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This collaboration also will lead to the development of innovations in nanotechnology, biotechnology, and large-scale systems. According to the document, nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate technological development in the next 20 years and will be incorporated into all aspects of technology that affect lives on a daily basis.
“Mechanical engineers can be at the forefront of developing new technology for environmental remediation, farming and food production, housing, transportation, safety, security, healthcare and water resources,” says the report, which is based on the proceedings of the Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering, which was held April 16–18 in Washington, D.C.
The summit, hosted by ASME at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, brought together more than 120 engineering and science leaders from 19 countries to define the elements of a shared vision that will keep the profession at the forefront of grand challenges and great contributions over the next 20 years.
Among the challenges, sustainable development, says the ASME report, will be a shared vision in the worldwide technical community, involving collaboration tools that allow “mechanical engineers to tap into the collective wisdom of an organization or network of stakeholders.”
According to the paper, nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate technological development in the next 20 years and will be incorporated into all aspects of technology that affect lives on a daily basis. “Nano-bio will provide the building blocks that future engineers will use to solve pressing problems in diverse fields including medicine, energy, water management, aeronautics, agriculture and environmental management.”
Other topics examined at the summit and discussed in the report include intellectual property, engineering education and lifelong learning, diversity, virtual design environments, and home-based fabrication.
“Engineers will be able to act as independent operators interacting with colleagues around the world,” the report says. “Engineers can design at home with advanced CAD systems or in collaboration with their global colleagues in virtual worlds. They will be able to use home-based fabrication technology to test many of their designs.
“As mechanical engineering looks to 2028, leaders will value people with diverse expertise and experience,” the document continues. “They will bring this global profession together to keep the promise of technology serving people. They will inspire men and women everywhere to believe that grand challenges are a rally cry for a profession that is ready for the adventure of making the difficult doable.”
To read ASME’s “2028 Vision for Mechanical Engineering” report, visit www.asmeconferences.org/asmeglobalsummit/FinalGlobalSummitReport.pdf.
The meeting, "Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering," drew together governors and past presidents of ASME, and members of the Industry Advisory Board, as well as deans of engineering, government officials, and other thinkers from the United States and abroad.
The summit consisted of a series of presentations and workshops spread over three days at the National Academies building. The group attempted to achieve consensus on core ideas that can be presented to the Board of Governors, who set the course for ASME as the organization representing the mechanical engineering profession.
One of the results was a list of "Essential Vision Elements" concerning technology dedicated to serving people. According to this vision, one of the goals of the profession in the next decades is to "develop engineering solutions that will foster a cleaner, healthier, safer and sustainable world." Mechanical engineers were seen developing technology to support sustainable solutions addressing issues of energy, environment, health, and water, and to provide engineering solutions designed to improve the quality of life for the technical have-nots who constitute the majority of the world's population.
In the same vein, the summit predicted that mechanical engineers will be at the forefront of developing and applying "leapfrogging technologies," in applying systems engineering knowledge to small- and large-scale systems, and in influencing political decision-making, public policy, and awareness.
Because it is the future under discussion, after all, there was a list of "Critical Uncertainties" that raise questions about what may happen in the years ahead. Four in particular were put forward:
• Will there be international cooperation across different political systems globally?
• Will there be the will to make the choices and investments for the grand challenges?
• How will MEs respond to unintended consequences of technological choices?
A final product of the meeting offers a to-do list of "Critical Choices." In at least one discussion, it was suggested that they would be better termed "Critical Paths."
Early in the proceedings, a presentation by Charles Vest, president of the National Academies of Engineering, drew a collective groan from his audience. According to Vest, students have been asked why they did not consider engineering as a course of study. One of the most frequent reasons they have given is that they chose instead to enter a field where they could make the world a better place.
That almost guaranteed that one of the critical choices would be that mechanical engineering as a profession needs to increase public awareness of the essential contributions of engineering to quality of life.
Another featured speaker, James Duderstadt, president emeritus of the University of Michigan, is the author of a report, "Engineering for a Changing World," published by the university's Millennium Project. His comments were taken largely from the report, which carries the subtitle "A Roadmap to the Future of Engineering Practice, Research, and Education." The text of the report is available on the Millennium Project's Web site at http://milproj.ummu.umich.edu/.
Duderstadt had a message to deliver about the image of engineering. "In the United States, the engineering profession tends to be held in relatively low public esteem," he said. But the part of Duderstadt's remarks that stirred the most discussion was a suggestion for restructuring the education of engineers. His proposal was to follow the model of law and medicine: A four-year liberal arts education in preparation for the professional degree in postgraduate study. In his report, Duderstadt writes, "Essentially all other learned professions have long ago moved in this direction (law, medicine, business, architecture), requiring a broad liberal arts baccalaureate education as a prerequisite for professional education at the graduate level." Such a model would let engineering students benefit from a broader educational experience, he said. The question arose of who will pay for the additional education. Duderstadt replied that when medicine went from a less rigorous course of training to its present system, society saw the value in it and paid for it. If society sees the value in highly trained engineers, it will pay for that, too.
