Seven tips for spreading engineering innovation were relayed in an afternoon panel at NIWeek last month.
        1. Look for, learn, and apply game-changing technologies. What emerging technologies will seem, 30 years from now, as the Apple 2, Commodore 64, or TRS 80 do today? Inventions differ from innovations, noted Dean Kamen, founder of Deka Research & Development Corp. He says there only have been perhaps 400 innovations, such as fire, the wheel, movable typewww.cechina.cn, petroleum, human flight, roboticswww.cechina.cn, and... the "TV clicker."
        2. Find ways to channel the best talent to engineering industries (wealth creation) rather than to financial industries (wealth transfer), said Glenn Derene, senior technology editor控制工程网版权所有, Popular Mechanics. Hot areas that may attract talent include energy, environment, health care控制工程网版权所有, and education. How can engineering help save humanity?
        3. Encourage visionaries to invest for the long term in creative technologies, said Ellen Purdy, manager for test, analysis, modeling, and simulation for future combat system programs at the U.S. Department of Defense. Government policies should encourage platforms that enable innovations, such as the growth of fiber networks and the auctioning of the analog television electromagnetic spectrum.
        4. Take risks. Innovation can wane as a society ages and people are less interested in taking risks. Younger people have more to gain and less to lose. Public policies can help make up for that tendency, helping us find the encourage to riskwww.cechina.cn, Kamen said. He asked, "How many senators... are engineers? Where are you people? Get involved!"
        5. Society needs to reward engineering. We're not going to continue to advance or sustain our standard of living if most