April2009EngineerscanchangetheworldEngineershaveanimportantplaceinAmericanculture,butgettingthatmessageacrosstostudentsismoreofachallengetodaythaneverbefore.Thenationandworldneedwelltrainedengineerswhocaninterfacewithothersegmentsofsociety."Weneedtohelpyoungpeoplethinkmoreclearlyaboutwhatwedoandwhyit'simportant,"saidChuckVest,presidentoftheNationalAcademyofEngineeringandpresidentemeritusoftheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,duringtheMarch2009NationalAcademyofEngineering'sGrandChallengesSummitinDurham,N.C.
"Whenweaskedyoungpeoplewhytheydidn'tgointoengineering,theysaid,'Iwantedtohelpmakethingsbetter.'Sowe'redoingamiserablejobofexplainingwhatwedo.
"We'reallaboutturningdreamsintoreality,wearecreativeproblemsolvers,"hesaid.Thekeycomponentisnecessity."Whatweneedisinnovationandactionfromindustry,media,andgovernment,"Vestsaid.
Themessagethatpermeatedthetwodaysummitwasnoneofthesechallengesarenew,whatisnewisthattheyareglobal.Thepurposeofthesummitwastoinciteengineersandstudentstobeharbingersoftechnologicalinnovationandscientificphilanthropy.Duringtheevent,engineeringleaderscouldnotemphasizeenoughhowuniversitieswillneedtobeknowledgebrokersaswellaslocalandfederalpolicymakersinindustrytosolvethesevastproblems.
"Thisisatimeofgreatopennessofchangetoournationandtheworld,"saidDukeUniversity'sDeanofEngineeringTomKatsouleas."Butthedoorwaytochangewillnotremainopenlong.Weneedtoputinplaceinstitutionalchangestoallowustosustaineffortswhenopennesstochangehasabated.Universityleaderswillneedtobeengagedcommittingthemselvestoresearchandworkthatfostersandrewardscollaborationandteamworkacrossdisciplines,"hesaid."Weneedtochangethewayweteachintheclassroom,encouragingstudentstostepoutsidetheircomfortzonesandmakethemawareofhowtheyimpactthehumancondition."
14grandchallengesPresentationsthroughoutthesummitincludedexperttestimonyfromengineers,professors,andbusinessprofessionalsfromacrossthecountryonhowtheindustrywillmeetthe14grandchallengesengineersfaceforthefuture.
Thechallengesfallunderfourmaingroups:sustainabilityandtheenvironment,theroleofengineeringinimprovingmedicineandhealthcaredelivery,enhancingsecuritybyreducinghumanvulnerabilityfromhumanmadeandnaturalthreats,andenhancingthehumancapabilityforjoy.
Thechallengesthemselvesrangefrommakingsolarenergyeconomical,providingenergyfromfusion,developingcarbonsequestrationmethods,andprovidingcleanwateracrosstheworldtoadvancinghealthinformatics,betterengineeringmedicines,andpreventingchemicalandbiologicalwarfareandnuclearterror.Otherchallengesincludeenhancingvirtualreality,advancingpersonalizedlearning,andengineeringthetoolsofscientificdiscovery.
Andthechallengesdonotstopatscienceandtechnologyentrepreneurssharedtheirknowledgeabouthowtosellthesegrandideastobusinessesandpolicymakers,reinforcingthenotionthatengineeringisnotjustforhermetictechnogeeks,butanallencompassingcareerchoiceforinnovative,businessminded,creativethinkerswhoareexcitedtotakeonthechallengeofchangingtheworldtheyliveinforthebetter.
Thegrandchallengeoftoday'sengineersisprimarilyabouthumaningenuityandtechnology,saidLincolnPratson,associateprofessorofsedimentarygeologyattheNicholasSchoolfortheEarthandtheEnvironmentatDukeUniversity."Engineersarewellpositionedtoleadourenergyrevolution.Butwe'llneedleadersfromallwalksoflife,business,government,law,andpolicy,"hesaid."Inthecaseof21stCenturyenergy,specialopportunitiesexistforthosewhocancommunicatewiththosefromotherfields."
Pratsonworkswithstudentsinenvironmentalprogramsandprofessionalstudentspursuingmanagementdegreesinlawandpublicpolicy.Hisgoalwithintheschemeofthegrandchallengesistobepartofthesolutiontoprovidingcleanaffordableenergyforallaroundtheworld."Weneedtomakeinvestmentsnow,"hesaid.Increasingpovertyisassociatedwithrisingdemandandoutstrippingsupply.Weareingeopoliticalturmoil."
Butthekeytomeetingthechallengeliesinpeople."Nomatterhowdisparatealltheseadvancesare,theyhaveonekeyelementincommonthehumanelementtheheartandbrainsofourenergysystem,"hesaid."Peopleareattendingtheseconferencesaroundtheworldbecausetheywanttodomorethanchangeoutincandescentbulbs."
Onenergyindependence,EmilJacobs,ExxonMobil'svicepresidentofresearchanddevelopment,offeredaviewpointfromindustry."Theaspirationofenergyindependenceofanycountryisveryloftyandalmostimpossibletoachieve,"hesaid."Thetargetweshouldhaveisenergysecuritytheabilitytohavetheenergyyouneedtosupporteconomicdevelopment.There'snotasilverbullethere.We'llneedeveryoptionavailablecoal,naturalgas,oil,biofuel,nuclear,soil,andwind.
EllenFussellPolicastro([email protected])writesandeditsWorkforceDevelopment.
