McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Faculty Member Selected to Participate in NAE’s 2012 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Faculty Member Selected to Participate in NAE’s 2012 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Steven R. Little, PhD, is among 78 of the nation’s brightest young engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) 18th Annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. Dr. Little is chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, associate professor, and Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellow of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.

The symposium will be held on Sept. 13-15, 2012, at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, and will examine serious games, vehicle electrification, climate engineering, and engineering materials for the biological interface. Alan I. Taub, retired vice president of General Motors global research and development, will be a featured speaker at the symposium.

Engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines will come together for the 2-1/2 day event. The participants — from industry, academia, and government — were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from approximately 300 applicants.

“Our nation’s health, quality of life, and security will depend on the engineering achievements of the 21st century,” said NAE President Charles M. Vest. “The Frontiers of Engineering program gives young engineering pioneers the opportunity to collaborate and share approaches across fields. We believe those interactions will generate new ideas for improving the future.”

Sponsors for the 2012 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering are General Motors, the Grainger Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research, and Cummins Inc.

The mission of NAE is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The NAE is part of the National Academies (along with the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council), an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to provide objective analysis and advice to the nation on matters of science and technology.

Illustration: McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.