Global Summit Forecasts Future for Mechanical Engineering

Harry Hutchinson
Mechanical Engineering magazine

About 120 people from 18 countries gathered in Washington, D.C., last month to discuss a vision of the mechanical engineering profession — and of ASME — over the next 20 years.

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.

As ASME President Sam Zamrik said in his opening remarks to the assembly, "It takes a diverse group to see the big picture."

Keynote speaker Rohit Talwar, chief executive, Fast Future, London, UK, presented his global perspective on the future of the mechanical engineering profession.

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.

Speaker Mark A. Burgess, chief engineer, Phantom Works, Boeing, is flanked by ASME President-elect Tom Barlow (left) and ASME Past President Win Phillips (right) who served as chair of the Summit Steering Committee.

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.

Charles M. Vest, Ph.D., president of the National Academy of Engineering was as a panelist on the topic of Grand Challenges and Great Contributions of Mechanical Engineering.

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:

• How will liability, IP, and national policies impact technology development in a global economy?

• 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.

Deborah L. Grubbe, vice-president of process safety for BP plc, also spoke at the Global Summit.

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.

Summit guests, including representatives from 19 countries, participated in breakout sessions to discuss a shared vision for the future of mechanical engineering.

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."

Sam Zamrik, with Prof. Lu Yongxiang, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was a speaker on the panel.

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:

1.) Developing sustainability, as emerging economies compete for the world's resources.

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.

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