By Li Han
Staff Writer of the Tsinghua News Center
Dr. David C. Wisler, Senior Vice President of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, visited Tsinghua and delivered a speech entitled “Educating the Next Generation of Engineers-A Call to Action” at the Main Building on September 4.
Tsinghua Vice President Xie Weihe had a talk with Dr. Wisler prior to the speech, exchanging ideas on faculty development and cooperation. Vice President Xie awarded a Letter of Appointment as a Guest Professor of Tsinghua to Dr. Wisler. Dr. Wisler was appointed a Guest Professor of Tsinghua for the first time in 2003.
“Engineering, more than any other discipline, has transformed people’s lives for the better. It brings technology to life and nourishes the well-being, prosperity and growth of a nation. Therefore, to remain competitive and be a world leader, a nation must assure that its engineers are properly educated,” Dr. Wisler said in his one-hour-speech. He focused his speech on several essential aspects of engineering education that must be incorporated into the training of future engineers in order to better prepare them for the challenges they will face in their careers: prepare students to have global competency; train students in teams that work; use open-ended, multi-disciplinary problem with no one correct answer; train the students to understand business; and instill a compelling need for professional integrity.
Dr. Wisler has 37 years experience conducting and managing advanced technology programs at GE Aviation, formerly GE Aircraft Engines. He is recognized as an international expert in turbomachinery aerodynamics technology.
Dr. Wisler founded and currently manages GE’s University Strategic Alliance (USA) Program, whose objective is to develop long-term, teaming relationships with key universities worldwide to concentrate academic expertise on solving issues of critical importance to GEA business needs. Tsinghua is one of these selected universities.
(Photo by Cui Kai)
