About Us

AAES Membership 2012 Accomplishments

2012 has been an excellent year for AAES, moving many initiatives forward now that the secretariat is in an enhanced and more stable position. To name just a few of our key accomplishments:

  • This year's AAES/NAE Convocation offered thought-provoking material from the K-12 outreach and engagement session speakers; Dr. Vest provided some additional food for thought by discussing the Changing the Conversation concepts, the public understanding of engineering, the diversity of engineering, and international trends; and finally, the session on professional engineering regulation offered an excellent history of licensure, as well as details of current requirements and ethical considerations.

  • Approximately 25 AAES invitees attended the AAES Strategic Direction Summit on August 8-9, 2012, in Washington, DC, through the generous support of the United Engineering Foundation (UEF). The Summit was a critical point in the process; it gave us the opportunity to explore a breadth of ideas to revitalize AAES and reminded us of the challenges inherent in our work. At the end of the Summit, attendees agreed to several take-aways, including:
    • We developed a consensus on AAES serving as "One Voice."
    • We agreed that our primary audience is the engineering profession (versus "engineers" or "the engineering community").
    • We agreed to recommend the current AAES mission be revised.
    • We believe transformational change is needed.
    Final recommendations will be provided here.

  • AAES welcomed two new member societies: the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) and Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA). We are so pleased to have them join us — they've already demonstrated they are strong additions. Further proof that the key to our success is collective member society engagement.

  • The Society unveiled a redesigned and improved website, www.aaes.org, with a polished new look befitting our status as the nation's premier association of engineering societies in all disciplines. The improved layout and navigation makes it easier to find the news and information about AAES and our activities.

  • The UEF Grants Committee selected AAES' concept paper for "Implementation of AAES and Engineering Societies Strategic Direction Planning." AAES submitted a formal grant proposal by the August 1st deadline. The UEF Board of Trustees will announce final grants funding for 2013 on October 1st.

The Strategic Direction Summit convinced us that we have consensus on AAES' mission: to be the one voice for the U.S. engineering profession. We're counting on the continued involvement of our existing and new member societies to assure AAES continues to provide a unified voice for engineering, both nationally and internationally. The strength of this voice is the strength of our member societies acting as one.

Engineers are creative problem-solvers.
Engineers make a world of difference.
Engineers help shape the future.
Engineering is essential to our health, happiness, and safety.