INVITED ARTICLE

Building on Math and Science

The New Essential Skills for the 21st-Century Engineer
Solving the problems of the 21st century will require that engineers have a new set of skills and mindsets.

Richard K. Miller

In 1955, the Committee on Evaluation of Engineering of materials, materials processing and certain aspects of
Education, headed by respected educator Linton Grinter, electrical engineering” (MIT 1955, p. 56).
issued a call to modernize engineering education in the The culture in engineering schools rapidly shifted toward
United States. During World War II, scientists—not the applied sciences, as the belief took hold that knowing
engineers—had been responsible for developing such more advanced science and math would contribute more
technological advances as radar and nuclear fission. When to the flow of discovery. The trend has largely continued
it came to the origination of big, new ideas, it seemed to to this day. Calculus and physics are requirements for
many, including Grinter’s committee, that engineering almost all engineering majors. Faculty members are nearly
was in danger of being left behind. The Grinter Report, as always expected to have PhDs and to participate in original
it has come to be known, established the need for a research published in peer-reviewed archival journals. To a
comprehensive shift in the undergraduate engineering great degree, the rebalancing of engineering education
curriculum: “Engineering Education must contribute to worked as it was supposed to. The doubling down on hard
the development of men who can face new and difficult sciences and mathematics delivered real and significant
engineering situations with imagination and competence” results as engineering moved from the sidelines to the
(Grinter et al. 1955, p. 74). Specifically, the report called frontlines, while creating some of the greatest technological
for, among other things, “A strengthening of work in achievements in the 20th century (see, for instance,
the basic sciences, including mathematics, chemistry, and Constable and Somerville 2003).
physics” (p. 74). By any measure, however, the world has changed in
Although some initially resisted this course change, the last half-century. The challenges we face today are
Russia’s launch of Sputnik in 1957 turned the tide firmly inherently more complex than those of the previous
in favor of those advocating a more mathematically and century; they transcend time zones, political boundaries
scientifically rigorous engineering education. A 1955 and borders, and academic disciplines. They include issues
MIT course catalog foreshadowed the coming changes. related to global security, sustainability, health, and
According to the catalog, students in the school’s mechan- enhancing the quality of life as the world population
ical engineering department would receive the following explodes. Not coincidentally, the National Academy of
instruction: “The curriculum during the first two years pro- Engineering (NAE) identified many of these critical
vides a thorough training in the basic subjects of mathem- problems in its Grand Challenges for Engineering in the
atics, chemistry, physics and materials. During the junior 21st Century, which it developed by asking technological
and senior years the student becomes familiar with the leaders around the world to identify the challenges and
mechanics of fluids and solids, thermodynamics, properties opportunities that will define the next century. That process
resulted in a list of 14 Grand Challenges (NAE 2016):
Richard K. Miller was appointed President and first employee of Olin 1. Advance personalized learning.
College of Engineering in 1999. Prior to that, he served as Dean of the 2. Make solar energy economical.
College of Engineering at the University of Iowa and on the engineering 3. Enhance virtual reality.
faculty at University of Southern California and University of California,
4. Reverse-engineer the brain.
Santa Barbara. With a background in applied mechanics and current
interests in innovation in higher education, Miller is the author of more than 5. Engineer better medicines.
100 reviewed journal articles and other technical publications. Together 6. Advance health informatics.
with two Olin colleagues, he received the 2013 Bernard M. Gordon Prize 7. Restore and improve urban infrastructure.
from the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for Innovation in
Engineering and Technology Education. [email protected]
8. Secure cyberspace.
9. Provide access to clean water.
DOI: 10.1080/08956308.2017.1255058
Copyright © 2017, Industrial Research Institute. 10. Provide energy from fusion.
Published by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. 11. Prevent nuclear terror.

