BANGALORE, INDIA: In the keynote address at the opening day of the EmTech conference here today, Prof. Subra Suresh, Dean of the School of Engineering, MIT, started his address on 'Engineering for the Future, with 20 creative achievements of 20th century.

A few examples were automobiles, aeroplanes, radio, TV, air conditioner, computers and a few complex innovation like high performance materials and nuclear technology. And of course, Internet, telephone, electronics, Laser, firbre optics are also there.

Prof Subra Suresh added that the school of MIT comprises four intellectual themes namely information and communication education, biotech and biomedical, material and devices engineering, and engineering for the physical structure.

These four themes were predominantly on water, transportation, environmental sustainability, energy and human diseases.

MIT School of engineering has been working on the next wave of evolution which brings integration of more than one aspect. New areas and fields of study is coming - like innovations for use of electricity using virus.

Apart from these he enumerated 14 engineering grand challenges for the 21st century including making solar energy economical for the society, generation of energy through fusion and providing access to clear water.

He added that a clear observations of the achievements and challenges shows that the challenges have resulted because of the achievements, and that not enough attention  was provided to the social causes of scientific innovation.

He focused on the cross-disciplinary approach and talked at length about the marriage of engineering physical sciences, life sciences medicine and public health. He said mechanical engineering plays a major role in the pathogenics of malaria. In the pathology of malaria RBC (red blood cells) carries malaria and malaria creates a rupture in the RBC creating the temperature.

So mechanical engineering helps finding the pathology of the disease. He also talked about engineering meets biochemistry genetics, and microbiology. Because of this cross disciplinary approach, one can find better diagnostics, therapeutics and drug efficacy.