Hats Off to Engineers

My father was a classic engineer. If you asked him the time, he’d tell you how to build the watch.

While perhaps frustrating at the time, I’ve come to realize that it’s that unique perspective on life that sits at the core of every engineer’s mindset. It’s a creative thinking that pushes boundaries past what’s considered the norm. Think Archimedes’ screw pump, George Stephenson’s railway gauge, Nikola Tesla’s alternating power generator, Nikolaus Otto’s internal combustion engine…and the list goes on.

Tell an engineer that something can’t be done, and see what happens.

The civil infrastructure world is filled with roads, bridges, tunnels, waterways and other structures that someone said can’t be built.

Who else would come up with satellite guided hydraulic arms to move bridge decks into place while positioned 900 feet above the earth? What other profession would decide to build tunnel boring machines to dig a railroad under the sea, or a dam that moves so much water it can actually affect the earth’s rotation or sea-floor based oscillating inflatable gates to prevent flooding?

Tell me engineer and inventor Bradford Parkinson didn’t get a few raised eyebrows as a lead architect, advocate and developer of GPS— a technology now used on nearly every construction job in the world. Now we have drones that tie rebar, robots that lay bricks and autonomous machines that grade jobsites.

Give an engineer a problem, and you’ll get a solution.

Even the tools used by engineers are designed by engineers. Ivan Sutherland, widely recognized as the father of computer graphics and inventor of 3D modeling, was an electrical engineer. Co-founder of Bentley Systems, Keith Bentley is an engineer as well.Engineer Week

The evolution of 3D modeling and the open digital environment has forever changed the way projects are designed. We can find near endless examples of the value of 3D modeling to help engineers put ideas into concepts. Look at the ongoing work in Bangladesh, where one engineering firm is using 3D integrated design applications to transform the world’s largest water transport network—and they’re doing it 50% faster than previous methods. Next, the 3D model will be adapted to a 4D model for construction and project management, and later integrated with digital twin technology for building and asset lifecycle management. That is digital design innovation!

Engineer’s week is a great time to recognize innovation and the tools, techniques and ideas that help engineer the impossible. We’re looking to you to solve ever more complex and challenging infrastructure problems—and, based on history, I know you can do it.

So high-fives and thanks to all of you creators, innovative thinkers, problem solvers and, yes, even those who can actually build a watch. 

 



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