contrasted with more basic problems such as access to water and housing in others. Within countries, the demographics will change, including in the United States, where the numbers of minorities will grow rapidly whereas those of the traditional majority will decline in a relative sense. This has major implications for the future of engineering, a profession where minorities and women remain underrepresented.

Although certain basics of engineering will not change, the explosion of knowledge, the global economy, and the way engineers will work will reflect an ongoing evolution that began to gain momentum a decade ago. The economy in which we will work will be strongly influenced by the global marketplace for engineering services, evidenced by the outsourcing of engineering jobs, a growing need for interdisciplinary and system-based approaches, demands for new paradigms of customization, and an increasingly international talent pool. The steady integration of technology in our public infrastructures and lives will call for more involvement by engineers in the setting of public policy and in participation in the civic arena. The external forces in society, the economy, and the professional environment will all challenge the stability of the engineering workforce and affect our ability to attract the most talented individuals to an engineering career. However, amid all these challenges, exciting opportunities also will exist if the engineering community takes the initiative to prepare for the future.

If the United States is to maintain its economic leadership and be able to sustain its share of high-technology jobs, it must prepare for this wave of change. Although there is no consensus at this stage, it is agreed that innovation is the key and engineering is essential to this task; but engineering will only contribute to success if it is able to continue to adapt to new trends and provide education to the next generation of students so as to arm them with the tools needed for the world as it will be, not as it is today. It is within this context that this Phase II report considers recommendations for changes in engineering education.

Reinventing engineering education requires the interaction of engineers in industry and academe. The entire engineering enterprise must be considered so that the changes made result in an effective system. Because most engineers work in industry and do not interact one-on-one with people who directly benefit from their services, as do physicians, lawyers, and teachers, the public is unclear about what most engineers do, and secondary students (and their parents and advisors) have poorly formed ideas about what an engineering education offers and