The fact that we live thousands of miles apart was the biggest challenge. Although the website had its challenges, the most rewarding part of this experience has been overcoming the challenge of collaborating with different people living thousands of miles apart.  We had no idea when we started this project how it would turn out.  We did not even know each other! It has been so rewarding to see a group separated by distance use communication through technology so effective to the extent that we practically could be next door neighbors!

The most important thing while doing work like this is to feel the satisfaction that you did a good job.  Of course, we wish our E-Team to win, but if we don’t, we are still very grateful to have this experience.  We discovered so many important things in two months, things that we didn’t learn in our whole lives!  We know that the three of us have done our best, that is why we also wish that you find this website useful.  So, enjoy!

E-Team

You can find more at:

 http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/letss/Regolith.pdf

- Nathasha

I believe that Nanotechnology is a great step for the world of the Science and Technology.  It is one of the cutting-edge technology of Mechanical Engineering.

We should continue investigating the Nanotechnology because it helps very much in the development of new technology.

A good place to learn more about Nanotechnology is www.nano.gov.

- Nathasha

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Like all of you might know, we are all members of the NASA’s INSPIRE Program. INSPIRE means Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research and Education. Through INSPIRE we are participating in an Online Learning Community (OLC). We have resources and experiences that help us develop our abilities and interest in STEM.

As part of INSPIRE we applied for some summer opportunities. The opportunity was based on our grade level and our residential area. Karishma and I got selected. We are still waiting to hear news about Christine. This means that Karishma and I will be attending the Kennedy Space Center in summer. This is a great opportunity to learn about STEM careers and it is a wonderful experience for any student interested in STEM. So motivate, maybe next year you can be one of the privileged people that is participating in this unique program.

~Nathasha

Some people say Engineering is not worth the time, but, is that true? You wouldn’t survive without Engineers. How would you feel if somebody tells you that you have to walk from your house to every place because there is nobody to design a car?

Almost everything we touch has to pass through the hands of an Engineer. There are a lot of disciplines in the Engineering field. Engineers not just design things such as cars, airplanes, and houses, like we often think. There are Mechanical Engineers, Civil Engineers, Biomedical Engineers, Geological Engineers, etc. Engineers investigate heat transference, make mineralogy studies, design airplanes motors, and improve medical instruments, between others.

How would be our lives without the Engineering? There wouldn’t be any of the technology advances we have. Engineering really have an important role in people’s lives.

~Nathasha

Something you might not know about the creators of www.yourstemcareer.com is that we are all a part of the NASA INSPIRE OLC. For any of you who are not aware of NASA INSPIRE, INSPIRE is a program for high school students interested in the STEM career fields. The program centers around an amazing online community that provides students with all kinds of resources. We have access to live chats with NASA employees, we can actually send our questions to the astronauts in space via e-mail and we can watch all kinds of videos and listen to podcast. These are just some of the many features of the OLC that I have found to be exciting.

This website is a product of the NASA INSPIRE OLC. It was on the OLC that Karishma, Nathasha and I met and decided that we were going to create a website for the No Boundaries Competition. Crazy, isn’t it?  The only challenge was that we all live in different parts of the country! I am from Michigan and Karishma and Nathasha are from Georgia and Puerto Rico. We have been communicating for over a month through e-mail and teleconferencing. Gotta love technology! We will be competing with this website in May. If our team wins we will get to see a real rocket launch!

I have been looking for something like the NASA INSPIRE OLC for years! The amount of resources available to the OLC members is simply amazing. I have met some truly incredible people and have had so much fun. I would recommend that any student interested in a STEM career apply for membership. You can visit NASA’s website to learn more about INSPIRE as well as other student opportunities with NASA.

