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From Einstein-defying neutrinos to the discovery of an Earth-like planet: science editor Robin McKie on the year's biggest stories...

A devastating car accident and a car malfunction couldn't stop the BYU engineers from working with their electric car.

These organizations offer college scholarships for black students who are studying a STEM major.

The gift ensured the success of Cornell’s proposal to build on city-owned land on Roosevelt Island. The city is also providing up to $100 million in infrastructure improvements.

The hard work and creative thinking it takes to do research worthy of winning a Nobel Prize is certainly enough to give scientists a gray hair or two. But these days, there’s probably a simpler explanation for why these bright lights of science are sporting gray hair—they’re older.

 

According to a study by economists Benjamin F. Jones, of Northwestern University, and Bruce A. Weinberg, of Ohio State University, the average age at which Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry do their prizewinning work is on the rise (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1102895108) More than half of the Nobel Laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to 1960 did their prizewinning work by the time they were 40. Since 1961, prizewinners were more likely to have done their acclaimed work after their 40th birthday.

 

At first blush, Jones and Weinberg’s study may seem like good news for researchers who don’t have to think of themselves as past their prime just because they’re past their 40th birthday. But Jones tells C&EN that the implication of his finding is a bit less rosy: Scientist may be spending their most creative years being trained, as doctoral students and as postdocs, rather than doing their own innovative research.

 

“There’s a long-standing view that people are at their most productive as innovators early in their life cycle,” Jones says. But, he points out, if it’s true that people have to become experts before they can innovate, then scientists are spending more of their years training and less of their time innovating. Consequently, their lifetime contributions as scholars are going to be smaller. Jones estimates the decline in a given researcher’s career output is as high as 30%.

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Jennifer Harper Ogle, Clemson University associate professor of civil engineering, has been honored by the White House as a "Champion of Change" for her work encouraging and educating young women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Once you've sunk into the warm embrace of your favorite chair after a long day, it can feel excruciatingly difficult to summon up the motivation to go out and exercise, grocery shop, or take in culture. It just seems like far too much hassle and effort to take action. So you stay put.

eGFI - Engineering Go For It! Stacie Harrison, Dennis Cummings and Mary Lord of eGFI join the Learning Matters podcast for a far-reaching discussion on education, technology, engineering and misconceptions about science roles.

Association for Middle Level Education, published the STEM 2011 issue with a focus on STEM subjects. Included in this issue is an article authored by the research team of Micah Stohlmann, Tamara Moore, J. McClelland, and Gillian Roehrig from the STEM Education Center. The article, titled, "Impressions of a middle grades STEM integration program," shares what educators learned from implementing an integrated STEM curriculum model in middle school.