ENERGIZING THE WORKFORCE

In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the moon before the end of the decade, engineering received a considerable boost.

All of a sudden, kids everywhere wanted to grow up to become astronauts and engineers, and students who were already in engineering schools strove to be part of the space program. Just as important, a flood of engineering jobs became available for those with the right mixture of drive and talent.

The thousands of engineers who were involved in the space program successfully met the deadline Kennedy set. They completed their mission on July 20, 1969, when astronaut Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. The excitement continued for years, as NASA’s programs flourished.

In celebration of this grand engineering achievement, space enthusiast Burton Dicht outlines the events leading to this historic feat in his article in this issue.

As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11 this month, a number of interesting things are going on. For one thing, NASA will be getting a new administrator. If President Barack Obama’s choice is confirmed, it will be a homegrown former NASA astronaut, Charles F. Bolden, Jr.

Secondly, even though NASA is not stirring the imagination of would-be employees as it did decades ago, technology overall has become a driving force globally. Engineers may not be looking first to NASA for employment opportunities anymore, but high-tech industry has created exciting prospects for creative minds in areas ranging from biotechnology to consumer products and countless others. I invite you to read Jean Thilmany’s article on vision systems; Craig F. Smith’s article on small nuclear reactors; and Alan S. Brown’s article on autonomous robots, all in this issue, to see what some creative engineers are up to.

The third bit of interesting—I’ll dare say “good”—news comes from a timely report from the employment services firm Manpower Inc., which found that engineer is the hardest job to fill in America today. Engineer tops a list that also includes information technology specialist, nurse, machinist, and teacher. The survey was based on data acquired from the first quarter of 2009.

The shortage in the number of engineers is expected to continue well into the future. One reason is that the federal stimulus program is promoting an upgrade to the country’s infrastructure. Another is the trend toward environmental sustainability, which is encouraging the retrofit of buildings and increasing demand for technologies supporting renewable energy sources. All of this represents new jobs for engineers. Further, the profession’s baby boomers, some of whom were inspired to become engineers because of NASA, are beginning to retire in droves.

Meanwhile, the hope of some inside NASA is that the new administrator will spark a resurgence of space program activity within the administration, and with it, a new inspiration for would-be engineers to join the ranks of the profession.

—John G. Falcioni, Editor-in-Chief
He can be reached by e-mail at falcionij@asme.org