IEEE Creates Microsite.

IEEE created a new microsite, IEEE Solutionists, featuring perspectives in engineering and technology.

According to a release, this site hosts a series of articles from IEEE Fellows, including Norm Augustine, Sophie Vandebroek, Vinton Cerf, and John Cioffi, where they offer insight on how engineers can drive technical innovation; evolve perceptions of engineers globally; show how education impacts engineering; and why it's important for engineers to follow their dreams to change the world, among other topics.

Topics include:

Engineering Innovation: Making Education and Best Talent Top Priorities

-Norm Augustine, IEEE Life Fellow and retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin, noted in a January 2011 Forbes article, "Scientists and engineers are celebrities in most countries. They're not seen as geeks or misfits, as they too often are in the U.S., but rather as society's leaders and innovators. In China, eight of the top nine political posts are held by engineers. In the U.S., almost no engineers or scientists are engaged in high-level politics, and there is a virtual absence of engineers in our public policy debates. Why does this matter? If American students have a negative impression or no impression at all of science and engineering, then they're hardly likely to choose them as professions. Already, 70 percent of engineers with PhDs who graduate from U.S. universities are foreign-born. Increasingly, these talented individuals are not staying in the U.S. instead, they're returning home, where they find greater opportunities."

-In an April 2011 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Cerf, IEEE Fellow and Google's chief Internet evangelist explores how "Young people should understand and experience the thrill of science and discovery. We need to help them do real science, not just read about it, through collaborative tools that help mentors and students to interact through programs such as the IEEE's TryEngineering.org. Children learn best by seeing and doing, not by memorizing. It's also important to reintroduce to the American culture a higher regard for engineers and scientists. Our successful scientists and engineers should be made more visible and their voices heard more often. Most important, however, is the need to refresh and invigorate interest in and regard for science and engineering in our youth."

Promoting Engineering: Be Passionate and Follow Your Dreams

-As Cioffi, an IEEE Fellow and CEO and chairman of Assia discussed in a February 2011 Forbes article, "Making a positive impact on society is one of the primary reasons to become an engineer and also to become an entrepreneur. True engineering contribution does not arise solely from writing papers and making presentations, but requires a simultaneous effort to realize ideas in practice. If you don't develop these fine ideas into realistic implementations, there is a good chance no one else will either."

-In March 2011, IEEE Fellow and Xerox's chief technology officer and president of the Xerox Innovation Group, Vandebroek said in BusinessWeek, "We must share more frequently how rewarding it is to be an engineer. Every day I get to work with passionate people who are envisioning and then creating the future--today: engineers and scientists who are making the planet a better place by addressing important issues such as climate change, health care, hunger, and more."

"Engineers hold a powerful role in delivering societal solutions that can inspire technical and non-technical communities to innovate for a better future," said Moshe Kam, IEEE president and CEO, and Department Head of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University. "We are driving a cultural change in how the world--and especially our youth--think about engineers, as providers of valuable solutions that impact daily life. These solutions raise the standard of living, preserve finite resources, and protect the environment."

IEEE is a technical professional association.

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