Technology.

For most of the 20th century, the pace of technological progress was plodding by today's standards.

Times have changed. In the 1980s and 1990s, the pace of technology change accelerated, and the promise for the millennium just begun is for innovation to grow at a breathtaking pace and

The Fuel Cell

The current market for fuel cells is $218 million and will increase to $2.4 billion by 2004, reaching $7 billion by 2009. Most fuel cells today are found in distributed generation applications in the power market, providing dedicated electrical energy to hospitals, restaurants, schools and other facilities, In the next few years, fuel cells are expected to show up in tens of thousands of automobiles, and by 2010, automotive fuel cells are estimated to have nearly 4 percent of the consumer market--608,000 vehicles.

The fuel cell has found a home in the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute, which devoted two full technical sessions to fuel cells, particularly in gas turbine hybrid systems, at the 2002 Turbo Expo in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Fuel cells were also the subject of a Congressional Noontime Briefing entitled "Fuel Cells: Innovative Technology for Transportation and Power," which was co-sponsored by ASME and attracted representatives from the U.S Department of Energy and other groups. Both venues successfully followed up other recent programs that have been aimed at bringing the exciting and promising technology of the fuel cell to the attention of technical and legislative decision makers.

Nanotechnology

By designing materials and structures at the molecular level, engineers believe they can create products featuring powerful chemical and mechanical properties hitherto unknown to the technical community. Biomedical sensors and a material having 10 times the strength of steel are two promising technologies in the field of nanotechnology. ASME has evinced a strong commitment to education and technology transfer regarding nanotechnology by developing the Nanotechnology Institute (NI) into a major organizer of conferences and symposia. In June 2002, the NI conducted its first major conference, Nano-Engineering Investing and Trends, which was jointly sponsored by ASME. Also during the year, the NI developed a broad-based industry conference, Integrated Nanosystems 2002, which was held in September. The new institute was also the driving force behind the development of the keynote panel and interdisciplinary track at the 2001 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in November. Three tutorials were also arranged at the Congress, the effort of another newly formed institute of ASME, the Continuing Education Institute (CEI). Articles exploring research directions and recent experimentation in the field of nanotechnology were published in Mechanical Engineering magazine.

MEMS

Microelectromechanical systems, like nano-devices, bring the promise of startling new capabilities to the worlds of science and engineering. The next generation of sensors--detecting everything from human blood pressure to the performance of automobile engines--will be MEMS-based technologies. In 2001-2002, ASME positioned MEMS strongly in its organizational structure, sponsoring technical and poster sessions at the 2001 Congress, as well as the 2nd Annual MEMS Technology Seminar in Cambridge, Mass.

Bioengineering

In its early days, the ASME Bioengineering Division was concerned largely with the design of prosthetics and other artificial aids for human health and rehabilitation. In recent years, bioengineering has advanced to encompass organ transplants and tissue engineering. Mechanical engineers working in multidisciplinary environments with physicians and biologists provide needed insight and expertise into human fluid dynamics, cellular movement and behavior, and other areas. Last year, the Society released two reports, New Dimensions in Multidisciplinary Thinking: Issues, Trends and Implications for Mechanical Engineers, and a follow-up report, The Convergence of the Life Sciences and Engineering. The Continuing Education Institute also held its 14th Annual Bioprocess Technology Seminars in Atlanta, Ga., in October 2001, with nearly 300 in attendance. Other support for the field of bioengineering was reflected in a position statement calling for increased spending for the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.