I have given this talk a few times, including at HUST in Wuhan, Iceland, and in the US. It includes a discussion of the ideas presented in the JOM paper.

1. Engineering in the 21st Century
Educating Engineers for
the New Century—
Challenges and
Opportunities
Gretar Tryggvason
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
University of Iceland—Division of Engineering
March 6, 2008

2. Engineering in the 21st Century
Outline
The need for change in engineering education
Background
Context
How does engineering education need to change?
The Engineer of the 21st Century
Examples

3. Engineering in the 21st Century
Gretar Tryggvason—who am I?
• Ph.D. Brown University, Division of Engineering, 1985
• Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA, since 2000.
• Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 1985 - 2000
• Nearly 100 journal papers, about 1500 citations
• Over 20 PhD students
• Several million dollars in research funding from US federal agencies
and corporations
• Editor-in-chief, Journal of Computational Physics (1000 submissions
per year; Impact Factor > 2.3)
• Associate Editor, International Journal of Multiphase Flow
• Chair. Governing Board of the International Conference of Multiphase
Flow, 2007-2010.
• The 2005 Computational Mechanics Award from the Computational
Mechanics Division of the JSME
• Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Fellow of the American Physical Society

4. Engineering in the 21st Century
Background

5. Engineering in the 21st Century
Challenges
We now live in a
“flat” (or “spiky”) world
where the economy is
“global,” “exponential,”
and “entrepreneurial,”
and where innovation
and the ability to “get
things done” are the
most valuable
attributes of individuals
Curtis R. Carlson, William W. Wilmot, Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers
Want. 2006
Carl J. Schramm. The Entrepreneurial Imperative: How America's Economic Miracle Will Reshape
the World (and Change Your Life). 2006
Thomas L. Friedman. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. 2005

6. Engineering in the 21st Century
Challenges
The globalization of the world economy
along with unprecedented connectivity
has changed the way engineering and
manufacturing is being done. The global
growth in education makes it now
possible to locate engineering and
manufacturing anywhere, usually where
the cost is lowest. Many traditional
advantages based on location and
culture are rapidly disappearing.

7. Engineering in the 21st Century
National Science Foundation Workshop
quot;The 5XMEquot; NSF Workshop: Transforming Mechanical Engineering
Education and Research in the USA, May 10-11, 2007
The goal of the workshop was to lay the foundation for transformative change
in mechanical engineering education and research in the USA. It is motivated
by the fact that the science-based engineering education taught at our
engineering schools has become a commodity, available to students all over
the world, including low-wage markets.Global companies employ such world-
class engineering talent, often at 20% of the cost in the USA, and are moving
manufacturing, design and even research activities to such locations.The
challenge for engineering schools in the USA is how to educate a mechanical
engineer that provides five times the value added when compared to the
global competition, i.e., the quot;5XME.”
Organized by Prof. Galip A. Ulsoy, University of Michigan
Attended by chairs of top US ME programs

8. Engineering in the 21st Century
Challenges
Everything suggests that we will continue to need large
number of people with the ability to create “things”
• Engineering graduates command some of the
highest starting salaries of all undergraduates
• US corporations, universities, and research
laboratories must bring in a large number of
foreign born — and often foreign educated —
engineers to meet their needs
• Rapid economic development in the worldʼs most
populated countries will require a large number of
engineers

9. Engineering in the 21st Century
Challenges
The US is still the leader in technological innovations and
the most desirable place to pursue a technical career.
But, to keep the lead it is necessary to:
Educate a sufficiently large number of technologically
proficient people to keep creating new products and
opportunities.
Provide an education that prepares young engineers to
work in the modern world and to compete successfully with
peers educated in other countries. With technical skill being
available in abundance at a lower cost than in the US, our
education must focus on aspects that give all of our
students an competitive advantage.

10. Engineering in the 21st Century
Data
Engineering students are offered some of the highest starting
salaries of all college graduates—yet, interest in engineering
remains low!
from: http://money.cnn.com
http://chronicle.com/premium/stats/freshmen/2007/data.htm#major

11. Engineering in the 21st Century
Graduation Numbers
Engineering &
Engineering Technology Engineering Master's Engineering Doctoral
Bachelor's Degrees
Degrees
Degrees
120,000
40,000
7000
35,000
6000
100,000
30,000
5000
80,000
25,000
4000
20,000
60,000
3000
15,000
40,000
2000
10,000
20,000
1000
5,000
0
0
0
1950
1970
1990
2010
1950
1970
1990
2010
1950
1970
1990
2010
On the average, over the long run,
Number of undergraduate
production of engineers has increased, but
degrees in engineering have not
not fast enough to keep up with demand
increased over the last 20 years
Education Statistics 2006 Table 287

