1 The NAE Grand Challenges and the Role of Civil Engineering by Richard K. Miller President Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA 2009 ASCE Annual CE Department Heads Conference The Nines Hotel Portland, OR May 26-28, 2009

2 Looking Back to the 20 th Century:

3 Looking Ahead to the 21 st Century: NAE’s 14 Engineering Grand Challenges

4 The NAE Grand Challenge Committee William PerryWilliam Perry, Committee Chair, (Former Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense) Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor and Professor of Engineering, Stanford University Alec BroersAlec Broers, Chairman, Science and Technology Select Committee, United Kingdom House of Lords Farouk El-BazFarouk El-Baz, Research Professor and Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University Wesley HarrisWesley Harris, Department Head and Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bernadine HealyBernadine Healy, Health Editor and Columnist, U.S. News & World Report W. Daniel HillisW. Daniel Hillis, Chairman and Co-Founder, Applied Minds, Inc. Calestous JumaCalestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard University Dean KamenDean Kamen, Founder and President, DEKA Research and Development Corp. Raymond KurzweilRaymond Kurzweil, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc. Robert LangerRobert Langer, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jaime LernerJaime Lerner, Architect and Urban Planner, Instituto Jaime Lerner Bindu LohaniBindu Lohani, Director General and Chief Compliance Officer, Asian Development Bank Jane LubchencoJane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University Mario MolínaMario Molína, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Larry PageLarry Page, Co-Founder and President of Products, Google, Inc. Robert SocolowRobert Socolow, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University Environmental Institute J. Craig VenterJ. Craig Venter, President, The J. Craig Venter Institute Jackie YingJackie Ying, Executive Director, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

5 Observations: Transcend time zones Transcend political boundaries Belong to the next generation (students) Extend well beyond engineering to include other disciplines Require systems thinking Require engineers in leadership positions Require substantial new funding Politically popular at present Inspirational to the next generation

6 21 st Century Technology Frontiers Tiny Systems Nano Bio Info Macro Systems Energy Environment Health Care Manufacturing Communications Logistics Natural Science Social Science

7 Make Solar Energy Economical Provide Energy from Fusion Develop Carbon Sequestration Methods Manage the Nitrogen Cycle Provide Access to Clean Water Engineer Better Medicines Advance Health Informatics Secure Cyberspace Prevent Nuclear Terror Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure Reverse Engineer the Brain Enhance Virtual Reality Advance Personalized Learning Engineer the Tools of Scientific Discovery Engineering Grand Challenges (Natural Affinity Groups)

8 Energy Environment Global Warming Sustainability Energy Environment Global Warming Sustainability Engineering Grand Challenges (Generalized Groups) Energy Environment Global Warming Sustainability Improve Medicine and Healthcare Delivery Reduce Vulnerability to Human and Natural Threats Expand and Enhance Human Capability and Joy

9 How can you improve transportation systems? How can you build better insfrastructure? What is involved in maintaining infrastructure? Civil Engineering and the Grand Challenges

10 Civil Engineering and the Grand Challenges Where does our water supply come from? What is desalination? What other technologies will provide clean water?

11 Civil Engineering and the Grand Challenges How do you capture CO2? How do you store CO2?

12 Civil Engineering and the Grand Challenges How do you make solar energy more economical? How do you store solar energy?

13 Grand Challenges Frame Opportunities Civil Engineering is of central importance (again) Systems thinking (rather than component technologies) is key Social Sciences are integral to needed outcomes technologies alone vs. public policies + technologies economics and tax policies as drivers for needed outcomes Change the national dialog—and redefine engineering as relevant Provoke increased federal funding Prepare the future leaders in solving the Grand Challenges BUT we must stop talking to ourselves, and engage others! March 2-3, 2009 – Summit on the NAE Grand Challenges 1,100 in attendance 400 students Grand Challenge Scholars Program

14 Summit on the NAE Grand Challenges Duke University March1-3, Keynote Speakers Charles Vest, NAE A. Paul Alivisatos, LBL Robert Socolow, Princeton Annie Anton, NC State Jeff Hawkins, Numenta Robert Langer, MIT Summit Program Student Day Plenary: Charles Vest Session 1 – Energy and Environment Session 2 – Health Session 3 – Entrepreneurship Session 4 – Security Session 5 – National Survey Session 6 – Learning/Computation Session 7 – Engineering Education

15 NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Program Prepare students to lead in solving the Grand Challenges in this century Five Components 1.Research experience related to Grand Challenges 2.Interdisciplinary study involving public policy, business, law 3.Entrepreneurship 4.Global dimension or study abroad 5.Service learning Each student receives recognition from NAE All universities invited to join the program

16 Summit #2 on NAE Grand Challenges Currently being planned Spring 2010 Los Angeles, CA More keynote speakers on the Grand Challenges Include policy makers, social scientists, journalists Elevate the role of students Continue the Academy Awards for student videos

17 Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 How do we compare with the Rest of the World?

18 U.S. 8th Graders are confident of their math skills. Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

19 Their performance is another story. Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

20 % 8th Grade Science Teachers with Science Degrees Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

21 source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2007 Industry Government

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23  CouncilAcademiesPresident America COMPETES Act

24 “We need to get back to making stuff based on real engineering not just financial engineering.” Thomas Friedman New York Times Sept. 28, 2008

25 Changing the Conversation! NAE Stanford University Infinite Loop Media

26 Changing the Conversation! Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity TED Conference, June 24, 2008 Professor Woodie Flowers, MIT on Educational Reform (Google these names to locate the video web sites. They are well worth the effort!)