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Electrical Engineering Education:
Evolution and Revolution
Sept. 11, 2012
Michael Lightner, Prof. and Chair ECEEMoshe Kam, Prof. and Head ECE Drexel
Talk developed and given in various venues with support by the IEEE
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OutlineCaveats and disclaimersEngineering education and previous reformsEvolution
– The fundamentals may be shifting– The profession is changing
Geographically In relation with other disciplines In terms of products and services In the nature of the workplace
Revolution– The tsunami facing higher education
At least in the US
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Caveats and Disclaimers
Omitting discussion of education outside the USNot presenting discussion of the many advances in pedagogy and learning scienceNot providing answers, but raising issues and pointing out pressuresThis is just a sampling, there are many more examples, apologies if your favorite is not includedAND – it will be a race through a wide range of material
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The Beginning of Engineering Education
By the mid-1600s, artillery and fortifications had grown so complex that European armies began training officers in math and mechanics
The term “Engineer” has been in use (in the current sense) only for the last 200 years
Engineering education was formalized in France – School of Bridges and Highways, 1775
(Jean Parronet)– École Polytechnique, 1794
(Lazare Carnot and Gaspard Monge)
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First Engineering Schools in the USRevolutionary America had to rely on Civil Engineers from Europe for major projects
In 1802 the Army established the U.S. Military Academy at West Point to train artillery and engineering officers
Sylvanus Thayer, commandant after 1817, transformed West Point into the nation's first engineering school by copying the École Polytechnique
After 1825 courses in Civil Engineering were became available in Washington College, Princeton, New York University, and VanderbiltRPI (1828); University of Virginia (1833)
http://www.answers.com/topic/engineering-education-1#ixzz1CZzjL7Fn
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EE education in the US and Europe: the first 50 years in a glance
Early EE departments were established in the last 20 years of the 19th century– Most grew out of Physics departments– Curricula focused on AC and DC circuits and power
distribution– B.Sc. Degree was the norm for faculty
Plus hands-on training in industry
– After World war I communication options appear – Little academic research
In 1925 only one MIT EE faculty member had a Ph.D. Half of the faculty had a B.Sc degree + practical
experience
Terman 1976
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The Impact of World War II
The rise of new technology found the field unprepared– Most “EE work” was performed by scientists
from other disciplines, especially Physics
– Radar, microwaves, control systems, guided missiles, proximity fuses
The case was reform was clear
Terman 1976
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The First Reform (1945-1955)
Overhaul of textbooks and courses– A new book shelf
Focus on the fundamentals– Mathematics and Physics– Introducing Physics-based Calculus as the basic
first step of the engineering curriculum
De-emphasis of classes on “engineering practice” and apprenticeship– Drafting, surveying, practicum
Impetus for reform: new technology
Terman 1976
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The First Reform (1945-1955)
Large expansion of graduate programs– Beginning of federal funding of academic
engineering research
Emergence of new requirements and expectations from engineering faculty members – At least an M.S. degree– In many institutions – demonstration of ability to
conduct independent research Educate new Ph.D. students Obtain external support for research
Painful transition in many institutions
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The emergence and rise of graduate programs in engineering 1960-1975
Significant growth in the number of graduate engineering programs
Differentiation between the objective and nature of MS and PhD programs
The impact of strong graduate programs is being felt in industry…– Strong graduate programs start developing their
own industries
In 1962 the first US Computer Science program is established
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High Tech Industry is linked to availability of strong and well-trained engineer corps
Silicon Valley would not exist without Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley
Boston Route 128 would not be possible without MIT and Harvard
Austin’s Silicon Gulch is there because of the University of Texas – Austin
DSP Valley is around the University of Leuven, Belgium
Kansai Science City is linked to Osaka University
Numerous examples in China
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The “Axioms”
The post-WWII model of interlinked teaching and research in engineering academic programs continues to be dominant around the world– The best “stand-alone” research labs
continue to have strong links to universities
The connection between engineering and economic development has now become axiomatic both in developed and developing countries– A key justification for continued support of
engineering programs
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Differentiation and Compartmentalization1975-1985
Many engineering programs develop “tracks” – Often available only in the Senior year– EE: “Signal processing” “Power and Control” “Biomedical
Devices” “Computers” “Antennas and Propagation”
Computer Engineering programs proliferate– The emergence of the ECE department
‘Secession’ of Computer Science is complete
New programs emerge in Biomedical Engineering
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The impetus for the second US reform (1990-2003)
Desire to use emerging technology to improve instruction– Personal computer, digital communication and
networking–
The sense that the pendulum has swung too much toward Engineering Science
High attrition rate of students in the early years– Attributed to the abstract nature of preparatory
classes – in US only slightly more than 50% of students entering engineering graduate with an engineering degree
Graduates perceived to be deficient in communication and presentation skills
Serov 1997
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The impetus for the second US reform (1990-2003)
Graduates perceived to be unable to take into consideration economic, social, and ethical considerations; can’t work in teams
Increased economic gap between engineering and practitioners of the ‘professions’
Continued failure to attract minorities and women to engineering
A plethora of new proposals for better pedagogical approaches for engineering
Serov 1997
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General Outline of the Second Reform in the US
Started with the 1988 NSF-funded E4 experiment at Drexel University
Continued by establishment of NSF coalitions of schools, which operated 1992-2002– Gateway, SUCCEED
The coalitions developed new curricular materials, ideas and structures– Implementation and scaling proved difficult– Adoption of coalition-created instructional
material and methods outside home institutions was limited
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Formalization of Second Reform in US
ABET Engineering Criteria 2000, EC 2000 was the formalization of the concerns of the second reform
Maintain high level of engineering science while including/emphasizing new elements …– Team work– Capstone design– Ethics and societal impact– Globalization– Communication– Quality control assessment/feedback mechanisms
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Impetus for a Third Reform - Evolution
The fundamentals may be shifting– Modern computing is not integrated properly in
engineering education– Life sciences becoming more important– Web 2.0 and internet causing fundamental shifts
The profession is changing– Geographically– In relation with other disciplines – In terms of products and services– In the nature of the workplace
The economic and demographic problems of the profession have not been solved
The Fundamentals may be shifting
– Modern computing is not integrated properly in engineering education
Impetus for a Third Reform
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Computing is Changing the Nature of Engineering Work
The use of computing tools has pervaded almost all areas of engineering – Look under the hood of your car– Look under the hood of your Spectrum Analyzer
Engineering education did not yet catch up– For us it is still “computer aided design”– For industry this is the only design that there is
We continue to teach many subjects as if symbolic computation and computers do not exist
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A Few ExamplesWe continue to teach again and again how to find, guess and synthesize integrating factors
We still teach students how to use approximations and rules of thumb most of which will never ever be used– Think about Bode Plots and Root Locus Methods– How about Karnaugh maps
Fundamentals of software writing and software testing are often left for self exploration– And yet these are of increasing significance for
engineers on the job
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Cloud Computing
Obvious impacts– Change CS/IT education to understand
requirements for cloud implementations– Institutions using cloud-based approaches
for email, learning management systems, social computing
Non-obvious impacts– Data, both large and small, from real sources
allow new, real world, authentic problems to be explored at all levels of engineering education
– Resources available globally reducing barriers to access
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Key Argument Against Increased Emphasis on Computing
(1) Rules of thumb provide insight and intuition for design(2) Simply running a program provides no intuitionBut… the students coming from high school seem to have ever decreasing skills in algebraic manipulation– Rules of thumb come from doing ‘algebraic’
manipulation to reduce problem size and understand patterns
We need new ways of teaching that use symbolic and numerical computation but still generate insight and intuition for design
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Computing vs. Programming (1)
Computing, herein, refers to use of specialized packages for computing certain results and for symbolic manipulation– Could be within more general packages such as
Matlab, Mathematica, Alpha, LTSpice– Allows larger and real world problems to be
done by students– Obviates the need for many specialized
techniques that reduce dimensionality of large problems
Students need to use these computational tools as tools to think with, not just tools to complete an assignment
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Computing vs. Programming (2)
Programming focuses on developing code for particular purposes– An important discipline and skill which is
not taken seriously enough in most current engineering curricula
– The erroneous assumption is that this is an add-on that students can learn on their own
– Another erroneous assumption is that programming for production is not done by engineers
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One Possible Reaction:Keep Computing to the Computer
Scientists!
This view neglects the fact that for many engineers proficiency in computing and programming is no less fundamental nowadays than proficiency in Physics-Based Calculus
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A More Reasoned Approach
The role of computing in the education of engineers needs to be re-thought
Computing skills can no longer be add-ons and nice-to-haves
As analytical skill needed by engineers, computing may have become as least as fundamental as Calculus
The Fundamentals may be shifting
– Integrating Life Sciences into the ECE Curricula
Impetus for a Third Reform
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Intersection of Life Sciences & ECE
Data and Image analysis– Medical Image analysis– All the –omics (genomics, proteomics,
glucomics, etc)
Optics and advanced microscopyTelemedicine/TelehealthHealth InformaticsProstheses – Robotics, cognitive, sensory (cochlear, visual)
In vivo sensorsBiochipsBionanophotonics
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Student Interest
Significant student interest in bio-x engineering– Bioengineering, biomedical engineering,
biological engineering
Other departments are pushing strongly into these areas– Biomedical and Bioengineering departments– Mechanical engineering departments– Chemical engineering departments– Biological engineering departments
ECE often challenged to have significant bio-presence in the curriculum
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Research Challenges
Major interdisciplinary efforts on campuses and in companies.Significant funding and opportunity for growth, but only if part of the team
EE/ECE departments need to encourage students and faculty to participate– Introduce life sciences courses– Create and hire faculty with different sets of
interests
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One Possible Reaction:Keep your microbes to yourself – earthling!
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A More Reasoned Approach
Provide ECE students with education in the life sciences
Develop minors and double majors
Encourage capstone experiences in life science related projects
Partner with other disciplines
Develop joint faculty appointments
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And there is more …
New approaches to education in Power and Energy
Engineering as enhancer of quality of life– Entertainment engineering, media, games
Grand Challenge Problems in the curriculum
The Profession is Changing…
– Geographically
Impetus for a Third Reform
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Our Profession is Changing Geographically
Science and engineering education is expanding into new geographical areas
Some engineering work has migrated from its former US and West European centers to other countries and regions
Manufacturing, Design, Research and Development are performed in many countries that had no Hi-tech industry even 20 years ago– But not without significant improvement in
graduate education
First University Degrees in Selected Areas
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind08/c2/c2s5.htm
Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 (US NSF)
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S&E degree as fraction of the total number of degrees granted
In the United States, S&E degrees are about one-third of U.S. bachelor’s degrees (and much lower for engineering alone)
In several countries more than half of first university degrees were in S&E– Japan (63%), China (56%), Singapore (59%),
Laos (57%), Thailand (69%)
Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 (US NSF)
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Degrees in Engineering
In the United States, about 5% of all bachelor’s degrees are in engineering
In most of Asia, 20% of the degrees are in engineering– In China, the number of first university degrees
in engineering more than doubled between 2000 and 2004 and quadrupled over the past two decades
In many other countries worldwide, more than 10% of the degrees are in engineering
Science and Engineering Indicators 2008 (US NSF)
Older Players experiences difficulties: Full Time Undergraduate Enrollment in ECE Programs in the US
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Source: ASEE
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A Global Challenge
Educate future engineers to work in a transnational environment – E.g., encourage “a semester abroad” and
exchange programs– Introduce pertinent international trends into the
curriculum Including education in business and law
Provide resources to engineers to understand industrial and economical trends that affect the professionDevelop a global system of credential and accreditation recognition
The Profession is Changing…
– The Rise of the Service Economy
Impetus for a Third Reform
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The Role of Service Economy is Increasing
Increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies
Look at the Fortune 500 – …more service companies– …fewer manufacturers
The old dichotomy between product and service has been replaced by a service-product continuum
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“Servitization of products”
Today we have the commodization of our products tomorrow we will have the servitization of our products
Products today have a higher service component than in previous decades
Virtually every product today has a service component to it
Many products are being transformed into services
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One Possible Reaction:This is Beneath Us…
Service is NOT Engineering
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A More Reasoned Approach
Recognize that the Service Economy is here to stay
Find ways to integrate the Service Economy in the Engineering curriculum
Re-examine interdisciplinary work in Commerce and Engineering– This may be the right time for another look
The Profession is Changing…
– with respect to other disciplines
Impetus for a Third Reform
Our Profession is Expanding Beyond Traditional Departments
– Control Systems – Digital Control– Control Systems
Laboratory – Mechatronics– Mechatronics
Laboratory– Nuclear Reactor
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory – Introduction to
elementary instrumentation. Introduction to digital data acquisition.
– Including use of transducers, advanced instrumentation, and data acquisition.
Here are a few courses taught by the Mechanical Engineering Department in Lehigh University:
Kidnapping of the Leukipp's Daughters
Our Profession is Expanding Beyond Traditional Departments
– Control Systems – Digital Control– Control Systems
Laboratory – Mechatronics– Mechatronics
Laboratory– Nuclear Reactor
Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory – Introduction to
elementary instrumentation. Introduction to digital data acquisition.
– Including use of transducers, advanced instrumentation, and data acquisition.
Here are a few courses taught by the Mechanical Engineering Department in Lehigh University:
Kidnapping of the Leukipp's Daughters
This looks like EE to me!!
Our Profession is Expanding Beyond Traditional Departments
– Introduction to Signal Processing
– Biomedical Systems and Modeling
– Computing for Engineers– Biomedical
Instrumentation– Introduction to Medical
Image Processing
Biomedical Systems and Modeling– Systems and Modeling– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Time Domain– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Laplace Domain– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Frequency Domain– Control Systems Design and
Analysis
Here are a few courses taught by the Biomedical Engineering Department in Georgia Tech:
Our Profession is Expanding Beyond Traditional Departments
– Introduction to Signal Processing
– Biomedical Systems and Modeling
– Computing for Engineers– Biomedical
Instrumentation– Introduction to Medical
Image Processing
Biomedical Systems and Modeling– Systems and Modeling– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Time Domain– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Laplace Domain– Linear-Systems Analysis in
the Frequency Domain– Control Systems Design and
Analysis
Here are a few courses taught by the Biomedical Engineering Department in Georgia Tech:
This looks like EE to me!!
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Enrollment is not an Engineering Wide Problem
US Mechanical engineering enrollment is at historical highs– ME appears broad and relevant– Aggressive, expansion into electo-
mechanics, robotics, bio-mechanics and nanotechnology
Civil engineering growing rapidlyAerospace and Bio programs growing wellMechanical and Chemical departments are claiming the Energy space
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The Case for Curricular ReformThe fundamentals may be shifting– The impact of modern computing is not yet integrated in
engineering education– Integration of life sciences into ECE curricula
The profession is changing– Geographically– In relation with other disciplines – In terms of products and services– In the nature of the workplace
The economic and demographic problems of the profession have not been solved Unexplored here is the ever increasing understanding of how people learn and the impact that understanding has on how we support that learning with our university offerings – notice I did not say teaching
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Revolution
Collective learningNew tools changing the idea of labsInternet and Machine Learning are providing the basis for revolutionary changes in higher education, with engineering and computer science as the clear first targetsThis is made even more compelling as more is known about how we learn– Note that we professors are the best model for
didactic learning – after all we succeeded in the traditional system
– Can be hard for us to accept new perspectives – seems like either coddling the students or cheating
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Collective Learning
Solutions to all textbook problems available onlineMany blogs and forums on engineering topics more responsive and informative than professors and TAsMakers movement– Online communities using tools such as
Arduino, small embedded processors, 3D printers, and more
– Authentic communities supporting the design and building of exciting projects
– Much more engaging than typical university labs
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National Instruments MyDAQA lab in your pocket– EE, ME, Control….