12. Engineering in the 21st Century
Graduation Numbers
Although the absolute numbers
show an increase in the number of
graduates, the relative numbers do
not
PERCENT OF TOTAL BACHELORʼS
DEGREES GRANTED THAT ARE IN
ENGINEERING
Source: Noeth, R. J., Cruce, T., and Harmston, M. T., Maintaining a
Strong Engineering Workforce, ACT Policy Report, (2003).
Source: Science & Engineering Indicators 2002

13. Engineering in the 21st Century
Challenges
Diversity
Currently only 20% of engineering graduates are
women. Nationally, however, women make up over
50% of students enrolled in colleges. In law and
medicine, for example, women now graduate in
comparable numbers as men.
If engineering could achieve a 50-50 ratio (keeping the
guys!) then we would see over 50% increase in the
total number of engineers produced every year.

14. Engineering in the 21st Century
Students
The student body is changing
Their background is different: Students now come into
engineering with little hands-on knowledge, but often with
extensive computer experience.
The faculty, of course, generally agree that their students do
not work as hard as they used to, nor measure up in other
ways to the previous generation.
As Socrates wrote: “Youth today love luxury. They have bad
manners, contempt for authority, no respect for older
people, and talk nonsense when they should be working.”

15. Engineering in the 21st Century
Students
The data suggests that we are wrong:
Students entering college today are
more socially conscious, drink less,
get pregnant less frequently, and get
higher test scores than college
students twenty and thirty years ago
(about the time when their professors
were in college!).
Their attitudes are also different: Optimistic,
cooperative team players, respectful of authority and
more accepting of structure, close to parents, smart,
believe in the future and see them selves at the
cutting edge (Millennials Rising, 2000)

16. Engineering in the 21st Century
What Skills are Important?
Number of Institutions
Data from a
have attempted to
University of
assess the utility of
Michigan
specific topics for the
1992 survey
long term success of
their students. The
data presented here is
typical.
Reference: G.
Tryggvason, M.
Thouless, D. Dutta, S.
L. Ceccio, and D. M.
Tilbury. “The New
Mechanical
Engineering
Curriculum at the
University of Michigan.”
Journal of Engineering
Education 90 (2001),
437-444.

17. Engineering in the 21st Century
First the current efforts
need to be put into context

18. Engineering in the 21st Century
Define the Context
19th and first half of the 20th century: the
professional engineer
Early engineering programs focused on providing
their graduates with considerable hands on training.
However, mathematical modeling slowly increased
as Applied Mechanics increasingly gained
acceptance.

19. Engineering in the 21st Century
Define the Context
Second half of the 20th century: the scientific engineer
In the the sixties, motivated by Sputnik but probably
also by the successful harnessing of nuclear energy,
engineering became much more science based. This
has, to a large degree continued until the present time,
although “design” content increased slowly. In the early
nineties it was clear that more than science was
needed and many schools started to emphasize non-
technical skills such as teamwork and communications

20. Engineering in the 21st Century
Define the Context
The 21st century: The entrepreneurial engineer
Skill will no longer be a distinguishing feature
that commands high salaries. The ability to
identify new needs, find new solutions, and to
make things happen will be required of every
SpaceShipOne
successful engineer.
Segway
Sony Robot
Tesla electric car

21. Engineering in the 21st Century
Define the Context
Within each period, engineering education evolved. ABET criteria,
for example, have stressed:
80’s: Focus on bringing design into the curriculum again
90’s: Focus on non-technical skills (including societal and global
issues, ability to apply engineering skills, groups skills, and
understanding of ethics and professional issues
00’s: Innovation and creativity, new technical disciplines such as
bio and nano
The ABET criteria have had some impact: A recent report on the
effect of ECE2000 found, for example, that between 1994 and
2004 the students understanding of societal and global issues,
their ability to apply engineering skills, groups skills, and
understanding of ethics and professional issues had improved.

