National Academy of Engineering lists top 14 engineering projects

William Atkins
Monday, 18 February 2008 02:05

Science - Energy

A committee selected by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) announced on February 15, 2008, a list of the most important engineering projects for the future, what its members are calling the Grand Challenges For Engineering.        

The United States National Academy of Engineering, founded in 1964, is a non-profit organization that is part of the United States National Academies, which also includes the Institute of Medicine, National Research Council, and the National Academy of Sciences.

The committee includes such scientists and engineers as William Perry (former secretary of defense, U.S. Department of Defense), J. Craig Venter (president and founder of J. Craig Venter Institute), Bernadine Healy (health editor of U.S. News & World Report), Wesley Harris (department head and professor of Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Mario Molina (professor of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California).

According to the NAE website, it states, “In the last century alone, many great engineering achievements became so commonplace that we now take them mostly for granted. Technology allows an abundant supply of food and safe drinking water for much of the world.  We rely on electricity for many of our daily activities. We can travel the globe with relative ease, and bring goods and services wherever they are needed.  Growing computer and communications technologies are opening up vast stores of knowledge and entertainment.”

Further, it states, “As remarkable as these engineering achievements are, certainly just as many more great challenges and opportunities remain to be realized. While some seem clear, many others are indistinct and many more surely lie beyond most of our imaginations.”

In conclusion, the NAE states, “Today, we begin engineering a path to the future.“

The Top Fourteen Engineering Projects for the Future, according to the NAE committee, are:

Solar Energy: Make solar energy economical
Fusion Energy: Provide energy from fusion
Carbon Sequestration: Develop carbon sequestration methods
Nitrogen Cycle: Manage the nitrogen cycle
Clean Water: Provide access to clean water
Urban Infrastructure: Restore and improve urban infrastructure
Health: Advance health informatics
Medicines: Engineer better medicines
Intelligence/Brain: Reverse-engineer the brain
Nuclear Risks: Prevent nuclear terror
Cyberspace/Internet: Secure cyberspace
Virtual Reality: Enhance virtual reality
Learning: Advance personalized learning
Apply Science: Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

These fourteen engineering projects are in many cases still unattainable by humans. Each project is discussed in more detail on the NAE website.

To learn more about the National Academy of Engineering and its list of the world’s greatest technological challenges in the twenty-first century, please go to its website at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/default.aspx.