Slide1: Enabling 21st Century Engineers Joseph Bordogna National Science Foundation http:// www.nsf.gov/ Keynote Address 3rd Government - Industry - University Roundtable on Enhancing Engineering Education Gaithersburg, MD November 13, 1996


Slide2: Solutions Have a Finite Lifetime Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions. Peter M. Senge, “The Fifth Discipline”


Slide3: A 21st Century World Cognitive Revolution Diverse Workforce Defense Reinvestment Information Explosion Demographic Shifts Environmental Sustainability Finite Resources International Competition Global Economy Dual Use Shared Wealth


Slide4: Challenges for 21st Century Academe Increasing pace of technological innovation Post-cold war international politics New kinds of military conflicts and economic partnerships Shift from defense development to commercial competition; merging of defense and commercial industrial base Vastly improved global communications, intelligent information technology, and low-cost computing power Increasing number and strength of U. S. trading partners Changing demographics, expanding social infrastructure Environmental concerns increasingly important


Slide5: Composition of Federal Outlays % 1940 1965 1996 Total, $ Billion 9.5 118 1,600 Payments for Individuals All Other Net Interest National Defense


Slide6: The Federal Budget Dollar Where it goes.... FY 1996 Budget: $ 1.6 Trillion U. S. Economy: $ 6 Trillion National Debt: $ 5 Trillion


Slide7: U. S. R&D Funding Source: FY 1997 U. S. Budget 41% 59% $70 B $102 B Private Sector Federal Government Long-Term 10% Short-Term 90% Non- Defense 47% Defense 53%


Slide8: Innovation System Innovation Wealth Creation Sustainable Development Analysis Reduction Discovery of New Knowledge & Basic Laws Societal Needs The Public Good Natural Capital Devices Processes Systems Ideas Information Capital Formation & Investment Synthesis Integration Design Manufacture Maintenance Science Policy Context Engineering Economic Context


Slide9: The source of wealth is something specifically human: KNOWLEDGE Knowledge applied to tasks we already know how to do is PRODUCTIVITY Knowledge applied to tasks that are new and different is INNOVATION Managing for the Future: The 1990s and Beyond Peter F. Drucker, 1992


Slide10: Role of Industry: Wealth Creation The interaction of technological innovation with the competitive marketplace is the fundamental driving force in capitalist industrial progress. Joseph A. Schumpeter, 1942 Capitalism is a process of Creative Transformation


Slide11: Role of Federal Government: Physical and Intellectual Infrastructure A healthy, educated public Job creation, economic health and security World leadership in science, engineering, mathematics and technology Improved environmental quality and sustainable development Harnessed information technology Enhanced national security Goals of Federal government investment: Innovation Infrastructure


Slide12: Role of Academe: Building Capacity for Learning and Innovation Resource Investment Continuous Learning and Innovation Knowledge Integration Knowledge Creation Knowledge Transfer


Slide13: Evolution of Engineering Education in the USA 1749 “Mechaniks ... to be informed of the Principles of that Art by which weak Men perform such Wonders, Labour is saved, Manufactures expedited ...” “Balance useful knowledge with general knowledge to serve mankind.” Benjamin Franklin on curriculum for educating youth 1776 “Wealth of Nations” -- Making and Moving Things -- Adam Smith 1794 West Point Engineering School, New York -- George Washington 1817 First civil engineering curriculum at West Point modeled after Ecole Polytechnic 1821 First Civilian engineering course in U. S. at Norwich Academy, Vermont 1835 First engineering degrees, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. Based on 18th century focus on engineering as a blend of the arts, with creation of artifacts and systems to serve society. Laid foundation for liberality in engineering education that has blossomed in latter half of 20th century.


Slide14: Evolution of Engineering Education in the USA (continued)


Slide15: Evolution of Engineering Education in the USA (continued) Past: Curriculum in response to workforce needs for a new technology Future: Technology needs change quickly -- education must be more than a response Expertise in a single discipline is no longer enough Ability to contribute and thrive through change Engineering graduate: commodity or wealth creator? What are the fundamentals?


Slide16: Hardening of the Categories “There is no graver threat to the process of discovery than that dread disease, ‘hardening of the categories’.” Bob Miller Science Artist San Francisco


Slide17: “The past three centuries of science have been predominantly reductionist, attempting to break complex systems into simple parts, and those parts, in turn, into simpler parts. The reductionist program has been spectacularly successful, and will continue to be so. But it has often left a vacuum: How do we use the information gleaned about the parts to build up a theory of the whole? The deep difficulty here lies in the fact that the complex whole may exhibit properties that are not readily explained by understanding the parts. The complex whole, in a completely nonmystical sense, can often exhibit collective properties, ‘emergent’ features that are lawful in their own right.” Stuart Kauffman At Home in the Universe, 1994 The Complex Whole


Slide18: How to do Develop contextual skill for enhancing immediate productivity How to think and create Develop conceptual skill for thinking beyond the prevailing paradigm Training Education


Slide19: Attributes of an Attractive Engineering Graduate (Boeing Corporation, 1994) Good grasp of engineering science fundamentals Good understanding of the design process and manufacturing Basic understanding of the social/economic/political context in which engineering is practiced Good communication skills An ability to think both critically and creatively, independently and cooperatively Flexibility: an ability and the self-confidence to adapt to rapid/major change Curiosity and a desire to learn -- for life A profound understanding of the importance of team work


Slide20: Next Generation Engineering Career Paths Sustainable development: avoiding environmental harm; energy & materials efficiency Life cycle engineering; infrastructure creation and renewal Micro / nanotechnology / microelectromechanical systems Mega systems Smart systems Multimedia and computer-communications systems Living systems engineering Product and process development, quality and control System integration; system reconfiguration Creative enterprise transformation . . . ??


