These two articles, "Introduction to the Grand Challenges for Engineering" and "The expanding world of engineers", are mainly talking about the challenges for engineering as we can see in the titles. In my opinion, there are actually two main parts in both articles: one is about the achievements of engineering, and the other is the great challenges for engineering in the future.
Firstly, based on the past, we know that engineering is such a powerful hand that it always brings us all kinds of benefits. In terms of transportation, it gives us so much convenience since the birth of wheel to the invention of airplane. In terms of agriculture, it provides us many valuable techniques to make more and healthy food. Especially in our daily life, engineering makes our life more colorful and enjoyable in different ways, such as building high-rise buildings and manufacturing electronic goods. It is too much to list all the things that engineering brings to us. Its power makes the world more like a village where we are getting closer and closer.
However, our modern world is not so peaceful in spit of all the accomplishments by engineering. It is a fact that the resource in our world is limited and demand is keeping growing, we are facing more and more problems about of lack of resource. For example, the demand for water can seldom be satisfied in many places; energy shortage also causes problems in our life, and even wars; and global warming seems like to engulf the whole world. More importantly, the problem is becoming a global issue. No matter the problems are about our personal health or the stabilization of our society or any other aspects, it is a big challenge for the engineers. Furthermore, such challenge is not isolated any more. Engineers should consider the integrality of the world, and treat the planet’s people as a whole. Engineering’s responsibility is not only coming up with better technologies, but more importantly to make our world a better place to live in.
The achievements by engineering in the past are enormous, while the challenges in the future for engineering are much greater.
