A Vision of The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education

A Vision of The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education American Society of Mechanical Engineers, International DRAFT: May 2004 Purpose The American Society of Mechanical Engineers presents this paper to promote a shared vision for the future of mechanical engineering education in the context of new and rapidly emerging technologies and disciplines, national and global trends, societal challenges for the 21st century, and associated opportunities for the profession. Vision Innovations in mechanical engineering education will prepare graduates to pursue their individual professional interests well beyond perceived boundaries associated with the discipline’s traditional roles, in keeping with the current and future applications and associated flexibility of the profession. In this way, mechanical engineering will attract the best and the brightest students and faculty, including women and other traditionally underrepresented groups, many of whom may not otherwise consider entering the profession. Approach This paper highlights key issues considered to be worthy of attention by mechanical engineering educators and the broader ASME community as we strive to achieve a shared vision of the future of mechanical engineering education. Among the sources from which these issues were identified are the following. • Discussions of the Body of Knowledge Task Force formed by the ASME Board on Engineering Education. The Task Force met initially at the ASME Summer Annual Meeting in June 2003. Topics discussed at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education Conference, March 6-9, 2004, at Clearwater Beach, Florida. Among the 146 registrants for the conference were mechanical engineering educators from seven foreign nations. Recent publications, e.g., New Directions in Mechanical Engineering, Report from a Workshop Organized by the Big-Ten-Plus Mechanical Engineering Department Heads, January 25-27, 2002. • • Drivers for Change Recent lectures and publications (examples of which are cited in the attached bibliography) Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 2 illustrate that a broad consensus has developed about the need for a critical reexamination of engineering education in the context of the accelerating pace of change in society and the workplace. Among the factors that provide compelling reasons for this reexamination are • the growing complexity and interdisciplinary foundations of engineered systems, • the rapid emergence of new technologies, • the blurring of boundaries among technical disciplines, • globalization as a principal driving force for change, accompanied by increasing global competition, • the convergence of biology and engineering, • declining financial support for state colleges and universities and corresponding emphasis on limiting baccalaureate-level programs to four years, and • prospective students’ interests that go well beyond perceived boundaries associated with mechanical engineering’s traditional roles. Although some engineering programs have seized the opportunity for change, others apparently have not. As the guest speaker for the 12th Annual Gould Distinguished Lecture at the University of Utah, September 16, 2003, W. A. Wulf, President, National Academy of Engineering, commented: “While other scientific fields have changed to meet increasingly complex technological demands, engineering is lagging behind.” He also emphasized that “America’s engineering education needs to be restructured to meet the growing global competition and to keep pace with the changes in the field,” and noted further that “the adage that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ seems to be the opinion of most engineering faculty members.” Similarly, in a Perspectives column titled Is Mechanical Engineering Obsolete?” in ASME News, September 2003, L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, ASME Past President, observed that “our discipline and our profession have been slow to embrace (new fields of endeavor).” Responses of Other Engineering Societies The following examples illustrate the initiatives that engineering societies are pursuing to reexamine the future of engineering education. Each example is a work in progress. 1. American Society of Civil Engineering1 ASCE Policy Statement 465, adopted unanimously by the Board of Direction in 2001, “supports the concept of the master’s degree or equivalent as a prerequisite for licensure and the practice of civil engineering at the professional level.” • ASCE created the Task Committee of Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice in October 2001 to “…develop, organize and execute a detailed plan for full realization of ASCE Policy Statement 465.” Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, ASCE, 2004 1 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 3 • The Task Committee’s Body of Knowledge Committee identified 15 outcomes for the civil engineering BOK for the 21st century. The 15 outcomes include the 11 program outcomes of the ABET Accreditation Criteria for Engineering Programs and prescribe additional depth and breadth in preparation for professional practice. 