perspective


A Call for Change

As we approach the 125th Anniversary of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, now ASME International, it is time to revisit the principles and philosophies of our Society. We know what mechanical engineering has been in the past, but what is it today? More importantly, what should mechanical engineering be in the future?

New technologies are being developed at an ever-increasing rate, and they encompass a broader range of disciplines than they have in the past. There is a blurring of the boundaries between technologies and the disciplines needed to understand and improve them. As a result, there is a diverse constituency associated with these technological developments, involving both traditional and nontraditional areas of mechanical engineering, such as information technology, communications, biology, nanotechnology, MEMS, and others.

Mechanical engineering education is viewed by some students and practitioners as a very traditional, if not outdated, curriculum. Although limited, there are efforts among some faculty and institutions to modernize both courses and curricula.

Should the curricula be modernized, and just what does modernization entail? Are the course requirements that were relevant in the past still relevant today? Will they be relevant in the future? Are accreditation processes and requirements encouraging change, or do they preclude modernization of our mechanical engineering curricula? Are appropriate educational delivery systems being included in our mechanical engineering programs?

In April, ASME sponsored "Redefining Mechanical Engineering Education and Its Impact on Engineering Education," a conference attended by university-level department heads that was intended to raise the awareness of educators about how to acknowledge new and developing technologies in the undergraduate curriculum. Similar workshops will take place during ASME's International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in November. Such efforts are a good start toward addressing these questions. But as newer technologies are developed, such discussions should become part of a continuing, if never-ending, dialogue instigated by ASME.

ASME's 100th Anniversary was marked by a convocation on mechanical engineering at Saw Mill Creek, followed by a study of the Society governance by the A.D. Little Co. Changes in governance and structure were proposed and adopted, providing the organization we have today.

There was little change, however, either in the Society's approach to attracting new members or the activities it offers. The average age of our membership is increasing; the retention of our student members is decreasing. We do not seem to be attracting the interest of our young professionals engaged in new technologies.

Despite some new initiatives, such as the Nanotechnology Institute, a degree of lethargy appears to have overcome ASME during what could become a dynamic period in our history.

Perhaps the time has come to review the overall organizational structure, our policies and procedures, and to determine what changes are needed for the benefit of the Society in the future. We need to move ASME toward cutting edge technologies and activities related to mechanical engineering, and rekindle the excitement of being a multipurpose engineer (a mechanical engineer) and a member of ASME International.

There are some who say that mechanical engineering and ASME International are all that they can be, and we should not tamper with a discipline and organization that are satisfactory. Others point out, however, that technology is changing rapidly, and we need to move forward to position our profession and the Society for the future.

We are feeling the pull of both views. The time has come for us to ask, as a Society, "What is the mechanical engineer of the future and how should ASME International be changed to be the organization of choice for those mechanical engineers?"

— L.S. "Skip" Fletcher
Past president, ASME

back to columns