The University of Iowa College of Engineering’s vision is to be recognized internationally for engineering education and research, and for leadership to the profession. Our profession must rise to meet the challenges facing society this century. In particular, the National Academy of Engineering has identified fourteen “Grand Challenges” which will require innovative engineering solutions, developed in conjunction with professionals from a broad range of disciplines.
Engineering has accomplished a great deal in the last century. A few of these accomplishments include the widespread distribution of electricity and clean water for public health, the advent of automobiles and airplanes for transportation, and the development of radio and television for communication. The accomplishments also include widespread adoption of antibiotics and medical imaging for human health, and the advent of computers and the Internet to transform the ways people interact. Click here for more on the Great Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century.
Through the engineering accomplishments of the past, the world has become smaller, more inclusive, and more connected. With input from people around the word, an international group of technological leaders through The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) identified a new set of challenges, the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century. The challenges facing engineering today are not those of isolated locales, but of the planet as a whole and all the planet’s people. Meeting all those challenges must make the world not only a more technologically advanced and connected place, but also a more sustainable, safe, healthy, and joyous — in other words, better — place.
The University of Iowa College of Engineering was the seventh institution in the country to have an approved Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) and the first in the Big Ten.