2. American Institute of Chemical Engineering2 In January 2003, representatives of 46 U.S. ChE departments and leading industries participated in the first of three conferences organized by MIT and sponsored by NSF and the Council for Chemical Research to address the development of undergraduate ChE curricula appropriate for the 21st century. • It was agreed the ChE’s enabling sciences are now biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, and that the curriculum should be organized around the principles of molecular transformations, multi-scale analysis, and a systems approach. Among the post-conference developments are the following. AIChE is forming a new division of Biological Engineering. In addition, AIChE’s Education and Accreditation Committee is considering modification of the existing ABET/EAC chemical engineering program criteria, which have defined the previous ChE body of knowledge in a prescriptive manner. • 3. National Academy of Engineering3 The NAE-Committee on Engineering Accreditation launched an initiative in two phases: • • Phase I: Gather facts, forecast future conditions, and develop future scenarios for the 2020 engineer. (An NAE report on this phase is pending.) Phase II: Develop a strategy for ensuring the currency and vitality of 21st century engineering education. Premises for the Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Among the premises for achieving the full potential of mechanical engineering education are the following. • 2 Mechanical engineering is an inclusive discipline with the flexibility to accommodate the “Body of Knowledge – Chemical Engineering,” Richard Seagrave, in “Defining the Body of Knowledge” (chemical engineering, computing sciences, and civil engineering), ABET Communications Link, fall/winter 2004 3 Engineer 2020, Project Prospectus, NAE-Committee on Engineering Accreditation, spring 2003 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 4 interests of students who wish to prepare for any among a wide variety of career paths, including, e.g., entry-level opportunities via baccalaureate-level programs; practice-oriented or research-oriented graduate study; interdisciplinary programs in which mechanical engineering is a key element; and/or entry into other professions (e.g., business, law, medicine) in which a mechanical engineering background constitutes a desirable foundation. • The overall objective of an undergraduate mechanical engineering program is to provide the intellectual foundation on which successful careers in this and a number of other fields can be built. The typical scope of a baccalaureate program cannot accommodate in-depth technical specialization (which should left to post-baccalaureate studies), but can accommodate innovative approaches for offering technical breadth and flexibility and the intellectual skills necessary for life-long learning. Classical mechanical engineering principles will remain essential for the development of new technologies in, e.g., the life sciences and micro-scale devices. In the evolving R&D environment that increasingly emphasizes interdisciplinary collaborations for new technology development, mechanical engineers must have the intellectual agility to contribute not only their specialized expertise, but to absorb new tools from other disciplines and to understand and appreciate the contributions of specialists in other fields. This is one way in which mechanical engineering will remain relevant in a mercurial world and retain the flexibility to grow in directions that today can be visualized only dimly. Evolutionary changes in the more established areas of mechanical engineering are also vitally important for sustaining the vitality of the profession. These changes are intimately linked in importance to mechanical engineering’s contributions to the development of new technologies. Mechanical engineering programs must have maximum flexibility to define and pursue their educational objectives in their own varied ways, consistent with the missions of their institutions and with the needs of their various constituencies. ASME recognizes the roles of state licensing boards in setting and enforcing the standards for licensure as a professional engineer, and the role of ABET, Inc. in accrediting mechanical engineering programs. ASME’s role is to encourage and recognize innovation in mechanical engineering education. Some mechanical engineering career paths involve activities for which professional licensure is required by law. Others do not. ASME recognizes, values, and appreciates the achievements of all who contribute to the art, science, and practice of mechanical engineering through the discipline’s broad applications. • • • • • Considerations in Reshaping Mechanical Engineering Curricula Among the questions that warrant consideration as mechanical engineering programs rethink their curricula, individually and collectively, in the context of the unprecedented opportunities as Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 5 well as the extraordinary challenges for future generations of students are the following. 