Having assumed the role of chair of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Council on July 1 of this year, this is, of course, my first opportunity to address the engineering community from this position. Let me start by saying that it was a great honor to be elected but it is also a great ...

As a graduate student in 1968 at the University of ­Illinois, I volunteered to tutor minority undergraduate students who were enrolled in Project 500,^[1] a pilot project to increase the diversity of the undergraduate student body. I was assigned five undergraduate students who were in their ...

There are decisive moments in our nation’s history that drive change. Fifty years ago, the Nixon administration’s new affirmative action policy, called the Philadelphia Plan, built upon the policies of earlier administrations and required companies to meet certain hiring goals for ...

There are significant opportunities to supplement America’s overall engineering capabilities while leveraging the talents of its entire population.

Engineering is ultimately governed by the fundamental laws of nature, and nature is an absolutely fair but absolutely unforgiving judge.^[1] If ...

Leaders must overcome the obstacles to innovation by seeking inspiration from new perspectives and engaging those that might open them to new ideas.

How many times have you chosen an approach to solving a real-world problem that needed mid-course correction? After all, most real-world problems ...

Looking back at the history of the minority engineering effort offers an example of how, with strong leadership, a seemingly intractable problem can be solved with a systems approach.

Fifty years ago, major private US institutions came together to help solve a problem that none of them could solve ...

The minority engineering effort led to an increase in the representation of African Americans in engineering, but future progress depends on renewed efforts to welcome new cohorts of young engineers into the profession.

College graduates who major in engineering consistently have strong earnings ...

In the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down the use of affirmative action in college admissions, engineering programs and employers retain a range of tools to expand opportunities for underrepresented groups to enter the field.

Our nation confronts a growing array of complex ...

Co-chairs of the NASEM diversity science report present a candid conversation in which they discuss a systems approach to tackling systemic racism, lived experience, implicit bias, and their perspectives on the wide-ranging recommendations of the report.

We co-chaired the National Academies of ...

The effectiveness of DEI efforts to impact the inclusion and advancement of women in STEMM fields rests on greater synergy between an organization’s stated goals and outcome-focused efforts, including mentorship and allyship.

In an era and environment marked by persistent social ...

Methods are presented for strengthening and fully leveraging a flourishing ecosystem of talent.

Towards the very end of World War II, after America had borne witness to its greatest societal mobilization of women and men, young and old, more undeterred by state lines, racial lines, and religious ...

An Interview with . . .

Arlene Harris,
president and co-founder, Dyna LLC

RONALD LATANISION (RML): Today we’re ­delighted to welcome Arlene Harris. Arlene, you’re sometimes described as the First Lady of Wireless; you’re in the ­Wireless Hall of Fame, and you began your ...

To make engineering more relevant and responsible, we must decode its politics of recognition.

For generations, New York City engineers have con­sulted a hand-colored map of Manhattan’s waterways from 1865, a masterwork that depicts creeks and canals, ­marshes and meadows in vivid ...