Welcome to the Common Reading Experience (CRE) of the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS). Our students and faculty join happily every spring in reviewing books on engineering life experiences and interactions of technology and society.

Our Criteria:
· Direct experience of engineering practice/profession
· Lively/engaging reading (highly readable, not too long)
· Literary and/or well-written
· Multiple themes for discussion (technologies, ethics, teamwork,
  workplace, unusual career paths)
· Recent publication and/or recent interest
· A bridge between students and faculty
· Available in paperback edition
· Energizing and upbeat
· Amenability to a follow-on program (author visit, etc.)

This year the committee selected a book, which is a classic novel and reflects at the same time a very active current debate on the relationship between science, engineering and society. The 2007 Common Reading Experience selection is Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, a book that describes an incredible voyage, the resilience of the human spirit, resourcefulness and leadership in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Incoming students should come prepared to discuss the book with other incoming students and a SEAS faculty member on Monday, August 27-the day before fall classes start-from 12:30-1:45pm. The book can be purchased online, at a local bookstore, or from the University Bookstore, using the enclosed coupon, or you can borrow the book from a library.

The CRE assignment list can be downloaded here. (Excel)

We selected the following books for the CRE in recent years:
2006 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
2005 The Rocket Boys by Homer Hickham, Jr.
2004 The Human Factor: Revolutionizing the Way People Live With Technology by Kim Vicente
2003 Hacker Cracker: A Journey from the Mean Streets of Brooklyn to the Frontiers of Cyberspace by Ejovi Nuwere
2002 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
2001 Thinking in Pictures by Temple Grandin
2000 Managing Martians by Donna Shirley
1999 Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea by Gary Kinder
1998 Airframe by Michael Crichton
1997 A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr
1996 Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder
1995 A Scientist in the City by James Trefil
1994 The Control of Nature by John McPhee
1993 The Final Forrest by William Dietrich and The Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin

Prior to the SEAS CRE, the University selected the following books for faculty-student discussions:
1990 Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
1989 All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren
1988 Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody

Other Books Considered This Year:
Nanocosm by W.I. Atkinson
Digital People by K. Perkowitz