Student Loan Blog : science

Job Outlook for College Graduates Not Encouraging

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:20:00 GMT

Up-and-coming college graduates may soon face one of the toughest job markets in years as they encounter employers who are scaling back hiring and a job market flooded with hundreds of thousands of recently unemployed workforce veterans.

Just last month, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a 6.5 percent unemployment rate, the highest rate seen in 14 years. And a recent annual employment report revealed that corporations plan to scale back hiring graduates of all degree levels by 8 percent over last year (“Economy Chills Hiring Prospects for College Graduates, Report Says,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, Nov. 18, 2008).

The “2008-2009 Recruiting Trends” report, conducted by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, paints a very grim job outlook for college graduates, a dramatic change from only a few years ago.

“In two short years,” the report states, “we have moved from a zenith of exuberant and aggressive college hiring, through a period of cautious optimism, to a place of quiet desperation.”

In the CERI survey, hiring projections varied by company size, industry, and location. Of the 945 employers who responded to the survey, 49 percent said they expected to decrease their total hiring this year, while 29 percent said they would increase hiring, and 20 percent planned to hire at the same levels as last year.

The smallest employers — organizations with fewer than 54 employees — said they would increase hiring for bachelor’s degree graduates but by only one percent. The largest organizations, those with more than 3,700 employees, said they were planning to decrease hiring by about 9 percent.

With Limited Prospects, Students Should Start Job Searching Now

Defense and government organizations may be the hardest hit among larger employers, with expected 15-percent declines in hiring, while nonprofit organizations anticipate no change in hiring from the previous year.

The best job prospects for graduates are in the fields of technology and science, where oil and gas industry employers plan to hire 8 percent more bachelors degree graduates, and in the fields of medical manufacturing and healthcare, where employers say they will offer positions to 10 percent more associate degree graduates.

Many employers dealing with economic uncertainty are looking to hire new graduates as soon as possible, perhaps before things get worse, said Philip Gardner, director of CERI. Gardner advises students to start work on lining up a job at their first opportunity. “It’s going to get worse,” he said. “Spring is going to be very, very difficult for students to find work.”

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Number of Students Taking ACT Goes Up, Scores Go Down

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:08:00 GMT

Although the number of high school students taking the ACT this year increased by 9 percent compared to last year, students’ average scores on the college entrance exam dipped slightly, according to a recent report released by the testing agency.

This year, students averaged a score of 21.1 on the ACT out of a possible score of 36, down from 21.2 last year. This year’s test scores show that more than three in four test-takers will likely need remedial help in at least one subject area in order to be successful in college.

The fact, however, that scores held somewhat steady this year even as more students took the exam, means that more students are earning scores indicative of college readiness.

“More students are reaching at least a minimum level of readiness for college-credit courses,” says Cyndie Schmeiser, president and COO of the ACT Education Division. (“ACT Scores Down, But More Students College-Ready,” The Associated Press, Aug. 13, 2008)

Overall, 22 percent of the 1.42 million high school students who took the test this year received scores indicating that they were “ready for college,” determined by whether these students are “likely to earn a ‘C’ or higher” in their first-year courses of math, science, English, and reading.

“We’re keeping a lot of kids from having to take remedial level courses,” Schmeiser adds. “That translates to millions of dollars that are being saved at the state level.”

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Senator Pushes Colleges for Enhanced Oversight of Funded Research and Endowments

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:57:00 GMT

Sen. Charles Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, wants colleges to be held more accountable in both their academic research and their endowment spending, according to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Sen. Grassley Pressures Universities on Science Conflicts and Financial Aid,” July 25, 2008).

In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle, Grassley said the National Institutes of Health should revoke any of the grants it awards to scientists if a researcher fails to report a conflict of interest with her or his institution. The senator has singled out several institutions of higher education, including Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Cincinnati, after his office determined that some scientists at these schools had not fully reported their own financial interests in research projects supported by the NIH, as research institutions are required to do by law.

Grassley has asked 20 other colleges and universities to provide details about possible financial conflicts of interest between university researchers and the NIH.

Colleges Need to Direct More of Their Endowment Funds Toward Financial Aid

The senator has also criticized academic institutions with large endowments for spending too little on financial aid for disadvantaged students. The senator recently asked 136 schools to specify how they spend their endowment income.

