Title : Tip 940408 CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION Type : News NSF Org: OD / LPA Date : April 8, 1994 File : tip40404 April 8, 1994 For more information on these science news and feature story tips, please contact the public information officer noted at the end of each item at (703) 306- 1070. NEW NSF REPORT HIGHLIGHTS SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING EDUCATION While still the most preferred engineering discipline, electrical engineering (EE) continued in a steep 5-year decline in both annual enrollments and degrees earned, says a just-released NSF report which surveyed engineering department chairpersons and used data from the Engineering Workforce Commission. According to Undergraduate Education in Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering, which acknowledges that enrollments are strong indicators of future degree trends, enrollment in EE dropped 30 percent from 1987- 92. Enrollments in mechanical engineering (ME), the second preferred specialty, changed very little. Enrollments in civil engineering (CE), students' third choice, increased nearly 27 percent during the same period. The report also considered gender and race/ethnicity. The number of woman enrolled in EE programs dropped significantly, increased slightly in ME, and increased significantly in CE to almost one- fifth of the total CE enrollment. Blacks and Hispanics boosted their presence across-the-board in both enrollment and degrees earned. [Michael Fluharty] RESEARCH RESULTS PRESENTED ON SEISMIC ACTIVITY AND HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKES At this week's annual Seismological Society of America (SSA) meeting in Pasadena, California, NSF- supported scientists presented research results on a wide range of topics, from the relationship between seismic activity and volcanic activity to new looks at historical earthquakes. Leonardo Seeber and John Armbruster of Columbia University discussed the ramifications of abrupt increases in seismicity in stable continental regions. They note that increased seismicity has often preceded large earthquakes, including the 1993 central India quake, where a burst of seismic activity began about a year before the main shock. Seeber and Armbruster suggest that "close monitoring of seismicity and artificial operations that could trigger earthquakes in stable continental areas is an essential prerequisite" for assessing the likelihood of future earthquakes in such regions. [Cheryl Dybas] -more- -2- NSF-FUNDED EDUCATIONAL TV SHOW WINS PRESTIGIOUS AWARD An NSF-supported television show featuring a creative and enthusiastic inner city math teacher has won a prestigious entertainment award. "Good Morning Miss Toliver," which aired during the PBS Back To School Special last fall, was named this month as a winner of the 1993 George Foster Peabody Award. The show is funded primarily by NSF through a grant to the Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Education (FASE), as part of NSF's efforts to encourage and disseminate innovative teaching techniques in math and science. The half-hour show stars middle school teacher Kay Toliver, who teaches mathematics in East Harlem. Toliver has been nationally recognized for her ability to inspire and motivate her urban students, as well as other teachers in urban settings. She was a 1992 recipient of the NSF-funded Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, which honors the nation's top science and math teachers. The Peabody award recognizes distinguished achievement and meritorious public service in the audio- visual entertainment industry. Fewer than a thousand such awards have been presented internationally since 1940. Mary Hanson] ATLANTIC COD AND GLOBAL CHANGE: NOT JUST A FISH STORY The sizes of jawbones from Atlantic cod found in more than 50 archaeological sites in Norway, Britain, Iceland, and Greenland show that the catch of the day really was a whopper in past centuries. The 8,000-year record, showing that the average cod was much larger than today, has important implications for maintaining healthy fish populations. Today's harvest is based on data gathered since the late 19th century, after the population had already become skewed to younger ages. "Up to the 1850s, there were a lot more big, old cod out there to be caught," reported Thomas McGovern, archaeologist at the City University of New York. Cod measuring 1-1.5 meters were caught regularly from the 11th through 19th centuries throughout the North Atlantic. "It's rare today to catch a 1.5-meter cod around Iceland," McGovern said. The fish population's structure is now very different. The huge cod were 25- 30 years old, and could spawn several times a year, versus today's cod, which are mostly under eight years old and spawn less frequently. The change probably reflects both more efficient fishing technology and varying environmental conditions. The cod live in an area critically affected by global change, so study of their past and present status can shed some light on what may happen next. McGovern's international project is partially supported by NSF's arctic social sciences program. [Lynn Simarski] -end-