The world that saw the birth of my grandfather, nearly 100 years ago, was drastically different the one in which we now find ourselves. The biggest changes lie in the technological advances made by scores of brilliant engineers and inventors. The list of such innovations is long and celebrated:  radio, television, automobiles, airplanes, jets, movies, cellular phones, color photography, computers, plastics, the internet, fake hips and space flight, to name just a few.   These inventions dictate the way we live—we interact and exist with our environment.

           

Much of the new technology introduced in the past century has made our lives easier, safer, and happier.   Advances in chemistry and plastics have allowed for breakthroughs in medical treatment, lengthening human life and lowering the risk of debilitating disease.  Revolutions in engineering for physics have allowed us to peer into the deepest, oldest reaches of space as well as examine the fundamental building blocks of existence.  Advances in transportation have made traveling around the world quick and relatively affordable—helping bring people together and making movement toward a global society.  Similarly, the recent proliferation of the Internet has made a vast wealth of information readily available to people all around the world, regardless of their nationality or language.   As is the case with any good tool, the technologies of the past century have enabled us to do more, faster, with less effort.

           

Of course, not all of the technology of the past 100 years has led to positive change.  The power unleashed by the Hydrogen bomb on the Bikini Atoll is a grand testament of the capability for destruction that we have created, and the lingering remnants of deathly radiation are a telling shadow of what might happen should such technology ever be used in earnest.  Clever chemists, in creating drugs to rid people of viruses and bacteria, may actually be spurring the evolution of stronger, drug-resistant strains that could prove disastrous for human populations. The dependence on petroleum created by the world’s thirst for innovation and industry also fuels political tension (particularly in the Middle East), and has created misery and strife for millions.   In perhaps the most pressing and unsettling problem, it has become increasingly apparent that the carbon emissions (primarily from petroleum-fueled devices) have begun to heat our climate; the results of which are as yet unclear, though certainly serious.

           

Such is the nature of technology; it is necessarily a double-edged sword.  The nuclear capabilities that may one day lead to cheap, accessible and pollutant-free power are the same that could allow us to destroy every major city on Earth.  The countless devices that are slowly, bringing the world together are also heating it up and tearing it apart.  For these reasons, it is tempting to vilify technology, and seek a way to curb its break-neck pace.   However, such a wish is--whether we like it or not--impossible. Technological innovation, like time, can only go in one direction. No matter how much we desire it, the hydrogen bomb cannot and will not be uninvented, nor will we suddenly do away with cars, DVD’s, televisions, or cell phones.  Technology can and will be replaced, but it will not simply disappear.

           

The solution, then, is not the vilification of technology but the celebration of it. What we must have is engineering motivated by social need—engineering with a conscience.  The technology to stop global warming, feed the poor, cure the sick and inspire billions is well within our reach, if only we have the vision to strive for it.

           

As we look forward to the next hundred years, there are many obstacles that have been predicted, and many that remain hidden. The budding engineers of today can and must be called upon to fix the problems that are now being sown and to forge a brighter future for all humanity.  By working together with hope and direction, the technology that we create can be precisely what the world needs.  And maybe, with just a little luck and a lot of work, my grandchild and countless others will look at the view of Earth from Mars and marvel at just how far we’ve come.