Engineering has changed our lives in so many ways. Those changes were driven by people–by human knowledge and creativity. And that creativity gets a boost when diverse perspectives, skills and backgrounds are included in the conversation.

This is Engineering the Future: Diversity Dialogues, a podcast from the National Academy of Engineering. Our host, Wanda Sigur, spent her career at Lockheed Martin, tackling the difficult challenges of human spaceflight. Now, she brings her skills to an even greater challenge–bringing down barriers to equity and inclusion in engineering. In our first episode, Wanda speaks with Dr. Nancy Cooke, professor of Human Systems Engineering at Arizona State University, and Dr. Ken Washington, senior vice president and chief technology and innovation officer at Medtronic, about how teams with many different perspectives can produce the best solutions.

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Guest Bios

Nancy J. Cooke is a professor in Human Systems Engineering at the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). She also directs the ASU Global Security Initiative’s Center for Human, AI, and Robot Teaming. Dr. Cooke received her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from New Mexico State University. She is a past president of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society and the past chair of the Board on Human Systems Integration at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She also served as a panel chair and co-editor of the National Academies consensus study on “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science.”

Ken Washington serves as senior vice president and chief technology and innovation officer at Medtronic. Prior to joining Medtronic, Dr. Washington was vice president and general manager of Consumer Robotics at Amazon. Prior to that, he was chief technology officer at Ford Motor Company, overseeing development of the company’s technology strategy including next-generation vehicle architectures, controls and automated systems. He also spent seven years at Lockheed Martin in various leadership roles including chief technology officer, chief privacy officer and vice president, Advanced Technology Center, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a fellow of the MIT Seminar XXI program on International Relations.