1. Where is the mechanical engineering profession heading? While a succinct response to this question is difficult to state in a manner that captures the full potential of the mechanical engineering profession, the following excerpts from recent publications seem appropriate for the purposes of this paper. • “To meet the demands of the ‘Biotech Century,’ mechanical engineering must adopt a synergistic, broad-scope approach in which mechanical engineering methodology is part of multi-discipline industrial and research environments.”4 The mechanical engineering profession is changing from - “The branch of engineering that encompasses the generation and application of heat and mechanical power and the production, design and use of machines and tools”5 to - “One that addresses societal concerns through analysis, design, and manufacture of systems, at all size-scales… These changes address micro-and nano-scale devices and systems, advances in bio systems, information technologies, and environmental issues.”6 • 2. What should be done to attract the best and brightest students who have the aptitude for engineering but who are not entering the profession? In keeping with the myriad professional interests that mechanical engineering students may wish to pursue, and as one means of attracting the best and brightest students who might not otherwise consider enrolling in mechanical engineering programs, mechanical engineering education should embrace new technologies and emphasize technical breadth and flexibility while providing a rigorous grounding in the discipline’s core fundamentals. In addition, mechanical engineering programs should place increased emphasis on conveying to prospective students the breadth of opportunities and the associated excitement and personal satisfaction associated with the profession. Two recent forums on mechanical engineering education focused on interrelated issues that are relevant to this matter. 4 New Directions in Mechanical Engineering, Report from a Workshop Organized by the BigTen-Plus Mechanical Engineering Department Heads, January 25-27, 2002 5 Webster’s II New College Dictionary, 2001 6 “The Case for Renaissance Engineers and Renaissance in Mechanical Engineering Education,” Adnan Akay, in The Innovative University, D.S. Scott and D.P Resnick (eds), Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2003 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 6 2.1 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education Conference, March 6-9, 2004 (The post-conference Web site is http://www.asme.org/education/dh/me2004/index.htm) Among the plenary topics of the conference were Research Opportunities, Engineering and the Life Sciences, Nanotechnology, and International Collaborations. • Research Opportunities – Strategic research areas highlighted by speakers representing the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Basic Sciences) included the following (in no particular order): - Bioengineering - including, e.g., biomaterials, bioprocesses, and biosensors - Nanotechnology - a priority of both Congress and the Office of Management & Budget - Cyber infrastructure - Manufacturing - the subject of a White House Executive Order Encouraging Innovation in Manufacturing (February 24, 2004) Engineering and the Life Sciences – Among the programs highlighted were: 1) Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2) the Neural Engineering Initiative in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University, and 3) Some Interdisciplinary Learning Models for biomedical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Advantages cited for a new biological direction in mechanical engineering included the following: - Forward looking; opens new doors - Attracts top students; better serves students’ interests Nanotechnology – The keynote speaker emphasized that engineering education is experiencing a shift from the macro-scale to the micro-scale and to the nano-scale, driven by (at the nano-scale) - Novel properties/phenomena/processes - Unity and generality (at the “building-block level” of all natural and artificial materials) - Most efficient length scale for manufacturing - Transcendent effects at the confluence of stems (e.g., living/non-living constituents) International Collaborations - The plenary leader offered the following comments on Michigan Sate University’s experiences with International Virtual Teams: - One-third to two-thirds of the participants are women. - Students develop a global mindset, learn to place technology in a global context, learn multidisciplinary and multicultural approaches to problem solving, learn the importance of agility and adaptability, enhance their communications skills, and achieve a greater understanding of diversity. - Although students find the experience to be frustrating in some respects and a lot of work, they also comment that it is “the best course I have taken” and “should be required.” • • • Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 7 2.2 New Directions in Mechanical Engineering, Report from a Workshop Organized by the Big-Ten-Plus Mechanical Engineering Department Heads, January 25-27, 2002 A workshop on this topic focused on actions necessary to ensure that mechanical engineering remains attractive to the best and brightest students and faculty, including women and other traditionally underrepresented groups. The participants developed findings and recommendations in the context of four core technical areas: 1) Biotechnology, 2) Micro/ Nano Technology, 3) Information Technology, and 4) Ecology/Energy. Among the overarching strategies for mechanical engineering education that emerged from the workshop are the following. • • • Rapidly embrace new tools and developments in other disciplines to strengthen mechanical engineering’s core disciplines. Focus on systems aspects that are crucial to emerging technologies. Develop modernized, adaptable educational materials. Such materials should incorporate examples from biological sciences and tools from information technologies. 