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Media Advisory 06-031

National Science Board Holds Workshop on Improving Engineering Education

Taking place on Nov. 7 in Atlanta, Ga.


November 6, 2006

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

It is widely recognized that our economy, national security, and indeed our everyday lives increasingly depend on scientific and technical innovation.

Engineers are the largest component of workers with college education in science and engineering (S&E), capturing more than 40 percent of all S&E occupations in 2000. Almost half of those in the S&E labor force with bachelors' degrees as their highest-level degree are engineers. This field therefore has a huge impact on our national capabilities and deserves special attention.

The National Science Board is holding a workshop in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 7, 2006 to move the national conversation on these issues forward in a productive way by calling attention to how engineering education must change in light of the changing workforce demographics and needs.

Called "Moving Forward to Improve Engineering Education," the workshop will be held at the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. Participants include 23 leading deans of engineering and six National Science Board members. Richard Buckius, National Science Foundation (NSF) assistant director for engineering, will also participate.

The discussion will focus is on how the Board can provide guidance to NSF, as an important leadership agency for engineering education, to respond to pressing issues raised at its workshop at MIT last fall, and by the National Academy of Engineering report, Educating the Engineer of 2020.

More details, agenda and participant list are posted at http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/eng_edu/start.htm.

-NSF-

The National Science Board is an independent 24-member body of policy advisors to the president and Congress on matters of science and engineering research and education, and is the policy making and oversight body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent federal agency that supports almost all areas of fundamental research and science, technology, engineering and mathematics education nationwide.

Program Contacts
Jean Pomeroy, National Science Board, (703) 292-7000, email: jpomeroy@nsf.gov

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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