The ’60s Are Over, Man

Nov. 1, 2007
Newsflash: The Beatles have broken up! Yes, it's true. The '60s are over. Lady Bird Johnson is no longer first lady. Free love isn't groovy any more. And the heyday of engineering in the United States has come and gone. And while Lyndon Johnson won't be running for president again and making love can be almost as deadly as making war, an engineering renaissance is taking place. Programs across the globe are cultivating and encouraging future engineers. The FIRST Lego League is in the midst of its Power Puzzle Challenge, which will culminate, along with the Robotics Competition and Tech Challenge, in April at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. This year's Power Puzzle calls for teams of 9-to-14-year-old children to research and present creative solutions to an energy management and sustainability challenge. Meanwhile, the Junior Engineering Technical Society's National Engineering Design Challenge is about to move on to Round II, in which teams of individuals in grades 9-12 will build a prototype of the assistive-technology device they researched and designed in the competition's first round. What else is going on out there to build the next generations of engineers? Are you involved as a mentor or coach? Is your company donating equipment or involved as a sponsor? Does your children's school system have special programs in place? Let's hear about it.
Newsflash: The Beatles have broken up! Yes, it's true. The '60s are over. Lady Bird Johnson is no longer first lady. Free love isn't groovy any more. And the heyday of engineering in the United States has come and gone. And while Lyndon Johnson won't be running for president again and making love can be almost as deadly as making war, an engineering renaissance is taking place. Programs across the globe are cultivating and encouraging future engineers. The FIRST Lego League is in the midst of its Power Puzzle Challenge, which will culminate, along with the Robotics Competition and Tech Challenge, in April at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. This year's Power Puzzle calls for teams of 9-to-14-year-old children to research and present creative solutions to an energy management and sustainability challenge. Meanwhile, the Junior Engineering Technical Society's National Engineering Design Challenge is about to move on to Round II, in which teams of individuals in grades 9-12 will build a prototype of the assistive-technology device they researched and designed in the competition's first round. What else is going on out there to build the next generations of engineers? Are you involved as a mentor or coach? Is your company donating equipment or involved as a sponsor? Does your children's school system have special programs in place? Let's hear about it.

About the Author

Mike Bacidore | Editor in Chief

Mike Bacidore is chief editor of Control Design and has been an integral part of the Endeavor Business Media editorial team since 2007. Previously, he was editorial director at Hughes Communications and a portfolio manager of the human resources and labor law areas at Wolters Kluwer. Bacidore holds a BA from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is an award-winning columnist, earning multiple regional and national awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. He may be reached at [email protected] 

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