Institutions that responded indicated that much of these endowments comes from donors who have earmarked their financial gifts for purposes other than financial aid. The senator said he wasn’t persuaded by the argument and noted that he may still pursue legislation that would require universities to spend as much as 5 percent of their endowments each year, although he hopes such a requirement won’t be necessary.

Grassley stated that he may not sponsor such legislation if more schools begin voluntarily following the example set by some of the nation’s elite institutions that began funneling more of their endowment funds to student financial aid packages earlier this year.

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Medical Institute Awards $600 Million to 56 Biomedical Scientists

Student Loan Girl — Sat, 31 May 2008 01:25:00 GMT

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, one of the largest sources of private funds for biomedical research, named 56 of the nation’s most gifted biomedical scientists as HHMI “investigators” this week (“HHMI Selects 56 of the Nation’s Top Scientists,” May 27, 2008).

HHMI investigators, who maintain faculty positions at universities and other research institutions, are scientists who embody the HHMI commitment to discovery, research, innovation, and to “extend[ing] the boundaries of science.” Previous appointees include 124 members of the National Academy of Sciences and 12 Nobel Prize winners.

HHMI honored 42 men and 14 women from 31 different institutions, with seven organizations gaining HHMI investigators for the first time: the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Boston University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cornell University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

HHMI selected its new investigators from among 1,070 applicants — researchers who had four to 10 years’ experience as faculty members at institutions across the country — in a nationwide competition that began in 2007.

In their first term of appointment, this year’s honorees will collectively receive more than $600 million to cover salaries, benefits, research funds, and other expenses. And because the HHMI philosophy is to support individuals as opposed to a specific course of research — to appoint investigators rather than award research grants — these investigators will be given the flexibility and financing to explore evolving ideas, to change the direction of their research if necessary, and to complete the course of their investigation, even if it takes many years.

“These 56 scientists will bring new and innovative ways of thinking about biology to the HHMI community,” said Thomas R. Cech, president of HHMI. “They are poised to advance scientific knowledge dramatically in the coming years, and we are committed to providing them with the freedom and flexibility to do so.”

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Fewer Foreign Students Seeking Advanced Degrees in the U.S.

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:44:00 GMT

The growth rate of international students studying at American colleges and universities has slowed, despite an increase in foreign applications to U.S. educational institutions for the third straight year in a row, according to a recent survey.

The 2008 edition of the International Graduate Admissions Survey, a review conducted annually by the Council of Graduate Schools, found that the number of international applications increased by just 3 percent in 2008, compared to a 9-percent increase in 2007 and a 12-percent increase in 2006.

Applications are down for students from China, Korea, and India, who together account for the vast majority of international students studying in the United States each year.

The CGS survey also found a continued slowdown in the number of foreign students applying to U.S. science and engineering programs — two fields that draw heavily on international students.

In the physical sciences, applications increased by only 7 percent this year, after gains of 12 percent in 2007 and 15 percent in 2006. Meanwhile, the number of engineering applications rose by just 1 percent, following a 13-percent increase last year and a 19-percent jump between 2005 and 2006.

International Applicants Hampered by Tighter Visa Requirements

The decline in applications may be partially attributed to increased competition from advanced degree programs abroad, Karen Klomparens, dean of the graduate school at Michigan State University, told The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Growth in Foreign Applications to American Graduate Schools Slows,” April 14, 2008).

Klomparens points to Australia, New Zealand, and Europe as favored student destinations offering increased choice in doctoral education.

Some international students may also be deterred by stricter U.S. student visa requirements following the September 11^th terrorist attacks in 2001. Foreign students applying for U.S. visas must now submit to extensive record checks, a rigorous interview process, and continued monitoring.

“There’s a growing perception among international students that the United States is not as welcoming to international students as it has been in the past,” study author, Ken Redd, told the Seattle Post Intelligencer (“More Foreign Graduates Forsaking U.S. Colleges; Visa Crackdown Cited,” April 13, 2008).

Redd’s review of international graduate applications is the first phase in the three-part CGS survey that will also track offers of admission and final enrollment numbers.

