Author Archives: Benjamin Toon
Patents As Weapon: How Tech Companies Compete
The Patent, Used as a Sword By Charles Duhigg and Steve Lohr New York Times, October 7, 2012 Tech companies have traditionally managed patent portfolios as a competitive strategy, but the stakes have exploded in the past five year. The … Continue reading
New Seminar: Research Skills for Engineers
Introducing a new series of seminars designed to address the research needs of engineering graduate students. Harnessing Databases for Better Research October 31st from 10AM to 11:30 Room 314 – Caruth Building Specialized databases have moved beyond simply searching an … Continue reading
Misconduct Taints Retracted Research Study Finds
Misconduct Widespread in Retracted Science Papers, Study Finds Carl Zimmer New York Times, October 1, 2012 A recent study of retracted articles in biomedical publications finds misconduct as the primary reason in three-quarters of the articles reviewed. The authors of … Continue reading
IEEE Xplore Training Coming October 1st
Monday, October 1st on the second floor of the Junkins Building, IEEE Client Services Manager Jalyn Kelly will be conducting training for IEEE’s Xplore database. The informal sessions will take place between 10AM and 12PM in the break area. Stop … Continue reading
The Redwood from 50 Million Years B.C.
50-Million-Year-Old Redwood Chunk Found in Diamond Mine Megan Gannon, News Editor LiveScience.com – Fri, Sep 21, 2012 Despite the infinitesimal amount of paleontological evidence left on earth providing a clear picture of early life forms, surprises continue to pop up. … Continue reading
Ethical Fellow Charged with Unethical Behavior
Feds Charge Activist with 13 Felonies for Rogue Downloading of Academic Articles David Kravets Wired.com, September 18, 2012 Twenty-five year old hack-tivist Aaron Swartz habit of downloading millions of articles from the academic database JSTOR has caught up with him. … Continue reading
Other Voices, Other Blogs: Wired’s GeekDad
As a father of a teen- and soon-to-be-teen geek, I take my responsibility as a nurturing force in their lives serious. I want my kids to have fun and learn, so visiting Wired.com’s GeekDad blog is a daily ritual of … Continue reading
Assessing the Job Market for Science PhDs
Is a Science Ph.D. a Waste of Time? By Daniel Lametti Slate.com – Aug. 31,2012 Simply put: No. Despite a recent spate of news on the lack of opportunities for science doctorates, the author shows that while jobs in academia … Continue reading
IEEE Xplore Training Opportunities
If you want to improve your use of IEEE Xplore, here is news about upcoming online training sessions: IEEE is dedicated to bringing you the most cutting-edge technology information through the IEEE Xplore Digital Library. Training webinars offer the opportunity … Continue reading
Take Our Survey: Using Research Databases Seminar
An important difference between the undergraduate and graduate engineering student experience is the role of research. Whether taking the thesis or non-thesis option, master-degree seeking students are expected to conduct research in the professional literature. While Google is easy to … Continue reading