Engineering Change Lab-USA (ECL-USA) is a catalyst for change within the engineering community, helping it reach its highest potential on behalf of society
We are living in a world that is facing an unprecedented combination of technological change…
and rapidly evolving societal needs, driven in large part by environmental imperatives. As this uncertain future unfolds, maintaining the status quo is not an option for the engineering community. The imperative for change and adaptation has driven the formation of ECL-USA.
Learn More about ECL-USASummits
ECL-USA convenes two to three times a year to share perspectives, deepen our understanding of engineering’s emerging future, and to launch experiments and focused initiatives designed both to foster change across the entire engineering system from education to practice to research to licensure.
Upcoming SummitsOur Way Forward
Our way forward is through action inspired by the Engineering Change Lab-USA’s mission. ECL-USA was started in 2017, with the mission of becoming a catalyst for change within the engineering profession, by helping the profession reach its highest potential on behalf of society.
To achieve our mission, we will:
- Bring together stakeholders, innovative thinkers, and change agents to explore and generate new knowledge about the role of engineering in an emerging future.
- Self-organize as an independent (non-aligned) entity – complementing existing stakeholder organizations (professional societies and associations), not attempting to duplicate their efforts.
- Become a communications hub, linking and sharing knowledge between stakeholders engaged in creating the future of the engineering community (profession).
- Engage in and lead collaborative initiatives designed to transform the engineering community (profession) to help it thrive in an evolving world.
Recent News
CLIMATE CHANGE NOBLE PURPOSE FOR ENGINEERING
Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL-USA) Summit 11, The Imperative of Climate Change and the Future of Engineering, featured a deep dive into how engineering and the engineering community might be transformed by the way it responds to the emerging risks of climate change. Using the State of California as a case study for inquiry, participants in the summit explored the roles the engineering community can play within and across the private sector, public sector, and the non-profit sector to catalyze action, facilitate communication, foster collaboration, drive innovation and entrepreneurship, and shape climate change public policy.
In the final exercise of the summit, participants reflected on the potential emergence of a “noble purpose” for the engineering community centered on the climate change imperative. The intent of a “noble purpose” is to unite, energize, and motivate people within and across organizations, and to fulfill their desires for meaning and contribution in their work lives. A noble purpose statement can quickly and clearly communicate how individuals and organizations can contribute to a cause, such as climate change, that benefits society and nature in a meaningful way.... Read More
ENGINEERING’S ROLE IN RACIAL INEQUALITY
In 1956 President Dwight Eisenhower signed the historic Federal-Aid Highway Act that authorized construction of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, which came to be considered one of the United States’ greatest public works achievements. In Nebraska, the Department of Roads (NDOR) began planning for a state-wide system of freeways. Part of their planning included an expressway system for the Omaha area. The map shown below, from 1957, illustrates the “Recommended Expressway System” for Omaha. Several years later, NDOR modified this plan to include extending the North Expressway to connect with the expressway circling the northern side of the metro area.
... Read More
... Read MoreTHE ENGINEERING IDEAS INSTITUTE II (ECL-USA SUMMIT 13)
8/21/21 Update
The second edition of the ECL-USA Engineering Ideas Institute will be held from October 11 – 13, 2021, at The Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder, Colorado. The 2021 Institute will offer an opportunity for participants to take deep dives into two important topics that are central to the future of engineering.... Read More
