Program Areas
- Grand Challenges for Engineering
In February 2008 the NAE announced a list of 14 "grand" challenges for engineering in the next century. The NAE convened a committee of experts in engineering, science, and technology to form this list. The committee convened over the course of several months and took input from public comments made on the project website as well as opinions from experts external to the committee.
On October 6, 2008 at the NAE annual meeting, a public symposium was held where several members of the committee spoke publicly about the challenges. Following this event, a print version of the Grand Challenges website was made available online at the site.
Members of the public voted on the challenges in rank order of importance, and as of the close of voting on June 30, 2008, the results of the votes are as follows: (poll rankings)
- Make solar energy economical
- Provide energy from fusion
- Provide access to clean water
- Reverse-engineer the brain
- Advance personalized learning
- Frontiers of Engineering
The Frontiers of Engineering program assembles a group of emerging engineering leaders - usually aged 30–45 - to discuss cutting-edge research in various engineering fields and industry sectors. The goal of the meetings is to bring participants together to collaborate, network, and share ideas. There are three Frontiers of Engineering meetings every year: the U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, the German-American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, and the Japan-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. The Indo-U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium is held every other year.
- Diversity in the Engineering Workplace
The goal of the diversity office is to participate in studies addressing the issue of increasing and broadening a domestic talent pool. Through this effort the NAE convenes workshops, coordinators with other organizations, and idenitifies program needs and opportunities for improvement.
As part of this effort the NAE has launched both the EngineerGirl! and Engineer Your Life webpages.
- The Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education
The Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education. works to advance engineering education in the United States, aiming for curriculum changes that address the needs of new generations of engineering students and the unique problems they will face with the challenges of the 21st century.
The Center works closely with the Committee on Engineering Education, which works to improve the quality of engineering education by providing advice to policy makers, administrators, employers, and other stakeholders.
- Engineering, Economics, and Society
This program area studies connections between engineering, technology, and the economic performance of the United States. Efforts aim to advance the understanding of engineering's contribution to the sectors of the domestic economy and to learn where engineering may enhance economic performance.
- Technological Literacy/K-12 education
The goal of this project is to provide advice regarding the creation and implementation of engineering curricula at the school-age level. The project also hopes to inform instructional practices, particularly dealing with the connections among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
The project also aims to investigate the best ways to determine levels of technological literacy in the United States among three distinct populations in the United States: K-12 students, K-12 teachers, and out-of-school adults. A report (and associated website), Technically Speaking, explains what "technological literacy" is, why it’s important, and what is being done in the U.S. to improve it.
- Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society
The Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society seeks to engage engineers and the engineering profession in identiftying and resolving ethical issues in associated with engineering research and practice. The Center works is closely linked with the Online Ethics Center.
- Engineering and the Environment
This program, recognizing that the engineering profession has often been associated with causing environmental harm, looks to recognize and publicize that the profession is now at the forefront of mitigating negative environmental impacts. The program will provide policy guidance to government, the private sector, and the public on ways to create a more environmentally sustainable future.
Read more about this topic: National Academy Of Engineering
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