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Clarkson one of 120 engineering schools preparing students to face 'grand challenges' in 21st century, White House says

Posted 3/26/15

POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is among more than 120 U.S. engineering schools engaged in what they hope will be a transformative movement in engineering education to face the “grand challenges” …

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Clarkson one of 120 engineering schools preparing students to face 'grand challenges' in 21st century, White House says

Posted

POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is among more than 120 U.S. engineering schools engaged in what they hope will be a transformative movement in engineering education to face the “grand challenges” of the 21st century, the White House announced this week.

In a letter of commitment presented to Pres. Barack Obama at the White House Science Fair, more than 120 U.S. engineering schools including Clarkson announced plans to educate a new generation of engineers expressly equipped to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing society in the 21st century.

The institutions said they were committed to establish special educational programs designed to prepare undergraduates to solve “grand challenges” -- complex problems with achievable goals -- to improve national and international health, security, sustainability and quality of life.

Together, the schools plan to graduate more than 20,000 formally recognized “Grand Challenge Engineers” over the next decade.

"Clarkson is proud to be part of this initiative to prepare students for the future of engineering," said Clarkson University Provost and Senior Vice President Chuck Thorpe.

Thorpe said students and faculty in The Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering, by supporting research into the these “grand challenges,” “ Clarkson is demonstrating its commitment to advancing engineering education.”

"Addressing these challenges will help educate innovative and entrepreneurial engineers to achieve new frontiers of excellence,” said Goodarz Ahmadi, dean of Clarkson's Coulter School. “We are excited to see this initiative from the White House support the education of the next generation of engineers to face the Grand Challenges.”

The challenges, identified through a variety of national and international initiatives, include complex yet critical goals such as engineering better medicines, making solar energy cost-competitive with coal, securing cyberspace, and advancing personalized learning tools to deliver better education to more individuals.

Each of the 122 signing schools has pledged to graduate a minimum of 20 students per year who have been specially prepared to lead the way in solving such large-scale problems, with the goal of training more than 20,000 formally recognized “Grand Challenge Engineers” over the next decade.