materials science engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and his team of fellow engineering students recently spent their summer testing prosthetic limbs in the developing nation of Guatemala. Naber and his organization, called Illini Prosthetic Technologies (IPT), received a Clinton Global Initiative Grant to travel to Guatemala to test out their prosthetic limbs. From July 9-18, Naber and IPT conducted the first field testing for three different concept arms on multiple patients. IPT’s main product is a below-the-elbow prosthetic arm replacement, offering lower cost and increased adjustability over conventional prosthetic arms. To read the article about Naber and IPT’s efforts, go here.