Engineering and Leadership in American Politics

Abstract

As the world hurtles forward toward a globalized economy, there is concern regarding the competitiveness of America and Americans especially when compared to up-and-coming technical and economic powerhouses like China and India. In the words of a 2005 Fortune magazine article, “As other nations multiply their science and engineering graduates—building the foundation for economic progress—ours are declining, in part because those fields are seen as nerdish and simply uncool.” Responding to the need to reverse the image of engineers as the “pocket-protector set,” the following essay suggests that one of the determinants of “cool” is relevance, influence, and ultimately leadership in American politics. While engineers are currently present in governmental organizations and agencies, and are often encouraged to support the political process, what is advocated here is that we should also enter the arena, get elected, and “become” the political process. In order to accomplish this, an educational shift in the training of engineers has to happen that goes beyond the concepts of ASCE’s Body of Knowledge. It is hypothesized that in the end, the profession’s involvement in the political arena would come full circle, and the relevance of civil engineers may once more render “coolness” to the profession. And that would also be a shot in the arm for “building the foundation for economic progress” for America’s future.