Slide21: Next Generation Engineering Skill Set Systems integration; synthesis Engineering science; analysis Problem formulation as well as problem solving Engineering design Ability to realize products Facility with intelligent technology to enhance creative opportunity Ability to manage complexity and uncertainty Teamwork; sensitivity in interpersonal relationships Language and multi-cultural understanding Ability to advocate and influence Entrepreneurship; management skills; decision making Knowledge integration, education and mentoring


Slide22: Engineering Education Paradigms Pre-1950: Focus on engineering practice; design according to codes and well-defined procedures; limited use of mathematics; many faculty with industrial experience and/or strong ties with industry 1950-1990: Focus on engineering sciences; fundamental understanding of phenomena; analysis; majority of faculty trained for academic research 1990-?: Focus on teamwork, communication, integration, design, making things, continuous improvement; maintain analytic strength


Slide23: Functional Core of Engineering Design to meet safety, reliability, environmental, cost, operational and maintenance objectives Manufacturing and construction / Ability to realize products Creation and operation of complex systems Understanding of physical constructs and economic, industrial, social, political, and international context in which engineering is practiced Understanding and participating in the process of research Intellectual skills needed for career-long learning


Slide24: Traditional Undergraduate Sequenced Curriculum Science Mathematics Humanities & Social Sciences Freshman Science Mathematics Eng. Science H . & S. S. Sophomore Eng. Science Disciplinary Eng. H . & S. S. Junior Disciplinary Eng. Design Project H . & S. S. Senior Passing Through Filters


Slide25: Holistic Engineering Curriculum Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Integrated Humanities/Social Sciences K-12 Hands-on Lab, Design, System Methodologies K-14 Interface Integrated, Unified, Science & Math As Needed Research Experience In-Depth Science Capstone Engineering Functional Core of Engineering Up Front In-Depth Disciplinary Engineering Baccalaureate Interface BS/MS (Practice Oriented) BS (Industry) BS/PhD (Research Oriented)


Slide26: Components of a Holistic Baccalaureate Education Vertical (In-depth) Thinking Abstract Learning Reductionism - Fractionization Develop Order Understand Certainty Analysis Research Solve Problems Develop Ideas Independence Technological - Scientific Base Engineering Science Lateral (Functional) Thinking Experiential Learning Integration - Connecting the Parts Correlate Chaos Handle Ambiguity Synthesis Design / Process / Manufacture Formulate Problems Implement Ideas Teamwork Societal Context / Ethics Functional Core of Engineering


Slide27: Characteristics of Next Generation Engineering Graduates Understand the functional core of the engineering process. Analyze and synthesize; formulate problems and solve them; become adept at group problem-solving strategies. Think across disciplines (laterally) as well as in disciplinary depth (vertically). Communicate ideas effectively to influence diverse groups, including non-engineers; act both independently and as a team member. Recognize the relationship of the engineering enterprise to the social/economic/political context of engineering practice and the key role of this context in engineering decisions.. Develop the motivation, knowledge base, and intellectual capacity for career-long learning.


Slide28: Practice-Oriented Master’s-Level Curriculum Engineering Education Enable Next Generation Engineer


Slide29: Mainframe computer PC PDA Online services -- travel, real estate, investing, auto purchasing, . . . Educational software for individual learners Mass production flexible & agile manufacturing Customer control -- ATMs, salad bars, self-serve gas pumps Total quality management concepts Knowledge networking Learning and intelligent systems - augmenting the capacity to learn and create . . . Creative transformation Power, responsibility, information away from centralized control to the individual Distributed Intelligence


Slide30: Distributed Intelligence Enables Human-Centered Systems Digital libraries -- large, broadly accessible knowledge base Data mining -- filtering, integrating, interpreting Convergence of computing and communications High-confidence systems -- privacy, security, reliability Machinery for predictability Wireless, low-power, mobile systems Simulation capability improvements Biomedical informatics -- imaging, computational biology, computer-assisted decision making Understanding of human cognition and learning processes Empowering the Individual -- Augmenting the capacity to learn and create


Slide31: Learning and Intelligent Systems Augment the capacity to learn and create through Discovery of underlying principles of human intelligence and learning Creation of intelligent machines with synthetic learning capability Integration of knowledge about human learning processes with learning strategies New technologies and systems to enable learners to harness distributed intelligence infrastructure Design and implementation of seamless human-machine interfaces


Slide32: Learning and Intelligent Systems Learning technologies Insights into learning and cognitive functioning Computational tools in learning Collaborative learning across physical and virtual communities Collaborative human-machine learning Using digital libraries in learning Knowledge-on-demand pedagogies


Slide33: Challenges for 21st Century Academe See the world whole; sense the coupling among seemingly disparate fields of endeavor Perform synthesis in balance with analysis Build connections between the world of learning and the world beyond Innovate Educate students to: