Science Librarians Analysis of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics: The Work of Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, and Adam G. Riess

The Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 was awarded to scientists from two different research collaborations that independently and contemporaneously discovered from observations of distant supernovae that the universe's expansion is accelerating. This article describes the winners publishing output, gives biographical information and a publishing analysis

Integrating Information into the Engineering Design Process

Engineering design is a fundamental problem-solving model used by the discipline. Effective problem-solving requires the ability to find and incorporate quality information sources. To teach courses in this area effectively, educators need to understand the information needs of engineers and engineering students and their information gathering habits. This book provides essential guidance for engineering faculty and librarians wishing to better integrate information competencies into their curricular offerings. The treatment of the subject matter is pragmatic, accessible, and engaging. Rather than focusing on specific resources or interfaces, the book adopts a process-driven approach that outlasts changing information technologies. After several chapters introducing the conceptual underpinnings of the book, a sequence of shorter contributions go into more detail about specific steps in the design process and the information needs for those steps. While they are based on the latest research and theory, the emphasis of the chapters is on usable knowledge. Designed to be accessible, they also include illustrative examples drawn from specific engineering sub-disciplines to show how the core concepts can be applied in those situations. Part 1: Making the Case for Integrated Information in Engineering Design: Information Literary and Lifelong Learning (Michael Fosmire); Multiple Perspectives on Engineering Design (David Radcliffe); Ways that Engineers Use Design Information (Michael Fosmire); Ethical Information Use and Engineering (Megan Sapp Nelson); Information-Rich Engineering Design: A Model (David Radcliffe). Part 2: Pedagogical Advice on How to Implement in Courses: Build a Firm Foundation: Managing Project Information Effectively and Efficiently (Jon Jeffryes); Find the Real Need: Understanding the Task (Megan Sapp Nelson); Scout the Lay of the Land: Exploring the Broader Context of a Project (Amy Van Epps and Monica Cardella); Draw on Existing Knowledge: Taking Advantage of What is Already Known (Jim Clarke); Make Dependable Decisions: Using Trustworthy Information Wisely (Jeremy Garritano); Make It Real: Finding the Most Suitable Materials and Components (Jay Bhatt); Make It Safe and Legal: Meeting Standards, Codes, and Regulations (Bonnie Osif); Get Your Message Across: The Art of Sharing Information (Patrice Buzzanell and Carla Zoltowski); Reflect and Learn: Extracting New Design and Process Knowledge (David Radcliffe); Preparing Students to be Informed Designers: Assessing and Scaffolding Information Literacy (Senay Purzer and Ruth Wertz).https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/purduepress_ebooks/1030/thumbnail.jp

Quantifying the Information Habits of High School Students Engaged in Engineering Design

stract This study measured the information gathering behaviors of high school students who had taken engineering design courses as they solved a design problem. The authors investigated what types of information students accessed, its quality, when it was accessed during the students’ process, and if it impacted their thinking during the activity. Students overwhelmingly relied on internet searching to acquire information, rather than printed materials available to them. The sites they found were generally popular rather than technical, and persuasive (i.e., trying to sell something) rather than informative. The high school students understood the need for information, as they sought a large volume of information, which they did, generally, incorporate in their solution development process, but their skill in locating high-quality information was relatively poor

Standards are Everywhere: A Freely Available Introductory Online Educational Program on Standardization for Product Development

The collaboration between the Purdue Libraries and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute on standards education goes back to the 1980’s.[i] With a shared goal of preparing students for success after graduation, the Libraries and (then) Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) devised activities and instruction to show students that they will need to be able to find information ‘beyond the textbook’ to solve the problems they will face in the workplace. They will need specific information that relates to their particular circumstance, whether it is a material property, production technique, or an industry standard. In recent years, the Libraries and Polytechnic have incorporated basic information literacy skills—such as the abilities to seek, evaluate, apply, and document information—into a first-year Introduction to Design Thinking course, which is required of all majors. This leaves more time later in the curriculum to focus on building skills with specialized resources such as industry standards. Surveys of students[ii] identified that they needed to use standards as an important part of their co-op experiences, and that they learned about standards from interactions with their academic librarians. A survey of employers[iii] similarly found that they believed engineers need to understand the “fundamentals of standards development and knowledge to find and apply standards prior to employment.” ABET accreditation criteria also highlight the need for students to achieve facility with standards, with the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ETAC)[iv] requiring the student outcomes of “an ability to conduct standard tests and measurements” (3.c), “an ability to…identify and use appropriate technical literature” (3.f), and the Mechanical Engineering Technology criteria requiring “basic familiarity and use of industry codes, specifications, and standards,” (e) and Electrical Engineering Technology, the “application of…engineering standards” (a). The new ABET Engineering Accreditation Criteria (EAC)[v] accreditation student outcomes are more general, but include “an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability” (3.c). Many of these considerations are impacted or governed by standards. The crux of the collaboration between libraries and engineering technology disciplines surrounds the complementary disciplinary expertise of finding and evaluating information (libraries) with that of interpreting and applying that information (engineering technology). As we surveyed the landscape of available online tutorials, we noticed that there was a gap; there is little, if any, material that is not specific to a particular Standards Developing Organization (SDO), institution, or discipline; targeted to undergraduate students; interactive; and includes information literacy components. Since there are many more engineering and engineering technology instructors than engineering librarians, we felt it was likely harder to find expertise in locating, evaluating, and organizing standards, the forte of librarians, in the typical classroom,. Thus, we felt a treatment of standards from an information perspective would be most beneficial contribution to the standards education community. As highly modular objects, the tutorial components can be easily dropped into any course as a supplementary resource or targeted to provide context for specific activities. In order to allow more time in the classroom for active learning, we sought to create online instructional objects that students could interact with before their activities in the classroom. We also wanted to make the resources available to anyone else interested in using them, including ‘feeder institutions’ to Purdue programs, so that students will be prepared to use standards in their advanced courses on our campus. With the generous support of NIST’s Standards Services Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program (#70NANB16H261), we were able to create these resources and make them available across campus and to a global audience. Our NIST-funded project consists of three components: a set of animated online tutorials which students can view as needed or directed by their instructors; a collection of case studies of ‘standards in action’ commissioned from students to show the importance and utilization of standards from a student viewpoint; and microcredentials (badges) to acknowledge student achievement in standards knowledge and application. All of these materials can be accessed from our project website (http://guides.lib.purdue.edu/NIST_standards). These materials are aimed at the novice student, perhaps in their first or second year of undergraduate study, when they are just exploring the discipline but have little technical expertise. The tutorials can be used as a stand-alone overview of standards, answering the questions such as what is a standard, how are they developed, how are they used, and what is the structure of a standard (i.e., how do you read a standard)

Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) characterization. Revision 9

This ninth revision of the Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization presents current environmental data regarding the hanford Site and its immediate environs. This information is intended for use in preparing Chapters 4 and 6 in Hanford Site-related NEPA documents. Chapter 4.0 (Affected Environment) includes information on climate and meteorology, geology, hydrology, ecology, cultural, archaeological and historical resources, socioeconomics, and noise. Chapter 6.0 (Statutory and Regulatory Requirements) provides the preparer with the federal and state regulations, DOE directives and permits, and environmental standards directly applicable to the NEPA documents on the Hanford Site. Not all of the sections have been updated for this revision. The following lists the updated sections: climate and meteorology; ecology (threatened and endangered species section only); culture, archaeological, and historical resources; socioeconomics; all of Chapter 6