Monthly Archives: January 2016

UTM ranked 3rd place for Malaysian Universities by Webometrics

 

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Johor Bahru, 31 Jan: UTM has been ranked the third highest among Malaysian Universities  listed by the Webometrics Ranking Web of Universities, for the Jan 2016 listing, Calculations for the ranking has been subjected to  a few changes compared to the previous calculation methodology.

PRESENCE. Total number of web pages, according to Google, excluding pdf files. Weight: 10%
VISIBILITY.  Recover larger value of the two inlinks providers (Ahrefs & Majestic), instead of using the average. 20 top linking domains and their corresponding backlinks the values to be excluded. Weight: 50%
OPENNESS.  Total number of .pdf files according to Google. Weight: 10%.
EXCELLENCE. The Scimago data (top 10% most cited papers by discipline) for the five year period 2009-2013. New Weight: 30%
(source: Webometrics)

Since 2004, the Ranking Web (or Webometrics Ranking) is published twice a year (data is collected during the first weeks of January and July for being public at the end of both months), covering more than 24,000 Higher Education Institutions worldwide. The main objective of this ranking is to motivate both institutions and scholars to have aweb presence that reflect  their activities accurately

Chinese Govt Scholarship and Fellowships

Greetings from the Office of International Cooperation of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).

USTC is the first university established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the member of the China 9 Consortium consisting of the top 9 universities in China (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C9_League) and according to the latest QS Asian University Rankings and Asia University Rankings published by the Times Higher Education (THE) magazine, it ranks between 2nd and 4th in the mainland.

I’m writing to introduce two scholarship programmes offered at USTC and would like to share with you and your students.

“Chinese Government Scholarship – University Postgraduate Program”
A scholarship set up by the Ministry of Education of China to support students and scholars from all over the world to conduct their study and research at Chinese universities. USTC is authorized to recruit full-time postgraduate students under the Chinese Government Scholarship.
 Coverage of the scholarship:
 Students are exempt from registration fee, tuition fee, and accommodation fee for dormitory on campus;
 Living allowance:  Master’s degree students: RMB 3,000 Yuan
Doctoral degree students: RMB 3,500 Yuan
 Comprehensive Medical Insurance and Protection Scheme for International Students in China.

“CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme for PhD Candidates from Developing Countries”
A fellowship programme sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) to provides students/scholars from developing countries (other than China) an opportunity to pursue PhD degrees in China. USTC is responsible for the enrollment and management of the PhD candidates of the CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme admitted by USTC. Students from developed countries can also apply for this programme.
 Coverage of the scholarship:
 Travel from their home countries to China will be provided to the fellowship awardees in order to begin the fellowship in China (one trip only per student/scholar).
 A monthly stipend (including accommodation and other living expenses, local travel expenses and health insurance) of RMB 7,000 or RMB 8,000 from CAS through UCAS/USTC, depending on whether he/she has passed the qualification test arranged by UCAS/USTC for all PhD candidates after admission. All awardees will also be provided tuition waivers.

The latest admission information will be released on this website:
http://isa.ustc.edu.cn
For more information about USTC, please refer to: http://en.ustc.edu.cn/
The schools of USTC: http://en.ustc.edu.cn/schools/
The doctoral supervisors: http://en.ustc.edu.cn/faculty/201105/t20110530_112483.html

You are always welcome to visit USTC and if we have the honor, cooperate with us.

Best Regards.

Linda Tian
Office of International Cooperation

University of Science and Technology of China
96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P. R. China
Tel:+86-551-63600279
Email: tianlin@ustc.edu.cn

Nominations for the CASS Student Awards

IEEE Circuits and Systems Society offer a number of awards each year, many with monetary rewards for the winner. The Pre-Doctoral Scholarship and Student Travel Awards are specifically intended for students.

Nominations should be submitted online by 15 February 2016.
Nominations for the CASS Student Awards require submission from their supervisor,
forward this email along to your designated supervisor for nomination purposes.

CAS Pre-Doctoral Scholarship Award

CASS offers two pre doctoral fellowships to recognize a young member enrolled in a PhD program in a field related to the Circuits and Systems Society field of interest. The recipient of the award will receive compensation of up to USD $1000 for travel to ISCAS to receive the award of USD $25,000, which can be used at the student’s discretion as a stipend or/and to cover tuition and fees. Two scholarships will be awarded each year.
Selection/Basis for Judging: Factors to be considered include:

  • A CASS Member for at least two years and enrolled in a PhD program related to the field of interest of CAS,
  • Applicants must provide evidence of strong CASS involvement,
  • Past performance,
  • Expected outcome of the research program and how it advances the state-of-the-art,
  • Significance of research,
  • and existing financial support.

