Through the daily grind of calculating forces, balancing energy systems, solving ODEs and coding MATLAB, we engineering students usually find ourselves caught up in the "nitty-gritty" of engineering. As future engineering leaders, however, I think it's important that we keep the "big picture" in mind as well.
In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering, based in the United States, published its list of "Grand Challenges for Engineering". The list was created by a committee of leading engineers that considered a range of inputs from technical experts and the general public. The committee identified 14 grand challenges that engineers will engage with this century, namely:
- Make solar energy economical
- Provide energy from fusion
- Develop carbon sequestration methods
- Manage the nitrogen cycle
- Provide access to clean water
- Restore and improve urban infrastructure
- Advance health informatics
- Engineer better medicines
- Reverse-engineer the brain
- Prevent nuclear terror
- Secure cyberspace
- Enhance virtual reality
- Advance personalized learning
- Engineer the tools of scientific discovery
It certainly is a "grand" list of challenges, and definitely provides some food for thought, but by no means is it exhaustive. There may be many more challenges just waiting to appear that none of us have even thought to consider.
What are your thoughts? Do you agree? Any major challenges you think they've missed? Please leave a comment below.
Also, if you'd like to know more about each of the challenges, head to the website: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/
Or, you can download a PDF booklet on all the challenges here
What about engineering world peace?
ReplyDeleteoh, and flying cars.... we need flying cars