3. What should every BSME graduate know? Criterion 3 of the ABET Accreditation Criteria for Engineering Programs identifies 11 program outcomes expected for all baccalaureate-level graduates of accredited engineering programs. These outcomes encompass technical capabilities and the additional attributes necessary for professional growth and development. The need for engineering graduates to acquire capabilities beyond baccalaureate-level technical fundamentals also was emphasized repeatedly by speakers at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference cited earlier. Among the attributes for success mentioned by the speakers were adaptability, creativity, cultural awareness, effective interpersonal skills, and a strong sense of professionalism. Recognizing that a fundamental objective of mechanical engineering programs is to provide the intellectual foundation on which lifelong learning and successful careers can be built, and that the field is so broad, content will vary from program to program, defining the key elements of what every BSME graduate should know is a difficult challenge. Suggested elements (not intended as substitutes for ABET engineering criteria) include the following. • • • • • 7,8 Mathematics and classical principles of science that underpin mechanical engineering’s broad applications Mechanical engineering’s core fundamentals Competence in the use of engineering tools for design, simulation, and analysis of complex systems7 Versatility with information technologies and knowledge bases8 Effective communications skills ibid. Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 8 • • Experience in systems integration and in interdisciplinary teamwork Knowledge of contemporary issues and the societal context for engineering solutions 4. What are mechanical engineering’s baccalaureate-level core technical fundamentals? Mechanical engineering’s classical origins stem largely from the following century-scale “Grand Scientific Paradigms:”9 • Mechanics (17th and 18th centuries), and • Thermodynamics (19th century). These origins have been reflected for well over a century in mechanical engineering curricula, and are reflected as well in the ABET/EAC mechanical engineering program criteria (which require familiarity in both thermal and mechanical systems). Mechanical engineering also has evolved as a discipline capable of analyzing, designing, and manufacturing components and systems at all size scales. Associated foundations of the discipline include systems integration, information technology, and control theory. Among the applications of mechanical engineering principles to contemporary research topics is an example cited during the plenary session on “Engineering and the Life Sciences” at the 2004 Mechanical Engineering Education Conference. Research on protein dynamics entails:10 • Solid mechanics of slender structures • Fluid mechanics • Thermodynamics • Control theory Also as emphasized during the plenary session on “Engineering and the Life Sciences,” the convergence of biology and engineering will continue to accelerate, accompanied by breakthroughs that may be anticipated to yield unprecedented benefits in medicine, industry, agriculture, and related fields. Among the universities that have formally recognized this trend is The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where biology is considered to be part of an essential foundation for all modern engineering curricula.11 These examples illustrate that as mechanical engineering programs reexamine their curricula in response to modern-day challenges, the core technical fundamentals of the discipline “What is a Discipline?” Paul Penfield, MIT, ABET Board of Directors meeting, March 16, 2002 10 “Bioengineering and the Neural Engineering Initiative in Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University,” L. Kate Brinson, Plenary 1 – Engineering and the Life Sciences, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education Conference, March 5-9, 2004 11 “A Mechanical Engineering Curriculum with a Biological Bent (in Several Flavors),” Roger Kamm, MIT, Plenary 1 – Engineering and the Life Sciences, ASME International Mechanical Engineering Education Conference, March 5-9, 2004 9 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 9 warrant reconsideration as well. These core fundamentals are defined for accreditation purposes in the ABET/EAC mechanical engineering program criteria. Among the current requirements for mechanical engineering program accreditation are the following, accompanied by comments on these requirements: • Requirement: The program must demonstrate that graduates have knowledge of chemistry and calculus-based physics with depth in at least