Although not as specific as Duderstadt's suggestion, the critical choice list did include this one: "ME education will adapt and change in order to produce globally competitive engineers."
Four other points rounded out the list of critical choices:
• ME must take a leadership role in political, social, and cultural arenas.
• ME will continue to lead in the integration and multidisciplinary approaches.
• ME will develop a diverse pipeline of engineering talent.
• ME will expand partnerships and collaboration with and between public, academia, industry, government, and other engineering societies.
Groundwork for the summit included the preparation of a report, "The Future of Mechanical Engineering 2028," by a research firm called the Institute for Alternative Futures, which worked with ASME staff to coordinate the meeting. The IAF forecasts that "in 2028, the ten largest economies in the world will include the rapidly developing economies of China, India and Russia — followed closely behind by the fast-growing economies of Brazil and Mexico. This rapid economic growth will add to global environmental pressures and competition for scarce resources. The mechanical engineering profession will be challenged to develop new technologies and techniques that promote sustainability." Nanotechnology, biotechnology, and other influences will see engineers engaged in projects on the extremes of large- and small-scale systems. In many cases, these activities will "require greater knowledge and coordination of multidisciplinary engineering across greater distances and timeframes." The report also asserts, "A new field of systems engineering will incorporate much of the knowledge and practices of mechanical engineering."
According to IAF, ASME focus groups in November 2007 identified nine major influences, or drivers, that are seen as likely to shape the course of engineering practice over the next two decades. Ranked in the order of importance that the ASME focus groups assigned them, they are:
2. Engineering at the extremes of large- and small-scale systems.
3. The competitive edge of knowledge, which will see demands for greater technical knowledge and more depth in management, creativity, and problem-solving.
4. The collaborative advantage, in which the dominant players will be organizations that are successful at working together.
5. Nanotechnology and biotechnology, which are expected to dominate technological development in the next 20 years.
6. Regulating global innovation, to allow for both the increased sharing of knowledge and the protection of intellectual property.
7. The diverse face of engineering, partly as a result of globalization and increased mobility.
8. Designing at home, made possible by advances in computer-aided design, materials, and tools.
9. Engineering for the billions of people who live in poverty.
"We are at the stage where emergency situations are becoming more frequent," said Rick Sergel, president and CEO of NERC. "Though some improvements have been made, we are requiring our aging grid to bear more and more strain, and are operating the system at or near its limits more often than ever before."
The report details specific reliability findings, including:
"The new auto translator on the ASME Web site supports the Society's outreach and commitment to the international engineering community, which is a key to expanding our initiatives aimed at global markets," said Sam Y. Zamrik, president of ASME. "We will be adding other language translations including French, Russian, Japanese and Arabic as ASME develops the Web site to better serve its global members and customers."
ASME.ORG provides portals to an array of engineering knowledge, including information on technical publications, conferences, codes and standards, continuing education opportunities and other programs of value to the engineering and technology community.
For complete details visit: http://www.asme.org/Communities/EarlyCareer/Old_Guard_Early_Career.cfm.
The PPC consists of 42 modules on topics ranging from product development and writing cost proposals to team building and negotiation. The PPC also provides information on alternative engineering career paths such as patent law, marketing and sales, and entrepreneurship.
Currently, the 5 modules in the Career Transition Series are free of charge. ASME members additionally have access to the following 4 modules through the Members Only website:
To get started, please visit http://professionalpractice.asme.org.
Globalization affects everyone. Production lines are shipped overseas. Many business activities are located off-shored or outsourced. Products are marketed to hundred of countries and regions. Many engineers have to interact, collaborate, coordinate, or lead teams or work forces thousands of miles away, across cultures, and many time zones. Luckily, Globalization also renders engineers unprecedented opportunities. Now you can help your company break into many new markets, but you need the necessary knowledge and skills to fulfill it.
To help engineers and companies cope with these issues, ASME launched a new global training program - Global Management of Engineering and Technology (GMET), which covers the knowledge and skills you need to take products and services from design or drawing boards to the placement of goods on the shelves of department stores and super markets worldwide. Each GMET course has eight online modules with lecture notes, case studies, reading materials, online quizzes, a course library, and a class forum where trainees can interact with classmates and the trainer, followed by three-day live in-class training by the chief instructor. It suits a wide spectrum of learning habits, styles, and career paths. ASME has formed GMET global training partners in China, India, Malaysia, The Middle East, and North America. You can access the course materials through the website of ASME and its partners at anytime, and from anywhere throughout the world.
For more information, please visit: http://www.asme.org/Education/Courses/GMET/Global_Management_Technology.cfm