Mike McMeekin

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou

The mission of Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL-USA) is to be a catalyst for change within the engineering community, helping it reach its highest potential on behalf of society.  In 2021 ECL-USA continued its work in exploring the most important and complex issues impacting the future of engineering. Summit 11 focused on engineering’s role in the challenge of climate change. Summit 12 examined the future of private sector engineering firms. The second edition of the Engineering Ideas Institute represented our return to in-person events with a focus on Engineering in an Age of Acceleration and Engineering and Racial Justice. We also initiated work on two focused initiatives that resulted from discussions at our summits – the Future of Licensure initiative and the Climate Change Noble Purpose for Engineering initiative. A third initiative related to engineering and racial justice is under consideration. In addition, we ramped up our efforts to share our message and our work with the Engineering Community through 17 presentations to engineering organizations across the country. We thank those who have supported our work in any way.

2021 was another remarkable year, with the momentous events of the year offering opportunities to build on the learning from our work this year and in past years…. Read More

New demands for engineering work, driven by a growing economy as well as new programs such as the recently passed federal infrastructure bill, have the potential to create significant shortages in staff and talent within the engineering community. The next Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL-USA) virtual summit, Augmenting the Engineering Workforce Through Technological Innovation, to be held on March 15, 2022, will explore this important topic.

Register for the summit at the link below.

SUMMIT 14 REGISTRATION

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A preliminary draft of the ECL-USA Climate Change Noble Purpose for Engineering Statement is complete. This statement was prepared with input from a working group of 25 that included representatives from 16 engineering organizations and participants in the ECL-USA Climate Change Summit. We are open to additional feedback and input from others. Our goal is to issue a final statement early in 2022. The entire statement is copied below, and you can also download a copy of the statement at the link below.

Ultimately, our goal is that this statement will impact the way the engineering community does its work, with a greater emphasis on addressing climate change, both through reducing emissions and adaptation to our changing climate.

 Climate-Change-Noble-Purpose-Statement-101321.pdf

CLIMATE CHANGE NOBLE PURPOSE FOR ENGINEERING STATEMENT (The Role of the Engineering Community in Addressing Climate Change)

The consensus of climate scientists can no longer be denied; climate change is real; the impacts are serious—and they are accelerating. Across all economic sectors, climate change is being accelerated by human-created technologies. In addition, we have seen throughout history that those people with the least resources are the most impacted by major challenges like climate change. Because the Engineering Community (1) is central to the creation and use of these technologies, we are uniquely positioned to help lead the way out of this climate crisis.  There is an urgent imperative for the engineering community to take informed and intentional actions now to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. It is our duty and purpose to serve humanity in this way – contributing our skills and knowledge, without reservation, to help society make the best use of Earth’s precious resources…. Read More

The concept for the Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL-USA) Engineering Ideas Institute is to offer an extended deep dive into the most complex issues facing the engineering community. The second edition of the Institute (first in-person) was held last week, appropriately at the Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder, Colorado. The Institute offered the opportunity for participants to take deep dives into two major themes – “Engineering in an Age of Acceleration” and “Engineering and Racial Justice.”

The “Engineering in an Age of Acceleration” theme stems from the observation in Thomas Friedman’s 2016 book, Thank You for Being Late, that the gap between technological progress and humanity’s ability to adapt to technological change is growing ever wider. The graphic below illustrates this concept.

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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

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.

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