Engineering

Engineering Profession Must Adapt to Maintain Future Leadership

To help maintain the nation's economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life worldwide, engineering education in the United States must anticipate and adapt to the dramatic changes of engineering practice expected in the coming decades, says a new National Academy of Engineering report. The report recommends ways to improve engineers’ training and prepare them for the complex technical, social, and ethical questions raised by emerging technologies.


Annual Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

Eighty-six of the nation's brightest young engineers recently attended the National Academy of Engineering's tenth annual Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The three-day event, held in Irvine CA, explored topics in multi-scale modeling, designer materials, engineering for extreme environments, and engineering and entertainment.


Engineers of Tomorrow Need Broader Training Today

Today's engineering students may not be adequately educated to meet the demands that will be made of their profession in 2020, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering. The undergraduate engineering experience needs to be reshaped to attract students to the profession, prepare them to compete in the global marketplace, and ensure that America's pre-eminence in engineering is not lost.


Engineers, Health Professionals Should Work to Improve Health Care

The US health care industry has neglected engineering strategies and technologies that have revolutionized quality, productivity, and performance in many other industries, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine. Health care professionals and engineers should work more closely together to address serious challenges in health care issues, such as the nearly 100,000 preventable deaths every year and high costs and rates of uninsurance.


WTOP Radio Features Engineering News

Get ahead of engineering news with the WTOP Radio and the National Academy of Engineering's ongoing project to highlight engineering innovations and to add technical context to current issues in the news. Topics range from treating cartilage injuries to building security arrays. Their Web page offers audio transcripts, articles and outside resources for more information.


Globalization and Engineering

The fall edition of The Bridge, the National Academy of Engineering's magazine, focuses on globalization and engineering. This edition highlights materials research and development and the impacts of offshoring jobs. The issue features contributions by Lamar Alexander and Peter Bridenbaugh as well as comments from NAE President Wm. A. Wulf and NAE Foreign Secretary George Bugliarello. The Bridge publishes original essays and occasionally reprints relevant articles published elsewhere on engineering research, education, and practice; science and technology policy; and the roles of engineering and technology in all aspects of society.


Recipients of 2006 Engineering Honors Announced

The National Academy of Engineering has announced the recipients of two $500,000 prizes. Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith will share the Charles Stark Draper Prize for the Charge-Coupled Device, a key component of many imaging technologies. Jens E. Jorgensen, John S. Lamancusa, Lueny Morell, Allen L. Soyster, and Jose Zayas-Castro will receive the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for the Learning Factory, an undergraduate educational program tackling real-world engineering challenges.


Winners of 2006 Engineering Awards Honored

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) awarded two prestigious $500,000 prizes at a gala dinner on February 21. The Draper Prize recognizes engineering accomplishments that have significantly benefited society, and the Gordon Prize recognizes experiments in education that lead to effective engineering leaders. The Charles Stark Draper Prize went to Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith "for the invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a light-sensitive component at the heart of digital cameras and other widely used imaging technologies." The Bernard M. Gordon Prize will be shared by Jens E. Jorgensen, John S. Lamancusa, Lueny Morell, Allen L. Soyster, and José Zayas-Castro "for creating the Learning Factory, where multidisciplinary student teams develop engineering leadership skills by working with industry to solve real-world problems."


NAE Names Participants for US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

The National Academy of Engineering has chosen 81 of the nation's brightest young engineers to participate in the 12th annual US Frontiers of Engineering symposium. The participants -- between the ages of 30 and 45 -- were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and selected from nearly 200 applicants.


Americans' Technological Literacy Not Well Assessed

The federal government, state governments, and the private sector should develop tests and surveys to measure Americans' knowledge and use of technology and their ability to make informed decisions on issues involving technology, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. These assessments could improve how technology is taught and help policymakers better respond to public concerns about technology.


Former MIT President Charles Vest Nominated for Next NAE President

A National Academy of Engineering nominating committee has unanimously recommended Charles M. Vest, president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for election to succeed Wm. A. Wulf as NAE president. Vest became an NAE member in 1993 and has served on numerous National Academies study committees, most recently the 2005 report "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future." If elected by NAE's membership, Vest will begin a six-year term on July 1, 2007.


