A 21st Century Imperative:
Increasing the Number, Quality, and
Diversity of Engineering Graduates
Charles M. Vest
President, National Academy of Engineering
President Emeritus, MIT
Summit: Assuring Michigan’s Knowledge-Based Workforce
Ann Arbor
October 13, 2009
Inauguration Day 2008
“We need to get back to making stuff based on
real engineering not just financial engineering.”
Thomas Friedman
NYT
Sept. 28, 2008
“We need to get back to making stuff based on
real engineering not just financial engineering.”
Thomas Friedman
NYT
Sept. 28, 2008
“Germany’s renewable energy industry, with
more than 50,000 new jobs, now is second only
to their auto industry.”
Thomas Friedman
NYT
Sept. 15, 2009
“Without a renewed effort to bolster the
foundations of our competitiveness, we can
expect to lose our privileged position.
“You can always count on the Americans to do
the right thing … after they have exhausted all
the other possibilities.”
--Winston Churchill
“You can always count on the Americans to do
the right thing … after they have exhausted all
the other possibilities.”
--Winston Churchill
First:
Then:
Develop Brainpower
Unleash Innovation
DEVELOPING
BRAINPOWER
% UG Degrees in Science or Engineering
How do we compare with the Rest of the World?
25.0
20.0
15.0
Natural Sciences
Engineering
10.0
A Problem
5.0
0.0
Asia
Europe
United States
Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2008
And it gets worse …
Engineering Graduates and US Population by Race
% BS Engineering Graduates
(2003)
80%
70%
60%
50%
% US Populaton
% Engin. Grads
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
White
Black, AA
Asian
Hisp/Latino
Immigrants have founded many
Of our S&E Based Companies
Percentage of Companies established 1995-2005
that were founded by Immigrants
Semiconductors
Computers/Communications
Software
Innovation/Mfg-Related Services
1
All Industry Fields
Bioscience
Environmental
Defence/Aerospace
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
source: V. Wadhwa, Issues in Science and Technology, 2009
30%
35%
40%
Developing Brainpower
INSPIRE
Engineering Grand Challenges
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Make Solar Energy
Economical
Manage the
Nitrogen Cycle
Advance Healthcare
Informatics
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Prevent Nuclear
Terror
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Advance Personalized
Learning
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Provide Energy
From Fusion
Provide Access
to Clean Water
Engineer Better
Medicines
Secure
Cyberspace
Engineer the
Tools of Scientific
Discovery
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Develop Carbon
Sequestration
Methods
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Restore and
Improve Urban
Infrastructure
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Reverse
Engineer the
Brain
QuickT i me™ and a
decom pressor
are needed t o see thi s pi cture.
Enhance
Virtual
Reality
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Engineering Grand Challenges
www.engineeringchallenges.org
Energy
Environment
Global Warming
Sustainability
Improve Medicine and
Healthcare Delivery
Reducing Vulnerability to
Human and Natural Threats
Expand and Enhance
Human Capability
And Joy
Developing Brainpower
IMPROVE
EDUCATION
AP Passing Scores
at 10 Dallas ISD Schools in Math and Science
700
700
627
598
600
573
520
500
423
400
362
First Year of AP
Incentive
Program
300
239
200
100
248
156
73
66
69
72
71
71
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Source: The College Board
We can fix the K-12 Problem.
Minority AP Passing Scores
75
per 1000 Juniors and Seniors in Math, Science, and English
for African-American and Hispanics in 10 Dallas ISD Schools, Texas, and U.S.
70
First Year of
AP Incentive
Program
50
25
25
24
9
8
7
0
1995
1996
1997
1998
U.S. Public Schools
1999
2000
2001
Texas Public Schools
2002
2003
2004
2005
Dallas ISD 10 Schools
Source: The College Board, Dallas ISD, Texas Education Agency, National Center for Educational Statistics (2005 U.S. enrollment data is estimated through
extrapolation)
SIX-YEAR COLLEGE GRADUATION RATE*
Students who passed an AP exam compared to those who did not pass an AP exam**
Texas Public Colleges or Universities
100%
ANGLO
75%
HISPANIC
72%
62%
Percentage
AFRICAN AMERICAN
60%
50%
30%
25%
15%
17%
0%
Passed an AP Exam
Did not Pass an AP Exam
* % receiving B.A. degree within 6 years of high school graduation based on group of students graduating in 1998, and
enrolling in a Texas Public College or University (67,863 students).
