As many of you know, engineers are becoming increasingly involved in healthcare—and changing modern medicine in the process. In our cover story, “Body Language,” we discuss three bioengineering professors who are developing truly amazing technologies, such as enabling people to move objects on a computer screen with their brains. The technology could help quadriplegics communicate with their computers and control wheelchairs simply by thinking about it. It could also lead to a new generation of smart prosthetics that would respond much more like normal limbs.

David Kelley is a Stanford professor—and the subject of the profile “A Man of Big IDEOS.” Kelley has come up with an innovative way for students to look at design. Called design thinking, it is less about analytical thinking and more about understanding what people want or need.

“Girl Power” tells the little-known story of the Girl Scouts, who have developed all sorts of programs to make engineering an attractive career option for girls. In the past two years, more than 8.6 million Girl Scout STEM-related earned recognitions (badges, etc.) have been sold, meaning, with just under 3 million members, nearly every Girl Scout is participating in a STEM-related activity. And that’s only the beginning of the story.

It’s time to start thinking about ASEE’s 114th annual conference, which will be held in June in beautiful Honolulu. To find out more, check out the other side of this double issue for comprehensive program information. Be sure to read “Paradise Calling,” which details many things to see and places to go in Hawaii. The islands are a wonderful place to take the whole family, and I hope to see many of you there.

And finally, don’t forget to vote. This issue also contains the ballot for 2007-08 ASEE officers and section heads (printed-issue only). They are a well-qualified group of candidates.

As always, I would welcome your comments and suggestions.

Frank L. Huband
Executive Director and Publisher
f.huband@asee.org

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