The NAE Grand Challenges:Why They Matter

Charles M. VestPresident, National Academy of Engineering

Summit on the NAE Grand ChallengesChicago,

April 21, 2009

Who we are

What we do

20th CenturyAchievement

Policy Agenda

20th CenturyAchievement

EducationResearch

Best & BrightestInnovation

Policy Agenda

20th CenturyAchievement

21st CenturyChallenge

EducationResearch

Best & BrightestInnovation

INSPIRE

CHALLENGE

EDUCATE

Grand Challenges Committee

• Bill Perry, chair• Sir Alec Broers• Farouk El-Baz• Wes Harris• Bernadine Healy• Daniel Hillis• Calestous Juma• Dean Kamen• Ray Kurzweil

• Bob Langer• Jaime Lerner• Bindu Lohani• Jane Lubchenco• Mario Molina• Larry Page• Rob Socolow• Craig Venter• Jackie Ying

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Make Solar EnergyEconomical

Manage theNitrogen Cycle

Advance HealthcareInformatics

Prevent NuclearTerror

Advance PersonalizedLearning

Provide EnergyFrom Fusion

Provide Access to Clean Water

Engineer Better Medicines

Secure Cyberspace

Engineer the Tools of ScientificDiscovery

Develop CarbonSequestrationMethods

Restore andImprove UrbanInfrastructure

ReverseEngineer theBrain

EnhanceVirtualReality

Engineering Grand Challenges

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EnergyEnvironment

Global WarmingSustainability

Improve Medicine andHealthcare Delivery

Reducing Vulnerability toHuman and Natural Threats

Expand and EnhanceHuman Capability

And Joy

Engineering Grand Challengeswww.engineeringchallenges.org

INSPIRE

CHALLENGE

EDUCATE

INSPIRE

CHALLENGE

EDUCATE

WHY?

U.S. Prosperity

Global Survival

Exciting Futures

BECAUSE

U.S. Prosperity

The World is Changing

Global R&D Investments

Data for 2002

Source: Science and Engineering Indicators, NSF 2008

R&D Expenditures and Share of World Total

1/3 1/31/3

New PlayersWhere the Expertise is

Source: Competitiveness Index 2007, Council on Competitiveness, Washington, DC

Young Professional Workforce(college grads up to 7 yr.

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

China India U.S.

Engineers

Life Science

Finance/Acct.

First Engineering Degrees

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006

China

Japan

S. Korea

US

UK

First Engineering Degrees(China Rises)

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2010

China

JapanUS

First Engineering Degrees

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006

China

Japan

S. Korea

US

UK

First Engineering Degrees(China Rises)

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2010

China

JapanUS

World’s Largest Solar Powered Office Building, Dezhau, China

Worldwide shipments of Solar Photovoltaics – in Megawatts

U.S.

Photovoltaics

Source: ARPA-E, 2010

U.S.

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Asia Europe UnitedStates

% UG Degrees in Science or Engineering

Natural Sciences

Engineering

How do we compare with the Rest of the World?

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2010

How do we compare with the Rest of the World?

Source: NSF Science and Engineering Indicators 2010

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

Asia Europe UnitedStates

% UG Degrees in Science or Engineering

Natural Sciences

Engineering

A Problem

source: V. Wadhwa, Issues in Science and Technology, 2009

Immigrants have founded manyOf our S&E Based Companies

Percentage of Companies established 1995-2005that were founded by Immigrants

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

1

Semiconductors

Computers/Communications

Software

Innovation/Mfg-Related Services

All Industry Fields

Bioscience

Environmental

Defence/Aerospace

Global Survival

The Challenges are Profound.

World Population Estimates

source: U.S. Census Bureau 2005 Data Base http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/world.html

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

120012501300135014001450150015501600165017001750180018501900195020002050

Population (millions)

World Population Estimates

source: U.S. Census Bureau 2005 Data Base http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/world.html

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

120012501300135014001450150015501600165017001750180018501900195020002050

Population (millions)

EnergyEnvironment

Global WarmingSustainability

Improve Medicine andHealthcare Delivery

Global Health Clean Water

Urban Sustainability

Carbon, Energy,

and Climate

EnergyEnvironment

Global WarmingSustainability

Improve Medicine andHealthcare Delivery

Exciting Futures

For Our Children

Exciting Futures

Through Education and Innovation

This is the most exciting era in Engineering and Science

in Human History.

Creating the Tools of Scientific Discovery

Frontiers of Engineeringand Technology

Macro SystemsEnergy

EnvironmentHealth Care

ManufacturingCommunications

Logistics …

NanoBioInfo

Tiny Systems

SmallerFasterMore Complex

LargerMore ComplexSocietal Relevance

Macro SystemsEnergy

EnvironmentHealth Care

ManufacturingCommunications

Logistics …

NanoBioInfo

Social Science

Natural Science

Tiny Systems

Essential New Intersections

Essential New Intersectionscall for New Educations.

1. Research experience

2. Interdisciplinary CurriculumEngineering+

3. Entrepreneurship

4. Global Dimension

5. Service Learning

NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Programs

NAE Grand Challenge Scholars Programs

Duke

Olin College

USC

ASU

La. Tech.

Established

NAE Grand Challenge Scholars ProgramsVanderbilt

Florida Inst. of Tech.

So. Illinois

James Madison

Louisiana Tech.

Case Western Reserve

Stanford

Tufts

Old Dominion

NC State

Naval PG School

Saint Louis Univ.

Carnegie Mellon

Kansas State

Tennessee State

Georgia Tech

MIT

Tuskegee

Wichita State

WPI

IIT

Iowa

UCLA

Lafayette College

Cal Poly

Univ. Maryland

Univ. Tennessee

North Carolina A&T

Univ. of Toronto

Columbia

Duke

Olin College

USC

ASU

La. Tech.

Developing

Established

INNOVATION&

ACTION

Meeting the Grand Challenges

StudentsUniversities

MediaIndustry Government

21st centuryInnovation

Life Sciences and

Information Technology

A new Enabling Technology?

Macro Systemsespecially Energy

Future ofVenture Capital?

Disruptive TechnologiesFor

Grand Challenges

Globalization ofR&D

EducationWorkforce

21st centuryInnovation

Evolution ofcurrent

Innovation System

VirtualCommunities

Discovery InnovationInstitutes

New Universities

New EducationalOrganizations

InducementPrizes

21st centuryInnovation

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

• Priorities

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

• Priorities

• Policy

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

• Priorities

• Policy

• Markets

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

• Priorities

• Policy

• Markets

• Perseverance

Meeting Grand Challenges requires:

• Vision

• Science

• Imagination

• Boldness

• Priorities

• Policy

• Markets

• Perseverance

And …

ENGINEERING

Energy Flows in the U.S. Economy, 2007

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Serious Engineering!

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EnergyEnvironment

Global WarmingSustainability

Improve Medicine andHealthcare Delivery

Reducing Vulnerability toHuman and Natural Threats

Expand and EnhanceHuman Capability

And Joy

Meeting the Grand Challenges

Let’s do it!

Meeting the Grand Challenges

Thank youChicago.