Uncategorized

Qingbin Cui, Ph.D., Kyle Davy, AIA & Michael McMeekin, P.E.

March 13, 2024

Advanced technologies such as connected autonomous vehicles, robotics and drones, artificial intelligence, bio-medical technologies, smart cities, and other cyber-physical systems pose new and serious challenges to the ability of the current engineering licensure regime to assure that engineers and the organizations employing them are protecting public health, safety, and welfare. The existing licensure system is also challenged with respect to providing guidance on the many macro-ethical dilemmas emerging alongside these advanced technologies.

It is imperative that our systems of regulating and licensing engineering adapt in parallel with the development and deployment of these emerging technologies and in a manner that is reflective of the engineering community’s role as stewards of public safety, society, and the environment.

These conclusions, reached at the end of Engineering Change Lab – USA’s (ECL) 2020 summit exploring Licensure Models for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, prompted the launch of a follow-on ECL initiative designed to imagine a transformational regulatory system that addresses the demands and dynamics of engineering practice in the 4^th Industrial Revolution (4^th IR).

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The following post was written by Andy Bochman, Grid Strategist-Infrastructure Defender for Idaho National Laboratory’s National & Homeland Security Directorate. Andy will serve as a provocateur at the March 19 Moving From Cyber Security to Cyber Resilience Summit.

Whatever primary hat you wear (engineer, attorney, cyber guru, standards writer, regulator, or end user), imagine for a moment the challenge of cybersecurity from the perspective of each of those other folks. You are familiar, I take it, with the parable of the elephant in the dark room, and how one’s impression of what animal it is depends on which part they encounter first as they feel their way around.

Speaking of elephants, as framed by the engineering standard of care, if one were designing a bridge capable of safely and reliably supporting the passage of up to 100 elephants at a time, the normal best practice thing to do is design and build it with a safety factor — let’s say a structural design and materials selected to support 140 standard elephants. Of course, we need to define whether we are talking African or Asian elephants, as there’s a not insignificant weight difference, with Africans often reaching seven tons and the Asian species topping out at a bit over five.

In other words, details matter. We must pay attention to how initial assumptions about users can be proved wrong by future shifts: in technology, regulation, user behavior, or weather patterns for that matter…. Read More

Kyle Davy and Mike McMeekin

The history of engineering for urban development and infrastructure is commonly told as a story of progress, achievement, and positive contributions to society. There is, however, another part of that narrative that is often left out or glossed over — that is the story of how, on too many occasions, engineering work has also contributed to racial inequity and harm. Examples include efforts that helped give rise to segregated urban development patterns, routing of freeways that divided and devastated minority neighborhoods, siting of hazardous industrial and infrastructure facilities in low-income areas, and unequal access to clean water and sanitation infrastructure.

Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL), launched its Engineering Equitable Communities (EEC) initiative to explore this more complete narrative and to pilot new practices and behaviors that engineering practitioners can adopt to prevent future inequity, heal past harms, and help create a more just future for our urban environments…. Read More

National and local engineering community practitioners to gather in Denver for Phase I of pilot project focused on urban development and urban infrastructure.

The history of engineering is full of the positive contributions that we have made to society. There is, however, another part of our history that is not always discussed, and that is our history of contributing to inequity. Examples include development that has segregated residential neighborhoods, siting of industrial and infrastructure facilities in poor neighborhoods, freeways that have divided neighborhoods, and inequal access to clean water and sanitation. Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL) is leading a pilot project that will explore this issue and look to develop strategies on how the engineering community can change to contribute to creating more just and equitable communities.

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Engineering Change Lab – USA (ECL) is pleased to announce our 2024 events, supporting our mission to catalyze action in the engineering community through deep learning and interdisciplinary collaboration. By convening and inspiring individuals across all engineering disciplines and leadership levels, ECL participants can develop and lead solutions to create a resilient, thriving world.

Register now for our 2024 events:

The Future of Engineering Licensure: Regulation and Practice in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (virtual)

Emerging Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies present significant challenges to traditional engineering licensure and regulatory processes. This virtual briefing will report the key findings and recommendations from ECL’s Future of Licensure Initiative.

Learn more and register

Moving from Cybersecurity to Cyber Resilience: The Role of the Engineering Community (virtual)

The frequency, effectiveness and impact of cyberattacks are exponentially increasing. This virtual summit will explore the role the engineering community must play to strategically address this driving force — not only as creators but stewards of technology on behalf of society.

Learn more and register

The Engineering Workforce of the Future: Challenges, Key Leverage Points and Innovative Strategies (virtual)

This virtual summit will take a deep dive into engineering’s future workforce, analyzing systemic forces as well as key leverage points and innovative strategies for confronting present and future workforce challenges.

Learn more and register

2024 Engineering Ideas Institute: Engineering Practice in a VUCA World
Colorado Chautauqua, Boulder, Colorado

It’s a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world — and it’s worsening. The 2024 Engineering Ideas Institute will dive into the dynamics of this unfolding future.

Learn more and register

By Kyle Davy & Mike McMeekin

Alternative Headlines for 2033

• “Blackout Friday” flashed across cell phone screens throughout the US on a Thursday afternoon in 2033 as the weekly reminder that activities involving all discretionary energy use are to be suspended one day a week. This nationwide blackout was just one of a set of dramatic changes agreed to by society in the wake of a pair of devastating hurricanes that struck Miami in 2031, rendering the surrounding region virtually uninhabitable for the foreseeable future. The resulting society-wide awakening to the escalating threat of climate change and extreme weather events sparked a new, shared commitment to transformation …
• In 2033 “abundance” has replaced “chronic shortage” as a descriptor of the engineering community’s workforce relative to its needs. A new purpose-driven, diverse cohort of workers from an expanding range of engineering educational experiences combined with new means of leveraging emerging technologies to augment workers within this community drove this surprising outcome over the last decade …
•  The last decade has witnessed a steady emergence of powerful state, metropolitan area, and regional coalitions across the US in reaction to continued polarization in national politics and an inability of the federal government to get things done. This shift culminated in the 2032 presidential election of a “Great Unifier” along with substantial numbers of new members of Congress drawn from the ranks of successful leaders populating these coalitions. This new alignment of government actors, at federal, regional, state, and local levels sets the stage for significant action to address long-standing societal challenges …

These three scenarios capture the opening plot lines of three narratives of the future, created and explored by attendees during the 2023 Engineering Ideas Institute, convened in late September at the Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder, CO. Over the coming months, Institute participants will continue to flesh out details of these scenarios and further develop strategies and guidance for the engineering community to prepare it to be more effective in achieving its mission on behalf of society, regardless of the future that actually comes to pass.

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