Rise and Fall of the Pocket Protector

摘要

At a meeting of the National Academy of Engineering some years ago, I was handed at the registration desk a copy of the program, a handsome portfolio to put it in, and a white plastic pocket protector. The protector was emblazoned with the abbreviation NAE in large capital letters, set next to a logo showing a stylized viaduct in silhouette inside a blue circle. The bridge is symbolic of the Academy's mission "to advance the well-being of the nation by promoting a vibrant engineering profession"-in other words, to span the potential gap between the interests of the profession and those of the nation. To further emphasize this connection, the quarterly magazine of the Academy is named The Bridge and its motto is "linking engineering and society." But does an NAE pocket protector help or hinder the achievement of this objective?