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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 97-65474
International Standard Book Number 0-309-05726-4
Copyright © 1997 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE SECOND ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON FRONTIERS OF ENGINEERING
ROBERT A. BROWN (Chair), Dean of Engineering and Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID B. ASHLEY, Chair and Taisei Professor,
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
SHIRA L. BROSCHAT, Associate Professor,
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Washington State University
CHARLOTTE CHEN-TSAI, Technology Manager,
North America, Alcoa Closure Systems International
STEPHEN W. DREW, Vice President,
Vaccine Technology and Engineering, Merck & Co., Inc.
DANIEL HASTINGS, Professor,
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WILLIAM J. KAISER, Professor,
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
SHERI D. SHEPPARD, Associate Professor,
Mechanical Engineering—Design Division, Stanford University
DEBORAH L. THURSTON, Associate Professor,
Department of General Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
SOPHIE VERDONCKT-VANDEBROEK, Manager,
Smart Electronic Marking and Sensing Lab, Xerox Wilson Center for Research and Technology
ROBERT H. WAGONER, Professor,
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University
SHAWN M. WALSH,
Materials Engineering, U.S. Army Research Laboratory
NAE Council Liaison
MORRIS TANENBAUM, Retired Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer,
AT&T
Staff
JANET R. HUNZIKER, Program Officer
W. MARY LEE, Project Assistant
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PREFACE
On September 19–21, 1996, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) convened the Second Annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering at the Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, California. This volume is a collection of abstracts of the papers presented at that symposium. Its intent is twofold: (1) to describe the content and underpinning philosophy of this unique meeting and (2) to highlight the kinds of pioneering research and technical work being done by some of this country's emerging leaders in engineering.
Origins and Goals of the Activity
The Frontiers of Engineering Symposium series was initiated by the NAE Council in 1994, and the first symposium was held in September 1995. The concept for the meeting was borrowed from the National Academy of Sciences' Frontiers of Science program, which brings together scientists ages 30 to 45 to discuss leading-edge research in a variety of scientific disciplines. NAE saw several compelling reasons for undertaking a similar activity for engineers.
Primary among these reasons was the recognition that advances in engineering are moving increasingly across many facets of the profession. Thus, bringing together outstanding young leaders of engineering developments from disparate fields, and challenging them to think about the developments and problems at the frontiers of areas different from their own, may facilitate
collaborative work as well as the transfer of new techniques and approaches across fields.
Examples of the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of engineering are plentiful. For instance, computational fluid dynamics allows both chemical engineers to simulate complex chemical processes without altering actual production processes and mechanical and aerospace engineers to simulate flow processes in power and vehicular systems. Also, information technologies are having broad impacts outside of the telecommunications industry—from the design of highway systems to the management of complex manufacturing processes. And advances in data analysis and molecular modeling in biotechnology combine research topics in biology and chemistry with topics in computer science and applied mathematics. Although there has always been "cross-fertilization" among engineering fields, the nature of today's emerging technologies and the challenges of an increasingly competitive environment have sharpened the need for engineers to understand each other's disciplines and have enhanced the value of that interaction.
To optimize the objectives of this meeting, the participants selected represent all sectors where engineering research and technical work is carried out: industry, academia, and government laboratories. Moreover, the participants, who were invited to attend after a competitive nomination and selection process, represent some of the country's "best and brightest" engineers. Another important component of the meeting is that the number of participants was kept relatively low: at 90 to 100. Finally, the content of the meeting—the selection of topics and speakers—was determined by an organizing committee composed of engineers in the same 30- to 45-year-old cohort as the target participants.
Content of the Second Annual Symposium
The September 1996 meeting included presentations and discussion of leading-edge research and pioneering technical work in four areas: (1) design research, (2) visualization for design and display, (3) microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and (4) innovations in materials and processes. Presentations covered such topics as performance-based seismic design procedures, applications of virtual reality and augmented reality in aircraft design and manufacturing, the challenges of large-scale production of MEMS, and silicon satellites (see Appendixes for complete program). Because of the diversity of the participants' areas of engineering expertise, presenting a talk to this audience proved a challenge. Speakers had been asked to tailor their talks to a technically sophisticated but nonspecialist audience and to cover such specific issues as follows: What are the frontiers in their field? What experiments, prototypes, and design studies are completed and in progress? What new tools and methodologies are being used? What are the current limitations on
advances? What is the theoretical, commercial, societal, and long-term significance of the work? Despite the varied backgrounds of the participants—or perhaps because of it—lively exchange followed each presentation and carried beyond the formal sessions. Often, the discussions focused on specific technical aspects of the presentation; at other times it covered broader, more policy-oriented issues.
On the first night of the symposium, John A. Armstrong, retired Vice President for Science and Technology of IBM Corporation, gave an insightful and provocative talk, urging the audience of relatively early-career engineers to keep in mind the importance of achieving their individual career goals within, and sometimes in spite of, the institutional cultures in which they work. His paper is included in this volume as well.
Participants' responses to this second Frontiers of Engineering symposium confirmed the value of these meetings. Many attendees appreciated that the symposium drew together engineers at a relatively early point in their careers from a range of engineering fields and sectors and that the meeting focused on the spectrum of activities and concerns of engineers. Several participants were particularly grateful for the chance to interact with engineers from other sectors, noting that it allowed them to meet engineers and potential collaborators they would not have met at their institutions or in their usual rounds of professional meetings. Many said that because of the quality of the presentations and the caliber of the participants, they felt a renewed sense of pride in their profession and respect for the activities of other engineers.
Funding for the Second Annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering was provided by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Engineering Foundation. The National Academy of Engineering would like to express its appreciation to these groups for sponsoring this activity as well as to the members of the Symposium Organizing Committee for their work in planning and organizing this event. A special expression of gratitude is due Robert A. Brown, Dean of Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who contributed greatly to this activity by chairing the organizing committees of the first and second Frontiers of Engineering symposia.
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CONTENTS
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Designing Vehicles in Changing Times |
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Development of Performance-Based Seismic Design Procedures |
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Information in the Design Process |
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Product Modularity: A Key Concept in Life-Cycle Design |
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Visualizing Aircraft Aerodynamic Design |
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Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Aircraft Design and Manufacturing |
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The Frontiers of Virtual Reality Applied to High Performance Computing and Communications |
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Digitizing the Shape and Appearance of Three-Dimensional Objects |
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Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) |
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Fabrication Technology and the Challenges of Large-Scale Production |
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Frontiers in MEMS Design |
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Large-Market Applications of MEMS |
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Cellular Materials: Structure, Properties, and Applications |
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Silicon Satellites |
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Novel Ceramic Ferroelectric Composites |
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Co-Continuous Composite Materials from Net-Shape Displacement Reactions |
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Institutional Cultures and Individual Careers |
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