Abstract :
I EEE.tv is airing a special public-access presentation on “Engineering Our Future: Because Dreams Need Doing” at https://ieeetv.ieee.orgiieeetv-speciais. The “Engineering Our Future” forum was convened for some 150 Hollywood professionals by the Science and Entertainment Exchange, a program of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), in collaboration with IEEE-USA. It was held at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles on June 9, 2011. According to Frances Arnold, one of the three Hollywood forum panelists and Dickinson Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology, “Science is a limitless source of ideas, and engineering is both cool and fun. Filmmakers like those here tonight need to spread the word to young people that engineering gives you the tools to change the world.” During the program, Dr. Arnold, who creates new biological molecules and organisms by forcing their evolution in the laboratory, stated: “I began my career by studying astronomy, but found that I didn´t need to look to the stars for wonder or magnificent complexity - it was all around me in the cellular world. I now study how nature solves problems so I can then figure out how to solve others.”