** Based on AP Exams in core academic subjects of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies
Source: National Center for Educational Accountability
Putting the “E” in STEM
A National Academy of Engineering Project
K-12 engineering education should emphasize:
• Design
•Creative problem-solving process.
It should include:
• Math, science, and technology concepts.
It should develop 21st century skills:
• Systems Thinking
• Collaboration
• Communication
Source: Engineering in K-12 Education, National Academies Press, 2009
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see t his picture.
Putting the “E” in STEM
Be Careful and disciplined.
Data on effectiveness are sparse.
Teachers are unprepared and overloaded.
Our report raises more questions than it answers.
UNLEASHING
INNOVATION
With New Jobs
U.S. % Employment by Sector
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1800
History and Projection
Services (Info)
Services (Other)
Industry (Goods)
Agriculture
1850
1900
1950
2000
2050
Source: Stuart Feldman, IBM Research, Presentation at Carnegie-Mellon University, 29 June, 2005
Life Sciences
and
Information Technology
Globalization of
R&D
Education
Workforce
Macro Systems
especially Energy
21st century
Innovation
A new
Enabling Technology?
Future of
Venture Capital?
Disruptive Technologies
For
Grand Challenges
Evolution of
current
Innovation System
Inducement
Prizes
Discovery Innovation
Institutes
21st century
Innovation
Virtual
Communities
New Universities
New Educational
Organizations
Life Sciences
and
Information Technology
Relentless Change
Grand Challenges
Distributed Intelligence
S&T Acceleration
Globalization
Internet Democracy
Globalization of
R&D
Education
Workforce
Macro Systems
especially Energy
21st century
Innovation
A new
Enabling Technology?
Future of
Venture Capital
Disruptive Technologies
For
Grand Challenges
Evolution of
Current
Innovation System
Inducement
Prizes
Discovery Innovation
Institutes
21st century
Innovation
To Be Determined
New Universities
Virtual
Communities
by
New Educational
Organizations
A New Generation
?
Two Things
we must do
Change the Conversation
A National Academy of Engineering Project
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see t his picture.
Rediscover
The Amazing Disappearing
Word
ENGINEER
ENGINEER
We need to get it back into the vernacular.
Why Young People should study
Engineering
Why Young People should study
Engineering
1. This is the most exciting era in science
and engineering in human history.
Frontiers of Technology
Tiny Systems
Nano
Bio
Info
Macro Systems
Energy
Environment
Health Care
Manufacturing
Communications
Logistics
Why Young People should study
Engineering
1. This is the most exciting era in science
and engineering in human history.
2. Our future economy, health, security,
and quality of life depends on S&E.
3. It’s really interesting and rewarding.
Engineers can conquer
Grand Challenges.
Energy
Environment
Global Warming
Sustainability
Improve Medicine and
Healthcare Delivery
Reducing Vulnerability to
Human and Natural Threats
Expand and Enhance
Human Capability
And Joy
Why Young People should study
Engineering
1. This is the most exciting era in science
and engineering in human history.
2. Our future economy, health, security,
and quality of life depends on S&E.
3. It’s really interesting and rewarding.
The 15 Top Earning Degrees
Starting Salaries 2009
1.
Petroleum engineering $83,121
9.
Systems engineering
2.
Chemical engineering
$64,902
10.
Engineering technology $56,447
3.
Mining engineering
$64,404
11.
Actuarial science
$56,320
4.
Computer engineering $61,738
12.
Aeronautical engin.
$56,311
5.
Computer science
$61,407
13.
Agriculture engineering $54,352
6.
Electrical engineering
$60,125
14.
Biomedical engineering $54,158
7.
Mechanical engineering $58,766
15.
Construct. Management $53,199
8.
Industrial engineering
$58,358
Source: CNNMoney.com, July 24, 2009
$57,438
A FINAL THOUGHT
What is needed in K-12 Initiatives
Evaluation
Coherence
Scale
Sustained Effort
Thank you.