Portfolio task 1: Engineering: A cross-disciplinary solution

In my opinion, the ability to work across disciplines is central to the engineering profession now. In the past, engineering was considered a professional course of study like medicine or law. People who studied it would graduate to build skyscrapers, dig tunnels or design electronic equipment. However now, according to the former dean of engineering at NUS, Prof Seeram Ramakrishna, the study of engineering has become the “'liberal arts education' of today and tomorrow” (2007, p. 25). In the liberal arts, students study arts subjects like literature, as well as the hard and soft sciences, and graduate to work in range of fields. Engineering graduates are also now working in a range of fields because they are trained to analyze complex information and systematically design solutions for problems (Ramakrishna, 2007). In the future, engineers will work across even more fields. In 2008, engineers from around the world formulated the 14 “Grand Challenges for Engineering” (National Academy of Engineering, 2008). All of them involved engineers working in non-traditional engineering fields, such as agriculture and education. For example, one of the challenges, individualized instruction, marries engineering, computing and education. Another grand challenge, developing new medicines, brings engineers, pharmacists and chemists together. Clearly, engineering has moved from building tunnels and electronics to become the cross-disciplinary answer to many of today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

National Academy of Engineering. (2008, February). Introduction to the grand challenges of engineering. Retrieved June 3, 2008, from http://engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9221/.aspx

Ramakrishna, S. (2007, August 5). The expanding world of engineers. The Sunday Times, p. 25.

Unsustainable consumption: the most serious environmental problem in the US

I have read in the papers that many world leaders in government and industry are worried about a possible recession in the US and its implications for global market. Most have followed up by remarking that the American consumer is no longer buying as much. The implication seems to be that if Americans buy fewer things, the entire world will suffer. But I have my doubts that American-style consumption truly benefits the world because the planet's resources cannot sustain it.


Consumerism is actively promoted by the government. As I am writing this, President Bush and Congress are working out a stimulus package that primarily consists of giving almost every American a check for several hundred dollars in the form of tax rebates. Americans are supposed to use this to buy goods, which will pump up production, ward off recession and improve the American (and global) economy. Anticipation of these tax rebates has already affected the world market. When the House of Representatives (the lower house of Congress) approved the stimulus package, Asian stock markets rose.

Yet will American-style consumerism benefit the world in the long-term? Recent statistics from the United Nations suggest the opposite. The fourth Global Environment Outlook report states that "each person needs 21.9 hectares of the Earth's surface to supply his or her needs whereas, it was calculated, the Earth's biological capacity is 15.7 hectares per person" (Smith, 2007). As the world's biggest consumer, Americans most likely use more of the world's biological capacity than anyone else. If Americans consumed less, we would not only use less of the world's biological capacity, but also produce less waste and pollution. This would in turn lessen climate change, limit the growth of the ozone hole and protect biodiversity. However, in order for any of this to happen, people and their governments need to pay as much attention to the environment as they do to the economy. Unfortunately for the planet, this does seem likely to happen in the near future.

References

Smith, L. (2007, October 26). The scale of the challenge is huge. We've got to act now. The Times. Retrieved January 7, 2008 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2741666.ece.

My Life's Meaning

What matters most in life for me is interacting with people. This is important to me because I have lived in so many places for brief periods of time. There are too many people I'm fond of scattered across the world that I very rarely see or talk to. I've found that even the closest relationship will become increasingly more distant without physically spending time in each other's company. Because of this, I prize the students, colleagues, friends and loved ones that I'm able to be with now. When I'm sitting on the bus or waiting in line, my mind automatically begins to take snapshots of the time that I have recently spent with people: an interesting discussion in class, lunch with a colleague or hanging out with my husband last weekend. I will always carry these pictures with me.