Everywhere you look engineering touches your daily life. The technology that powers your smartphone, the car you drive, the roads you travel on, the water you drink, the plane you fly in, and the technology of modern medicine are possible because of engineering advances. Our national defense, economic competitiveness, energy grid and communications depend on our engineering leadership. Now, consider what’s beyond your day-to-day reality. Targeted cancer therapies, abundant clean water, new hydrogen energy from natural gas, advanced radar to protect the homeland and advanced on-demand manufacturing technologies are just a few of the examples. There’s a future made possible by engineering that has the potential to enhance our way of life and grow economic opportunity in our state.
Civil, computer science, aerospace, architectural, electrical, industrial, mechanical, biomedical, chemical and petroleum engineering are all part of what makes the world go round. This year, Engineers Week (Feb. 20-26) has a fitting theme for the state of Oklahoma – “Reimagining the Possible.”
If we had this conversation 20 or 30 years ago, the title might have been “Imagining the Impossible.” In Oklahoma, we know the value and the promise of engineering. The rising aerospace industry and other industries in the Sooner State are generating demand for more than 3,000 new engineers annually in coming years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects nationwide employment growth for engineers, with nearly 140,000 new jobs expected during the decade of 2016–26.
Seem a little divorced from your immediate life? It’s not just the aerospace and high-tech industry where more well-trained engineers are needed. Oklahoma needs engineers to help rebuild and repair more than 2,200 bridges. The state is set to receive $266.9 million to improve its bridges as part of a new funding program being launched by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Another $825 million will go to tribal transportation projects.
What about the water you drink, cook with, bathe in or give your animals to drink? Civil engineers are today looking at ways to give us all higher quality, clean water.
The Sooner State is eager to strengthen both the state’s technology and economic landscapes. As part of this investment, the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education committed $12.6 million to improve engineering studies at state universities in June 2021.
Thanks to targeted support by state leadership, the University of Oklahoma’s Gallogly College of Engineering is making big moves to address the engineer demand. In 2021, OU hired 21 engineering faculty whose expertise range from aerospace engineering, data science and energy to medical devices and next-generation microelectronic technology. Our enrollment is on the upswing, and our mentoring programs have enjoyed immense growth – in Fall 2021, the OU Engineering Pathways program instructed 1,000 students in grades 4-12 from 21 different schools.
We know this work is just the beginning in helping Oklahoma transform its economic landscape. But thanks to the state, Oklahoma is on its way to producing more engineers to take us into the next decade – and to the innovations and discoveries of the decades beyond. The state’s continued support will no doubt provide opportunities for our young people and long-term benefits to our state, its economy, and our citizens.
Sincerely,
John Klier
Dean
Member of the National Academy of Engineering
Member of the National Academy of Inventors