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MyDAQ
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Altera DE0-Nano
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Arduino
Simple and inexpensive microcontrollerMANY peripherals (shields)HUGE community of hobbyistsGreat online help
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Collective learning - MOOCsChallenges from for-profit institutionsChallenges from certificate programsIf continuous education is the norm for a working professional, how does that manifest in the classroom?Is the lecture still relevant? The classroom?Important reading (there are many more)– A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of
Constant Change Douglas Thomas, John Seely Brown– From Abelard to Apple, Richard DeMillo.– DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of
Higher Education Anya Kamenetz– Disrupting the Classroom: How Disruptive Innovation Can Deliver
Quality and Affordability to Postsecondary Education, Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn, Louis Caldera, Louis Soares, Innosight Institute, Feb 2011
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Flippedclassroom
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What will happen? Evolution and Revolution
We will evolve – already seeing changes in undergraduate programs– Math/computing still has a long way to go– Mixing disciplines more likely, especially in bio areas– Labs will become much more personal
There will be a revolution– Why lecture when you can have an interactive class?
Students get lecture from the web – flipped classroom Problems/HW, labs, designs, all supported locally
– Labs and design teams can be more global Grades and degrees given locally
– Could see professional organizations offering some type of degree or certification based on testing material learned online
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The Flipped ClassroomInteractive Learning Online at Public Universities: Evidence From Randomized Trials The study compared how much students at six public universities learned after taking a prototype introductory statistics course in the fall of 2011 in either a hybrid or a traditional format. Randomly assign a diverse group of 605 students to either– a hybrid group, with computer-guided
instruction and one hour of face-to-face instruction each week,
– or a traditional format, with three or four hours of face-to-face instruction per week.
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The Flipped Classroom
The result? “We find that learning outcomes are essentially the same—that students in the hybrid format pay no ‘price’ for this mode of instruction in terms of pass rates, final exam scores, and performance on a standardized assessment of statistical literacy,”Purdue has conducted similar experiments for a number of years– Essentially no difference, except, students in
the flipped classroom performed better on more demanding conceptual problems than those in the traditional classroom
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What will happen?Prediction – engineering education in 2020 will look quite different than it does today.Changes?– MS degrees – radically changed
done online from many sources with a variety of assessments – even from IEEE???
– Lecturers in large undergrad courses challenged by available online lectures Flipped classroom becomes common Student communities become global
– Personal labs become more common Online help, and hobbyist communities become an integral
part of basic engineering education
– Role of, and economic value of, many universities will be called into question
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What will happen?At least 25 years ago I asked how many research universities were needed in the US– I posited that the answer was certainly less than
50 and that anymore was diluting the critical mass of dollars, researchers and graduate students needed for major progress
– Of course we have more than 50 research universities, and everyone claims that they are doing or require research
The changes in content and especially delivery that we surveyed today with the economic challenges facing most of the globe could cause a profound change in the landscape and focus of universities in the US and perhaps globally
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What do Universities provide?
Collection of experts Community of learners
Gateway to Industry and Profession
Definition of DegreesExpensive labs
Sanctioned Validation of Success
Face-to-face interactions
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What part of Universities cannot be replaced?
Collection of experts Community of learners
Gateway to Industry and Profession
Definition of DegreesExpensive labs
Validation of Success
Face-to-face interactions
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We Live in Exciting Times
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We Live in Exciting Times
Thank youQuestions and Comments…