Chicago Summit to Take On Four Critical Challenges: Clean Water; Carbon, Energy and Climate; Urban Sustainability; Global Health

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Dr. John P. Holdren, Haitian Ministry of Health's Marie Denise Milord to address National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges for the 21st Century at Midwest Summit

CHICAGO, March 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 21-22, engineering, government, non-profit and business leaders from across the United States and abroad, as well as local high school and college students, will convene at Chicago's Fairmont Hotel as the Illinois Institute of Technology and Chicago Council on Science and Technology present the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges for the 21st Century: Chicago Summit 2010. The Chicago Summit is designed to stimulate the engineering, science and policy advances needed to address four key "Grand Challenges" facing the United States: clean water; carbon, energy and climate; urban sustainability; and global health.

Among the many notables to attend the Summit will be U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology Dr. John P. Holdren and the Haitian Ministry of Health's Marie Denise Milord.

In 2000, NAE released the results of a survey identifying the 20 most important engineering achievements of the 20th century. The list included the electrification of homes and businesses, clean water, refrigeration and air conditioning, as well as advances in communications, electronics, materials, medicine and transportation that have changed the way we live. Looking forward, NAE recently commissioned a committee of engineers, scientists and futurists to solicit ideas related to the "Grand Challenges" facing the global society in the 21st century.  The Chicago Summit is one of five NAE Grand Challenge summits taking place across the country this spring to explore the 14 Grand Challenges identified.

"The NAE Grand Challenges are a grouping of critical problems that must be addressed and solved in order to maintain our national security, quality of life, and sustainable future," said John L. Anderson, president, Illinois Institute of Technology. "This Midwest Summit aims to bring together some of the country's best minds to begin to work toward solutions."

Special guests and speakers will include:

• Roger Frechette, president, Positiv Energy
• Jeanne Gang, principal and founder, Studio Gang Architects
• Dr. John P. Holdren, assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Ray LaHood, secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Nora Lin, president, Society of Women Engineers, and manager, Supportability Engineering, Northrop Grumman
• Marie Denise Milord, Ministry of Health, Haiti
• Lord Ernest Ronald Oxburgh, member, House of Lords and member, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology
• John W. Rowe, chairman and chief executive officer, Exelon Corporation
• Adele Simmons, vice chair and senior executive, Chicago Metropolis 2020
• Charles Vest, president, National Academy of Engineering
• Dr. Tachi Yamada, president, Global Health Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

"The Grand Challenges are a call to action," said Dr. Alan Schriesheim, president, Chicago Council on Science and Technology; director emeritus, Argonne National Laboratory. "We want to engage the public to understand the importance of technology, policy, and science to maintain and enhance our standard of living."

The goals of the Chicago Summit 2010 are to:

• Enhance interest in engineering and science and highlight its role in solving major problems facing society
• Increase the visibility and importance of engineering and science to society in general
• Enhance student interest in engineering, science and technology entrepreneurship
• Emphasize the importance of collaborations of engineers and scientists with professionals in business, government, law, and the humanities and social sciences to address the challenges facing society

The NAE Grand Challenges for the 21st Century: Chicago Summit 2010 is hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology and Chicago Council on Science and Technology in partnership with Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  The Chicago Summit is presented by Exelon and A. Finkl & Sons Co.

For additional information or to register, visit www.iit.edu/grand_challenges.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 7,700 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment. Visit www.iit.edu.

Established in 2006, C2ST seeks to be the preeminent regional consortium for science- and technology-related education and policy and a prominent voice nationally. Through its public programs C2ST brings together Chicago's scientific leaders – academic, corporate, government, museums, universities and national laboratories- to provide a forum for the discussion of current issues of scientific interest. Visit www.c2st.org

SOURCE Illinois Institute of Technology