SRC Expands R&D Centers

The Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC) has added a new center to its university R&D efforts. The new center, based at the University of California at Berkeley, will devise ''energy-smart'' distributed systems. This new center is the sixth member of the SRC's Focus Center Research Program, a national, multi-university R&D effort. The FCRP is a cooperative initiative among members of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) designed to expand long-range microelectronics and systems research within U.S. universities. Founded in 1998, FCRP programs have since involved 41 universities, 333 faculty and 1215 doctoral graduate students.

Wireless and Mobile Growth

Many people searching for tech jobs wonder about the future of wireless and mobile growth and applications. The Strategy Analytics Wireless Network published a report tilted “US Wireless Market Outlook: 2009 Trends.” In this report, it’s predicted that despite an economic downturn, US cellular subscriber growth will continue to increase – which is good news for technology job seekers. In addition, US cellular service revenues will grow at a rate of approximately 3.9%.Since subscription rates are expected to remain intact, the report advises wireless and mobile companies to focus on making postpaid plans attractive to buyers, instead of pushing prepaid products – which yields better results. They also predict that wireless and mobile companies will position themselves for value, instead of undercutting the competition’s pricing.New Area of Growth for Wireless and MobileAccording to a report by iGR, children between the ages of 5 and 9 are the newest growth segment in the wireless and mobile market. The study claims that up to 70% of 12-14 year olds already have a cell phone, and the number of 5-9 year olds getting cell phones is growing, which provides growth opportunities for wireless and mobile companies. However, when creating products for this segment, keep in mind that parents are still making the purchase decision – so, you have two customers.Cloud Computing ApplicationsWith on the go professionals using mobile applications at an increasing rate, many new applications are using “cloud computing,” to store data on the web. This allows professionals the ability to connect with employees and co-workers on the go.Boost in Virtual Goods ConsumptionWith the rapid development of wireless and mobile applications, the virtual goods consumption is estimated to reach $6 billion by 2010. Mobile phone applications are expected to drive this, in combination with easy access to online payment methods, like PayPal. This translates to the purchase of more songs, applications, games and online shopping. In addition, better mobile browsers provide consumers an enhanced web experience.Mobile Search Engine OptimizationA final trend for mobile communications is search engine optimization (SEO) and mobile content. Since more people are accessing the web through mobile phones, search engine optimization is more important than ever. Consumers will be searching at a faster pace on their phones, and optimizing your Website will make it more accessible to end users.

