We are planning to set a WEB portal to discuss

1) the example and the role of an Academy of Engineering to find the correct blend of credentials and consensus to set research needs

2) The final 14 NAE resulting "challenges", being set at international level, should be accepted worldwide. Is this really the case, are the European Agencies considering them, or do they think we need to duplicate the search for the "challenges" separately?

Prof. Zhigang Suo and Prof. Frans Spaepen, of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, have just been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.  They are among 65 new members elected to the NAE in 2008.  Update:  Also elected this year is another mechanician, Robert Dodds, of the University of Illinois.