New York Times (July 16)
“There was something wonderfully childlike in the delight of scientists and the public at the rendezvous of the New Horizons spacecraft with that most distant and mysterious of the planets, Pluto…. But there was nothing childish in the extraordinary science and engineering required to send half a ton of highly sophisticated instruments hurtling through space at speeds of up to 47,000 miles an hour for three billion miles.”
Tags: Childlike, Engineering, New Horizons, Pluto, Science, Sophisticated, Space
Washington Post (December 5, 2013)
The U.S. does not test well. In contrast, Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan swept top places for math, reading and science in the recent PISA global educational survey. Nevertheless, “the United States has done very well in harnessing the talents of its top 1 percent and in attracting the top 1 percent from the rest of the world to live and work here. These are the engines of innovation, growth and dynamism.” Whether they will keep the U.S. from falling behind, however, remains to be seen.
Tags: Dynamism, Education, Growth, Hong Kong, Innovation, Japan, Math, Reading, Science, Shanghai, Singapore, Taiwan, Talent, U.S.
New York Times (October 26)
The U.S. ranks 48th globally in math and science instruction. Of 29 wealthy countries, the U.S. finishes 27th per capita in undergraduate engineering and science degrees. Foreign graduate students in these subjects are increasingly returning to their home countries. A third of U.S. manufacturers had difficulty “finding enough skilled workers” in 2009. Unless funding for science is increased, the U.S. will “continue to lose economic ground to foreign competitors.”
Tags: Competitiveness, Engineering, Math, Science, U.S.
