More societies and publishers add content to Knovel - including SAE and ASHRAE

Knovel, an online resource that helps engineers find reliable technical information, has announced partnerships with 16 organisations. Knovel’s comprehensive collection of content is continually updated as new titles are available and reflects the evolving needs of its users – engineers.

Knovel works with its Editorial Advisory Board, comprised of multi-disciplinary industry and academic leaders, to prioritise content additions and editorial features based upon current workflow needs and emerging industry trends. The company has partnered with more than 50 international professional societies and publishers including McGraw-Hill, Wiley and Elsevier. Joining Knovel's growing roster of content partners are SAE International, ASHRAE and 14 other societies and publishers.

Knovel offers validated engineering content, selected from trusted sources and delivered to engineers quickly and with extreme precision. The value of Knovel’s content is extended by its optimised search and data analysis tools, enabling engineers to not only easily find relevant data, but also analyse, document and incorporate it into their everyday work.

"Crash-resistant" train cars- really? Is this the cartoons come to life?

Metrolink To Use "New High-Tech, Crash-Resistant Cars."

The Los Angeles Times (12/18, Connell) reports, "Nearly five years after a deadly Metrolink train wreck in Glendale intensified debate about passenger car design," the commuter rail service in Southern California "will soon take delivery of new high-tech, crash-resistant cars," according to officials. Two of the cars, "the first of their kind in the nation, are to be unloaded from a ship in the Port of Long Beach in mid-January and will be put into service as early as next summer." They "have energy-absorbing ends designed to distribute the force of train-on-train collisions. Other features include breakaway interior tables."

OSTI gets fancy with its' database results display!

The Information Bridge has recently added word clouds to give you a window into the content of full-text research documents. The word clouds visually represent word frequency within each document and can be viewed from the search results screen or on the bibliographic citation page when hovering over the title or the PDF icon. The top 50 terms are shown alphabetically within the word cloud. Font size is determined by the frequency of usage within the document. Depending upon the term weighting, fonts can be as much as 80 percent larger than the least used terms in the document. The colors are random.

To see it in action, run a quick search. Hover over the title of one of the resulting citations to see a colorful word cloud! Groovy!

Information Bridge provides free public access to over 200,000 full-text documents and bibliographic citations of Department of Energy research report literature. Documents in Information Bridge are primarily from 1991 forward and were produced by DOE, the DOE contractor community, and/or DOE grantees. Legacy documents are added as they become available in electronic format.

The Librarian's Mission- R. David Lankes' keynote at Charleston Conference

This is a ~40 minute screencast of Lankes' inspirational presentation last week in Charleston. It's worth watching, if not for the necessarily unique or new ideas, but for his smart reasoning and conclusions. During the last 10 or so minutes you're expecting the audience to start yelling "Hallelujah!".

More WorldCat news re: Science Direct collections

Elsevier metadata for SCOPUS and ScienceDirect collections from 2006 to the present have now been indexed in WorldCat.org search results. 

This article-level metadata joins similar content such as the GPO Monthly Catalog, ArticleFirst, Medline, ERIC and the British Library Inside Serials. The ScienceDirect content corresponds to 1,800 journals, 150 book series and more than 1.3 million records. 

Totally Tubular - FRP Bridge Design

NYTimes.com: Building a Bridge of (and to) the Future

By HENRY FOUNTAIN

Carbon- and glass-fiber fabric tubes filled with concrete offer strength, light weight and resistance to corrosion.

"Long the stuff of surfboards and pleasure boats, and more recently used in aircraft wings and other components, plastic polymers reinforced with fibers were first researched for use in bridges in the 1980s. Civil engineers were attracted to them for the same reasons other designers were — their strength, light weight and corrosion resistance."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/science/13bridge.html

Though more expensive to create, the technology makes the bridge less expensive in the long run, due to lower maintenance, transportation, labor and equipment costs.  

IBM journals to be available via IEEE Xplore, exclusively

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and IBM, US, have announced a publishing agreement. Under the deal, all papers published in IBM journals will be available exclusively in the IEEE Xplore digital library (www.ieee.org/ieeexplore) from the first quarter of 2010 onwards. The aim is to disseminate key technical articles and papers in computer hardware, software and information systems to a wider audience of researchers and interested readers around the world. The IBM Journal of Research and Development, which now includes the IBM Systems Journal, is claimed to be one of the top-cited journals in the field. The two, which have been published online since 1998, merged into one fee-based online publication in 2009. The production of future editions of the current publication, the IBM Journal of Research and Development, will be handled by IEEE. IBM will be responsible for the content acquisition and peer review, while IEEE assumes the article production, copy editing, data conversion, online hosting and maintenance.

