Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP)

Purpose:

The Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) was a program started in 2008 by the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) to elect individuals of all ages under one vision: the“Continuation of life on the planet,;making our world more sustainable, secure, healthy, and joyful” (Vision Statement) .A total of 14 Grand Challenges had been laid out ranging from "Making Solar Energy Economical" to "Securing Cyberspace" to "Advancing Health Informatics."

The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering’s vision for the Grand Challenges Scholars Program is to provide opportunities for broadening the student educational experience, enhance students’ understanding of challenges facing society and enhance student and graduate engagement in finding solutions to societal issues. The primary goal of Auburn’s program is to produce students with the skills, broad knowledge, and ideas to significantly contribute to developing solutions to the world’s most pressing technical issues and the engineering grand challenges during the 21st century.

Educationally embedded programs such as ours are encompassed by five competencies to effectively bridge the gap between engineering education and the GCSP vision, allowing;students to effectively apply their thinking outside of a classroom towards a global effort. The five competencies are as follows:

1. Talent Competency:mentored research/creative experience on a Grand Challenge-like topic
2. Multidisciplinary Competency:understanding the multidisciplinary of engineering systems solutions developed through personal engagement
3. Viable Business/Entrepreneurship Competency:understanding, preferably developed through experience, of the necessity of a viable business model for solution implementation
4. Multicultural Competency:understanding different cultures, preferably through multicultural experiences, to ensure cultural acceptance of proposed engineering solutions
5. Social Consciousness Competency:understanding that engineering solutions should primarily serve people and society reflecting social consciousness

The Auburn University Grand Challenges Scholars Program exists to bring this overarching vision to Auburn University, awarding students based on their completion of five competencies as well as their active effort to take part in National and International Conferences that will further expand the scope of Auburn across multiple disciplines and cultures.

NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program

Website:

https://eng.auburn.edu/about/awards/grand-challenges/

Meetings:

Every Second Thursday of the Month at 5 pm CDT

Office Location:

Shop Location:

Harbert Engineering Structures Lab

Projects, outreach, competitions, conferences, etc.:

2022 National Conference (November 2022)

TBD

President/Captain:

Brittany Ransom
blr0025@auburn.edu
256-542-7505

Advisor:

Dr. Edward Davis
ewd0001@auburn.edu
(334) 844-5471

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Category: Academic,
Related Major: All Majors