one. Comment: At the threshold of what is widely regarded as the century of biology, the latter discipline warrants formal recognition as a foundational science of mechanical engineering, along with chemistry and physics. Doing so would not necessarily require all mechanical engineering students to take a course in biology. Rather, such a course could be recognized as part of an accreditable mechanical engineering program tailored to students’ interests in various aspects of bioengineering. • Requirement: The program must demonstrate that graduates have the ability to apply advanced mathematics through multivariate calculus and differential equations and familiarity with statistics and liner algebra. Comment: The required capabilities in mathematics and statistics may warrant reconsideration to enhance the latitude that may be necessary to accommodate the broad interests that mechanical engineering students may wish to pursue. • Requirement: The program must demonstrate that graduates have the ability to work professionally in both thermal and mechanical systems areas including the design ad realization of such systems. Comment: This aspect of the program criteria reflects the classical stems of mechanical engineering, and accommodates substantial latitude in the curricular content of accredited programs. Accordingly, no change is suggested. 5. How should math and science be taught in the context of newly emerging technologies? Core fundamentals in math and basic science as well as in the engineering sciences might be covered more effectively in restructured courses than in new courses, and/or in interdisciplinary courses offered in cooperation with other programs. Curricular innovation might include the following considerations: • • • An integrated interdepartmental approach to course restructuring, involving, e.g., engineering faculty and math/science faculty jointly in this process An emphasis on making course content more efficient, interesting, and exciting, while retaining appropriate rigor Flexibility in applications, e.g.: - Living systems as a basis for teaching, e.g., thermodynamics and heat transfer - Micro/nano mechanics as a basis for teaching introductory laboratory classes Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 10 6. How can technical breadth and flexibility be accommodated most effectively within baccalaureate-level constraints? It is evident that the range of possible subject matter is so vast, and the time available so short, that no curriculum can possibly encompass all the work that is thought by one or another of the advocates of various subjects to be of paramount importance. The range of potential interdisciplinary areas that could be embedded in or offered as options in mechanical engineering curricula is also vast and evolving. Choices must be made - choices that are clearly the responsibility of individual programs. Current ABET “Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs” provide substantial latitude for these choices. Among the premises that are applicable to this process are the following. • The constraints of a four-year baccalaureate program (and the increasing emphasis on limiting the baccalaureate degree to four years, particularly in state-supported colleges and universities) are inconsistent with achieving in-depth technical knowledge at the baccalaureate level. Rather, the baccalaureate degree should provide a firm foundation for achieving such knowledge at the graduate level. It is important to allow students a role in the complex process of preparing for their future.12 • Selected Examples of Innovation in Mechanical Engineering Programs Selected examples are as follows, in alphabetical order by university. 1. Student-Structured Programs – Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University’s Mechanical Engineering Department provides the flexibility for students to develop programs best suited to their individual interests through seven elective courses, only two of which must be taken within the department. These electives are in addition to the core sequences of required courses that cover the fundamental subject matter of mechanical engineering. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students can use these electives to develop a deeper focus within mechanical engineering, to form an interdisciplinary area of concentration around a common theme that can span several departments, or to meet the requirements of minor, double major, or double degree programs. 