The Engineer of 2020: Visions of Engineering in the New Century
Engineering a Sustainable Society and World
The world faces significant environmental challenges in the future. At the same time there is great opportunity for engineering to serve as a force to help society solve the problems associated with these challenges. This requires a holistic understanding of economic growth and development in terms of the principles of sustainability. The present generation has the obligation to leave a legacy to those who follow so they can have the opportunity to appreciate the unrestrained beauty of nature, the full diversity of the world’s flora and fauna, and ancient and modern cultures and their artifacts.
It is our aspiration that engineers will continue to be leaders in the movement toward use of wise, informed, and economical sustainable development. This should begin in our educational institutions and be founded in the basic tenets of the engineering profession and its actions.
Advances in communications, travel, and economics have created a world where no country is untouched by any other. In the United States the oceans that bound our coasts no longer insulate us from other nations. In this dynamic global economy and political environment, engineering must adjust to a new world view.
We aspire to a future where engineers are prepared to adapt to changes in global forces and trends and to ethically assist the world in creating a balance in the standard of living for developing and developed countries alike.
New tools in manufacturing and production, new knowledge about the products being produced and the customers that use them, and the ease with which information and products can be transferred will enable the creation of products and services that are uniquely designed for the user. Manufacturers will have the ability to embed adaptive features into automated processes, including the capacity to respond to real-time information provided by the user and/or other entities. Consumers will demand products that are tailored to their needs and intended uses based on the most unique attributes (e.g., DNA type, physical attributes, specific use environment, or customer preference). The concept of made-to-order products will continue to expand (Tersine and Harvey, 1998), and for many industries a made-to-order ability may become a necessity for survival in the near term. Engineers will be asked to accelerate and expand customerization as businesses compete to build and maintain a strong customer base, wherever those customers may be.
If this is the world that emerges, present concerns about outsourcing of low-wage, mass-production manufacturing jobs may be misplaced. Instead, the concern should be about creating a workforce and business environment that prospers in a mass-production-less economy. Engineers will be central to such a workforce, but what will they need to know and do?
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