22. Engineering in the 21st Century
Define the Context
“After World War I, the demands of industry for graduates with immediate utility
forced more and more specialization, and the number of engineering disciplines
expanded rapidly. Although there were occasional calls for a more general
education, the laboratory became the place for teaching current industrial
techniques. World War II helped swing the balance in the other direction. The war
highlighted the shortcoming of engineering education, as people trained in physics
were better suited to perform many of the tasks of new weapons development.
Engineering education rapidly moved toward a much more fundamental approach,
and in many cases the curriculum became the study of engineering science. The
movement toward science continued until recent problems in the competitive
position of many American companies in global markets has shown the
disadvantage of neglecting industrial applications. There once again is movement
in the schools to reemphasize engineering practice, including manufacturing
techniques, and concepts such as quality and reliability of the product.”
L. P. Grayson, The Making of an Engineer, 1993

23. Engineering in the 21st Century
How must engineering
education change?

24. Engineering in the 21st Century
Engineering Education
Engineering education needs to accomplish two objectives:
• Teach the students what engineers needs to know (statics, solid
mechanics, thermodynamics, etc.)
• Help the students start to think like engineers (to design, be
creative, understand need, long and short time cost, social and
environmental impact, communications, professional ethics, etc.)
The time to develop these skills in the undergraduate curriculum is
very finite and since the first objective is obviously much easier (to
define, accomplish and test), we have probably focused too much
on that, at the expense of the second one. The “non-technical”
professional skills are, however, just as important.

25. Engineering in the 21st Century
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Knows Everything— Or rather, can find any information
quickly and knows how to evaluate and use those
information.
• Can do Anything — Understands the basics to the degree
that he or she can quickly understand what needs to be done
and acquire the tools needed
• Works with Anybody Anywhere — Has the communication
skills, team skills, and understanding of global and current
issues to work with other people
• Imagines and can make the Imagination a Reality — Has
the entrepreneurial spirit and the managerial skills to identify
needs, come up with new solutions, and see them through
Source: Tryggvason and Apelian, Journal of Metals, V.58, No.10, pp. 14-17 (2006)

26. Engineering in the 21st Century
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Knows Everything— Or rather, can find any information
quickly and knows how to evaluate and use those
information.
The Internet makes nearly every information accessible
and the key skill is the ability to ask the right questions.
However, the communalization of knowledge has made
the user responsible for evaluating the quality of the
information available. Living in the new world requires
new approaches and new attitudes that we are only
beginning to understand

27. Engineering in the 21st Century
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Can do Anything — Understands the basics to the degree
that he or she can quickly understand what needs to be done
and acquire the tools needed
Modern engineering tools free the engineer from the
drudgery of routine calculations and allow him/her to
analyses that would have been impossible just a decade
or two ago. Thus, more tasks can become non-routine.
This calls for mastery of the basics (fundamental
principles and quantitative understanding), as well as the
ability to use modern tools effectively.

28. Engineering in the 21st Century
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Works with Anybody Anywhere — Has the communication
skills, team skills, and understanding of global and current
issues to work with other people
The complexity of modern engineering designs and the
speed by which they must be developed call for
collaborations and teamwork. Working with people is
more important than ever. The internet has made truly
global businesses the norm and most engineers will need
to work with people of diverse backgrounds.

29. Engineering in the 21st Century
The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Imagines and can make the Imagination a Reality — Has
the entrepreneurial spirit and the managerial skills to identify
needs, come up with new solutions, and see them through
Seeing new opportunities and being able to see new
ideas through has always been what the best engineers
do. With the value of products increasingly moving to the
concept stage, everybody must be exceptional!

30. Engineering in the 21st Century
What we need to do—short term!
• Promote the role of engineers as creators of our
modern Civilization (not just problem solvers and
analysts)
• Make the first year as exciting as possible by
allowing students to engage in exciting and
meaningful projects immediately
• Blend strong technical preparation with creativity
and entrepreneurship, including communication
skills and understanding of customer needs
• Develop programs that the student identify with
and that excite them (robotics, gaming)

31. Engineering in the 21st Century
How engineering education will change
• Ensure that global awareness and experience is part
of the preparation of every student
• Account for the fact that the show-stoppers of the
future may not always be due to “laws of
Nature.” (Social Sciences may be the “physics” of the
21 century!)
• Teaching fundamental sciences and engineering with
a focus on providing the foundation for continuous
learning and mastery of new skills. Defining
foundations vs BOK.
• Prepare the students to “know all” and “be able to do
everything”

