When I applied to USC, I was asked to pick a Grand Challenge for Engineering as outlined by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and discuss one how I planned to work towards one of those challenges as an engineer. Of course, as a senior in high school with virtually no engineering experience, I had no idea what they were talking about. So, I did a bit of research and picked a challenge to complete my application. I was glad to be done with it, but I soon found that USC was not going to let me forget about the Grand Challenges. 

When I got to USC in the Fall of 2019, the engineering school was inundated with information on the Grand Challenges from fliers about clubs and competitions for people to participate and contribute to finding solutions to the challenges. In fact, all engineering freshmen were required to take a seminar class where we discussed the Grand Challenges. In talking to other peers of mine from high school who went into engineering at other schools, I realized the Grand Challenges is not something many engineers know about, but something they should. 

The Grand Challenges is a set of 14 goals outlined by the NAE that engineers should strive to solve in the coming years. The challenges vary from improving personalized learning to reverse engineering the brain. The goals are lofty to be sure, but the goal of the NAE is to have engineers across the globe consider these challenges in the future and the workplace as they will be stepping stones for the future generation of engineers. So, as we enter the new year, I challenge all up-and-coming and current engineers to explore and select a challenge that best fits their interests and talents.

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/Grand Challenges