The challenges of electrical engineers in the 21/sup st/ century

Abstract

The future is "Intellectric", that is intelligent electricity-electric energy that is secure, clean and efficient. This is the major challenge of electric engineering in different fields. The role of engineers is to integrate science, technology and the business world and hence to make things happen. Engineering is about finding ways to modify the universe and life in order to extend our biological reach, the quality of our lives, and the niches in which we can survive. Technology is the means of improving human life by the application of all knowledge and experience. Innovation is the successful introduction of something new. It is not enough to pursue the whys of nature or to find how we can modify nature. We must also decide what we should do. If engineering is to have a strong say about the future, it needs to become integrated with science, society and humanistic concerns. 21/sup st/ century engineers will need to be astute makers, trusted innovators, agents of change, master integrators, enterprise enablers, technology stewards and knowledge handlers. Engineering should venture to develop new capabilities and a broader sense of mission. We should integrate what we know, what we can do and what we should do. We should also be able to integrate the biological organism, society and machines. We should strive to engineer a better tomorrow guided by a desire to give future generations a greener, healthier and more harmonious world.