About FOE

The Frontiers of Engineering program brings together through 2-1/2 day meetings a select group of emerging engineering leaders from industry, academe, and government labs to discuss pioneering technical work and leading edge research in various engineering fields and industry sectors. The goal of the meetings is to introduce these outstanding early career engineers to each other, and through this interaction facilitate collaboration in engineering, the transfer of new techniques and approaches across fields, and establishment of contacts among the next generation of engineering leaders.

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Latest NewsMore News
  • The Fastest Researcher in the Optical World
    The Fastest Researcher in the Optical World
    Mon, July 19, 2021
    Xi (Vivian) Chen (JAFOE 2021) at Nokia Bell Labs has engineered optical transmitters to blink faster with increased efficiency and advanced the experimental state of the art with new classes of optical components.
  • Neural Implant Hints at Whole Brain Function
    Neural Implant Hints at Whole Brain Function
    Thu, July 15, 2021
    Duygu Kuzum (USFOE 2017) at the University of California, San Diego has engineered a neural implant that monitors the activity of different parts of the brain at the same time, showing how cognition and behavior rapidly adapts to changing environments.
  • Freeze-Dried Vaccines
    Freeze-Dried Vaccines
    Thu, July 01, 2021
    Northwestern University's Michael Jewett (USFOE 2012) has engineered a new way to make shelf-stable vaccines by cracking open a cellular membrane, significantly broadening access to potentially lifesaving medicines.
  • Black Trailblazers in Engineering
    Black Trailblazers in Engineering
    Mon, June 28, 2021
    FOE alum and NAE member Paula Hammond at MIT recently served as guest editor for the Chemical & Engineering News 2021 Trailblazers issue, which highlighted African Americans making a positive impact on the world through science, technology, engineering, and medicine.
  • AI with Audio Perception
    AI with Audio Perception
    Mon, June 21, 2021
    Kristen Grauman (USFOE 2016) is engineering a new AI simulator called SoundSpaces, an independent “agent” that guides itself to noise-producing objects through 3D environments to achieve better spatial understanding from audiovisual observations.
All Events
Upcoming Events
  • Nov 13 2030 - Nov 15 2030
    The 2020 Indo-America Frontiers of Engineering Symposium will be held in the United States. About 60 outstanding engineers under the age of 45 will meet for an intensive 2-1/2 day symposium to discuss cutting-edge developments in four areas. The event facilitates international and ...
    TBD, United States
FOE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
  • University of Virginia
    Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering

    My research focuses on sustainable transportation systems, in particular the impacts of new vehicle technology systems on traveler safety, behavior, and the environment.

    Attending and speaking at the German-American Frontiers of Engineering ...

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  • Georgia Tech
    Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

    I work at the interface of biotechnology and nanotechnology to develop broadly protective vaccines for influenza and coronavirus as well as Respiratory Syncytical Virus (RSV) and malaria.

    My experience with FOE was tremendously ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • Google
    Senior Leader and Manager

    build and deploy AI systems with human-like capabilities, tackling high-complexity engineering problems to power search for billions of users around the globe and pushing the boundary of innovation in conversational AI, ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • US Naval Research Lab
    Research Chemist

    I develop polymer materials for use in optical sensing devices and rechargeable battery applications.

    Attending the FOE Symposium was a definite highlight for me at this early career stage. It afforded me the opportunity to learn about various ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • North Carolina State University and UNC Chapel Hill
    Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

    My research focuses on the development of novel biomimetic materials that augment the body’s native healing process and facilitate tissue repair without fibrotic responses.

    FOE was an amazing opportunity to broaden my knowledge of key ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • HRL Laboratories
    Group Leader, Advanced Packaging Solutions

    My research area is in millimeter-wave microelectronic devices, and my group develops 2.5D and 3D packaging technologies for improved subsystem performance. In other words, my work makes digital and analog devices run more efficiently.

