Much has changed since 1836, when America needed engineers to build machinery for factories, bridges for roads and locks for canals, and the UVA Board of Visitors created a school to teach them. What hasn’t changed is the need for engineers to build our nation and find solutions to new challenges. “The power of engineering is not simply that it enables us to do tasks more efficiently,” says Dean James H. Aylor, “rather, engineering enables us to engage with the world and each other in fundamentally different ways.”
The Engineering School is marking its milestone with special events, including a seminar series early in 2012. “The seminar series will highlight the fundamental role of engineering in the 21st century, shaping modern life, driving change and providing the means to address the complex challenges—social, environmental, economic—that confront our global society,” says Aylor.