WWW Developer and Other Recipients of 2007 Engineering Prizes Announced

The National Academy of Engineering announced the recipients of three $500,000 prizes. Timothy J. Berners-Lee will receive the Charles Stark Draper Prize for developing the World Wide Web. Yuan-Cheng "Bert" Fung will be awarded the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize for his pioneering work in biomechanics. Harold S. Goldberg, Jerome E. Levy, and Arthur W. Winston will share the Bernard M. Gordon Prize for developing a multidisciplinary graduate program designed to produce engineering leaders.


NAE Launches EngineeringChallenges.org

The National Academy of Engineering invites the public to brainstorm about ways engineering can help shape the world's future. A prestigious international committee of experts in science and technology, chaired by former US Defense Secretary William Perry, will use submitted ideas to identify Grand Challenges for Engineering.


NAE Launches EngineerYourLife.org

In conjunction with National Engineers Week, the National Academy of Engineering and a coalition of engineering and educational organizations launched "Engineer Your Life," a new Web site to encourage academically prepared girls to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs. The site is part of a national effort to tell high school girls, and the adults in their lives, about what it is like to be an engineer.


State Science and Technology Policy Advice: Issues, Opportunities, and Challenges: Summary of a National Convocation

The federal government plays the predominant role in supporting research and development (R&D) and in establishing public policies that affect science and technology (S&T) in the United States. However, state and local policy makers are unquestionably making more and more decisions that affect all of us on a daily basis. With this shift, states have also assumed an increasing responsibility for developing, formalizing, and institutionalizing policies and programs that support R&D and enable S&T evidence and expertise to be incorporated into policy making. These issues were explored during a first-of-its-kind National Convocation in which scientists, engineers, state policy makers, experts from state regulatory agencies, representatives from foundations, and experts in scientific communication from 20 states and the District of Columbia participated in this event.


EVENT: Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development

The NAE Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society will convene a workshop on October 2-3, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The workshop will explore 1) engineering and special vulnerabilities that may arise from conflicts, crises, or lack of development; 2) the interface of engineering, ethics, and practice; and 3) implications for engineering education. The workshop will also feature discussions onearly career perspectives, how engineering might better address complex choices and cultural conflicts, and potential action items. The full program and registration information for this free, public event are available online.

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New Website on Technological Literacy Launched

The NAE has launched a new web site on technological literacy called “Technically Speaking.” Learn about the Academy’s relationship with technology, common misconceptions, and the Government's role in the development and use of technology.

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Students Imagine Ways to Engineer Energy for the Future

The National Academy of Engineering announced today the winners of its EngineerGirl! national essay contest about how engineers might meet changing energy needs without harming the environment. More than 200 students in grades three through 12 submitted original essays on renewable sources -- such as wind, water, and sunlight -- and more efficient energy generation methods.

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NAE Identifies Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering

Encouraging young people to make a difference in the world through an engineering career is more likely to attract them to the field than emphasizing the challenge of math and science skills, says a new report from the National Academy of Engineering. The report offers tested messages that reposition engineering as a satisfying profession that involves creative ideas and teamwork. It also recommends that the engineering community begin using these messages in a coordinated communications strategy.

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Engineering, Social Justice, and Sustainable Community Development

The NAE Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society will convene a workshop on October 2-3, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The workshop will explore 1) engineering and special vulnerabilities that may arise from conflicts, crises, or lack of development; 2) the interface of engineering, ethics, and practice; and 3) implications for engineering education. The workshop will also feature discussions on early career perspectives, how engineering might better address complex choices and cultural conflicts, and potential action items. The full program and registration information for this free, public event are available online.

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NAE Public Symposium: Grand Challenges For Engineering - How Do We Make Them Happen

The Grand Challenges for Engineering project is designed to spark public discussion and awareness that engineering is essential to addressing current and emerging societal issues. Meeting the challenges will require the support of the public and policy makers. As we stand less than two months before the U.S. presidential election, we hope to inspire an informed conversation about the hurdles of public backing and policy issues that stand in the way of addressing the Grand Challenges for Engineering. The Symposium will take place Monday, October 6, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM in Washington, DC. There is no charge to attend but registration is required.

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Grand Challenges for Engineering Spur Discussion at NAE Annual Meeting

Representatives of the presidential campaigns of Sens. Obama and McCain, journalists, and members of the National Academy of Engineering's committee on the "Grand Challenges for Engineering" participated in a lively discussion of how to encourage action on this century's greatest engineering challenges and opportunities. The participants agreed that if met, any of the 14 challenges would improve life around the world.

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For additional information visit The National Academies Subject page.