Rockets Able To Run On Toffee

For real!

The UK's The Scotsman (10/7) reports, "Rockets can run on toffee, a scientist has proved. Jem Stansfield demonstrated a hybrid rocket powered by the sweet on BBC1's Bang Goes The Theory." Ray Wilkinson of the University of Hertfordshire "suggested the experiment could help scientists find environmentally-friendly materials to fuel rockets."

The rocket was capable of powering a bicycle ridden by Mr Stansfield at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Hybrid rockets require nothing more than a cheap solid that burns and a gas – in this case nitrous oxide – to provide oxygen, he said. Ray Wilkinson, principal lecturer in aerospace design and rocket propulsion at the University of Hertfordshire, suggested the experiment could help scientists find environmentally-friendly materials to fuel rockets.

Thanks Harry Potter! - Invisibility cloak could hide buildings from quakes

Borrowing from the physics of invisibility cloaks could make it possible to hide buildings from the devastating effects of earthquakes, say physicists in France and the UK. The "earthquake cloak" idea comes from the team led by Stefan Enoch at the Fresnel Institute in Marseille, France. They were the first to show that the physics of invisibility cloaks could have other applications – designing a cloak that could render objects "invisible" to destructive storm waves or tsunamis. See also: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-06/cloak-could-make-buildings-inviible-earthquakes

New Fed Gov website: Data.gov

The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Although the initial launch of Data.gov provides a limited portion of the rich variety of Federal datasets presently available, we invite you to actively participate in shaping the future of Data.gov by suggesting additional datasets and site enhancements to provide seamless access and use of your Federal data.

New webpage for reporting Libraries system down emergencies

This is the page Libraries ITS wants everyone to use to determine the correct reporting procedure for any system down emergencies: https://staffweb.lib.washington.edu/units/ITS/system-down-emergency

Major Cuts Planned at Canada’s National Science Library Draw Protest

CISTI's budget could be cut up to 70%, a combination of a 50% cut across the board and a 20% cut that will force particular services to be operated on a cost-recovery basis. CISTI has already cut all print journal subscriptions, retaining only those that are available online. It's a sad sad state. Read the full report: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6649848.html?nid=2673&source=title&rid=1206325913

Free International Nuclear Information System database from the IAEA

The INIS (International Nuclear Information System) database is available free, as at 3 April 2009: http://inisdb2.iaea.org/ It is a product of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), which promotes the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Information about the content of the database is available at http://www.iaea.org/inisnkm/inis/products/aboutdb.htm:

"Leading reference database for scientific literature published worldwide on the peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology

• Comprehensive international coverage by INIS Members and the INIS Secretariat.

• over 3 million bibliographic citations and abstracts of journal articles, scientific and technical reports, conference papers, books, patents, theses, laws, regulations and standards, and web documents, covering publications in 63 languages; all records include keywords and most have an abstract in English

• Includes a unique collection of over 850 000 full-text documents: scientific and technical reports, conference proceedings, patents, theses, and preprints. This “grey” non-conventional literature (NCL) is not easily available from other sources."

Computer science enrollment rebounds nationally and at UW

Local perspective on the NYT story that reports that for the first time in six years, enrollment in computer science programs in the United States increased last year. In a blog entry by the Seattle Times' Ben Romano are comments from Ed Lazowska, from the UW CSE department. Full story: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/techtracks/2009/03/17/computer_science_enrollment_rebounds_nationally_an.html

First woman to earn PhD in Computer Science wins Turing Award

Barbara Liskov, the first woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. from a computer-science department and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been awarded the A.M. Turing Award for 2008. http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3652/first-woman-in-us-to-earn-a-phd-from-a-computer-science-department-wins-the-turing-award

30th anniversary of Hood Canal Bridge sinking - emeritus UW prof. remembers...

Posted on Sunday, Feb. 08, 2009

Anniversary of bridge sinking looms large for retired professor

By DEAN KAHN

Feb. 13 this year happens to be Friday the 13th.

It's also the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Hood Canal floating bridge.

Not many people would have that anniversary fixed in their brain, but Billy Hartz does.

Read More...

IBM Retains Top Spot On Patent List.

