NEWS RELEASE – Aug. 19, 2004 – Dr. Geoffrey C. Orsak, dean of the Southern Methodist University School of Engineering, delivered today’s keynote address at National Instruments NIWeek 2004, the world’s leading virtual instrumentation conference. He took NIWeek attendees on a journey through the recent history of the world as seen through the eyes of an engineer.“Engineering is more about creativity than explanation, more about inspiration than analysis,” Orsak said. “Engineering is an artform. As Aristotle said, it is about applying the great sources of power in nature for the convenience of humankind.”Orsak told attendees that engineers are the supreme problem solvers of society, and as technology is rapidly increasing, students’ enrollment in engineering programs is rapidly decreasing. He referenced a survey given in conjunction with college entrance exams, which shows that there has been a 37 percent decline in engineering interest in the past 12 years. Orsak then discussed the Infinity Project, an innovative program that exposes precollege students to cutting-edge engineering and technology curricula. “The future of our country depends on exciting the next generation about careers in technology and engineering,” Dr. Orsak said. “Without the efforts of companies like National Instruments in reaching out to younger students, the United States will find it increasingly difficult to meet its technical workforce needs.”Dr. Orsak is one of the nation’s key leaders in engineering education and its impact on economic development and global competitiveness. In his roles as dean of the SMU School of Engineering and executive director of the federally funded Institute for Engineering Education at SMU, Dr. Orsak has founded and created a number of nationally recognized programs, including the Infinity Project and Visioneering, that today reach millions of students across the United States with innovative engineering curricula and educational experiences. Dr. Orsak earned his bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, master’s degree in electrical engineering and doctorate degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University in Houston, TX.About National InstrumentsNational Instruments (www.ni.com) is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists approach measurement and automation. Leveraging the PC and its related technologies, virtual instrumentation increases productivity and lowers costs through easy-to-integrate software, such as the NI LabVIEW graphical development environment, and modular hardware, such as PXI modules for data acquisition, instrument control and machine vision. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 3,100 employees and direct operations in 40 countries. In 2003, the company sold products to more than 25,000 companies in 90 countries. For the past five years, FORTUNE magazine named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America.
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