Engineering Science around the World

Engineering Science is a well-established major dating back to the 1950s with many leading universities having their own Engineering Science degrees or related courses such as Engineering Physics. At NUS, it was a flagship programme jointly created by the faculties of Engineering and Science, while in some places in the world it grew out of physics departments, such as the Engineering Physics programmes at the Universities of British Columbia, Stanford and Princeton. In other places, it grew out of Engineering departments, such as the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University or Division Of Engineering Science at Toronto University while elsewhere, it is an umbrella subject that encompasses applied sciences with engineering disciplines, as in the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Sweden and University College London (UCL). In all cases, it is described as an interdisciplinary subject for the future, a subject at the forefront of technology, required for the newer high tech industries, such as those in alternative energy technologies (e.g. solar cells), in medical, communications and semiconductor industries.

In an effort to further promote Engineering Science, the International Engineering Science Consortium (IESC) was established in 2013 by five Engineering Science institutions: Applied Science and Technology Graduate Group, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of Toronto, Canada; Engineering Science Programme, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Graduate School of Engineering Science/School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Japan; and the School of Engineering Sciences, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden.

The Engineering Science Consortium

The International Engineering Science Consortium (IESC) was established in 2013 by five Engineering Science institutions: Applied Science and Technology Graduate Group, College of Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA; Division of Engineering Science, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada; Engineering Science Programme, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Graduate School of Engineering Science/School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Japan; and School of Engineering Sciences, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. Later, the faculty of Engineering Science at University of College London joined the consortium. The International Engineering Science Consortium website is: http://www.engineering-science.org/. The Consortium defines Engineering Science as follows: An interdisciplinary field bridging the gap between scientific theory and engineering applications with emphasis on the integration of mathematical, scientific, engineering and arts principles.

The consortium is created for improvement of the presence of engineering science through

•  Providing an opportunity for discussions on the global mission of engineering science
•  Pursuing joint educational programmes in studies on engineering science covered by the institutions.
•  Enhancing joint academic research projects on engineering science.
•  Promoting engineering science network partnership among scholars and academic communities
•  Managing the web page of the consortium for advertisement of its activities.

In May 2015, ESP NUS hosted the first International Engineering Science Consortium Symposium. This inaugural symposium of IESC provided a platform for faculty members and students from the Engineering Science Consortium to share their thoughts/ideas on various engineering science problems and solutions with one another. The symposium featured some keynote lectures from top engineer scientists that inspire the engineering science community.

The second IESC Symposium took place on 20th-21st June 2017 hosted by KTH in Stockholm. They were joined by IESC leaders Prof Nick Tyler (from University of College London), Prof Genta Kawahara and Prof Masao Tanaka (from Osaka University), Prof Jason Foster (from University of Toronto), Prof Leif Kari (from KTH Sweden) and 40 other students and sta from the partner ins tu ons of the consor um. The symposium featured several keynote lectures delivered by the IESC leaders that covered a diverse range of topics such as electron microscopes, op mal shape of corneas, very large oa ng structures, turbulent ow, miniaturiza on techniques, dis nguishing features of engineering science as opposed to engineering and science disciplines, and new sta s cal theories. Students par cipa ng in the symposium also gave presenta ons on their research areas or undergraduate projects. The wide topics of the talk showed the vast coverage of the engineering science discipline. Talks were intriguing and the audience were amazed at the depth of some of these topics that were studied.

During the symposium, the IESC leaders met to discuss the expansion of the consor um. It is heartening to note that Cornell University, The University of Queensland and ETH Zurich are likely to join the consor um soon. It was also agreed by the leaders that the next symposium will be hosted by the University of Toronto in 2019.