The future engineering challenges
NATICK, Mass.–The weird cyclical nature of the electronics world is this: As technology has become more complex and entwined over the past 30 years, engineers have had to become more specialized. But in the past decade, as that complexity and inter-dependence has stepped it up a notch, the need for more generalized skill sets has become evident.
That was one of the take-aways from an innovation panel we held at Mathworks here, where I was joined by Naomi Price, DFI's managing editor. Mathworks and our panelists–Fellow Jim Tung, and technical marketers Sameer Prabhu, Kenneth Karnofsky and Paul Barnard–may have a unique perch from which to see these trends. Mathworks software helps engineers model and simulate complex systems.
But it wasn't the first time we heard these notions on the road. (An edited version of the Mathworks panel, running 21 minutes, is embedded below and links that follow will direct you to certain responses).
Scope creep
Take something like automotive and smart grid design. They don't exist in a vacuum.
"There's also a distribution problem," Tung said. "The scope of the connected problem becomes bigger." (6:10).
So, yes, you need to design a great electric vehicle, but (at some point) you have to consider how it ties into the grid, both at home and on the road. (See TDI Power's efforts to design a power supply for the Dodge RAM for an example).
"As the drive for smarter systems continues, the need for engineers to handle multiple disciplines…is really increased," Barnard said (0:44).
R&D Challenges
One unforeseen trend that has accompanied the specialization of technologies and disciplines in the past two years has been its effect on R&D. Vertically integrated companies (IBM, AT&T, etc.) once had robust R&D operations. Over time, those shrunk or were spun off and the focus of R&D turned to short-horizon ROI. At the same time, government R&D funding has withered.
Tung is not so troubled by the trend (2:55).
"…A lot of what was created in the labs wasn't used, wasn't monetized," Tung said. There's a new engagement model between designers and researchers that's at arm's length. "Yeah, the picture's changed, but I think it's creating opportunities too because the research is being driven in practical ways."
Price, who oversees our Innovation Generation site, wanted to know whether Mathworks' panelists were seeing fundamental changes in how students are taught and inspired and whether tools such as those Mathworks offer in the commercial world are being used in some form in schools.
"The traditional engineering curriculum was front-loaded with the theory," Tung said. "Over the last dozen years, there's been resorting of that approach." (20:15)
Below is an edited version of our conversation, running about 21 minutes. What's your take? Are there more challenges to be met in the coming years?