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A Fix That Doesn’t Stick: British Scientists Invent Non-Stick, Water-Soluble Chewing Gum

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:53:00 GMT

You’re walking along down the street humming a happy tune because you’re having one of those remarkably great days, and then you take the step that stops you dead in your tracks.

We all know the feeling of slowly trying to peel our heel up from a gooey sidewalk. This is the unmistakable experience of stepping in freshly chewed gum.

But those sticky situations and the unsightly stretches of asphalt pocked with blackened gum may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to British scientists at Bristol University who have created the first non-stick gum, reports Fiona MacRae in the Daily Mail (“Scientists Invent the World’s First Non-Stick Chewing Gum That Washes Off Pavements,” Sep. 13, 2007).

The gum, called Revolymer 7, Rev 7 for short, is reportedly still full of taste and has the same chewy consistency, but can be easily peeled off hard surfaces and washed off sidewalks with just water, which could save cities thousands in specialized gum clean-up costs.

Gumming for Change

The United States tops all other nations in gum consumption, with sales reaching around $2 billion a year. All that gum in people’s mouths translates into gobs of discarded gum in movie theaters, on park benches, under tables, and all over pavement and parking lots. Chewing gum doesn’t break down over a period of time, so gum litter accumulates and remains difficult to remove.

According to Daimer Steam Cleaners, gum removal procedures cost U.S. taxpayers $2 to $3 per piece of gum. In Great Britain, writes MacRae, gum clean-up can cost councils £150 million—over $300 million—a year.

It’s this proliferation of carelessly thrown-down gum that provided the impetus for inventor Terence Cosgrove, a physical chemist and professor at Bristol University.

“Chewing gum is a social habit that goes around the world. But unfortunately, a large number of people dispose of their gum inappropriately,” says Cosgrove, quoted in MacRae’s article. “It is unpleasant, could have health issues associated with it, and is unsightly.”

To create the non-stick gum, Cosgrove and his fellow scientists used the basic gum formula of synthetic rubber, chalk, wax, sugar and flavorings, but replaced the gum’s sticky component, an adhesive compound also found in car tires, with a non-stick synthetic substitute.

For all you gum chewers and smackers out there, Cosgrove’s creation could be paradise in a stick. At the 2007 Festival of Science held by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Bristol team announced that tests of their product showed the non-stick formula is attracted to water, making it effortless to wash away—just rain will do the trick—and easy to remove from both shoe soles and hair.

Say goodbye to mashing that messy mixture of peanut butter and ice cubes in your hair to detangle the wads of gum you woke up with on your pillow instead of in your mouth.

God Save the Sidewalks

The new gum, which will only be produced in mint and lemon flavors at first, is scheduled for a small-scale release in the U.K. next year if is meets safety regulations. In the meantime, its creators are continuing to seek a major confectioner for wide distribution.

Emma Brennan of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign expresses optimism about the invention’s potential to make a difference on the walkways of London, where Oxford Street alone, according to MacRae, wears an estimated 300,000 pieces of discarded gum.

“It can cost up to £20,000 to use power-washers or steam cleaners to remove gum from town center,” says Brennan.

But she hopes the removal of the sticky factor in Cosgrove’s gum doesn’t encourage gum lovers to chew and dispose irresponsibly.

Says Brennan, “It is important that people don’t use the invention of non-stick gum to justify dropping it on the pavement rather than putting in the bin.”

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Could Google Go Obsolete?

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 05:29:00 GMT

The programmers and executives at San Francisco–based startup Powerset are hoping that the answer to this question will be “yes” once they debut their search engine that operates on natural-language technology.

Powerset finally offered its first public preview on September 17, reports Associated Press writer Michael Liedtke, at a conference hosted by TechCrunch, “a blog widely read by venture capitalists and other high-tech luminaries” (“Search Startup Ready to Challenge Google,” Sep. 17, 2007).

Powerset’s natural-language search engine would give Internet users a platform to conduct their searches in plain English—in other words, in the kinds of sentences people speak in real life—as opposed to by typing in an assortment of keywords.

Right now, all the major search engines—Google, Yahoo and Microsoft—use the traditional keyword-based model, with Google cornering more than half of all search engine traffic.

The difference between the two types of searching technologies has to do with how the search engine processes the search terms you type in when you want to find something on the Internet.

