Monthly Archives: March 2012

Inspire a Scientist: Twelve Resources to Promote Science

A new report from the Council on Foreign Relations reaffirms the importance of science education for the future of our nation. The National Academy of Sciences has developed resources to inspire future scientists and engineers, and expand the public’s interest in science in general . All of this media is free and is intended to be shared.

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has just released a series of videos on engineeringchallenges.org aimed at sparking interest in engineering among young people. Focused on the themes of NAE’s Grand Challenges for Engineering, they feature NAE members such as Disney/Pixar’s Ed Catmull, Caltech’s Frances Arnold, and Google’s Vince Cerf.

The National Academies YouTube channel carries a number of short videos that explain some of the most pressing challenges in science. From controlling zoonotic diseases to understanding the challenges of climate change, these films all feature scientists explaining the issues and their work.

The National Academy of Engineering’s Changing the Conversation and Engineer Girl websites were developed to promote positive engineering messaging among engineers and to inspire both boys and girls to become engineers.

The Web site iWASwondering.org is a project of the National Academy of Sciences intended to showcase the accomplishments of contemporary women in science and to highlight for young people the varied and intriguing careers of some of today’s most prominent scientists.

The National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council produced a number of reports about the need to inspire and prepare students for careers in science, and the need to improve science education. These books are all free to download.

Surrounded by Science

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Surrounded by Science: Learning Science in Informal Environments240 pages | Paperback | Price: $22.45Practitioners in informal science settings–museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, libraries, aquariums, zoos, and botanical gardens–are interested in finding out what learning looks like, how to measure it, and… [more]

Changing the Conversation

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Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering164 pages | Paperback | Price: $31.45Can the United States continue to lead the world in innovation? The answer may hinge in part on how well the public understands engineering, a key component of the ‘innovation engine’. A related concern is how to encourage young people–particularly girls and… [more]

A Framework for K-12 Science Education

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A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas400 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.95

Science, engineering, and technology permeate nearly every facet of modern life and hold the key to solving many of humanity’s most pressing current and future challenges. The United States’ position… [more]

Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base

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Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base78 pages | Paperback | Price: $31.50Report of a Workshop on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Workforce Needs for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Defense Industrial Base is the summary of a workshop held August 11, 2011, as part of an 18-month study of… [more]

Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation

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Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads286 pages | Paperback | Price: $36.00In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and… [more]

Successful K-12 STEM Education

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Successful K-12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics44 pages | Paperback | Price: $8.95Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are cultural achievements that reflect our humanity, power our economy, and constitute fundamental aspects of our lives as citizens, consumers, parents, and members of the workforce. Providing all… [more]

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!

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Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms220 pages | Paperback | Price: $20.65What types of instructional experiences help K-8 students learn science with understanding? What do science educators, teachers, teacher leaders, science specialists, professional development staff, curriculum designers, and school administrators need to know… [more]

Envisioning the Potential of IT to Enhance Health Care, Learning, and Crisis Communication

The National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine have produced a number of reports that address issues of the integration of information technology (IT) into health care, education, and emergency management products. These books explore the potential of IT to support delivery of high-quality health care, impact science education through games and simulations, and alert the public in emergency situations. All are free to download.

Health IT and Patient Safety

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Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care211 pages | Paperback | Price: $43.20IOM’s 1999 landmark study To Err is Human estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 lives are lost every year due to medical errors. This call to action has led to a number of efforts to reduce errors and provide safe and effective health care…. [more]

Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulations

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Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulations174 pages | Paperback | Price: $35.10At a time when scientific and technological competence is vital to the nation’s future, the weak performance of U.S. students in science reflects the uneven quality of current science education.  Although young children come to school with innate… [more]

Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices

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Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Summary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps102 pages | Paperback | Price: $18.90This book presents a summary of the Workshop on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Current Knowledge and Research Gaps, held April 13 and 14, 2010, in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the National Research Council’s Committee on… [more]

Digital Infrastructure for the Learning Health System

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Digital Infrastructure for the Learning Health System: The Foundation for Continuous Improvement in Health and Health Care: Workshop Series Summary320 pages | Paperback | Price: $60.97Like many other industries, health care is increasingly turning to digital information and the use of electronic resources. The Institute of Medicine’s Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care hosted three workshops to explore current efforts and… [more]

Toward Precision Medicine

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Toward Precision Medicine: Building a Knowledge Network for Biomedical Research and a New Taxonomy of Disease142 pages | Paperback | Price: $41.40Motivated by the explosion of molecular data on humans-particularly data associated with individual patients-and the sense that there are large, as-yet-untapped opportunities to use this data to improve health outcomes, Toward Precision Medicine[more]

Communicating Science and Engineering Data in the Information Age

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Communicating Science and Engineering Data in the Information Age122 pages | Paperback | Price: $34.20The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) communicates its science and engineering (S&E) information to data users in a very fluid environment that is undergoing modernization at a pace at… [more]

Wireless Technology Prospects and Policy Options

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Wireless Technology Prospects and Policy Options112 pages | Paperback | Price: $24.07The use of radio-frequency communication–commonly referred to as wireless communication–is becoming more pervasive as well as more economically and socially important. Technological progress over many decades has enabled the deployment of several successive… [more]

Computational Technology for Effective Health Care

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Computational Technology for Effective Health Care: Immediate Steps and Strategic Directions120 pages | Paperback | Price: $31.50Despite a strong commitment to delivering quality health care, persistent problems involving medical errors and ineffective treatment continue to plague the industry. Many of these problems are the consequence of poor information and technology (IT)… [more]