Polygon President Eric Wobig, Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Brenda Blanchard, Dean Paul Peercy , Chancellor David Ward, Vision 2000 Committee Chair Russ Christesen, Robert Rennebohm of the Vilas Trust Board of Directors, and Dean Emeritus John Bollinger . The building is set for completion in 2002. With continued rapid technology advances, boundaries between traditional disciplines are disappearing. Engineers will increasingly be asked to work in interdisciplinary teams to design solutions to increasingly complex problems. In addition to a solid foundation in the fundamentals of an engineering discipline, engineers of tomorrow will require broader interdisciplinary education and knowledge as they address an ever-increasing variety of needs and opportunities in industry and society.
Interdisciplinary interaction is the key to rapid knowledge advancement.
It represents the future, as teams of engineers, scientists and leaders from other disciplines create new areas of research. Throughout this report, you will encounter examples of how our faculty members have formed strategic alliances with scientists and engineers in disciplines outside their own to expand engineering knowledge and offer unique learning opportunities to our undergraduate and graduate students. This report also includes examples of strategic partnerships between the College of Engineering and the School of Business . The joint effort of faculty and students from engineering and business to transfer technology developed at the university to improve the quality of life and the national economy illustrates the fading of the boundaries between these areas. To respond to these new demands and directions in the field, we are finalizing a detailed strategic plan for the college.