A keyword-based engine, like Google, basically disregards “minor” words like articles (a, an, the) and prepositions (in, by, about, etc.), and hones in on what it considers to be the most important terms. Natural-language engines take into account a string of words as a whole rather than looking at them as individual pieces.

For example, if you wanted to find information on student loans, in a natural-language search, you would type your request in the same way you would ask a person: “How much money can I get as an undergrad?” In a Google search, on the other hand, you would search by keywords like “undergrad money college” and hope to get results with information on maximum loan amounts. Change the order of your keywords—“money college undergrad”—and get different search results.

This distinction, writes Liedtke, means “Web surfers will theoretically be able to get more meaningful results by typing more precise search requests in the form of straightforward questions.”

Searches Going Au Naturel

Perhaps more buzzworthy than the natural-language engine itself is the fact that Powerset is licensing its technology from veteran powerhouse Palo Alto Research Center, the subsidiary of Xerox famed for introducing one revolutionary technology after another—laser printing, the graphical user interface (GUI), Ethernet networking, and the first commercial use of the computer mouse, just to name a few.

Ronald Kaplan, PARC’s top natural-language specialist, is now Powerset’s chief technology and science officer, Liedtke reports.

“We have the best natural-language search technology that has ever been developed,” says Barney Pell, Powerset’s co-founder and chief executive.

And he plans to take that technology, along with Powerset’s $12.5 million in venture capital, and give Mother Google a run for her money.

Although Powerset is not the first to push natural-language searching, with Ask Jeeves failing miserably in the 1990s and Hakia currently struggling to make inroads in the Internet search market, Pell believes his company’s technology will be able to fill in the holes that keyword searches leave behind.

He compares the problem of searching with keywords to trying to talk to a toddler with limited language skills.

“In one sense, you are happy you can talk to it at all, but you still really want it to grow up so you can hold a real conversation,” he says.

Not everyone expresses the same optimism. Industry analyst Charlene Li of Forrester Research says the problem with natural-language searches lies not with faults in the technology’s algorithms, but with a computer’s inability to differentiate between variable meanings of the same word and discern the subtle nuances of language.

In a search, Li says, asking “What caused the collapse of Enron?” and “What caused the downfall of Enron?” will generally yield completely different search results even though the questions are essentially the same.

For other skeptics, whether Powerset can achieve its goal of revolutionizing the search engine sector will depend on the company’s ability to transform the mindset and ritual practices of Internet searchers. These critics argue that the majority of current searches are short, only a few words long, and that Internet users, increasingly demanding that all their online interactions happen in high-speed, may not easily make, or even want to make, the shift to more typing and longer search strings.

Danny Sullivan, a blogger for SearchEngineWatch.com, says Pell fails to provide a convincing argument for why today’s keyword search users would miraculously transition to the other side.

Internet users “aren’t using keywordese now because they somehow have been trained to do it,” Sullivan writes in a blog post. “No one from Google sat the searchers down and said ‘only two words, and don’t use conjunctions.’ People search however they want—and right now, they use only a few words” (“Hello Natural Language Search, My Old Over-Hyped Search Friend,” Oct. 5, 2006).

Testing to Determine Powerset’s Potential

The natural-language debate aside, how successful the technology and the company will be remains to be seen. Powerset is rolling out its search engine gradually and will begin by analyzing feedback from the 16,000 people who have registered as users of its test site, Powerlabs. The temporary site is currently operating in a limited capacity, explains Liedtke, only indexing content from Wikipedia, the Web-based, user-generated encyclopedia.

Powerset has set up Powerlabs to display, alongside its own results, the results returned by competitor sites like Google and Yahoo when given the same search questions. Powerlabs then requires users to choose which search engine’s results worked better for them before they can proceed with their next search.

With all the press over the past two years surrounding Powerset’s natural-language model, Google execs may be starting to feel the pressure of a competitor threatening to break Google’s steel grip on Internet searchdom. According to Liedtke, Google has been working on its own version of natural-language search technology since the end of 2005, pumping nearly $2.2 billion into research and development and beefing up its staff by thousands.

But executives at Powerset aren’t deterred by the competition or the criticism.

“Google is the king. … Their system does an amazing job, given what they have to go on” says Pell. “But we think they have plateaued.”

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