This introductory engineering textbook on heat and mass transfer, written by John H. Lienhard IV, Professor at University of Houston and John H. Lienhard IV, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is now available online without charge. One aim of this project is to "explore the possibilities of placing textbooks online." The idea is that the online format holds two key benefits --...

StartSpot Mediaworks, creators of the well-regarded LibrarySpot.com, have recently announced the launch of three new Spot sites. Like the original, these new sites are very user-friendly portals to relevant sites and resources. Each site has a similar layout, with subsections such as Must See sites, In the News, By the Numbers, Themes, You Asked For It, and On Exhibit in the main right-hand side...

Howstuffworks.com presents clear, well-written articles for the layperson in many areas such as Earth Science, Engineering, Military and the Supernatural. In this article, written by Marshall Brain, one can learn the secrets of force-multiplying devices. For example, how a block and tackle (an arrangement of ropes and pulleys such as on a crane or sailboat rigging) works to trade force for...

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a multi-pronged approach to remedying the lack of academic emphasis on the STEM subjects, from preschool through college, as well as the lack of interest in STEM subjects on the part of youth in the United States. Visitors can read about the University's four goals under the "Goals" tab at the top of any page. The "STEM Ed Projects"...

The goal of the Indiana STEM Network (ISTEM) is to help Indiana become a national leader in student academic achievement in STEM disciplines. This section of their well-thought out website provides a wealth of information on excellent lesson plans crafted by their team of experts. Currently the site has over 300 of these plans, organized by intended audience, target grade level, and subject. The...

The student-run Journal of Young Investigators is a unique academic journal that is published and written by undergraduates. It touches on most of the STEM subjects, and it covers science, mathematics and engineering in-depth. Students involved in the journal are given the rare opportunity to peer-review the articles submitted for publication by other students. Visitors keen on seeing all the...

learnXdesign was spearheaded by the New York City Hall of Science (NYSCI) in collaboration with six science museums in the United States and Canada. Together, the group has created an extensive, yet easily navigable, database of science activities for youth of all ages. Designed especially for informal settings, such as after school programs, libraries, museums, and youth centers, users can search...

The Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE) 10 course at the University of California at Irvine is a recent addition to their Open Courseware Initiative, and it is well worth a look. The main goal of the course is "to develop computational programming skills and learn computational tools to be used in the solution of engineering problems." The topics covered within the course materials include...

The Gateway Engineering Education Coalition consists of a group of universities that are concerned with providing high-quality educational resources in the field of engineering education. Their site contains a number of topical sections that deal with the different branches of this field. This particular section deals with educational resources in the area of materials engineering, and visitors...

Many a great invention has come out of MIT, and it's nice to know that their OpenCourseWare initiative provides materials from a class titled "Development of Inventions and Creative Ideas" taught by Professor Robert Rines and Dr. Dedric Carter. The course "examines the role of the engineer as patent expert and as technical witness in court and patent interference and related proceedings." That's...