Rising Above the Gathering Storm
The Challenges of Global Competitiveness
William A. Wulf
President, National Academy of Engineering
RESCHEDULED
NJIT Campus Center Atrium
April 3, 2007; 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Print brochure (148 KB, pdf)
The United States is, arguably, the only superpower in the world today, and we continue to do very well by key standards of comparison with all other nations. However, an increasing number of astute observers have pointed out that our present leadership in many fields is based on an infrastructure created from long-term investments in education and research—and that we are not continuing to make those investments. Moreover, some of the strategies responsible for current US successes may not be appropriate or effective in a global environment characterized by challenges that include intense economic competition. In his Technology and Society Forum presentation, William A. Wulf will discuss national studies that shed vital analytical light on the complexities of this situation, and which offer thought-provoking remedial strategies.
Wulf, who holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Virginia, is currently president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Together with its sibling, the National Academy of Sciences, the NAE is both an honorific organization and an independent, authoritative advisor to the government on issues involving science and technology.Wulf was previously an assistant director of the National Science Foundation, founder and CEO of Tartan Laboratories, and a professor of computer science at the University of Virginia and Carnegie Mellon University.
In addition to his affiliation with the NAE, Wulf is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is also a fellow of five professional societies: ACM, IEEE, AAAS, IEC and AWIS. He is the author of over 100 papers and technical reports, has written three books, holds two US patents, and has supervised over 25 PhD's in computer science.