It can be argued that designers of public works projects, in common with others, have some duty to provide for future generations. Various ideas about the nature of that duty have been advanced, including some discussions of resource conservation and environmental protection, but no philosophical theory about future generations is available which can be directly adapted to problems of public works design. The principle is proposed that the duty of designers of public works is to minimize restrictions upon options open to future people. This concept leads to a proposed method for quantitative determination of the design period for which a public works project ought to be planned. The quantitative method, related to a well known problem in operations analysis, involves computation of the design life associated with minimum total project cost per unit time (including construction, maintenance and operation). Further research is needed to establish the numerical parameters needed for application of the proposed method, but the philosophical basis is fully described, and certain advantages of the proposed criterion over the benefit/cost ratio are claimed.

Upon leaving office in 1961, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his often‐quoted farewell address, in which he warned about the “military‐industrial complex.” Less well‐known is his warning, in the same address, concerning the university. This paper examines the relevance of Eisenhower's warning to current conditions within the university. Examples are drawn from the field of water resources engineering. It is argued that the university as a social institution has characteristics not found in other institutions, and that these enable it to make unique contributions to society. These unique characteristics and contributions, however, may be lost because, contrary to Eisenhower's warning, the quest to obtain outside funding has become a virtual substitute for intellectual curiosity and critical inquiry. The consequences, in Eisenhower's words, are “gravely to be regarded.”

The concept of mechanical separation of municipal solid waste (MSW) was initially viewed with great optimism, prompting the use of unit operations taken from other industries without adequate modification. Many plants were built that could not perform adequately. As a result of these experiences, there is very little current interest in resource recovery in general and waste‐to‐energy production in particular by municipalities. The reasons for the lack of success of the resource recovery industry are largely attributable to non‐technical policy issues and organizational constraints. Research is needed to perform the significant development of the unit operations required for their implementation in resource recovery. The experience of the authors in resource recovery research is that such research is very likely to be fruitful. The ability of research to produce devices capable of separating a variety of MSW streams and producing a variety of products must, however, be demonstrated to a wide audience. To solve such problems, the concept of a research‐oriented demonstration facility is suggested. Such demoresearch projects, funded by the federal government, are suggested to be essential to the success of resource recovery.

The writer has used his own engineering experience in conjunction with recent research done by others, to develop a guide for the motivation and management of engineers. The intelligence and self‐motivating behavior of engineers are best fostered in a nonstructured, participative environment. Engineering managers have to be trained to use their perception to address the needs of their subordinates. Job enrichment is needed in the organizational engineering environment to optimize productivity.