    I had the ...

    More More ALUMNI
FeaturesMore Features
  • This webinar, organized by the US National Academy of Engineering, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and UK Royal Academy of Engineering, will highlight the role of engineering in solving the many and varied challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This second event in the series will address how engineers sought to limit exposure to the virus and accelerate the dissemination of vaccines through the application of both established and novel technologies.
  • FOE alum Marco Pavone at Stanford has engineered a robotic gripper equipped with grippy but not sticky gecko-inspired adhesives that could be particularly well-suited for tasks such as collecting debris and servicing satellites.
  • This GUIRR webinar will introduce the initiative's priorities to assemble a transdisciplinary research community of scientists from crop and livestock sciences, genetics, genomics, computational and data sciences, and engineering who will work to better understand, predict, and develop phenotypes for agricultural products in the name of improving the efficiency and resilience of US agriculture.
  • Civil and environmental engineer Burcin Becerik-Gerber at the University of Southern California co-produced this film about students traveling to the Moria Camp in Greece, known as "the worst refugee camp on earth," to design and build innovations that can improve the lives of refugees fleeing wars and natural disasters.
  • In this interview of Martin Cooper, who conceived the first portable cellular phone in 1973, NAE illustrates the importance of encouraging current and future generations of engineers and entrepreneurs to think big and bold.
Publications More Publications
  • This volume includes 12 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2019 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2019. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding early career engineers to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2019 symposium covered four topic areas: Advanced Manufacturing in the Age of Digital Transformation; Engineering the Genome; Self-Driving Cars: Technology and Ethics; and Blockchain Technology. The papers describe leading-edge research on these topics, among others: next-generation robotic locomotion, using CRISPR to combat human disease vectors, the ethics of autonomous vehicles, and blockchain technology. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and participants. This is the 25th volume in the US Frontiers of Engineering series.

  • This volume includes 12 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2018 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2018. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30 to 45) to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2018 symposium covered four topic areas: Quantum Computers: Are We There Yet?, the Role of Engineering in the Face of Conflict and Disaster, Resilient and Reliable Infrastructure, and Theranostics. The papers describe leading-edge research on these topics, among others: quantum computing, combining formal and informal structures in crisis response, infrastructure resilience, and immune theranostics. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and participants. This is the 24th volume in the US Frontiers of Engineering series.

  • This volume includes 12 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2017 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2017. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30 to 45) to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2017 symposium covered four topic areas: Machines That Teach Themselves, Energy Strategies to Power Our Future, Unraveling the Complexity of the Brain, and Megatall Buildings and Other Future Places of Work. The papers describe leading-edge research on such topics as whether machines can spot diseases faster than humans, wireless charging of electric vehicles, brain-machine interfaces, and functional natural materials for high-rise structures, among other topics. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and a list of meeting participants. This is the twenty-second volume in the US FOE series. 

  • This volume includes 13 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2016 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2016. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30 to 45) to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2016 symposium covered four topic areas: Pixels at Scale, Extreme Engineering, Water Desalination and Purification, and Technologies for Understanding and Treating Cancer. The papers describe leading-edge research on such topics as frontiers in virtual reality headsets, autonomous precision landing of space rockets, new materials for emerging desalination technologies, and engineering immunity against cancer, among other topics. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and a list of meeting participants. This is the twenty-third volume in the US FOE series. 

  • This volume includes 14 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2015 US Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) Symposium held in September 2015. USFOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30 to 45) to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2015 symposium covered four topic areas: Cybersecurity and Privacy, Engineering the Search for Earth-like Exoplanets, Optical and Mechanical Metamaterials, and Forecasting Natural Disasters. The papers describe leading-edge research on such topics as designing materials with unprecedented capabilities, building image-relaying mechanisms to better explore exoplanets, and improving medical device cybersecurity, among other topics. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and a list of meeting participants. This is the twenty-first volume in the USFOE series.