32. Engineering in the 21st Century
Examples

33. Engineering in the 21st Century
About WPI
Established in 1865

220 full-time faculty

14 academic departments

2700 undergraduates

800 full and part time graduate

students (~30 Ph.D. per year)
A longstanding tradition in innovative

engineering education:
The “WPI Plan”—established in the mid 70ʼs—emphasized projects and outcomes based curriculum, long
before these concepts became part of the accreditation (ABET) requirements for all engineering programs
The WPI Global Perspectives Program, established more than two decades ago, currently provides over 60%
of all WPI students with a global experience. The importance of including a global component in the education
of engineering students is increasingly being recognized by other institutions
The recent BS in Robotics Engineering, the first in the Nation, is already attracting strong student interest
Many other WPI innovations, such as a relatively flexible curriculum, are widely strived for by other
engineering schools

34. Engineering in the 21st Century
Innovation and
Entrepreneurship

35. Engineering in the 21st Century
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Many institutions offer courses and programs for interested
engineering students. Those Include:
• Stanford: EE203, The Entrepreneurial Engineer
• Cornell: ENGRI 127, Introduction to Entrepreneurship and
Enterprise Engineering
• Maryland: ENES 140, Discovering New Venues
• WPIʼs the Collaborative for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• The Enterprise Program at Michigan Technological University,
Only Olin College requires Entrepreneurship for all students: AHS
1500 Foundations of Business and Entrepreneurship (freshman year)
Feland, John M., III. The entrepreneurial engineer: Educating
tomorrow's innovator (special issue). International Journal of
Engineering Education. 2005. v. 21, no. 2.
ENTREPRENEER: An ENTREPREneurial engiNEER
http://entrepreneer.wordpress.com/

36. Engineering in the 21st Century
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Courses, textbooks, and sessions
at professional meetings are
starting to address the issues
2008 ASME Annual Meeting June 7-11, 2008
ENGINEER-TO-ENTREPRENEUR
MONDAY, JUNE 9 • 1:45 PM to 3:15 PM
Venture formation…licensing…bootstrapping… 2008 ASME I•Show
whatever your strategy, gain insight on
Innovation Showcase
developing the best path forward for leveraging
OCTOBER 31, 2008 • BOSTON, MA
your technology. Designed for the science,
in conjuction with ASME IMECE
engineering, and technology communities, the
Engineer-to-Entrepreneur session offers
technology entrepreneurship basics and
provides a framework for moving ideas toward
commercializing. Topics to be discussed include
idea validation, intellectual property issues &
challenges, and finding the money.

37. Engineering in the 21st Century
Global Experience

38. Engineering in the 21st Century
Global Experience for Engineering Students
Global Programs within Engineering Schools:
Major Efforts:
• Purdue University
• University of Rhode Island
• Georgia Tech
• RPI (plans)
• WPI
Others: UT Austin, UCI, Duke, Embry Riddle and
many others
Not including programs mainly to serve foreign
populations (MIT Singapore; Michigan in China; etc)

39. Engineering in the 21st Century
WPI Global Perspectives Program
The WPI Global Perspectives Program operates on a “massive” scale. Currently
over 60% of our students (~500 per year) go abroad for project work and we expect
the number to rise
The projects are highly structured and performed in teams under the supervision of
a WPI faculty member in close collaboration with the sponsor
Faculty dedication to the projects program is the key. Cost is not a (major) obstacle
The program is not a study abroad (or a “wandering scholar”) program!
As the program has grown, risk management has become a more pressing issue
The Institute has implemented an extensive program to protect the student, the
faculty, the Institute and the sponsor
Extensive pre-planning and checking of facilities and attention to communications
(students carry cell phones, for example)
So far no major problems, although minor accidents and illnesses are not
uncommon

40. Engineering in the 21st Century
WPI Global Perspectives Program
Examples of Junior Projects
Micro-Hydroelectric Power in
Kre Khi, Thailand (2002)
President's IQP Award, First Place
2002
Students: Sonja Kristina Bjork,
Benjamin C. Charbonneau, Jaclyn
Mary Maiorano, Andrew Paul West
Advisor: Hansen, P.H. (HU)
Abstract: Our project focused on determining the feasibility of implementing
a micro-hydroelectric system as a reliable source of electricity to the remote
Karen village of Kre Khi, in northwest Thailand. The intended use of the
electricity is to improve the education within the village. While in Kre Khi, we
conducted fieldwork which involved determining the attitudes of villagers
towards electricity, surveying a nearby stream, and calculating the potential
power output in order to determine what educational tools could be used.