Research-Technology Management . January—February 2017 j 53

 Engineering 2.0
The rising complexity of the problems the world will face in
the next century, and of the technologies that will be
deployed to meet these challenges, will demand new
qualities from the next generation of problem solvers.
Today’s engineers need a wide range of professional skills,
in addition to technical knowledge. While lists of such skills
can vary, a partial inventory might include:
. Teamwork and consensus building
. Entrepreneurial mindset
. Creative design
. Empathy and social responsibility
. Global awareness and perspective
. Ethical behavior and trustworthiness
. Broad systems thinking
. Multidisciplinary thinking
All of these skills focus on the human dimension of
engineering—working with others to create solutions, but
also embracing a wider perspective from which to define
problems and approach solutions.
Clearly, comprehensive knowledge in the natural
sciences and mathematics is critical. Advances in these
fields have not and must not decline. We will simply not
be able to sustain economic or intellectual growth without
experts and innovators in the pure and applied sciences and
Richard K. Miller in mathematics. However, integrating a sophisticated
understanding of the complex human dimensions of the
problems we face will allow us to succeed where we have
12. Manage the nitrogen cycle.
failed in the past.
13. Develop carbon sequestration methods.
The economic value of this professional skill set has
14. Engineer the tools of scientific discovery.
already become apparent to anyone who has a phone in
At the time of their unveiling in 2008, the late Charles Vest, his or her pocket. In 1955, the “smokestack” economy domi-
then the NAE president, said, “Meeting these challenges nated the stock market; companies such as Armstrong
would be ‘game changing.’ Success with any one of them Rubber, GM, and US Steel employed thousands of
could improve life for everyone” (NAE 2008). Americans. In 2016, many of those businesses no longer
It is also clear that it is extremely unlikely problems that even exist; American smokestacks themselves now seem a
were once solved by the invention of a new technology or rarity. Today, Apple, Google, and Facebook populate lists
the creation of a single device will be solved so simply in the of most-valued stocks. These companies sell devices and
21st century. Indeed, some of these challenges arose from software platforms, yes, but they also sell intangibles—
the unintended consequences of technological advances. community, personal style, even emotional impact—and
In many cases, that was because the original concept their success is based on a keen understanding of human
was too narrow or failed to include nontechnical or human behavior.
dimensions. Too often, the problems were originally There is also early research to confirm that professional
framed with only engineers in the room. Avoiding these skills, specifically the ability to work in teams, are important
pitfalls in the future will require multidisciplinary teams to the creation of new knowledge. In a study of almost
working together to diagnose problems and design 20 million research papers and more than 2.1 million
solutions to avoid unintended consequences. patents, Wuchty, Jones, and Uzzi (2007) demonstrated that
To conquer these more intricate, far-reaching “research is increasingly done in teams across nearly all
challenges, teams will be needed to shape the overall fields. Teams typically produce more frequently cited
effort and produce an effective, integrated result. And the research than individuals do, and this advantage has been
problem solvers will increasingly need to understand and increasing over time” (p.1036). This is not an advantage
analyze the complex human dimensions of the problems we can afford to forgo, as individual engineers or as a society.
we face. Solutions will require a systems approach that
considers social, economic, political, and even religious Teamwork Joins Technical Knowledge
factors, and drives changes in human behavior on both How do we know schools aren’t graduating students
local and global scales. with these kinds of skills already? After all, in a 2014 Gallup