Salary Survey: Chinese, Indian Engineers Expand

Engineers in China and India want more--more money, more societal recognition, higher positions at their employers. And they want to establish their own companies, too, conceivably to compete with their onetime employers. Some of those wishes are already being granted, according to the 2009 EE Times Global Salary & Opinion Survey. Salaries for engineers in China and India have risen strongly over the past five years, at a faster clip than for their counterparts in Europe, Japan and North America. Almost half of the respondents to our survey in China and about 40 percent of those in India said their annual salaries are now much higher or slightly higher than they were five years ago, vs. the 34 percent and 25 percent, respectively, so reporting in Europe and North America.Competition for engineering talent in China and India has stiffened over the past decade as hardware and software companies have accelerated the transfer of manufacturing and design operations from Western locations to lower-cost parts of the globe. Although both China and India are turning out new engineers by the thousands each year, demand for skilled and experienced engineers is so strong that many positions are going unfilled, forcing companies to raid their competitors for talent. Often, companies offer attractive incentives to secure experienced engineers, only to lose them to rivals after a couple of years.Although high-tech employers in China and India have indeed been raising compensation for local employees, many engineers in the two countries still earn considerably less than their counterparts elsewhere, and that salary gulf is driving a wedge between employers and employees. While most of the engineers polled by EE Times seem satisfied with their career choice, many in China and India believe they can do better and do not consider their current compensation packages adequate or equitable with their foreign colleagues' compensation. A disproportionate number of respondents in China (56 percent) and India (61 percent) believe they earn "less than others in the field with the same qualifications and work experience." By comparison, only 44 percent and 34 percent, respectively, of European and North American respondents think they earn less than similarly qualified counterparts.The result of this real or perceived inequality is that many Chinese and Indian engineers are rethinking their choice of engineering as a career. Only 24 percent of the respondents in China and 39 percent in India described themselves as satisfied with their careers and employers--well below the 68 percent each of respondents so reporting in Europe and North America. Consequently, about one-fourth (24 percent) of respondents in China said they were actively exploring opportunities at other companies, and an even greater number (39 percent) expressed the desire to switch careers. Among the Indian engineers polled, 35 percent are seeking a job change, but only 13 percent are considering a career change. Only 5 percent of engineers who took the survey in North America said were pondering a career change. And in Europe, 13 percent are looking for new jobs, but only 7 percent are exploring opportunities outside the industry.The depth of the dissatisfaction among China's engineers could spell trouble for its industry down the road. Only 42 percent of Chinese respondents said they "would recommend engineering to my kids," compared with 74 percent of respondents each in India and North America, 65 percent in Europe and 54 percent in Japan.It's not that employers in China and India aren't trying; the average base salary percentage increases over the past year reported by engineers in China (6 percent) and India (7.9 percent) exceeded those for respondents in Europe, Japan and North America. But employers in the two countries have their work cut out for them if they hope to ensure an adequate pool of qualified workers going forward.Meanwhile, in many cases the surveyed engineers who are paid the least also aspire to scale the corporate ladder the highest. Most of the respondents in China and India said they hoped to ascend through the management ranks, with many aiming for positions as lofty as chief technical officer, entrepreneur, president, CEO or similar top management roles. Almost 30 percent of Indian and 26 percent of Chinese respondents hope to set up their own businesses, compared with 10 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of European and North American engineers.In India, 25 percent of respondents hope to rise to the position of president or CEO, vs. 13 percent in China, 11 percent in Europe and 9 percent in North America. But more Europeans, by far, than any other group--33 percent--aspire to the position of CTO, while 22 percent are looking for promotions to senior engineer and 13 percent seek to become consultants.

Wanted: Moon Engineers

Engineering students worried about their job prospects and looking to expand their design experience may want to consider a NASA internship program. The assignment? Design a lunar habitat for future astronauts. The space agency announced on Friday (Dec. 4) that is seeking engineering students to help design new technologies that will be needed to establish a manned lunar base. Top candidates will be offered paid internships with NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program. NASA said engineering students should submit a "notice of intent to enter" the internship contest by Dec. 15. See entry details here. Final entries are due by May 15, 2010. NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program explores new technologies that would be used in future human exploration missions. The program also seeks to reduce mission risk and costs. While NASA still lacks that means to return to the moon any time soon, the development program focuses on near-term technologies that could be used with the proposed Orion crew exploration vehicle. It also seeks to identify future technologies needed for possible lunar exploration missions. Among the technologies being explored are energy storage and power systems, non-toxic propulsion along with envrironmental control and life support.

Researcher Cites Medical Opportunities For MEMS

MEMS and electronic testing are two of many areas where opportunities abound in medical devices today, according to a researcher in the field. Deborah Schenberger, an analyst at Nerac Inc. discussed work in fields such as smart bone implants and testing for cancer and neurological diseases in a talk at the Biomed Device Forum here. MEMS devices such as piezoresistive strain gauges will be put into future hip, knee and spinal disk replacements to monitor their effectiveness and predict failures for the devices implanted in as many as two million patients in the U.S. each year. Some knee implants wear out within ten years, noted Schenberger who also does research in the field at the University of Portland in Oregon. Combination products will use both electronics and drugs or biological elements. For example, some bone implants will use porous ceramics, stem cells, gene therapy or synthetic tissues to encourage natural bone and muscle growth around the implant, she said. Some central nervous systems diseases such as Lupus or Fibromyalgia could benefit from an analysis of electric signals in the brain or the body. "We can't test for that yet, so there is a great opportunity for medical devices that test for some of these diseases," she said. MEMS and nanoscale materials are also being studied for use treating some forms of cancer. Hollow spheres designed to be absorbed by a tumor can be filled with a drug and exited by ultrasound to explode, delivering the drug directly to the tumor. Other studies are developing tiny metallic particles that can be ingested by a tumor than heated by a microwave device. "It's like an internal laser ablation in which you are basically cooking the cancer cells," she said. Schenberger also cited the opportunity to create a low cost automatic external defibrillator that could be used in the home. Such devices are already being used in public places such as airports. "There are thousands of opportunities to make people lives better, and combination [drug and device] products using microelectronics and nanotechnologies

IT Employment Opportunities for Seniors

Many seniors find the reality of retirement to be much different than they had once imagined. For some, the anticlimax of an endless vacation eventually wears thin, gradually developing into abject boredom.

