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February 2011 Issue

Special Report: Dream Jobs 2011

If the words “true bliss” along with “job market” evoke snorts of derision, you need to meet these 10 odds-defying technologists. Learn how you, too, can become the envy of your peers

2 min read

Features

In-depth articles from top experts, Spectrum editors, and contributors

Smarter Cars? There's an App for That

By turning your car into the largest mobile telecommunications device you own, automakers hope to keep you productive, connected, informed, and entertained

8 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Visionary Engineer Transforms a California High School

Aided by robots, Amir Abo-Shaeer cultivates the next generation’s engineers

4 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Meet Weta Digital’s Master of Face Animation

Academy Award-winner Mark Sagar makes virtual visages that smile, scowl, and shimmer

7 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Voyaging to Canada’s Underwater Observatory

As the lead engineer for NEPTUNE Canada, Lucie Pautet manages a seafloor sensor network

5 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Teaching Astronauts How to Survive

At the European Space Agency, Loredana Bessone prepares explorers for the rigors of space

5 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Help Wanted?

What technology recruiters are looking for

3 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: At Work at ESPN’s Hidden Sports-Tech Paradise

Ricky Langer has landed in the envy-inducing vortex of his passions: ESPN’s tech team

5 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Play It Again, Sergei

John Q. Walker brings back the sounds of musical greats

4 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Abu Dhabi’s Prince of Podcars

Jaap Duiser is the engineer behind 2getthere’s personal rapid transit system in Masdar, the Middle East’s budding eco-city

4 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Laser Rocketeer Shoots for Liftoff

LaserMotive's Jordin Kare aims to propel rockets and helicopters with light

4 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Meet Hsin-Chien Huang, Pixel Provocateur

How an engineer became one of Taiwan’s best-known artists

4 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Insect Imagineer

Gus Lott designs virtual reality systems for bugs and rats so that we can study their brains—and ours

6 min read

Dream Jobs 2011: Where Are They Now?

Four technologists check in

2 min read

Next-Generation Supercomputers

Supercomputers are now running our search engines and social networks. But the heady days of stunning performance increases are over

10 min read

Book Review: The Fuller Memorandum

The final episode in Charles Stross's Laundry Files trilogy proves that he is the new king of sci-fi - and a bunch of other genres, too

4 min read

Book Review: Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light

Jane Brox tells the story of our long and sudden emergence from darkness

2 min read

News

Insight and analysis on the latest advances in technology

Technology Winners of 2011

IEEE Spectrum chose these tech projects, all new and relatively untested, as having the greatest chances for the coming year

10 min read

Opinion

Spectrum editors and columnists comment on major tech trends

The President and the E-Word

When presidents call engineers by their first names, and when they don't

4 min read

Departments

Articles on DIY projects, engineering careers, and tech history

Balloon-Borne Photography

Get a bird's-eye view on a budget

5 min read

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February 2011 Issue

If the words “true bliss” along with “job market” evoke snorts of derision, you need to meet these 10 odds-defying technologists. Learn how you, too, can become the envy of your peers

By turning your car into the largest mobile telecommunications device you own, automakers hope to keep you productive, connected, informed, and entertained

Aided by robots, Amir Abo-Shaeer cultivates the next generation’s engineers

Academy Award-winner Mark Sagar makes virtual visages that smile, scowl, and shimmer

As the lead engineer for NEPTUNE Canada, Lucie Pautet manages a seafloor sensor network

At the European Space Agency, Loredana Bessone prepares explorers for the rigors of space

What technology recruiters are looking for

Ricky Langer has landed in the envy-inducing vortex of his passions: ESPN’s tech team

John Q. Walker brings back the sounds of musical greats

Jaap Duiser is the engineer behind 2getthere’s personal rapid transit system in Masdar, the Middle East’s budding eco-city

LaserMotive's Jordin Kare aims to propel rockets and helicopters with light

How an engineer became one of Taiwan’s best-known artists

Gus Lott designs virtual reality systems for bugs and rats so that we can study their brains—and ours

Four technologists check in

Supercomputers are now running our search engines and social networks. But the heady days of stunning performance increases are over

The final episode in Charles Stross's Laundry Files trilogy proves that he is the new king of sci-fi - and a bunch of other genres, too

Jane Brox tells the story of our long and sudden emergence from darkness

IEEE Spectrum chose these tech projects, all new and relatively untested, as having the greatest chances for the coming year

Europeans announce the first organic microprocessor

Device acts like a laser in reverse, could become a silicon photonics component

Researchers upend understanding of olfactory organs with quantum tunneling experiment

Nanowires made into logic tiles could be basis of low-power nanoprocessors

Reformed IP legal system deals blows to Applied Materials and Lam Research

As science becomes more data intensive, so does our language

When presidents call engineers by their first names, and when they don't

Don't let yourself be ambushed at an "unimportant" meeting

By 2012, new German installations may fall off, but worldwide capacity will still rise sharply

Engineers who want something more tech-oriented than an MBA are rediscovering an old degree

Whether to advance to management, work on Wall Street, or turn a ripe idea into a business venture, getting an MBA is a popular career move

Get a bird's-eye view on a budget

Explore more issues

Download this issue