Creative Intolerance https://issues.org/creative-intolerance-venice-biennale-madhavan/ PostedJuly 21, 2023 An engineer's take on the Venice Biennale 2023 Today’s vision of engineering is one based in mass production, not only of goods and software, but also of consumers. Could we turn these skills toward mass-producing responsible citizens and communities?
What does philosophy bring to engineering? Cranfield University Podcast https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/academic-disciplines/philosophy-management-and-techn... PostedJune 6, 2023 What’s at the heart of the engineering profession? What unique powers does the profession have and how can they be harnessed? How do the role, purpose and identity of engineers evolve through millennia? And, most importantly, how does philosophy help us address these questions? Here we have a conversation with Dr Guru Madhavan about the nature of the engineering profession and the value of philosophy for advancing it. In this truly fascinating interview, we cover a huge variety of topics, including the historical evolution of engineers’ identity; the relationship between engineering, economics, and philosophy; the often forgotten value of maintenance and the essential role of “grind challenges”, the current programmes at the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, as well as the design of the traffic management system in the city of Stockholm, the collective organizing behind the construction of the Great Living Chola Temples, and much more.
American Museum of Science and Energy Podcast https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/24178605 PostedDecember 22, 2022 In this AMSECast episode, Mr. Lowe interviews Dr. Madhavan starting with his family origins from Southern India. Growing up in a very competitive academic culture, Dr. Madhavan jokes his entry into the profession of engineering was almost like an arranged marriage. On a more serious note, he describes how he embraced the discipline of engineering and then came to appreciate the “scientific aspects and the mathematical constructs and even the structural principles behind it.” Dr. Madhavan goes on to explain the importance that the National Academies have served in the pursuit of objective thinking since President Abraham Lincoln signed it into existence in 1863. Mr. Lowe and Dr. Madhavan discuss how to make engineering more broadly relatable for those outside the discipline. Dr. Madhavan stresses the inherent but often overlooked connection of engineering, history, and our day-to-day lives.
Create the Future: An Engineering Podcast How Do Engineers Think? https://podfollow.com/1473202958/episode/8f821e5e00fbb466749e0ef9e98f495a2014e8e... PostedAugust 3, 2022 In this episode of the Create the Future podcast, we ask acclaimed biomedical engineer and policy adviser, Guru Madhavan, “how do engineers think?”
Engineering for Inevitable Surprises https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/1/pgac014/6569120 PostedApril 19, 2022 To engineer resilient communities requires anticipation of and diligent planning for inevitable surprises, and a fundamental appreciation of people, systems, and culture—the guiding themes of the National Academy of Engineering's programs.
The Greatest Show on Earth https://issues.org/greatest-show-earth-innovation-maintenance-otis-madhavan/ PostedApril 13, 2022
Creating a Rapid Response Reserve for Pandemics https://jamanetwork.com/channels/health-forum/fullarticle/2774533 PostedFebruary 11, 2021
Systemic Vistas (Editors Note) Winter 2020 Issue on Complex Unifiable Systems https://www.nae.edu/244665/Winter-Issue-of-The-Bridge-on-Complex-Unifiable-Syste... PostedFebruary 11, 2021
Complex Maladaptive Systems https://www.nae.edu/244709/Complex-Maladaptive-Systems PostedFebruary 11, 2021
Invisible Bridges: Do-It-Yourself Pandemic Models The responsibility of building scientific models has much in common with the responsibility of sitting in the exit row on an airplane. One can enjoy the extra leg room of creating imaginative models, but it comes with a price—being “willing and able” to fulfill lifesaving ... AuthorGuru Madhavan Release dateFall 2020 Volume50 Number3 Read More
Guru Madhavan Inducted into Medical and Biological Engineering Elite https://aimbe.org/press/madhavan-COF-5085.pdf PostedJuly 2, 2020 The ASEE Technological and Engineering Literacy/Philosophy of Engineering Division Meritorious Award has been given to Guru Madhavan, director of NAE Programs and Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar. The award recognizes an individual or organization for promoting technological and engineering literacy/philosophy of engineering (TELPhE) through significant contribution to editorial content; outstanding service on a local, national, or international committee that promotes TELPhE; exemplary contribution to the development or promotion of TELPhE; and/or repeated delivery or development of TELPhE education in K–12, graduate, postgraduate, public service, or STEM areas. The award was presented June 24 during the ASEE 2020 virtual conference.
Do-It-Yourself Pandemic: It's Time for Accountability in Models https://issues.org/real-world-engineering-pandemic-modeling-accountability/ PostedJuly 2, 2020 Lessons from real-world engineering can improve the design and standards of models being used in COVID-19
Invisible Bridges: Interface Value Being at sea is perilous. Any safety feature on a ship can backfire. Lew had known that well since his Navy days—he spent long deployments in the Western Pacific during the Vietnam conflict. Later, he worked in corporate public relations building a career in crisis management. Then he found himself in a crisis.In March 2019 Lew, in his 70s, and his wife set off to Norway for a 13-day cruise, In Search of the Northern Lights. The Viking Sky was fairly small by cruise ship standards—on this trip it carried 915 passengers and 458 crew members—but that’s how Lew wanted it. “Those big vessels are not a very pleasant experience. You’re herded around like cattle,” he told me. AuthorGuru Madhavan Release dateSummer 2020 Volume50 Number2 Read More
Invisible Bridges: Composite Minds https://www.nae.edu/221310/Invisible-Bridges-Composite-Minds PostedMay 12, 2020 In architecture, fundamental concepts such as aspect ratios—how the width of a structure relates to the height—matter a great deal. But Sir Ove Nyquist Arup interpreted them broadly. For him, such elements were only a component of “total design.” He believed that structures were the product of not just sensible engineering but a sensitive engagement with the world. “What we decide to do is much more important than how to do it,” Arup wrote in 1984, “and that opens the sluice valve for a whole flood of questions, social, political, ethical, which threaten us all with confusion, or worse, because we are not able to agree on what to do.”[1] The design of the team building the structure, he asserted, was as important as the design of the structure itself.
Invisible Bridges: Deep Unlearning https://www.nae.edu/228885/Invisible-Bridges-Deep-Unlearning- PostedMay 12, 2020 There’s a clear line between content analysis and cussing. IBM’s Watson crossed that line. While preparing for Jeopardy!, the famous “question-answering” system ingested a smorgasbord of content, including the Urban Dictionary, a sourcebook of slang. Watson was “learning”—and learned to swear. The engineers were nonplussed. What to do about the expletives? Simple: just block, ban, censor. Control the input, control the output. End of story.
The Covid Recovery Comes Down to Engineering https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-covid-recovery-comes-down-to-engineering-115886... PostedMay 12, 2020 Reopening the country in the midst of a pandemic is akin to charging an enemy position at the top of a hill. Recovery and rebuilding will test us at every step with the risk of losing hard-won ground. But an old military insight can provide us with surer footing: amateurs talk tactics, professionals discuss logistics. Epidemiology established the right methods for fighting individual battles with Covid-19, from hand-washing to social distancing, but now it’s time to talk recovery logistics.
Inaugural Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar Named https://www.nae.edu/57080/noteworthynews PostedOctober 17, 2019 The National Academy of Engineering has named Guru Madhavan, current director of NAE programs, as the inaugural Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar. This endowment, which supports Madhavan’s work, was made possible through a generous donation from Norman R. Augustine and Lockheed Martin Corporation.