But for even more, as a result of investment losses due to today’s unstable economy or the failure to save at all, trying to get by on Social Security benefits has been enough to drive them back into the job market in droves. Those not content with low-paying customer service positions are looking to jobs in technology as a viable alternative, citing not only the low impact physical nature of tech jobs but also the profitable salaries for IT professionals as the main appeal.Consulting. For seniors who have already held careers that would automatically pre-qualify them for IT jobs, options exist to return to work as consultants.

This type of work is generally associated with much more lucrative and less demanding work schedules. Instead of returning to work for a specific corporation, a retiree can enjoy the luxury of being employed on a contractual basis. But for those seniors who have never worked an IT job before, options abound to begin an entirely new and exciting chapter of their lives.

Talk to a Recruiter. Technical recruiting agencies exist to match qualified individuals with hiring employers, and you should not automatically exclude yourself from utilizing these services to find gainful employment. Seniors interested in testing the waters prior to leaping headfirst into IT job searches are encouraged to speak to recruiting agencies about their potential career paths. In many instances, professional recruiting firms can help you create a strategy for your desired career goals. Still others offer programs geared at offering the necessary training for certain jobs. At a minimum, a professional recruiting agency is a viable resource for you to receive advice on how to go about preparing for a career in IT.

Get Certified. In the case of many entry-level IT jobs, simple certification is enough to qualify you for employment. IT certification courses can be taken at many junior colleges and trade schools, or by taking part in online distance learning programs.The job market today is ripe with IT employment opportunities for seniors who are willing to step up to the plate and take advantage. If you're concerned about encountering age discrimination, take heart in the fact that many corporations enjoy hiring seniors as a way to express their commitment to diversity in the workplace. Opportunities such as these should never be passed up.

Computer Modeling

computer simulation

A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system.

Computer simulations have become a useful part of mathematical modelling of many natural systems in physics, chemistry and biology, human systems in economics, psychology, and social science and in the process of engineering new technology, to gain insight into the operation of those systems.

Traditionally, the formal modeling of systems has been via a mathematical model, which attempts to find analytical solutions to problems which enables the prediction of the behaviour of the system from a set of parameters and initial conditions.

Computer simulations build on, and are a useful adjunct to purely mathematical models in science, technology and entertainment.

The reliability and the trust people put in computer simulations depends on the validity of the simulation model..

Mathematical model

A mathematical model is an abstract model that uses mathematical language to describe the behaviour of a system.

Mathematical models are used particularly in the natural sciences and engineering disciplines (such as physics, biology, and electrical engineering) but also in the social sciences (such as economics, sociology and political science); physicists, engineers, computer scientists, and economists use mathematical models most extensively.

defined a mathematical model as 'a representation of the essential aspects of an existing system (or a system to be constructed) which presents knowledge of that system in usable form'.

Mathematical models can take many forms, including but not limited to dynamical systems, statistical models, differential equations, or game theoretic models.

These and other types of models can overlap, with a given model involving a variety of abstract structures.

There are six basic groups of variables: decision variables, input variables, state variables, exogenous variables, random variables, and output variables.

Since there can be many variables of each type, the variables are generally represented by vectors.

Mathematical modelling problems are often classified into black box or white box models, according to how much a priori information is available of the system.

A black-box model is a system of which there is no a priori information available.

A white-box model (also called glass box or clear box) is a system where all necessary information is available.

Practically all systems are somewhere between the black-box and white-box models, so this concept only works as an intuitive guide for approach.

Usually it is preferable to use as much a priori info

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics) are graphics that utilize a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images.

Such images may be for later display or for real-time viewing.

Despite these differences, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire frame model and 2D computer raster graphics in the final rendered display.

In computer graphics software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is occasionally blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting, and primarily 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.

3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models.

Apart from the rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file.

However, there are differences.

A 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living).

A model is not technically a graphic until it is visually displayed.

Due to 3D printing, 3D models are not confined to virtual space.

A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations..