Algorithms and Grand Engineering Challenges

I have some interaction, past and present, with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and it is always inspiring. An ongoing exercise at NAE is to gather thoughts about grand engineering challenges. You can take part in these polls, and participate in the discussions. The list is as follows:

Make solar energy economical Provide energy from fusion Provide access to clean water Reverse-engineer the brain Advance personalized learning Develop carbon sequestration methods Restore and improve urban Infrastructure

Engineer the tools of scientific discovery Advance health informatics Prevent nuclear terror Engineer better medicines Manage the nitrogen cycle Secure cyberspace Enhance virtual reality

I can immediately see a couple of these challenges where algorithms research will have an impact: secure cyberspace, health informatics, .. On second thought and beyond, I am sure algorithms research is needed to address each of these challenges, more directly in some cases than the others. May be that is really my problem: I like to see (applied) algorithms research as the central piece, with its own form and factor, but often, we are in the belly of a large beast. The beast gets the attention, it is easy to set it up, take it down, or play with it. The belly follows along. I struggle with this nearly every day.