This book emerged somewhat as an assignment from Charles Vest during an elevator ride. Chuck was one of the most admired leaders in the realm of engineering education and policy. He was always a humble lad from West Virginia, even after becoming the president of MIT and, subsequently, the National Academy of Engineering. I was fortunate to have Chuck as a mentor who encouraged me to go on a “vision quest” for this project. He also inaugurated my research for this book by granting me the first interview. Sadly, he passed away about a month before I could send him my first draft. This work conveys my obeisance to Chuck.
I appreciate the support of my distinguished colleagues at the National Academies, particularly Kevin Finneran, who has been influential in shaping my understanding of several big topics, and Steve Merrill, who took a chance and opened the doors for me to the world of public policy. Hearty thanks to Randy Atkins, Clyde Behney, Patrick Kelley, Rose Martinez, Michael McGinnis, and Proctor Reid for their guidance and input.
Harvey Fineberg was very generous to me with his advice and mentorship, despite his ultrabusy schedule as the president of the Institute of Medicine, and so was George Whitesides with his ebullience and brilliance. Norm Augustine, Ruth David, and Charles Phelps are genuine systems thinkers, and they have helped chisel my thinking (and manuscript draft) with their acumens. For their sagacious insights, I am thankful to Paul Citron, Rita Colwell, Victor Dzau, Lonnie King, Tracy Lieu, Howard Markel, Bill Ostendorff, Rino Rappuoli, and Ted Shortliffe. They have helped fortify my professional worldview.
I worked on the bulk of this book during the dawns, dusks, and weekends of the two consecutive years that the National Academy of Sciences celebrated its 150th anniversary and the National Academy of Engineering, its 50th anniversary. I thank the presidents—Ralph Cicerone and Dan Mote, both engineers—for their encouragement in an extraordinary research setting that has been my intellectual home.
Presidential inauguration poet and civil engineer Richard Blanco once said that language is “engineered, like everything else.” This book is also a product of prototyping. The lead person to have steadfastly championed my efforts is my agent, Michelle Tessler. She routinely tolerated my dumb ideas and dreadful drafts with such grace and nobility, and she placed me in the orbit of my esteemed editor, Brendan Curry, my guru and coengineer in this creation. This book and I are enormous beneficiaries of his prescience and perspicacity. I appreciate the support of his colleagues, including Sophie Duvernoy, Mitchell Kohles, and Nancy Palmquist at W. W. Norton & Company. I applaud Stephanie Hiebert’s superlative work with copyediting and fact-checking.
At Penguin Random House India, I am grateful to Udayan Mitra and Anish Chandy for their psychological boosts and vital suggestions that, coupled with Chiki Sarkar’s encouragement, have tremendously benefited this project. I appreciate the efforts of Andrew Gordon at the David Higham Agency and Mike Harpley at Oneworld in London, and Fuhua Ling for Citic China. I thank Michelle’s interns James Barraclough and Makenna Elizabeth Sidle from New York University, and Frank Anderson from Rutgers, who provided useful suggestions on my earlier drafts.
My visionary friend and invaluable guide Barbara Oakley once told me that a “good book generally has a good author—and a supportive village of friends.” Prominent in my village is Toinette Lippe, who has periodically uplifted me through her mind-expanding prudence and exquisite Chinese brush paintings. Sarah and Richard Gueldner have enriched my life through their generosity and inestimable support. Heather MacAndrew and David Springbett have taught me the basics of creative thinking through their documentaries.
For their cordiality and fellowship, big cheers to Maria Dahlberg, David Dierkesheide, Muthu Krishnan, Scott Levin, Derrick Martin, Anne-Marie Mazza, David Proctor, K. P. K. Rajarajan, Kinpritma Sangha, Lauren Shern, Kathleen Stratton, Rachel Taylor, Mary Thomas, Joel Wu, and Rieko Yajima. Special thanks to Claudia Grossmann for numerous stimulating conversations in the eateries of Penn Quarter, and Adam Winkleman for robust thinking sessions, especially at the Amsterdam Falafelshop and Tryst in Adams Morgan.
My longtime friends Joshua Brandoff, Jason Cole, and Jeffrey Peake endured brain hiccups from my rough ideas and ramblings, and they saliently helped improve this book’s contents. I am immensely thankful to Lindsay Bedard, Zachary Pirtle, Robert Pool, and Aparna Subramaniam for their astute and detailed comments on draft versions. For additional critical readings, my big thanks go to Subbiah Arunachalam, Susan Barker, Luke Bisby, and John Caminiti.
The works and leadership of Bruce Alberts, T. K. Partha Sarathy, S. Sathikh, M. S. Swaminathan, and David Sloan Wilson, among many others, have had important influences on my engineering education. IEEE—the world’s largest and preeminent professional society for the advancement of engineering and technology—has been pivotal in guiding me through my failures, and providing valuable life lessons and growth opportunities. I recognize my colleagues Chris Brantley, Jonathan Chew, Scott Grayson, Russ Harrison, Erin Hogbin, Vishnu Pandey, John Paserba, Ed Perkins, Barry Shoop, Nicole Skarke, Leo Szeto, Rob Vice, and Jim Watson.
No one has influenced me as profoundly as Dennis Hartel. He is my personal hero and has my limitless admiration. I am indebted to the wisdom of my friend Geeta Bhatt, as well as the altruism of Brian Alle; Virat Bhatt; Arthur Coucouvitis; Barbara Croissant; Padmani Dhar; Ramesh Dorairaj; Peter Fell; Eric Ford; James Hartel; Darlene Karamanos; Nong Louie; Margo Martin; Christopher Quilkey; Mohan and Savithri Ramaswami; David and Janet Rubenstein; Evelyn and Paul Saphier; Comal Subramaniam; Varsha, Varun, and Raja Subramaniam; Ran Suzuki; Asha Unni; Thinium Vaidyanathan; Swami Venkatraman; Martin Wolff; and Patricia Zarraga.
My parents and grandparents have my unbounded veneration for their sacrifices and support. The rest of my family members have my profuse thanks for their unconditional backing. My utmost gratitude goes to my wife, Ramya. Her kindness, friendship, and commitment to greater good inspire me every day, and make it all worthwhile. The first movie we watched together was The Birds (a celebratory screening at BFI Southbank in London), which Ramya kept as a surprise. It was the first time I ever saw an Alfred Hitchcock film. It turned out to be an auspicious second date.