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The engineers of 2020 must be technically sound in their disciplines, global citizens, as well as aspirational, ethical leaders. To foster a new generation of engineering talent, modern curricula must advance strong analytical skills, teamwork, professionalism, and leadership. However, new curriculum with poor student retention cannot be deemed successful. We believe we possess the key components of a successful program, such as well-designed curricula, dedicated faculty and strong support services, yet many students leave our School. There is widespread speculation about the reasons for leaving, including financial need and lack of academic preparedness. To address these national and local retention phenomena, an evaluation process was designed to obtain quantitative information about why our students leave. The study assessed student attitudes associated with educational experiences in their new major contrasted to their engineering experiences. Thus, information gained could be a basis for decision making for future processes and proposed improvements. Engineering is committed to the challenge of developing solutions to increase the overall retention rate and diversity of engineering graduates to meet both internal and external pressures for accountability and industry demands. This paper will address some of the viable solutions to counter the problems identified in our study as well as a discussion of how they have been implemented in our school.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) science and engineering practices are ways of eliciting the reasoning and applying foundational ideas in science. As research has revealed barriers to states and schools adopting the NGSS, this mixed-methods study attempts to identify characteristics of professional development (PD) that will support NGSS adoption and to improve teacher readiness. In-service science teachers from across the nation were targeted for the survey and responses represented 38 states. Research questions included: How motivated and prepared are in-service 7-12 teachers to use NGSS science and engineering practices? What is the profile of 7-12 in-service teachers who are motivated and feel prepared to use NGSS science and engineering practices? The study revealed that teachers identified engineering most frequently as a PD need to improve their NGSS readiness. High school teachers rated themselves as more prepared than middle school and all teachers who use Modeling Instruction expressed higher NGSS readiness. These findings and their specificity contribute to current knowledge, and can be utilized by districts in selecting PD to support teachers in preparing to implement the NGSS successfully. 416

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This paper presents research on student performance outcomes, satisfaction, and retention rates in a fiber optics course at Arizona State University. Although the course typically has been taught by conventional methods for over 20 years, the instructor offered alternative delivery methods, such as the Web, during the Fall 2000 semester. This course was also unique in that it was comprised of diverse groups such as undergraduates and graduates and on-and off-campus students. Although online students were significantly more satisfied with the course, performance outcomes and retention rates were favorable overall. It is likely that course options and convenience aided in student outcomes and course retention.

Most research on object recognition and categorization centers on vision. However, these phenomena are likely influenced by the commonly used modality of touch. The present study tested this notion by having participants explore three-dimensional objects using vision and haptics in naming and sorting tasks. Results showed greater difficulty naming (recognizing) and sorting (categorizing) objects haptically. For both conditions, error increased from the concrete attribute of size to the more abstract quality of predation, providing behavioral evidence for shared object representation in vision and haptics.

Background Molecular analysis has revealed four subtypes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). One subtype identified for the presence of DNA damage repair deficiency can be targeted therapeutically with the poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib. We performed a single institution retrospective analysis of treatment response in patients with PDAC treated with olaparib who have DNA damage repair deficiency mutations. Subjects, Materials, and Methods Patients with germline or somatic mutations involving the DNA repair pathway were identified and treated with olaparib. The primary objective was to examine the objective response rate (ORR). The secondary objectives were assessing tolerability, overall survival, and change in cancer antigen 19‐9. Quantitative texture analysis (QTA) was evaluated from CT scans to explore imaging biomarkers. Results Thirteen individuals with metastatic PDAC were treated with Olaparib. The ORR to Olaparib was 23%. Median overall survival (OS) was 16.47 months. Four of seven patients with BRCA mutations had an effect on RAD51 binding, with a median OS of 24.60 months. Exploratory analysis of index lesions using QTA revealed correlations between lesion texture and OS (hepatic lesion tumor texture correlation coefficient [CC], 0.683, p = .042) and time on olaparib (primary pancreatic lesion tumor texture CC, 0.778, p = .023). Conclusion In individuals with metastatic PDAC who have mutations involved in DNA repair, Olaparib may provide clinical benefit. BRCA mutations affecting RAD51 binding domains translated to improved median OS. QTA of individual tumors may allow for additional information that predicts outcomes to treatment with PARP inhibitors. Implications for Practice Pursuing germline and somatic DNA sequencing in individuals with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma may yield abnormalities in DNA repair pathways. These individuals may receive benefit with poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition. Radiomics and deep sequencing analysis may yet uncover additional information that may predict outcome to treatment with PARP inhibitors.