The American Society of Mechanical Engineers estimates that, currently, around four billion people live on less than $2 per day. By 2030, almost two billion additional people are expected to populate the earth, 95% of them in developing or underdeveloped countries. This large and growing population will need access to food and clean water, effective sanitation, energy, education, healthcare and affordable transportation.
If the role of mechanical engineers is to help solve these problems, then the more than 120 engineering and science leaders from 19 countries who convened in Washington, D.C. in April to imagine what mechanical engineering will involve in 2028 had a lot to discuss. The Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering’s recently issued final report, “2028 Vision for Mechanical Engineering,” is a fascinating global perspective about what engineers can do to make the world a better place. Unfortunately, not everyone, especially in the U.S., realizes engineers are crucial to solving global needs. The field of engineering is “driven by globalization and the empowerment of people previously excluded from participation in a knowledge economy,” observed James Duderstadt, president emeritus and university professor of science and engineering at the Univ. of Michigan, “yet, even as engineering grows in regions like China and India, it is held in relatively low esteem in the developed world and in the U.S. government support has sharply declined.”
What can engineers do in response? Michael Berger at Nanowerk.com addressed one key conclusion in a recent article. He strongly recommends anyone doing coursework in mechanical engineering should add nanotechnology and biotechnology courses the traditional curriculum, even if it does weigh down an already heavy load of topics in an increasingly complex profession. The reason? Summit participants believe that nanotechnology and biotechnology will dominate technological development over the next 20 years. These will constitute the building blocks that future engineers will use to solve pressing problems in medicine, energy, water management, aeronautics, agriculture and environmental management.
But the real solution might be to take advantage of trends already reshaping the world of innovation. One of these is the technician scenario, in which specialists much like physician extenders in the medical world take on more routine technical tasks, freeing up engineers with advanced degrees to spend more time troubleshooting difficult problems and managing complex systems.
The other possibility is far more exciting. The rise of virtual worlds, coupled with advances in computing and software and the increasing availability of low-cost fabrication systems could open the door to “home engineers,” who can complete complex engineering tasks in a self-contained environment, aka the basement. Could you imagine what could get done if everyone who built a hot rod or fixed a lawnmover in their garage solved an engineering problem there instead?
Like the participants at the summit, I believe these changes could help foster the “guild” ideal, wherein engineers identify more with their profession than with their employer. A strong sense of pride—and an education system that fosters more post-graduate degrees—will go a long way to helping solve the problems of 2028.