41. Engineering in the 21st Century
Robotics Engineering

42. Engineering in the 21st Century
Robotics Engineering
Research on engineering education has taught us:
• the structure of the curriculum plays an important role in overall student
satisfaction and retention and that early introduction to engineering
generally helps
• different teaching methods appeal to different learner types and that
generally all people learn more in an environment where the material is
presented in a variety of ways
• creativity and innovation can be taught, or at least stimulated, in a
properly structured course
J. Margolis and A. Fisher. Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing, MIT Press, 2002.
J. Busch-Vishniac and J.P. Jaroz. Can Diversity in the Undergraduate Engineering Population be Enhanched Through Curricular
Change. J. Woman and Minorities in Science and Engineering. 10 (2004), 255-281.
Retention is a Big Issue in Engineering Education, and More Schools Are Developing Programs To Keep Students From Dropping
Out. PRISM Magazine, Wednesday, January 05, 2005. http://www.prismmagazine.org/jan05/feature_lending.cfm
P. C. Wankat and F. S. Oreovicz. Teaching Engineering. McGraw-Hill, 1993.
R.M. Felder. Several papers available at http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/
J. L. Adams. Conceptual Blockbusting 3 rd Edition Reading Mass: Addison Wesley, 1986.
H.S. Fogler and S.E. LeBlanc. Strategies for Creative Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1995.
E. Lumsdaine and M. Lumsdaine. Creative Problem Solving: Thinking Skills for A Changing World. New York: McGraw Hill, 1995.

43. Engineering in the 21st Century
Robotics Engineering
Robotics competitions are generating
enormous interest and excitement
among pre-college students
In 2007, over 32,000 high-school students and
their mentors participated in the FIRST Robotic
Competition and another 5,500, high school aged
students competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge.
FIRST expects to reach over 37,000 high-school aged students in 2008.
Botball robotic soccer competitions have included over 40,000 students to date.
Other robotics events, such as BattleBots IQ, Robocup (numbers unknown) and
Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Robotics with over
10,000 students yearly, also illustrate the high level of interest.
The robots.net Robotics Competition page lists over hundred competitions in
2008

44. Engineering in the 21st Century
Robotics Engineering
WPIʼs BS program in Robotics Engineering
Introduced in spring 2007.
First undergraduate program in Robotics Engineering in the US
Collaborative effort between Electrical and Computer
Engineering, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering
Requires five new courses: Introduction to Robotics and Unified
Robotics I-IV plus courses already existing in the participating
department—significant hands-on/building component
Explicit requirements for a course in entrepreneurship and social
impact of robotics
Advisory board with members from major robotics corporations
As of late January 2008, over 60 freshmen had declared RBE as
their major (compared to 70 in CS and 77 in ECE)

45. Engineering in the 21st Century
Robotics Engineering
WPIʼs BS program in Robotics Engineering
Program Goals for Graduates
• Have a basic understanding of the fundamentals of
Computer Science, Electrical and Computer
Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Systems
Engineering.
• Apply these abstract concepts and practical skills to
design and construct robots and robotic systems for
diverse applications.
• Have the imagination to see how robotics can be used
to improve society and the entrepreneurial background
and spirit to make their ideas become reality.
• Demonstrate the ethical behavior and standards
expected of responsible professionals functioning in a
diverse society.

46. Engineering in the 21st Century
And Finally!

47. Engineering in the 21st Century
The 2008 International Mechanical Engineering Education
Conference, Galveston, Texas
April 4 - 8, 2008
The annual ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education
Conference is the premier event for mechanical engineering
department heads and faculty leaders to network, debate current
issues, and examine strategies that will help them chart the future of
their research and instructional programs.
Specific topics: Result of 5XME workshop, global programs,
entrepreneurship
General Chair: G. Tryggvason

48. Engineering in the 21st Century
Today, academics spend a great “Scientists discover the
deal of time—and money— world that exists;
fretting over the state of “STEM” engineers create the
education. STEM—a clever world that never was.”
acronym for science, technology,
engineering and mathematics— Theodore von Karman
attempts, wrongly in my view, to
tightly associate educational
enterprises that should be
distinctly delineated.
Bernard M. Gordon
The New England Journal of Higher
Education, summer 2007

49. Engineering in the 21st Century
“What is important in Engineering Education?”
“Making universities and engineering
schools exciting, creative, adventurous,
rigorous, demanding, and empowering
milieus is more important than specifying
curricular details.”
Charles M. Vest, President of the US National Academy of Engineering. Talk at:
ABET Annual Meeting, Incline Village, NV. November 2, 2007.