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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Second Annual Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering

National Academy of Engineering

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1997

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20418

NOTICE: The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), a private nonprofit institution, was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) as a parallel organization of distinguished engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in its selection of members, sharing with the NAS the responsibility of advising the federal government on scientific and technical matters; this mandate is carried out through joint supervision of the National Research Council. The NAE also sponsors an independent study program aimed at meeting national needs, encourages engineering education and research, and recognizes the superior achievement of engineers. William A. Wulf is interim president of the NAE.

This publication has been reviewed according to procedures approved by a National Academy of Engineering report review process. Publication of signed work signifies that it is judged a competent and useful contribution worthy of public consideration, but it does not imply endorsement of conclusions or recommendations by the NAE. The interpretations and conclusions in such publications are those of the authors and do not purport to represent the views of the council, officers, or staff of the National Academy of Engineering.

Funding for the activity that led to this publication was provided by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Engineering Foundation, and the National Academy of Engineering Fund.

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×

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.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Engineering. 1997. Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading Edge Engineering from the 1996 NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/5576.
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Space may have been called the "final frontier," but there are new frontiers to discover every day and engineers are the ones exploring them. Through groundbreaking research and cutting-edge technologies, engineers are now able to go beyond traditional boundaries, doing things that would have been all but impossible just a few short years ago. A sample of these exciting frontiers is revealed in this new publication from the National Academy of Engineering, which looks at new and emerging technologies to explain how they were developed and what new benefits they will bring. The book also highlights the kinds of pioneering research and technological work being done by some of the country's emerging leaders in engineering. Topics covered include microelectromechanical systems, design research, computer-generated visualization for design and display, and innovations in materials and processes.

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