Talk about the cool things that can happen for science and engineering students. As AP reports, "WASHINGTON—Emma Cardini never envisioned herself rappelling down the sides of buildings. She's a civil engineer, not a thrill-seeker. But for a second straight day on Thursday, she was a high-wire celebrity and object of fascination for gawking tourists as she made her way up and down the east face of the Washington Monument to document earthquake damage."

This story -- and the photos -- caught our eye because it came just a few days after Business Roundtable President John Engler spoke at a conference on STEM education -- science, technology, engineering and math -- sponsored by U.S. News and World Report. The theme for the day, "Making Science Cool: Solving the Shortage of Math and Science Students." Well, rappelling down the Washington Monument is about as cool as you can get (although if you wore a Ninja outfit ...).

And who is Emma Cardini? She's a 32-year-old engineer who's part of the four-person "difficult access team" assembled by her employers, Wiss, Janey, Elstner Associates, the Northbrook, Ill., firm of engineers, architects and material sciences. The firm has a webpage devoted to work on the monument.

Cardini gained her rappelling skills after college, an impressive education at Tufts University, concluding with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a Master of Engineering Science in Structural Engineering. You don’t get into Tufts to study those fields without a sound high school career in engineering and science.

Not every science or engineering or math job is going to be “cool.” Some may even involve tedium. But if "cool" is what you're after, STEM education can definitely get you there.

BTW, U.S. News has updated its coverage of the Monday event, including video of the entire conference. Go to "Watch: U.S. News's Making Science Cool," and you can watch the interview of BRT President John Engler by Editor Brian Kelly below: