About FOE

The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering program brings together through 2-1/2 day meetings a select group of emerging engineering leaders from industry, academe, and government labs to discuss pioneering technical work and leading edge research in various engineering fields and industry sectors. The goal of the meetings is to introduce these outstanding early career engineers to each other, and through this interaction facilitate collaboration in engineering, the transfer of new techniques and approaches across fields, and establishment of contacts among the next generation of engineering leaders.

Learn More About FOE    Getting Invited to FOE    Sponsors    Ligler-Wagoner Challenge

Latest NewsMore News
  • Hyperdimensional Computing
    Hyperdimensional Computing
    Thu, November 30, 2023
    FOE alum Roman Caudillo at Intel discusses the engineering of a novel machine-learning paradigm inspired by theoretical neuroscience and how humans and other animals use their senses to gather information.
  • Better Prosthetics
    Better Prosthetics
    Mon, November 27, 2023
    FOE alum He (Helen) Huang at NC State and UNC at Chapel Hill has engineered robotic prosthetic ankles that are controlled by nerve impulses and allow amputees to move more ‘naturally’, improving overall stability.
  • Wearable That Monitors Estrogen in Sweat
    Wearable That Monitors Estrogen in Sweat
    Mon, November 20, 2023
    Caltech's Wei Gao (USFOE 2021) has engineered a wearable sensor that may one day make it easier for women to monitor their estradiol levels at home and in real time, showing indicators for women's health and fertility.
  • I Can Read Your Mind
    I Can Read Your Mind
    Thu, November 16, 2023
    Gert Cauwenberghs (USFOE 2000), Sheng Xu (USFOE 2019), and Patrick Mercier (CAFOE 2019) at the University of California San Diego are engineering screen-printed, flexible sensors that allow earbuds to record brain activity and exercise levels.
  • New Material That Curves Light
    New Material That Curves Light
    Mon, November 13, 2023
    Mikhail Kats (USFOE 2020) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has engineered a unique, record-setting material that can bend one infrared ray of light in two directions, which could lead to innovations in night vision, Lidar, chemical sensing, microscopy, and other applications.
  • Tiny Technology, Far-reaching Frontiers
    Tiny Technology, Far-reaching Frontiers
    Thu, November 09, 2023
    At Purdue, David Cappelleri (GAFOE 2015) is using a 3D printer to engineer mobile microrobots that can go into the body and perform precise operations such as drug delivery, cell manipulation, and object characterization.
All Events
Upcoming Events
  • Upcoming
    Jun 17 2024 - Jun 20 2024
    The 2024 China-America Frontiers of Engineering symposium will be held in the US. Sixty highly accomplished early-career engineers from China and the United States will meet for an intensive 2 1/2 day symposium on developments at the cutting edge of engineering technology in four ...
    Irvine, California
  • Upcoming
    Sep 11 2024 - Sep 14 2024
    The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2024 Symposium will be at the National Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, California, September 11-14. About 100 outstanding early career engineers will meet for an intensive 2-1/2 day symposium to discuss cutting-edge ...
    Irvine, California
  • Upcoming
    Mar 25 2025 - Mar 28 2025
    The 2025 German-America Frontiers of Engineering symposium will be held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Sixty highly accomplished early-career engineers from Germany and the United States will meet for an intensive 2-1/2 day symposium on developments at the ...
    Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    Oak Ridge, Tennessee
FOE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
  • Cellia Science
    CEO

    I specialize in the translation of basic research findings into medical devices. I am currently working to develop a point-of-care hematology analyzer that leverages deep-UV microscopy for label-free imaging. I also evaluate innovative ...

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  • Washington University in St. Louis
    Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

    My research focuses on multiscale biomechanics and structure-function relationships of musculoskeletal soft tissues and joints. I study the fundamental principles that govern how soft tissues function in healthy conditions, how these relationships ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute
    Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering

    My research involves metal feedstock powder and wire development to enhance 3D printing of large-scale metal components, using computational thermodynamic and kinetic modeling tools, as well as advanced materials characterization techniques.

    FOE ...

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  • George Mason University
    Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering

    My research focuses on how we can use robotics and artificial intelligence to create new diagnostic tools, with applications ranging from civil infrastructure to the human body.

    The FOE experience gave me a broader view of the power of ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory
    Assistant Group Leader

    I apply the most mature advanced micro- and nanofabrication techniques to make advancements in fields spanning computation, bioengineering, aerospace, and optical systems.

    The Frontiers of Engineering symposium enabled me to collaborate, ...

    More More ALUMNI
  • Collins Aerospace
    Chief Technologist

    My research focuses on creating the next generation of aerospace technologies that will require advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to run on-wing and exchange information with a centralized cloud environment in real time. We ...

    More More ALUMNI
Publications More Publications
  • From novel applications of microbes to DEI in engineering to the potential for hydrogen energy, Frontiers of Engineering participants tackle today’s challenging world issues. The winter issue of The Bridge showcases research by early-career engineers as shared at the 2022 US FOE symposium.

  • The NAE typically dedicates the winter issue of The Bridge to papers from The Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering US symposium, held in September each year. Because of the covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 US FOE was rescheduled to February 25–26, 2021. This issue presents a selection of papers from the 2020 and 2021 US FOE meetings.

  • This volume includes 12 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2019 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2019. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding early career engineers to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2019 symposium covered four topic areas: Advanced Manufacturing in the Age of Digital Transformation; Engineering the Genome; Self-Driving Cars: Technology and Ethics; and Blockchain Technology. The papers describe leading-edge research on these topics, among others: next-generation robotic locomotion, using CRISPR to combat human disease vectors, the ethics of autonomous vehicles, and blockchain technology. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and participants. This is the 25th volume in the US Frontiers of Engineering series.

  • This volume includes 12 papers from the National Academy of Engineering's 2018 US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) Symposium held in September 2018. US FOE meetings bring together 100 outstanding engineers (ages 30 to 45) to exchange information about leading-edge technologies in a range of engineering fields. The 2018 symposium covered four topic areas: Quantum Computers: Are We There Yet?, the Role of Engineering in the Face of Conflict and Disaster, Resilient and Reliable Infrastructure, and Theranostics. The papers describe leading-edge research on these topics, among others: quantum computing, combining formal and informal structures in crisis response, infrastructure resilience, and immune theranostics. Appendixes include information about contributors, the symposium program, and participants. This is the 24th volume in the US Frontiers of Engineering series.

FeaturesMore Features
  • Come on Barbie, let’s go party…with this week’s episode of The Circuit News just in time for the recent premiere of the Barbie movie! In partnership with USC Viterbi School of Engineering, NAE's weekly social-forward news show dedicated to promoting engineering to the public highlights engineering stories from academia, industry, government, pop culture, and K-12.
  • FOE alum Kayla Sprenger at CU Boulder is integrating approaches at the crossroads of physics, engineering, and immunology in close synergy with experimentalists and clinicians to develop vaccines for diseases like HIV, break down mixed plastic waste streams into valuable chemicals, and address other challenges in energy and health fields.
  • From novel applications of microbes to DEI in engineering to the potential for hydrogen energy, Frontiers of Engineering participants tackle today’s challenging world issues. The winter issue of The Bridge showcases research by early-career engineers as shared at the 2022 US FOE symposium.
  • In a podcast episode, FOE alum Shirley Meng at Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago discusses the need to engineer different metals and elements that could last longer and charge faster than our current lithium-ion batteries.
  • NAE member Darryll Pines at the University of Maryland Global Campus and Gregory Washington (USFOE 2004) at George Mason University are assembling nonpartisan, data-driven, research-based faculty experts from engineering and other disciplines to educate our communities about gun violence.