David C. Munson, Jr.,
Dean of the College of Engineering.

Earlier this year, the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise released the report “College Learning for the New Global Century.” Not long after, Carol Schneider, president of the parent organization, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, said, “The quality of learning, not the possession of a diploma, will determine whether the next generation can keep our economy and democracy strong. It’s time to stop channeling students into narrow tracks that prepare them for an initial job but not for tomorrow’s challenges. Engineers need to know how to communicate across diverse cultures, scientists need to think through the ethical implications of their work, and computer programmers need to understand the real-world conditions that shape the lives of those who will use their programs and products. A college education needs to give students more than technical knowledge; it needs to help them succeed in all aspects of work and life.”

I agree. At Michigan Engineering, we don’t consider students to be prepared for an outstanding engineering career unless they are well-rounded and intend to leave this world better than they found it.

Part of our plan at Michigan involves increasing opportunities for student participation on major design projects. I’m convinced that students benefit immensely from such experiences, working in multidisciplinary teams to solve complex problems. The College is famous for the success of its many nationally and internationally competitive student projects, such as the solar car, human-powered submarine and SAE formula racecar. Now, with the support of the University, we’re adding new types of collaborative projects and expanding relationships with other units on campus.

New projects beyond those that involve competitions will serve a broader range of students and will yield new opportunities. The new projects primarily will relate to the “human side” of engineering, such as the use of technology to aid developing countries or benefit social service agencies, and will be incorporated into our curriculum for academic credit. This expansion of our offerings recognizes that, ultimately, there is no single template for an engineer – our graduates go on to industry, start-up companies, graduate school, government, medical school, law school and other arenas. Their work may require them to create a highly technical design, optimize a process, market and sell a product, prove a mathematical theorem, discover a new physical principle, or lead a large organization. At Michigan Engineering, we intend to lay a foundation that provides for success in any environment.

Establishing relationships with students from outside of the College is another way our students will build valuable skills. I’m particularly keen on increasing our involvement with students in the arts. Engineering and the arts can be highly synergistic because, fundamentally, both demand a balance of creativity and precise refinement. We need not go far to see the interplay between engineering and aesthetics. The iPod has great electronics, but in my opinion, that’s not why it’s so successful. It’s the way it looks, the way it feels, the human-machine interface, the ease of music downloading. Similarly, aesthetics are a differentiator in other technological markets, whether they be automotive or computer software. Increasingly, technology alone is incomplete.

Michigan Engineering students of the future will leave our campus better equipped to work with both engineers and artists. They’ll use both halves of their brains. Innovative engineering and the arts projects already are on the table for discussion, but I’m not ready to reveal them at this time. Stay tuned!

In this issue of Michigan Engineer, you’ll read about many exciting College efforts to address the world’s environmental challenges. This issue complements last fall’s issue, which focused on energy. Again, you’ll discover how Michigan’s talent, scope of inquiry and size position us for exciting, interdiscipli­nary work in an important area. Environmental solutions – some of which relate to energy solutions – are complex, yet critical.

If you or your organization have an interest in working with us to explore answers to the world’s environmental, energy or other engineering-related problems, please send us an email at MichiganEngineer@umich.edu. We welcome your ideas.