Globalization and technology are two global trends that are changing the way future engineers will approach their careers.

Klaus Hoehn, vice president of advanced technology and engineering at Deere and Company, spoke to ISU students Wednesday in the Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium to help them understand the trends expected to play a role in the future of global economics.

The four main points Hoehn pointed out were climate change, water scarcity, aging populations and quantum computing. These changes, occurring in the United States and other countries worldwide, are just a few factors impacting global technology.

Hoehn said that, no matter what happens with global warming, population change is something that will have its own dramatic effect on the weather.

“No matter what your position on global warming is, the fact is that there will be some kind of climate change,” Hoehn said. “In the past, there were not as many people on the earth. That population explosion has created a dramatic shift, and we need to prepare ourselves so we are able to react to the changes.”

Hoehn said although technology is something that is expanding exponentially, globalization is a trend that existed back in the time of Marco Polo and all the way back to the times of ancient Egypt.

“Globalization and technology are the two biggest trends worldwide,” Hoehn said. “You can go back thousands of years and you could still find evidence of globalization. It wasn’t like it is today, but the shifting of mankind has existed for a long, long, long time.”

As part of a $24 billion corporation, Hoehn pointed out a couple of interesting topics that students should take notice of.

“Your competition is literally not your classmates here – it is literally a student studying either in India or China,” Hoehn said. “In 2006, all Nobel Peace Prize winners [were] from the United States. As far as the future, it’s a no-brainer. They definitely won’t be coming from the U.S. – they’ll be coming from all over the world.”

Some students, whose attendance was required Wednesday for their engineering courses, were glad to hear Hoehn’s optimistic approach to the future of the engineering field.

Ryan Biller, senior in computer engineering, said that, in past lectures over the course of the semester, speakers have taken a bit of a “doomsday” approach – and Hoehn’s message was a great change of pace.

“Some of the speakers have said that the future is not very bright, but he was able to put more of a positive spin on it,” Biller said. “It kind of got me excited.”

Tim Hassel, senior in computer engineering, said the things he found most interesting were Hoehn’s views on the future of technology, including the usage of nanotechnology and sensory devices Huehn said will play a vital role in our daily lives. Some of these technologies include shirts that change their material makeup based on body temperature and cars that sense vital oxygen levels in the human lungs.

“Some of the things I found most interesting were his opinions on where technology will be going,” Hassel said. “Becoming more advanced in nanotechnology and using sensory devices makes me kind of excited.”