Justin Romberg, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and David Sholl, professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, are two of 86 young engineers selected to take part in the National Academy of Engineering's (NAE) 16th annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium.

Engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines will come together for the event. The participants--from industry, academia and government--were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from approximately 265 applicants. "As we face the challenges the next century brings, we will rely more than ever on innovative engineers," said NAE President Charles M. Vest. "The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering program is an opportunity for a diverse group of this country's most promising young engineers to gather together and discuss multidisciplinary ways of leading us into the economy of tomorrow."

The symposium will be held Sept. 23-25 at the IBM Learning Center in Armonk, N.Y., and will examine cloud computing, autonomous aerospace systems, engineering and music and engineering inspired by biology. Sponsors for the 2010 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering are IBM, The Grainger Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Defense (DDR&E), National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research and Cummins Inc.

The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, nonprofit institution that serves as an adviser to government and the public on issues in engineering and technology. Its members consist of the nation's premier engineers, who are elected by their peers for their distinguished achievements. Established in 1964, NAE operates under the congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.