Yale Bulletin and Calendar

May 3, 2002

Volume 30, Number 28

Yale Engineering forum offers perspectives on
'Challenges to Innovation in the 21st Century'

Yale's faculty of engineering will convene a forum on Friday, May 3, bringing together leaders from government, industry and academia to explore "Challenges to Innovation in the 21st Century."

The invitation-only forum -- to be held in Davies Auditorium in the Becton Engineering and Applied Science Center -- is part of Yale Engineering's Sesquicentennial celebration.

Among the speakers will be John H. Marburger, presidential science adviser; William A. Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering; Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers of Michigan, a member of the Committee on Science in the United States House of Representatives; and Henry B. Schacht, chair of Lucent Technologies.

"This forum will examine a variety of technical and societal issues that challenge the continued health of our nation's highly successful innovation engine," says Paul Fleury, dean of engineering at Yale.

Led by keynote speaker President Richard C. Levin, participants will present their perspectives on such issues as the trends in globalization, competition, the mobility and availability of capital and talent, workforce demographics, federal and industrial support for research and development, and government policies relating to investment credits, liability and intellectual property.

"The forum represents a unique opportunity to learn from and to inform this influential group on issues of vital importance to the United States," Fleury notes.

Engineering at Yale started in 1852 with William Norton's civil engineering course and has produced many renowned graduates, notes Fleury. Among them are J. Wil-lard Gibbs (1839-1903), considered one of the nation's greatest scientists,who received the first Ph.D. in engineering in the United States at Yale.

"In the past 150 years, we have graduated a body of engineering alumni who have become entrepreneurs and leaders in all aspects of society," says Fleury. "It remains an essential part of our responsibility as educators to illuminate issues at the nexus of technology and society. The forum will address one of our nation's most important issues of this kind."

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