MODERATOR: James A. Champy ‘63, SM '65
Champy's page on the Perot Systems website
Champy's personal webpage
PANELISTS:
Charles Vest: President of MIT
Charles Vest at MIT
Thomas Hughes: Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Distinguished Visiting Professor, MIT
Hughes at ESD
David A. Mindell: Frances and David Dibner Associate Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing
David Mindell's Homepage
Daniel Roos: Japan Steel Industry Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Systems
Roos at ESD
ABOUT THE PANEL DISCUSSION:
This panel provides a sense of the critical role engineering systems have played historically, and continue to play, as advanced technologies take root around the world. Charles Vest urges a broad intellectual framework for studying and developing large engineered systems, whose “complexities are so great we can’t know all the possible end states.” A new framework becomes urgent as we face “the mother of all systems problems” – defending ourselves against terrorism-- and the ultimate challenge of sustainable development.
Thomas Hughes invokes the past to encourage the inclusion of “a real and messy world” in engineering approaches. For instance, the 19th century road-building projects of Thomas Telford also functioned to improve literacy and reduce poverty. David Mindell describes the evolution of engineering science from the Manhattan Project through the Apollo missions to the end of the Cold War. He welcomes a shift in engineering studies from an exclusive focus on the technology itself to technologies’ impact. Engineers must be trained as “inventors, communicators, policy makers, and leaders.” Daniel Roos notes that the emergence of a powerful technology such as the automobile, which influenced urban design and economic growth, led to a vast increase in engineering systems scale and complexity. The widening scope of contemporary engineering projects means that engineers must “find the best solution that satisfies all stakeholders.” Today, “just understanding technology is not sufficient….it requires a broader understanding of organizational and contextual implications.” Finally, James Champy chides industry for its “hesitancy and cynicism about new ideas and instead, its obsession with costs.” NOTES ON THE VIDEO (Time Index):
Video length is 1:42:36
The event is introduced by James Champy.
Charles M. Vest’s welcoming remarks begin at 3:47.
At 19:50, Thomas Hughes begins.
At 38:13, David A. Mindell begins.
At 56:52, there is brief Q&A .
At 59:46, Daniel Roos begins.
At 1:26:08, Q&A for the entire panel begins.
At 1:39:02, James Champy offers concluding personal remarks.
The information on this page was accurate as of the day the video was added to MIT World. This video was added to MIT World on 2004-06-27.
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