Special Invited Speaker Greg Papadopoulos: Citizen Engineer - Become One

From Anita Borg Institute Wiki

Presenter: Greg Papadopoulos (Sun Microsystems)

Engineering is no longer solely concerned with finding a simple, elegant way to implement a set of design requirements. Success is no longer solely measured by the speed and efficiency with which design specs are met. Technological prowess and ingenuity are no longer enough. Engineers now need knowledge of subjects beyond the scope of traditional engineering. A successful engineer needs to be part environmentalist, part IP attorney, part MBA, and part diplomat – all while being an expert in an engineering discipline, a great teammate and a skilled communicator. Recent trends are also redefining the role of the engineer in society, a trend that could potentially be more attractive for women’s participation and leadership. The increasing complexity of products leads to greater dependence on engineering, yet most people don’t understand engineering, nor the underlying sciences and technologies. That can be frightening to the general public and lead to bad public policy and misconceptions that can hold back new innovations. There is a pressing need for engineers to become more proactive with society – to engage, to communicate and to lead.

This creates an opportunity for engineers to become more socially responsible and to create products that are more tightly aligned with their personal ethics. It’s the age of the Citizen Engineer and it is important that women are part of this exciting new paradigm.