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The NAE Grand Challengesand the

Role of Civil Engineering

by

Richard K. MillerPresident

Franklin W. Olin College of EngineeringNeedham, MA

2009 ASCE Annual CE Department Heads ConferenceThe Nines Hotel

Portland, ORMay 26-28, 2009

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Looking Back to the 20th Century:

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Looking Ahead to the 21st Century:

NAE’s 14 Engineering Grand Challenges

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The NAE Grand Challenge CommitteeWilliam Perry, Committee Chair, (Former Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense) Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor and Professor of Engineering, Stanford UniversityAlec Broers, Chairman, Science and Technology Select Committee, United Kingdom House of LordsFarouk El-Baz, Research Professor and Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston UniversityWesley Harris, Department Head and Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Bernadine Healy, Health Editor and Columnist, U.S. News & World ReportW. Daniel Hillis, Chairman and Co-Founder, Applied Minds, Inc.Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard UniversityDean Kamen, Founder and President, DEKA Research and Development Corp.Raymond Kurzweil, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.Robert Langer, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyJaime Lerner, Architect and Urban Planner, Instituto Jaime LernerBindu Lohani, Director General and Chief Compliance Officer, Asian Development BankJane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State UniversityMario Molína, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of CaliforniaLarry Page, Co-Founder and President of Products, Google, Inc.Robert Socolow, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University Environmental InstituteJ. Craig Venter, President, The J. Craig Venter InstituteJackie Ying, Executive Director, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology

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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

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21st Century Technology Frontiers

Tiny Systems

NanoBioInfo

Macro SystemsEnergy

EnvironmentHealth Care

ManufacturingCommunications

Logistics

Natural Science

Social Science

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• 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)

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EnergyEnvironmentGlobal WarmingSustainability

EnergyEnvironmentGlobal WarmingSustainability

Engineering Grand Challenges(Generalized Groups)

EnergyEnvironment

Global WarmingSustainability

Improve Medicine andHealthcare Delivery

Reduce Vulnerability toHuman and Natural Threats

Expand and EnhanceHuman Capability

and Joy

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How can you improve transportation systems?

How can you build better insfrastructure?

What is involved in maintaining infrastructure?

Civil Engineering and the Grand Challengeshttp://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

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Civil Engineering and the Grand Challengeshttp://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

Where does our water supply come from?

What is desalination?

What other technologies will provide clean water?

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Civil Engineering and the Grand Challengeshttp://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

How do you capture CO2?

How do you store CO2?

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Civil Engineering and the Grand Challengeshttp://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

How do you make solar energy more economical?

How do you store solar energy?

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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

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Summit on the NAE Grand ChallengesDuke UniversityMarch1-3, 2009

http://summit-grand-challenges.pratt.duke.edu/

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

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NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Program

http://www.grandchallengescholars.org/

Prepare students to lead in solving the Grand Challengesin this century

Five Components1. Research experience related to Grand Challenges2. Interdisciplinary study involving public policy, business, law3. Entrepreneurship4. Global dimension or study abroad5. Service learning

Each student receives recognition from NAEAll universities invited to join the program

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Summit #2 on NAE Grand Challenges

Currently being plannedSpring 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

17Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2008

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How do we compare with the Rest of the World?

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Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

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Their performance is another story.

Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

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Taiwan Korea Singapore Japan Australia HongKong

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Source: Ginsburgh, et. Al. 2005

21source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2007

U.S. R&D Expenditures by Source

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“We need to get back to making stuff

based on real engineering not just

financial engineering.”Thomas Friedman

New York Times

Sept. 28, 2008

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Changing the Conversation!

• NAE• Stanford University• Infinite Loop Media

www.iloop.tv/imagineit2/index.html

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Changing the Conversation!

• Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity TED Conference, June 24, 2008

• Professor Woodie Flowers, MIT on Educational Reformhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F84LtXvLTtA

(Google these names to locate the video web sites. They arewell worth the effort!)