Challenges to Help Engineer a Better World - Engineering's Grand Challenges

It seems that the unifying characteristic that defines engineers across the board is: problem solving. No matter what particular field of focus or technical expertise, whether it is design, drawings, manufacturing, production or maintenance, an engineer will typically be the go-to problem solver.

So, when a panel of experts compiles a list of Engineering's Grand Challenges, it is a way for society as a whole to call on engineers to solve the greatest problems of our time. Although, in this sense, these engineers, or technological architects, will include inventors, researchers, high school students, hackers and just about anybody that is willing to learn, think up novel solutions and work ideas into real, usable products.

One of the popular categories of the Grand Challenges is solar energy. Recent discovery in this field addresses the issue of cleaning solar panels in hot, dusty climates where such technology is likely to be deployed in earnest. Originally developed for use on mars, self-cleaning solar panels uses an alternating electric current on the surface of panels to sweep charged dust particles across the surface. [TR] Ultimately, this sort of rethinking is directly in tune with the goals of the Grand Challenge: innovative solutions.


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The categories for the Grand Challenges are:

• Make solar energy economical
• Manage the nitrogen cycle
• Advance health informatics
• Prevent nuclear terror
• Advance personalized learning
• Provide energy from fusion
• Provide access to clean water
• Engineer better medicines
• Secure cyberspace
• Engineer the tools of scientific discovery
• Develop carbon sequestration methods
• Restore and improve urban infrastructure
• Reverse-engineer the brain
• Enhance virtual reality

Each of these is discussed in greater detail on the Grand Challenges website. They feature interesting comments, media and links to additional resources. Although the site does not satisfy as a one-stop shop for finding out where the cutting edge research is happening for these fields or how to get involved, it is a great source of inspiration! Find out more at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/challenges.aspx.

There are many other avenues beyond the three covered in this series through which you can help engineer a better world. The worst thing to do is nothing. Do some research. Join or organize a team. Register for a project. Or, just spread the word. Thanks for reading!

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Challenges to Help Engineer a Better World - Millennium Development Goals

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The General Assembly of the United Nations in New York wrapped up today [AP] with stern rhetoric regarding the need for novel, sustained action beyond rhetoric on the part of delegates. Ultimately though, failed talks on war, nuclear proliferation and the irreverent provocations of Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, are in stark contrast to the only significant take-away from the assembly: reaffirmation of anti-poverty efforts through the Millennium Development Goals.


Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The United Nations convened for the Millennium Summit in September 2000 and committed to a fifteen-year deadline for combating extreme poverty and the myriad preventable health issues facing women and children across the developing world. The Millennium Development Goals are eight (8) definite milestones toward the elimination of such poverty and disease by 2015 and improving the general welfare of the global human society:

• End Poverty and Hunger
• Universal Education
• Gender Equality
• Child Health
• Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS
• Environmental Sustainability
• Global Partnership

These are lofty goals indeed, but the UN is an organization steep in such radical idealism, without which, the gloom and hopelessness of reality can not be dispelled. Ultimately though, the MDG's are a challenge to policy-makers, non-profit organizations and citizens of both the developing and the developed world to seriously tackle such monolithic problems with innovation and determination.


Fast forward to this past week, the UN summit manages to secure US $40 billion over the next five years to specifically address the portions of the MDGs regarding Women's and Children's Health. Although the pledged amount alone is not sufficient to solve any of these problems entirely, it is an encouraging reminder of the dedication of the international community to fulfill it's promises to the developing world. To find out more, visit the gateway for the efforts at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/.


Now, if you're looking for other big ideas on how to improve the state of our world, look no further than the X PRIZE! The X Prizes are a distinct and widely recognizable avenue of innovation and technological development. Click here to continue reading >>


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