I
am looking forward to this year's annual meeting and I surely hope to
see you there. This year's meeting is being held in the charming city
of Montreal, which is an ideal destinationeasy to get to by train,
plane, or autoproviding a certain European flavor combined with
a vibrant style of its own. In the article Old Meets New in Montreal,
you'll find excellent tips on where to go, what to see, and how to do
it. Whether your taste runs to centuries-old cathedrals and cobblestone
streets or to hip nightclubs, Montreal has it all. There are elegant
restaurants and sidewalk cafes; the iSciCentre with its interactive
science displays; the famed Botanical Gardens; and the Olympic Stadium
where the Expos play. Montreal also has a wealth of boutiques and trendy
shopping centers where you can take advantage of a favorable currency
conversion.
For the
annual conference itself, we are very pleased to have two outstanding
speakers for the main plenaryWilliam A. Wulf, president of the
National Academy of Engineering, and John Brooks Slaughter, president
and CEO, National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering. Both
are distinguished and articulate spokesmen for engineering education,
and we can expect a compelling message from each. Attendance at this
year's meeting will be strong if not, dare I say, the highest ever.
By the middle of April, nearly 1,400 folks had pre-registered, and three
hotels had sold out with several other properties running 90 percent
booked. If you haven't made your hotel reservations, now might be a
good time. There will be 1,340 papers published, an all time high. Last
year's number was 1,120.
The annual
conference is always the largest gathering of ASEE members. It is a
time to see old friends and acquaintances, meet with peers, and hear
what's new and shaking in the engineering community. This is the one
meeting every ASEE member should attend.
In the
other half of this issue of Prism, there are several timely articles.
Smart Parts recalls the Six Million Dollar Man from the
70s TV show and the science fiction theory that a badly injured
human could be fitted with cyber-replacement limbs endowing superhuman
strength. Writer Thomas K. Grose points out that while we aren't there
yet, technology is beginning to catch up with fiction as embedded-chip
technology gives us the long-anticipated opportunity to fuse human beings
and machines.
Leading
The Way profiles Raymond Nkado, the first black engineering dean
of a major South African university. At the University of the Witwatersrand,
Nkado is breaking new ground in post-apartheid South Africa, where by
his very presence he provides a motivating force for black students.
The article
Missiles & Medicine notes that September 11 has meant
a dramatic increase in federal spending in fields of science and engineering,
but the money will mostly go for weapons development and biomedical
research. We must be concerned, of course, that as a result other research
areas will have to do without.
As
always, I welcome your comments.
Frank
L. Huband
Executive Director and Publisher
f.huband@asee.org