IBM Fellow Urges Engineers To Promote The Profession

SAN FRANCISCO—John Cohn, an IBM Fellow, called on engineers gathered here for the International Solid State Circuit Conference (ISSCC) to get involved in promoting the field of engineering to kids in order to change misperceptions about the profession and stem the global trend of engineering enrollment decline. Cohn urged the audience to commit to joining him by doing engineering outreach in schools, churches, clubs and other venues. "The stakes couldn't be higher" for engineering or for the world, Conn said. He said today's focus on climate change and energy issues could act as a catalyst to help pull more students into engineering. Cohn presented data on U.S. engineering enrollment trends that demonstrated—as has been widely reported—that it has been on the decline for the past two decades. But Cohn also showed data that indicated that, with the notable exception of China and India, the number of engineering degrees being issued is declining in countries throughout the world. But rather than sounding an alarmist call over "another crisis," which he said would sound even more hollow in the wake of the current economic crisis, Cohn said engineers could "do something about it" by going out into the community to get kids excited about science and technology. Part of the problem, Cohn said, is the perception among school aged kids about the field of engineering. He presented data from a Harris poll done for the American Association of Engineering Societies that showed that fewer than 50 of respondents associated engineering with caring about the community, saving lives, being sensitive to societal concerns and improving the quality of life. "No wonder they don't want to be engineers," Cohn joked. "I don't even want to sit next to one of those guys on a plane." A survey conducted between 2006 and 2008 by the National Academy of Engineering showed that most kids who responded had only a vague notion of what engineers actually do, despite the more than $400 million spent each year on engineering career outreach promotion, Cohn said. What students do understand about engineering is that it is difficult, requires math and science skills and is not for everyone, Cohn said. "We are just not resonating with something that is important to them," Cohn said. Studies have shown that the generation now graduating college and entering the workforce is more idealistic than any since the 1960s, Cohn said. A survey found that 85 percent of respondents in this generation said it was important to them to have work that was meaningful and important, a higher percentage than cited other popular perks like a high salary, Cohn said. Another study showed that volunteerism rates among incoming freshman have risen noticeably. "Something is changing," Cohn said. "It's not just about money." Cohn said what engineering needs is a "new Sputnik" which will galvanize students' interest in science and technology and spur them toward engineering careers, much as the U.S.-Soviet Union space race did in the 1950s and 60s. Cohn showed data that demonstrated that the number of U.S. engineering degrees "rose almost overnight" following the Soviet Union's 1957 launch of the first orbiting space satellite, Sputnik. Though he was three years old at the time, Cohn said he still remembers former U.S. President John F. Kennedy's famous speech declaring America's intention to land a man on the moon. Cohn said it was one of the things that inspired him to pursue engineering. Today's looming crises around climate, the environment and energy can be the same type of catalyst, Cohn said. A "remarkable consensus" of more than 70 percent of children surveyed worldwide understand some aspects of the challenges posed by global warming and understand the role that science and technology can play in reducing its impact, he said, citing the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment. Cohn read a quote from new U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration speech, when he vowed to "restore science to its rightful place" to fight climate change and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He read similar quotes from other world leaders. "You don't have to agree with the politics of global warming," Cohn said. "But kids already do." Cohn urged the audience to take a break from their day jobs to go out and meet parents and kids and show them "how much you love engineering and how important it is to solving these issues." Cohn's hour-long presentation was engaging, lively and amusing. It included some of the same hands-on demonstrations that he uses to captivate the imaginations of students—along with plenty of humor. At one point, bemoaning the differences in kids' perceptions about engineers and scientists, Cohn quipped, "What is an engineer? A scientist with a job." Cohn, giving the presentation on his 50th birthday, told the audience that one of his three sons was killed tragically in a car accident two years ago. He dedicated his talk, as he does all of his outreach, to that son, Sam Cohn, whom he called "a great maker of things."