Engineering Education and the Challenges of the 21st Century

Date:  Sept. 22, 2009
Time:  3:00 p.m.
Place:  Hartley Auditorium, 1103 Shelby Center

Charles M. VestCharles M. Vest
President, National Academy of Engineering
President Emeritus, MIT

Dr. Vest earned a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University in 1963 and master's and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan in 1964 and 1967 respectively. He joined the Michigan faculty in 1968, where he taught in the areas of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics before moving into administration, eventually becoming provost and vice president for academic affairs.  In 1990, he became president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As president of MIT, he was active in science, technology and innovation policy; building partnerships among academia, government and industry; and championing the importance of open, global scientific communication, travel, and sharing of intellectual resources.  

Vest served on the board of directors for DuPont for 14 years and for IBM for 13 years. He was also vice chair of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness for eight years and served on various federal committees and commissions, including the Presidents Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) during the Clinton and Bush administrations, the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy and the Rice-Chertoff Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee. 

In July 2007 he was elected to serve as president of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for six years.  He has authored a book on holographic interferometry ,and two books on higher education.  He has received honorary doctoral degrees from 12 universities and was awarded the 2006 National Medal of Technology by President Bush.

Abstract

This is the most exciting time for engineering and science in human history. A new generation of engineers will be inspired by the great human challenges of this century. Globalization and the changing nature of science and technology are driving change and opportunity in higher education, research and development (R&D), and innovation. R&D spending is spread nearly uniformly around the world and new players are rapidly emerging. Higher Education is globalizing in both planned and unplanned ways, enabled by information technology and driven by economic and social change. Our innovation system may be due for another major transformation. Do our universities have new responsibilities? Can we pull it off?

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