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Autonomous Precision Landing Of Winter 2016 FRONTIERS OF ENGINEERING The BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Computational Near-Eye Displays: Engineering the Interface to the Digital World Gordon Wetzstein First-Person Computational Vision Kristen Grauman Autonomous Precision Landing of Space Rockets Lars Blackmore Water Desalination: History, Advances, and Challenges Manish Kumar, Tyler Culp, and Yuexiao Shen Scalable Manufacturing of Layer-by-Layer Membranes for Water Purification Christopher M. Stafford Engineered Proteins for Visualizing and Treating Cancer Jennifer R. Cochran Engineering Immunotherapy Darrell J. Irvine The mission of the National Academy of Engineering is to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to the federal government on matters involving engineering and technology. The BRIDGE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Gordon R. England, Chair C. D. Mote, Jr., President Corale L. Brierley, Vice President Julia M. Phillips, Home Secretary Ruth A. David, Foreign Secretary Martin B. Sherwin, Treasurer Editor in Chief: Ronald M. Latanision Managing Editor: Cameron H. Fletcher Production Assistant: Penelope Gibbs The Bridge (ISSN 0737-6278) is published quarterly by the National Aca d emy of Engineering, 2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20418. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC. Vol. 46, No. 4, Winter 2016 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Bridge, 2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20418. Papers are presented in The Bridge on the basis of general interest and time- liness. They reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily the position of the National Academy of Engineering. The Bridge is printed on recycled paper. C © 2016 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. A complete copy of The Bridge is available in PDF format at www.nae.edu/TheBridge. Some of the articles in this issue are also avail- able as HTML documents and may contain links to related sources of information, multimedia files, or other content. The Volume 46, Number 4 • Winter 2016 BRIDGE LINKING ENGINEERING AND SOCIETY Editor’s Note 3 Engineering in a Rapidly Advancing World Robert D. Braun Features 5 Computational Near-Eye Displays: Engineering the Interface to the Digital World Gordon Wetzstein A personalized VR/AR system that adapts to the user is crucial to deliver the best possible experience. 10 First-Person Computational Vision Kristen Grauman Advances in “first-person” computational vision are poised to transform how intelligent machines learn visual representations and automatically summarize long videos. 15 Autonomous Precision Landing of Space Rockets Lars Blackmore Precision landing can enhance exploration of the solar system and enable rockets that can be refueled and reused. 21 Water Desalination: History, Advances, and Challenges Manish Kumar, Tyler Culp, and Yuexiao Shen Desalination technology is becoming more sustainable, accessible, energy efficient, and versatile. 30 Scalable Manufacturing of Layer-by-Layer Membranes for Water Purification Christopher M. Stafford A paradigm shift in manufacturing may yield more energy efficient membranes, offering a solution to the challenge of water security. 34 Engineered Proteins for Visualizing and Treating Cancer Jennifer R. Cochran In my research lab we use protein engineering to create novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. 39 Engineering Immunotherapy Darrell J. Irvine Engineering approaches offer new ideas for ways to create more potent and effective cancer immunotherapies. 43 An Interview with… Kealoha (continued on next page) The BRIDGE NAE News and Notes 52 NAE Newsmakers 55 2016 Annual Meeting 59 Remarks by NAE Chair Gordon R. England 61 Mega-Engineering Initiatives and the Grand Challenges for Engineering: Remarks by NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr. 65 2016 Simon Ramo Founders Award: Acceptance Remarks by Ruzena K. Bajcsy 66 2016 Arthur M. Bueche Award: Acceptance Remarks by Henry T. Yang 68 NAE Chairman’s Challenge 69 2016 Golden Bridge Society Dinner 71 2016 US Frontiers of Engineering Held at Beckman Center 73 2016 EU-US Frontiers of Engineering Held in Helsinki, Finland 75 EngineerGirl Essay Contests: Responsible Engineering (2016), Animals (2017) 76 Calendar of Meetings and Events 77 Former NAS President Ralph J. Cicerone (1943–2016) 77 In Memoriam 79 Publications of Interest The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an emy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongov- Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to ernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objec- The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 tive analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected Academies also encourage education and research, recognize out- by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. standing contributions to knowledge, and increase public understand- Mote, Jr., is president. ing in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Acad- and Medicine at www.national-academies.org. FALL 2006 3 Editor’s Note The first session focused on High-Performance Com- puter Graphics and Vision. Cochaired by David Luebke of NVIDIA Research and John Owens of the Univer- sity of California, Davis, the session explored the use of the significantly large number of pixels at our disposal today, including advances in computer vision and image Robert D. Braun (NAE) is a pro- understanding, computer graphics hardware, computa- fessor, Department of Aerospace tional displays, and virtual reality. Four speakers from Engineering Sciences, University industry and academia led insightful discussions of these of Colorado Boulder. topics. In this issue, papers by Gordon Wetzstein (Stan- ford University) and Kristen Grauman (University of Texas, Austin) address some of the more compelling Engineering in a Rapidly computer vision breakthroughs. The session on Extreme Engineering centered on Advancing World the use of autonomy in space, air, land and underwater Each year the US Frontiers of Engineering (US FOE) and was cochaired by DeShawn Jackson of Halliburton Symposium brings together outstanding engineers, and Marco Pavone of Stanford University. This session ages 30 to 45, to share ideas, network, and learn about focused on recent breakthroughs in decision making, cutting-edge research across a spectrum of topics rel- perception architectures, and mechanical design that evant to advancing society. The competitively selected have paved the way for autonomous robotic systems to attendees come from a wide range of backgrounds and carry out a wide range of tasks of unprecedented com- have a variety of interests and expertise. The symposium plexity. Emphasis was placed on recent algorithmic and offers participants a unique opportunity to meet emerg- mechanical advances that have enabled the design and ing leaders across a range of disciplines, learn about the deployment of robotic systems where autonomy pushed latest research trends and potential breakthroughs in to the extreme has resulted in innovation that borders engineering areas other than their own, and facilitate on science fiction. Each of the four talks in this ses- collaborative work and the transfer of new approaches sion engaged large segments of the attendees. In these and techniques across fields. Through both formal ses- pages, Lars Blackmore (SpaceX) describes the design sions and informal discussions, these annual meetings considerations, technology challenges, and operational have proven an effective mechanism for the establish- experience of safely returning first-stage launch systems ment of cross-disciplinary and cross-sector contacts for subsequent reuse. among the participants. In the session on Water Desalination and Purifica- On September 19–21 more than 100 emerging tion, cochaired by Amy Childress of the University engineering leaders from academia, industry, and gov- of Southern California and Abhishek Roy of Dow ernment gathered at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Chemical, four speakers described the global challenge Center in Irvine, California. The meeting was orga- of securing a reliable supply of water among growing nized in four sessions with the following themes: Pix- human populations, changing climate, and increas- els at Scale, Extreme Engineering, Water Desalination ing urbanization. The session focused on membrane and Purification, and Technologies for the Treatment of separation processes to desalinate and purify a range of Cancer. Seven papers, representing the highly engaging source waters. Innovations in materials, developments topics covered by this year’s presentations,
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