A Focus on Asia

LAST FALL, ASEE held its third International Colloquium in Beijing with Tsinghua University. The meeting was a success with a vibrant exchange of ideas across the cultural divide. Participants saw firsthand how Tsinghua, with government support, has worked to remake itself into a first-rate university. Our cover story, "The Next Revolution," in this month's Prism is an in-depth look at China's goal of becoming a world leader in engineering to help fuel the country's growth engines. Tsinghua, often characterized as China's MIT, is but one example of how the country's universities are retooling for the coming years.

On December 26, a massive earthquake triggered a tsunami that spawned devastation on coastal communities in 11 South Asian countries. The resulting death toll was staggering, and final figures could reach 300,000. Not long after the disaster, two teams of researchers led by American engineering professors traveled to Sri Lanka to survey and examine the damage in that country. "Send in the Engineers" reports on what they found and what researchers can learn by sifting the rubble and studying damage. Researchers ideally get into disaster zones before key evidence is cleaned up. Tsunamis are relatively rare, so getting data is important. The goal is to learn all they can to mitigate tsunami destruction in the future.

"From the White House to the Presidency," is a profile of Martin Jischke, president of Purdue University. Jischke was a young engineering faculty member at the University of Oklahoma in the mid-'70s when he faced a choice between a coveted White House Fellowship and a year's research sabbatical. His choice was a turning point in his life. I think you'll enjoy reading about Jischke's remarkable career and his ambitious plans to make Purdue, a first-class institution, even better. Engineering, by the way, is an important part of Jischke's plan -one-fourth of the 300 new faculty being hired at Purdue are in engineering.

This month, we have included a variety of stories for your reading interest. As always, I would welcome hearing your thoughts or comments.

Frank L Huband

Executive Director and Publisher

f.huband@asee.org

Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Apr 2005
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