Engineering Design: A Foundation for a 21st Century Renaissance

Engineers understand well the importance of design as the culmination of the engineering process, the ultimate application of science and technology to meet the needs of society. As such, engineering design is an intellectual endeavor very similar to that encountered in the creative arts, but distinguished by its rigor and use of scientific and technological tools. Unlike research, which attempts to induce general conclusions from specific experiences, engineering design is a rigorous deductive process that develops a specific solution to meet a specific need from a general set of principles. Engineering design is a far more general, powerful, and disciplined approach than mere invention. In addition to innovation, ingenuity, and creativity, design requires great skill and training. It is not an activity left to hap-penstance, to accidental discovery. Rather, engineering design is approached with the disciplined methodology of engineering problem solving. Ironically, the immense importance of design in addressing the myriad needs of a rapidly changing world has not received the visibility and priority of other activities such as " creativity, " " innovation, " and " entrepreneurship " that are clearly dependent upon it. Design frequently seems overlooked in the priorities expressed by industry leaders, as articulated by the Council on Competitiveness: " American's challenge is to unleash its innovation capacity to drive productivity, standard of living, and leadership in global markets. For the past 25 years, we have optimized our organizations for efficiency and quality. Over the next quarter century, we must optimize our entire society for innovation. " Design has also not captured the attention of business scholars such as Clayton Christenson, who instead places a priority on " disruptive innovation " that creates the paradigm shifts that triggers economic change. The priority given innovation is also evi-denced by major federal initiatives such as the America COMPETES Act, aimed at doubling the research budgets of NSF, DOE Science, and NIST; new research programs launched by DOE such as ARPA-E and Energy Innovation Hubs; the American Competitiveness Initiative launched by industry, and, of course, numerous efforts by state and local governments to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurial efforts as key to economic growth. In part, this may be language. Today " innovation " and " entrepreneurship " are portrayed as key to economic growth. What are our images of " design " ? Ralph Lauren? The exterior of a new car? Designing widgets? Or machines that make widgets? Or …