 Last
fall, ASEE held its third International
Colloquium in Beijing with Tsinghua
University. The meeting was a success
with a vibrant exchange of ideas
across the cultural divide. Participants
saw firsthand how Tsinghua, with
government support, has worked to
remake itself into a first-rate
university. Our cover story, "The
Next Revolution," in this
month's Prism is an in-depth
look at China's goal of becoming
a world leader in engineering to
help fuel the country's growth
engines. Tsinghua, often characterized
as China's MIT, is but one
example of how the country's
universities are retooling for the
coming years.
On December 26, a massive earthquake
triggered a tsunami that spawned
devastation on coastal communities
in 11 South Asian countries. The
resulting death toll was staggering,
and final figures could reach 300,000.
Not long after the disaster, two
teams of researchers led by American
engineering professors traveled
to Sri Lanka to survey and examine
the damage in that country. "Send
in the Engineers" reports
on what they found and what researchers
can learn by sifting the rubble
and studying damage. Researchers
ideally get into disaster zones
before key evidence is cleaned up.
Tsunamis are relatively rare, so
getting data is important. The goal
is to learn all they can to mitigate
tsunami destruction in the future.
"From
the White House to the Presidency,"
is a profile of Martin Jischke,
president of Purdue University.
Jischke was a young engineering
faculty member at the University
of Oklahoma in the mid-'70s
when he faced a choice between a
coveted White House Fellowship and
a year's research sabbatical.
His choice was a turning point in
his life. I think you'll enjoy
reading about Jischke's remarkable
career and his ambitious plans to
make Purdue, a first-class institution,
even better. Engineering, by the
way, is an important part of Jischke's
plan—one-fourth of the 300
new faculty being hired at Purdue
are in engineering.
This month, we have included a
variety of stories for your reading
interest. As always, I would welcome
hearing your thoughts or comments.
Frank
L Huband
Executive Director and Publisher
f.huband@asee.org
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