Opportunities and challenges facing engineers: meeting the needs of business and industry

Technology needs and developments from within and without business and industry are converging to create new opportunities for research. Engineers and scientist are required to meet challenges resulting from these new technological needs. What are the critical features differentiating the current industrial situation from the past? How can engineers add value and be agents of change? The paper explores answers to these and other questions while forecasting opportunities for applying research to control system design, optimization, and implementation