%0 Book %A National Academy of Engineering %E Olson, Steve %T Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation: Summary of a Forum %@ 978-0-309-15007-1 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12851/rebuilding-a-real-economy-unleashing-engineering-innovation-summary-of-a %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12851/rebuilding-a-real-economy-unleashing-engineering-innovation-summary-of-a %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Industry and Labor %P 44 %X The financial crisis that began in 2008 is a stark demonstration that we as a nation take great risks when we build too much of our economy on a base that does not create real value. Relying on vaporous transactions to generate wealth is no substitute for making real products and providing real services. In the 21st century, the United States and the rest of the world will face some of the greatest challenges of the modern age: feeding a growing population, generating adequate energy without destroying the environment, countering chronic and emerging infectious diseases. The first decade of the new century has shown that technological innovation is essential for the United States and other countries to meet these challenges. At the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Engineering in Irvine, California, a public forum entitled 'Rebuilding a Real Economy: Unleashing Engineering Innovation' brought together seven prominent leaders of the innovation system to discuss the challenges facing America. The insights of the panel members cut to the heart of what this nation needs to do to remain a global leader in the turbulent world of the 21st century. This summary captures the main points made by the forum participants with the aim of encouraging further reflection and discussion. As the panelists pointed out, no single action can reenergize our innovation system. A portfolio of interconnected and interdependent initiatives must be undertaken to generate new knowledge and technology and move that new knowledge successfully into a competitive world marketplace. But the panelists clarified the goal toward which we must strive and some of the most important steps we need to take to achieve that goal. %0 Book %A National Academy of Engineering %T Technology for a Quieter America %@ 978-0-309-15632-5 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12928/technology-for-a-quieter-america %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12928/technology-for-a-quieter-america %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Engineering and Technology %K Environment and Environmental Studies %P 210 %X Exposure to noise at home, at work, while traveling, and during leisure activities is a fact of life for all Americans. At times noise can be loud enough to damage hearing, and at lower levels it can disrupt normal living, affect sleep patterns, affect our ability to concentrate at work, interfere with outdoor recreational activities, and, in some cases, interfere with communications and even cause accidents. Clearly, exposure to excessive noise can affect our quality of life. As the population of the United States and, indeed, the world increases and developing countries become more industrialized, problems of noise are likely to become more pervasive and lower the quality of life for everyone. Efforts to manage noise exposures, to design quieter buildings, products, equipment, and transportation vehicles, and to provide a regulatory environment that facilitates adequate, cost-effective, sustainable noise controls require our immediate attention. Technology for a Quieter America looks at the most commonly identified sources of noise, how they are characterized, and efforts that have been made to reduce noise emissions and experiences. The book also reviews the standards and regulations that govern noise levels and the federal, state, and local agencies that regulate noise for the benefit, safety, and wellness of society at large. In addition, it presents the cost-benefit trade-offs between efforts to mitigate noise and the improvements they achieve, information sources available to the public on the dimensions of noise problems and their mitigation, and the need to educate professionals who can deal with these issues. Noise emissions are an issue in industry, in communities, in buildings, and during leisure activities. As such, Technology for a Quieter America will appeal to a wide range of stakeholders: the engineering community; the public; government at the federal, state, and local levels; private industry; labor unions; and nonprofit organizations. Implementation of the recommendations in Technology for a Quieter America will result in reduction of the noise levels to which Americans are exposed and will improve the ability of American industry to compete in world markets paying increasing attention to the noise emissions of products. %0 Book %A National Academy of Engineering %A National Academy of Engineering %T Memorial Tributes: Volume 13 %@ 978-0-309-14225-0 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12734/memorial-tributes-volume-13 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12734/memorial-tributes-volume-13 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Biography and Autobiography %P 338 %X This is the thirteenth volume in the series of Memorial Tributes compiled by the National Academy of Engineering as a personal remembrance of the lives and outstanding achievements of its members and foreign associates. These volumes are intended to stand as an enduring record of the many contributions of engineers and engineering to the benefit of humankind. In most cases, the authors of the tributes are contemporaries or colleagues who had personal knowledge of the interests and the engineering accomplishments of the deceased. %0 Book %A National Academy of Sciences %A National Academy of Engineering %A Institute of Medicine %T Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5 %@ 978-0-309-16097-1 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12999/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-revisited-rapidly-approaching-category-5 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12999/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-revisited-rapidly-approaching-category-5 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Policy for Science and Technology %K Education %K Engineering and Technology %K Industry and Labor %P 102 %X In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared Rising Above the Gathering Storm, a book that cautioned: "Without a renewed effort to bolster the foundations of our competitiveness, we can expect to lose our privileged position." Since that time we find ourselves in a country where much has changed--and a great deal has not changed. So where does America stand relative to its position of five years ago when the Gathering Storm book was prepared? The unanimous view of the authors is that our nation's outlook has worsened. The present volume, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited, explores the tipping point America now faces. Addressing America's competitiveness challenge will require many years if not decades; however, the requisite federal funding of much of that effort is about to terminate. Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited provides a snapshot of the work of the government and the private sector in the past five years, analyzing how the original recommendations have or have not been acted upon, what consequences this may have on future competitiveness, and priorities going forward. In addition, readers will find a series of thought- and discussion-provoking factoids--many of them alarming--about the state of science and innovation in America. Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited is a wake-up call. To reverse the foreboding outlook will require a sustained commitment by both individual citizens and government officials--at all levels. This book, together with the original Gathering Storm volume, provides the roadmap to meet that goal. While this book is essential for policy makers, anyone concerned with the future of innovation, competitiveness, and the standard of living in the United States will find this book an ideal tool for engaging their government representatives, peers, and community about this momentous issue.