Yes, being a professional means that you get letters after your name, and yes it may make getting that next job a little easier, but I'd like to get your opinion on something. Can I venture to say that certification doesn't necessarily make the engineer?

Recently, I had the occasion to ponder the principle of fail-safe while whirling around at breakneck speeds 20 feet off the ground. Since nothing works perfectly forever—including terrifying carnival rides—it's reassuring to know that the principle of fail-safe takes this simple fact of life into account.

Whenever cancer is discussed, a familiar phrase is often heard: the earlier it's caught, the better the chances of survival. Early detection is the next best thing to avoiding cancer altogether, and now researchers are hoping to have discovered a safe, new method of detection that relies on a newcomer in the fight for early detection: the nanoparticle. More specifically, MIT's Tech Review reported last week that researchers are beginning early-stage clinical trials on infrared-emiting nanoparticles that they hope will prove effective in detecting early-stage melanoma.

It really bothers me when I see engineering students working on homework that rely upon computer-based references for equations.