2. Five-Year BS Mechanical Engineering/MS Bioengineering Degree – Georgia Institute of Technology The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. offers a BS/MS program that integrates a four-year baccalaureate degree in mechanical engineering 12 “The Case for Renaissance Engineers and Renaissance in Mechanical Engineering Education,” Adnan Akay, in The Innovative University, Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2003 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 11 with a fifth year leading to the MS degree in bioengineering. Appropriate biology and chemistry courses are integrated into the freshman and sophomore years, including a required course focused on molecular and cell biology as well as genetics. These fundamental courses prepare students to enroll in graduate-level courses on, e.g., human pathophysiology, cardiovascular biomechanics, and tissue and cellular engineering in their senior and fifth years. Many of these students begin their MS research work as early as their sophomore year. 3. Enterprise Program - Michigan Technological University The Enterprise Program at Michigan Tech. offers students the opportunity to work together in interdisciplinary teams to create real businesses, secure real cash contracts, and produce timely and substantive results for their real-world clients. Students learn the fundamental concepts of what is needed for an enterprise or company to be successful through businessrelated topics and course modules integrated into an active, discovery-based learning environment, within the constraints of a traditional baccalaureate degree program. Among the topics covered during the second through the fourth years are business planning, basic accounting, finance, opportunity/risk assessment, and marketing. This emphasis on entrepreneurial fundamentals is offered without compromising the parallel emphasis on the technical fundamentals of a baccalaureate-level engineering program. Students acquire the technical proficiency as well as the business sense to contribute to the success of small to medium companies, which offer many, if not most, of the jobs available to new graduates. Some develop the confidence necessary to start up their own companies. Key Next Actions The actions summarized below reflect, in part, recommendations addressed in far greater detail in publications such as those cited in the bibliography. In particular, the first three of the following actions are drawn from New Directions in Mechanical Engineering, a report from a workshop on January 25-27, 2002, organized by the “Big-Ten-Plus” mechanical engineering department heads. 1. Reexamine baccalaureate degree requirements in mechanical engineering (ME Dept. Heads) 2. Benchmark university organizational structures for interdisciplinary research and education to determine best practices (ASME) 3. Establish the means to develop and share best practices in the country and the world (ME Dept. Heads). (Beginning with the conference in March 2004, the ASME Mechanical Engineering Education Conference will provide an annual forum for sharing best practices.) 4. Increase recognition of innovation in mechanical engineering programs (ASME) Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 12 5. Encourage mechanical engineering faculty to strive for the National Academy of Engineering’s Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education (ME Dept. Heads) 6. Reexamine the current suitability of ABET/EAC mechanical engineering program criteria Bibliography (selected examples) 1. “Defining the Body of Knowledge,” Doris Lidtke, Richard Seagrave, and Stuart Walesh, ABET Communications Link, fall/winter 2004 2. “Unification in the Century of Biology,” Fotis Kafatos and Thomas Eisner, Science, V. 303, February 27, 2004 3. Civil Engineering Body of Knowledge for the 21st Century: Preparing the Civil Engineer for the Future, Body of Knowledge Committee of the Task Committee on Academic Prerequisites for Professional Practice, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2004 4. “America’s Technological Challenge: Maintaining a Leading Role in the Global Economy,” The 12th Annual Gould Distinguished Lecture on “Technology and the Quality of Life,” W. A. Wulf, President, National Academy of Engineering, at the University of Utah, September 16, 2003 5. “Is Mechanical Engineering Obsolete?” L.S. “Skip” Fletcher, ASME News, September 2003 6. The Engineer of 2020, Project Prospectus, National Academy of Engineering, Committee on Engineering Education, spring 2003 7. “The Renaissance Engineer: Educating Engineers in a Post-9/11 World,” Adnan Akay, European Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 28, no. 2, 2003 8. “The Case for Renaissance Engineers and Renaissance in Mechanical Engineering Education,” Adnan Akay, in The Innovative University, D.S. Scott and D.P Resnick (eds), Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2003 9. Beyond the Molecular Frontier: Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, National Research Council, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the National Academies Press, 2003 10. The Convergence of the Life Sciences and Engineering, ASME Press, 2002 11. “A Makeover for Engineering Education,” Wm. A. Wulf & George M.C. Fisher, Issues in Science and Technology, spring 2002 Draft ASME Vision Paper The Future of Mechanical Engineering Education Page 13 12. New Directions in Mechanical Engineering, Report from a Workshop Organized by the BigTen-Plus Mechanical Engineering Department Heads, Clearwater Beach, Florida, January 25-27, 2002 13. New Dimensions in Multidisciplinary Thinking: Issues, Trends and Implications for Mechanical Engineers and ASME International, ASME Committee on Issues Identification, Council on Public Affairs, prepared by Global Foresight Associates, ASME International, 2001 14. Mechanical Engineering in the 21st Century: Trends Impacting the Profession, ASME Committee on Issues Identification, Council on Public Affairs, prepared by Hudson Institute, Inc., ASME International, September 1999