In The News: Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering
Mom couldn't find a company to create a robotic hand for her daughter, so she came up with a novel solution.

Building a house with no prior experience is tough enough, but imagine constructing one knowing that you would soon have to split it into multiple parts and transport it out of state. That is just part of the challenge that 30 UNLV students face as they prepare for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2017 competition next month. The winning school takes home $300,000.

A group of Nevada researchers plans to take solar eclipse viewing to new heights. They’re launching a balloon outfitted with cameras to the edge of space just as the eclipse shadow rolls over eastern Oregon and Idaho. The idea is to capture unique images from the first total solar eclipse viewable from the contiguous United States since 1979.

A gender gap persists in science, technology, engineering and math, a problem that researchers say could begin to be understood and then solved through research. U.S. Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., has introduced two pieces of legislation to address the issue. The Building Blocks of STEM and Code Like a Girl acts both seek to fund research into early childhood STEM education.
While 3D printed prosthetics are good at helping people complete simple tasks like holding a pen or opening a door, we’ve also seen some special 3D printed prostheses for use in activities like playing an instrument, running, or playing sports, like baseball. 7-year-old Hailey Dawson, who is missing the three middle fingers on her right hand, wants to show people that kids with handicaps like hers can still have great lives and enjoy normal activities. You may ask how exactly she plans to do this, and the answer is pretty interesting – by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for every Major League Baseball (MLB) game.

Demand in the cyber security field is relentless, but no one seems to want to do it the job. In fact, in Las Vegas, the lack of cyber security specialists has been a problem for a long time.

Rama Venkat, dean of the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, is calling UNLV’s latest collaboration — a $5 million, five-year master service agreement with Lockheed Martin — “one of a kind.”
Diversification of the economy has been a goal of many Nevada local and state officials for the past several years. While the resort corridor drives a large portion of the local economy, some experts are starting to take notice of a changing economic landscape in Clark County.

Seventy-nine cents to the dollar. You’ve probably heard that statistic on the gender pay gap, a longtime wedge issue and soapbox topic for politicians, feminists and celebrities.

On most class projects, students are concerned with their grade. At the Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition, engineering students at UNLV also are concerned with winning cash and maybe even getting their project on the market.

Less than two weeks from graduation, some UNLV students seem a bit more prepared for taking on the challenges of the real world.

UNLV received a $1.4 million federal grant to research the design, construction and maintenance of future high-speed rail projects, U.S. Sen Harry Reid, D-Nevada, and Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, announced on Thursday.