54 j Research-Technology Management Building on Math and Science

and Inside Higher Ed poll of chief academic officers, 96
percent rated their institutions as “very/somewhat effective
at preparing students for the world of work” (Jaschik There is a growing body of
2014). That sounds like good news. But in another study
conducted by Gallup, only 11 percent of business leaders evidence that mindsets can be
“strongly agree graduating students have the skills and defined, measured, and taught.
competencies that their businesses need” (Busteed 2014).
At the top of the employers’ list of concerns was not
technical knowledge, but rather the “non-technical abilities
or ‘people skills’ that represent attitudes, behaviors, skills research related to a Grand Challenge; an interdisciplinary
and motivations—not just knowledge” (Busteed 2014). In curriculum that encompasses public policy, business, law,
its 2016 Workforce-Skills Preparedness survey of 63,924 ethics, and other areas; entrepreneurship experience; a
managers and 14,167 recent college graduates, PayScale global dimension; and service learning.
found that a majority of managers (60 percent) said critical
thinking and problem solving were the “soft” skills most Reframing the Engineering Mindset
lacking in college graduates, followed closely by com- These broad skill sets, built on a solid foundation of techno-
munication. Only 12 percent of managers stated their logical knowledge, must be supported by the development
new employees lacked necessary coding skills and only 19 of specific mindsets that will equip engineers to deal with
percent stated the new hires lacked mathematics skills the complex and demanding problems of our day. A mind-
(PayScale 2016). set comprises a constellation of fundamental attitudes,
The calls for the development of more professional skills behaviors, and motivations that determine a person’s
in engineering began in isolation at first. IBM was among approach to the world and to particular contexts. Each
the first to recognize the need, introducing the concept of mindset subsumes a particular set of professional skills and
the “T-shaped person” in the late 1990s (Beyond IT strengths. The list of critical mindsets is evolving, but an
2009). This new breed of professionals, IBM declared, early accounting might include an interdisciplinary mind-
should have depth of expertise balanced by breadth of set, a collaborative mindset, an entrepreneurial mindset,
knowledge and an ability to apply knowledge across an ethical/empathetic mindset, and a global mindset. At
disciplines and to work with others. That combination, Olin College of Engineering, we have been emphasizing
according to IBM, should result in a workforce of engineers mindset since our inception, both through an emphasis on
who are lifelong learners, problem solvers, and empathetic, our learning culture and through course content.
analytic thinkers ready for teamwork and collaboration and There is a growing body of evidence that mindsets can be
eager to build a smarter planet. defined, measured, and taught, just as more traditional
Now, years later, the chorus of voices is growing, and the technical skills have been measured and taught for years.
case for the long-term importance of these attitudes and Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset, for which she
behaviors is beginning to percolate throughout higher edu- was awarded the 2016 Atkinson Prize in Psychological and
cation and industry. STEMconnector, a broad coalition of Cognitive Sciences, is having a powerful impact on K–12
6,000 national, state, local, and federal STEM organizations, education (see Dweck 2006). Angela Duckworth, a 2013
has created a STEM Innovation Task Force to define and MacArthur Fellow, has been studying the power of “grit”
help support demand-side requirements for STEM profes- as a predictor of success (Duckworth 2016). Grit, according
sionals (STEMconnector 2016). In a recently issued report, to Duckworth, is a more reliable predictor of success than
the task force acknowledged that the first stage of STEM either talent or IQ. Furthermore, Duckworth believes it’s a
learning has focused on content and competency, but “the skill that anyone can learn. And James Heckman, a 2000
next stage for our students and future workforce is to master Nobel Prize Winner in economics, has developed compelling
context” (SITF 2014, p. 5). Mastering context, the report evidence of the importance of noncognitive skills such as
goes on to say, will require what the task force calls grit and perseverance in the positive life outcomes of adults
“employability skills,” defined as “the behaviors above and (see, for instance, Heckman and Kautz 2013).
beyond technical skills that enable STEM employees to cre- It is no longer enough in higher education to focus only
ate stakeholder momentum to commercialize ideas, or in on the transfer of knowledge and skills. It is necessary today
short career skills. It is the ability to present and ‘sell’ their to also take responsibility for shaping students’ attitudes,
ideas to others; to function in teams; to develop business behaviors, and motivations. Without these broader skills
acumen; to develop leadership skills; to navigate across a and strengths, our graduates will be unprepared for the
complex matrix of global organizations” (SITF 2014, p. 13). challenges they, and their world, will face. Actively and
Similarly, in 2009, the NAE endorsed an emphasis on explicitly supporting students in developing both pro-
professional skills with its Grand Challenge Scholars fessional skills and the mindsets that support them will
Program, launched as part of the Grand Challenges initia- not only improve outcomes for our graduates, but also
tive. The program recognizes young engineers for prepared- contribute to solving the most complex challenges of our
ness in five areas beyond technical competence, including age and enhancing our economic performance as a nation.

Building on Math and Science January—February 2017 j 55

 news/survey/pressure-provosts-2014-survey-chief-academic-
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