Nomination Package: The nomination must not exceed 3 pages and should include:

  • Description of the PhD study plan
  • The expected outcome of the research program and how it advances the state-of-the-art
  • Evidences showing the significance of the research (papers, patents)
  • Disclosure of any available and/or secured financial support

The following items should be given as attachments:

  • Endorsement from his/her supervisor
  • Certificate/evidence of the enrollment in a PhD program (student ID card)
  • CV (with academic records)

The winners of the award are expected to report to CASS on their progress (including list of publications) twice: first at the end of the following academic year and second when completing their Ph.D. studies. Also, a report will be sent to all previous winners annually to update the CAS Society on the recipients achievements.

Click here to view the form.

 

Questions regarding awards and nominations should be sent to the CASS Administrator at manager@ieee-cas.org

Experts say electric cars could go mainstream

Think about your desktop computer, your flat-screen TV, or your smart phone.

At first, they seemed like a novelty. A few years later, everyone had them.

Think about your desktop computer, your flat-screen TV, or your smart phone.

At first, they seemed like a novelty. A few years later, everyone had them.

 

Will electric vehicles be next?

The question is hotly debated among car manufacturers, lawmakers, scholars, and electric vehicle (EV) aficionados. But with so many factors influencing car buyers’ decisions it’s not an easy one to answer.

Until recently, Georgia was poised to lead the way on EV adoption as one of the top states in the country for sales. However, advocates for the technology believe Georgia has been moving backward since last July, when a new law (House Bill 170) took effect that revoked a state tax credit of up to $5,000 and imposed a $200 annual registration fee. Since then, sales of electric vehicles have plummeted.

A loose coalition of Georgia utility providers, fuel station builders, EV advocates, waste and logistics industries and automobile manufacturers is currently lobbying for the creation of a legislative study committee to examine the financial impact eliminating the tax credit has had.

“I definitely think there is a role for the state to be involved,” said State Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, who chairs the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee and supported HB 170. “The question is how much do you do? What do you do? And how do you impact the people who may never use these vehicles?”

 

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January 26, 2016 Decatur – Don Francis, executive director of Clean Cities Georgia, charges his electric vehicle using DC Fast Charging station at Agnes Scott College electric vehicle charging station on Tuesday, January 26, 2016. DC fast charging provides a rapid recharge of battery electric vehicles, generally in less than 30 minutes. Interest in the factors that influence the adoption of electric vehicle technology has grown in Georgia following the Legislature’s decision to eliminate a $5,000 tax credit and impose a $200 per year registration fees. EV sales have plummeted 90 percent since last June, when the law took effect. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM

Gas v. electric vehicles

Incentives and fees aren’t the only factors influencing mainstream adoptions of electric vehicles.

A global glut of oil supplies caused average gas prices in the U.S. last week to drop to their lowest level in more than 12 years. The result: electric car sales have slowed, while purchases of sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks have risen.

Elon Musk, the CEO of electric car maker Tesla, said this week on CNN that the EV industry will likely suffer, at least until gas prices rise again.

Another big factor is the sale price of the vehicle, and the ongoing maintenance costs.

The battery life on an electric vehicle is limited and can cost more than $13,000 to replace. But improvements in battery technology are likely to extend battery life significantly in coming years. At the same time, electric vehicles don’t require periodic maintenance like oil changes and don’t have components that can break down on gasoline-fueled cars like transmissions and fuel pumps.

Stanford University Professor Tony Seba believes improvements in batteries will be the catalyst for the changeover to electric vehicles by bringing down ownership costs. He predicts that by 2026, all new cars sold in America will be electric vehicles.

Seba, who studies disruptive technologies, spoke earlier this month at an annual State of MARTA breakfast about electric and self-driving vehicles.

He said companies are investing heavily in the development of cheaper lithium batteries and building mega-factories to ramp up production. These new batteries will be more powerful and increase the range of electric vehicles (which can be 80 to 100 miles for a Nissan Leaf) to more than 200 miles on a single charge.

Right now only luxury auto maker Tesla can offer that kind of range, at a premium price upwards of $71,000. But by 2017 or so, more affordable car manufacturers including GM and Nissan will begin offering these higher-range vehicles, Seba said. Tesla also intends to introduce a car that can travel 600 miles on a charge by 2017.

The median car price in the U.S. today is $31,000.

Electric vehicles tend to be higher-priced than similar gas-powered models. But when EVs drop below a retail price of between $35,000 and $45,000, “then, no gas car above that price will be worth it,” Seba said, because the new breed of electric vehicles will cost only one-tenth of what it costs to fuel and maintain gasoline-powered cars.

Professor Jeremy J. Michalek, who leads the vehicle electrification group at Carnegie Mellon University, thinks a 10-year time frame for going all-electric is too optimistic. Even when all new car sales are electric, it will take decades more for the entire fleet to turn over.

Michalek points out that foreign policies, technology improvements, fluctuating oil prices and other factors will influence EV adoption.

“It is certainly possible electrics will disrupt and take over gasoline,” he said. “But it’s also possible that they won’t.”

 

The complete article can be found here.