IndustryWeek (3/1, Jusko) reports, "For the 16th consecutive year, high-tech giant IBM Corp. has nabbed the top spot for the number of patents granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Not only that, but with 4,186 patents granted in 2008, it also became the first organization to break the 4,000 patent barrier, according to IFI Patent Intelligence, which analyzed USPTO data." However, "the U.S. share of patents is slipping," with "U.S. companies garnering just 49% of U.S. patents granted in 2008, down from 50% in 2007." Further, "U.S. firms hold just four of the top 10 slots and 12 of the top 35." But, according to Darlene Slaughter, general manager of IFI Patent Intelligence, one shouldn't "confuse quantity with quality." Slaughter said, "What's clear is that many of the world's largest companies are placing a higher priority on protecting their intellectual property."

O'Donnell, Auth elected to National Academy of Engineering

Matthew O'Donnell, dean of the University of Washington's College of Engineering and professor in the department of bioengineering, and David Auth, a UW affiliate professor in bioengineering and consultant based in Kirkland, Wash., have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?visitsource=uwkmail&id=47239

NASA Celebrates 50 Years

With Automa as your guide through an extensive Flash presentation, learn all about NASA and its' 50 year history. http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/50th/

A Library for Engineering Education: Frank O. Marvin and the University of Kansas, 1875-1915

It was written by Jim Neeley, the fairly recently retired head of the Spahr Engineering Library at KU, and was published late last year in the journal Libraries and the Cultural Record. A very interesting piece. While the focus in on how an engineering library started at KU, many of the forces that led to its creation were more generally present elsewhere, and led to a blossoming of engineering libraries in the late 19th and early 20th century, (a few examples from and ties to other institutions are offered). Jim also makes mention in a number of places of the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education, which was founded in 1893 and later morphed into ASEE. Finally, in the appendix there are a handful of links to pages at other institutions related to the histories of their engineering libraries. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lac/v043/43.4.neeley.html

WorldCat New Books List?

I have a couple of questions:
1. Have you created a WorldCat account in order to make and/or watch lists?
2. Do you think anyone else has?
The reason I ask is I just logged into my WorldCat account (which I don't do very often) to look for interesting lists to follow. I searched for "engineering" and found that the Kresge Engineering Library at UC Berkeley makes lists of all its new books. You can see their profile and lists here.
So I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to copycat UCB. The idea would be that our patrons could follow the list so they would be able to easily see what our new books are. (Of course, they can already see our new books pretty easily by looking at our new books page, but this would make it even easier.)
Alternatively, I've noticed that some units have RSS feeds of their new books available. I don't think we have that going on, but that would achieve the same effect.
I guess the point is whether students/faculty might find such a thing useful. Part of me thinks yes, because I personally like to keep an eye out for cool new books. But part of me also thinks no, because students/faculty are primarily concerned with their own work/research and will search (or have search updates) for those subjects on their own.
Any thoughts?

Dawg Prints Alerts- new webpage

Due to the recent outages affecting our program, Dawg Prints has taken several steps to better inform and distribute information vital to our users. In addition to the Dawg Prints Support email, the Dawg Prints Updates mailing list, and our Dawg Prints website, we have recently created another site, named Dawg Prints Alerts, to provide centralized notification to our users. This site will be updated whenever an issue affects the Dawg Prints system or a location. You can find it at:http://depts.washington.edu/dawgprnt/dpalerts. If your issue is not addressed please make sure to email Dawg Prints Support at: uwcshelp@u.washington.edu.

A Real Life Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

The UK's Daily Mail (1/12, Massey) reports on the Terrafugia Transition flying car, set to debut next month. "With wings that fold up automatically at the push of a button, the Terrafugia Transition should be equally at home in the sky or on the road." The Transition "is powered by the same 100 brake horsepower engine...on the ground and in the air" and "Terrafugia claims it will be able to fly up to 500 miles on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of 115mph." Currently, according to the article, "the only place in the US in which it is legal to take off from a road is Alaska. And as well as your driving licence, you will need your pilot's licence." Neoseeker (1/11, Ridgely) reported, "Assuming it survives all well and good, it will be in showrooms in 18 months time (July of next year)." The article also noted, "The vehicle is capable of transforming from a two-seater road car to a plane in 15 seconds."

Safari Book collection info- why some books disappear!

You'll probably see some questions about why certain books are not available on Safari when they were available a few weeks ago. If the book in question is a 2006 publication, then it fell off our subscription on Jan. 1st. (our subscription is for the most recent 3 years only, which is now 2007, 2008, and 2009-- even though there's hardly anything available for 2009 yet...). Since O'Reilly books are only available online through Safari, there isn't anyplace else where we can get an electronic copy. The person can request a print copy through the regular book purchase request form or ILL. I've asked cataloging to remove 2006 Safari records from the catalog, so people shouldn't be finding them that way. Let me know if there are any other issues/questions about Safari. Linda.