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/descriptions/INSPIRE_Project

- Chrissy Redmond

  This school year, in biology class, we studied genetics.  I become very interested in the idea of genetic mutations and disorders.  This is when I first became interested in biomedical engineering.  I had had my heart set on becoming a doctor, but once I learned about biomedical engineering, I knew it was for me.  Instead of using current methods to cure diseases, I could be the one creating new and improved methods to solve medical problems.  I figured out that I had wrongly judged engineering.  I am now interested in something I had no interest in before.  I never thought engineering was “my kind of thing.”  So think about it again. Engineering may be for you, but you just have not realized it yet.

-Karishma

I have spent my spring break trying to answer this question by going on a college visit marathon (not literally I am the farthest thing from athletic). I have spent the past four days traveling from one engineering school to the next. Over break I visited Purdue, University of Illinois  and Case Western Reserve. Prior to this trip I visited University of Michigan and Georgia Institute of Technology. After sitting through this many info sessions, everything starts to sound the same. So I decided that I would tackle this problem like any engineer would, I created a formula.

Where each veritable is ranked 10 being excellent and 0 being poor

(2 •Retention rate) + extra curricular activities + (2 •co-op and internship opportunities) + average GPA + (2•research opportunities) + professor to student ratio + (2•hands on projects and competitions) + study abroad + average class size + overall campus atmosphere + student resources + reputation + (3•jobs after graduation) + your general impression of the school = your college score

200 = “perfect fit”

Any score under 100 you should definitely look into other engineering schools.

And you thought that picking the right college was difficult!

Check out the education page under mechanical engineering and see which schools are listed as top engineering schools.

-Chrissy Redmond

]]> http://www.yourstemcareer.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=29 0 http://www.yourstemcareer.com/blog/?p=1 http://www.yourstemcareer.com/blog/?p=1#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:38:49 +0000 admin http://www.yourstemcareer.com/blog/?p=1

A year ago I did not even know what was meant when I first heard the term “mechatronics” and the fact that my spell checker is still picking this word up as an error is a clear indication of how little America has learned about the field in the past year. The field of mechatronics has been in existence in Europe and Asia for forty years. Yet, ABET only recognizes one Undergraduate mechatronics degree program in America, while it recognizes forty two around the globe in total. Isn’t America suppose to a leader in Science, Technology and Engineering? Are we falling behind? I would hate to think so and although I still believe in America’s STEM education I think we need to recognize things like this before we look back and realize that we have fallen behind.

For any of you who do not know what mechatronics is it is a combination of mechanical, electrical and computer engineering. Can you think of a more practical or limitless degree? Personally, I would love to major in mechatronics, but I do not want to have to go over to Japan to accomplish this! I believe that there is a huge future in this field and I think that any teen interested in engineering should consider at least taking a mechatronics class. The US does offer graduate degrees in mechatronics so this would also be something that teens should consider. The field of mechatronics opens limitless possibilities once you graduate from college. With a mechatronics you could be working in any field from aeronautics or automotive to robotic systems in factories.

The more I read about this program, the more I see that engineers in the workforce today recognize the potential a degree such as mechatronics could bring the next generation of engineers. Mechatronics is the mechanical engineering of the future. I believe that one day mechatronics will be one of the most popular engineering degrees in America. Do you have what it takes to be a mechatronics engineer?

- Chrissy Redmond

You can find out more about Mechatronics at:

http://www.mechatronics.canterbury.ac.nz/what.shtml

http://www.imeche.org/industries/mic/about/mechatronics-working-group/what-is-mechatronics.htm

Hey you guys.  This website  was created for the NASA No Boundaries Competition.  It is going to focus on mechanical engineering.  I am really excited about getting this site up and working.  I’m looking forward to learning new things and teaching my peers about the benefits mechanical engineering.

Our team is made up of four people from various locations.  We are one of the few E-teams (if not the only one) in the competition.  The exciting part is that if we win, we will be able to meet each other at a NASA shuttle launch.  Amazing right?  We would go from being a group of complete strangers to four close companions in a matter of a few months.  Even if we do not win, the opportunity of meeting new people like this would definitely be worth all the work.

-Karishma