National Academies Press: OpenBook

Engineering in Society (1985)

Chapter: Mechanisms for Meeting the Demand

« Previous: The Societal Demand-Pull Factor
Suggested Citation:"Mechanisms for Meeting the Demand." National Research Council. 1985. Engineering in Society. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/586.
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Page 54

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ENGINEERING AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS 54 requires in engineers it wishes to employ. Yet the nature of these demands changes rapidly in response to the changing business, technological, and general economic environment. Substantial changes in the pattern of government demand —particularly in the defense area—are increasingly a major factor. In a context of rapid technological advancement and numerous weaknesses in the educational system, it has become more difficult for industry's changing expectations to be met within the confines of the present system. Therefore, there are movements in the direction of industry's modifying its demands or joining with schools in an effort to improve the quality of the supply of young engineers. The demand-pull for engineers and engineering products is quite different from the "supply-push," which is the principal driver for scientists and scientific research findings. Indeed, the supply-push of scientific advances is one of the primary stimulants to industry demand for engineers. This difference in motivations and dependencies is a major factor in the different societal perceptions (and professional roles) of engineers and scientists. Mechanisms for Meeting the Demand There are serious questions about whether the educational system, organized along disciplinary lines that were formed in the nineteenth century, is adequate for responding to today's business and technical problems. The same nineteenth-century divisions are reflected in the professional societies and associations, reinforcing the compartmental nature of engineering. The compartmentalization found in engineering institutions suggests that it would be difficult for new disciplines to develop in response to new societal demand. But this has not been the case. Hybrid fields such as environmental, nuclear, aerospace, and computer engineering have emerged rather quickly to meet demands in recent decades. There was little resistance by the established educational infrastructure. In practice, engineering schools were eager to accommodate the new growth areas. Among practicing engineers there has been considerable movement across professional boundaries to meet the needs of an emerging technology—as seen in the aerospace field and, most recently, in the composite structures area. Apart from internal adjustments, another mechanism by which the supply of engineers is adjusted to meet demand is the use of foreign engineers, trained in the United States, to fill shortages. This is particu

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