In forming the Grand Challenges for Engineering committee, the NAE sought leading thinkers with a wide range of expertise and experience. This project brings together a diverse group of people dedicated to improving quality of life around the globe.

• William Perry, Committee Chair, (Former Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense) Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor and Professor of Engineering, Stanford University
• Alec Broers, Chairman, Science and Technology Select Committee, United Kingdom House of Lords
• Farouk El-Baz, Research Professor and Director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University
• Wesley Harris, Department Head and Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Bernadine Healy, Health Editor and Columnist, U.S. News & World Report
• W. Daniel Hillis, Chairman and Co-Founder, Applied Minds, Inc.
• Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard University
• Dean Kamen, Founder and President, DEKA Research and Development Corp.
• Raymond Kurzweil, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
• Robert Langer, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Jaime Lerner, Architect and Urban Planner, Instituto Jaime Lerner
• Bindu Lohani, Director General and Chief Compliance Officer, Asian Development Bank
• Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University
• Mario Molína, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California
• Larry Page, Co-Founder and President of Products, Google, Inc.
• Robert Socolow, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University Environmental Institute
• J. Craig Venter, President, The J. Craig Venter Institute
• Jackie Ying, Executive Director, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology