Grand Challenges
Grand Challenges are difficult but important problems set by various institutions or professions to encourage solutions or advocate for the application of government or philanthropic funds especially in the most highly developed economies and Grand challenges are more than ordinary research questions or priorities, they are end results or outcomes that are global in scale; very difficult to accomplish, yet offer hope of being ultimately tractable; demand an extensive number of research projects across many technical and non-technical disciplines and accompanied by well-defined metrics. Lastly, Grand challenges "require coordinated, collaborative, and collective efforts" and must capture "the popular imagination, and thus political support." In engineering Grand Challenges: A Strategic Plan for Bridge Engineering, initiative sponsored by the Highway Subcommittee on Bridges and Structures (HSCOBS) of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) started in 2000. Grand Challenges for Engineering, initiative sponsored by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for engineering problems in the next century. Global Grand Challenges, summit meetings sponsored by The National Academy of Engineering of the United States, The Royal Academy of Engineering of the United Kingdom, and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. ASCE Grand Challenge for Civil Engineering, initiative by the American Society