How does engineering make the world a better place?

Everything you see, touch, smell and sense has the fingerprint of an engineer. With an engineering degree you can work on everything from spacecraft to textiles. Farms to urbans, technology and coding to refrigerators to medicine – the sky is the limit!

Today, there is great emphasis on the role of engineers in developing new technologies for clean air quality, recycling, green materials and more. Engineers are needed more than ever for the breakthroughs we need to meet the climate challenge.

Engineering, by definition, is a field that uses math and science to design and build useful things. This includes cell phones, computers, cleaning products, dialysis equipment, solar power equipment, bridges, vehicles, etc. Engineering makes the world a better place because it is a field that seeks to provide solutions to the world's problems that can benefit from the utilization of the materials and forces of nature.

Engineers make the world a better place by helping communities through problem-solving. As a bridge engineer, I help people by maintaining and creating ways to get people where they need to go. The United States of America has 600,000 bridges, and over 30% are 50 years or older so I also help people by extending the life of several existing bridges through my bridge reconstruction and inspection work. The projects I work on make bridges safe for millions of people to cross over. While I may not know each and every end-user of each bridge, it gives me great satisfaction to be able to positively impact a large group of people through my work!

There are so many ways to make the world better through engineering! I am an industrial engineer and through industrial engineering you can make processes more efficient which reduces waste and resources. I am currently working to integrate the circular economy into my company and operations is a great place to start this! I am helping my company to reimagine the idea of waste. What if our company's waste was actually an input for a different process inside or outside our company? As an industrial engineer, I have deep process knowledge and a systems view which helps me to create circular flows inside and outside my company.

I have friends who are mechanical engineers and industrial designers who design products that are made from more environmentally friendly materials and/or are more resource efficient (use fewer materials, less energy for production, more efficient design). Also, these friends think about the end of the life of products so they can ensure they are designing products that can be repaired and/or recycled at end of life which is another facet of a circular economy.

Engineering gives you a set of tools. It's how you apply them that makes the world a "better place.” For me, I apply my engineering skills to develop technology that defends our country. This feels like making the world a better place to me, but might not to another person. And that's okay. Engineering gives you the tools to create your world.

At John Deere, we are trying to help farmers feed an estimated 10B people by the year 2050. We are doing this by helping customers to reduce their inputs and maximize their outputs. This also increases their profits and way of life. We automate machine functions to help our customers with the labor shortage. Finally, we are creating solutions that greatly reduce fuel, sprays, and other inputs that help to sustain the earth. Technology, developed by engineers, enables all of these amazing things! The key disciplines are mechanical, electrical, computer engineering and computer science. I feel very good about being a part of this change for the world. This is just one example of many where leveraging engineering creates positive and impactful change.

As a mechanical engineer, the understanding of energy is fundamental. My area of specialty has been HVAC and the related energy conservation, codes, building policy, and construction industry. My work from my first job in 1978 as an energy conservation engineer to my current position as a sustainability coordinator for the City of Alexandria has been about how to make the world better.

I am passionate about reducing carbon emissions for Earth as there is no planet B. There is no magic, single, big engineering solution so we all must help to integrate solutions in every aspect of life. Look around you now. Are there any lights on that could be turned off? Are there any phantom loads that could be controlled? Have you done the basic caulking and air sealing in your house or apartment to reduce your heating and cooling load? We as the professionals need to share many solutions and convey the urgency. Transit in urban areas should be free and paid for by state and federal government and transition to all electric as the grid goes to 100% renewable.

Engineering makes the world a better place by creating solutions to problems. As a telecommunications engineer, I solve many problems that will enable us to get better, faster service to more people. And because I work for an environmentally responsible corporation, our solutions include methods for reducing our carbon footprint.

I am in the gas utility business. While my industry is currently in the limelight, we continue to provide safe, reliable natural gas to our customers at a very competitive price for energy use in homes and businesses. What I do currently is continue to learn more, read more, and share more news as a gas champion for our industry to ensure natural gas is understood and appreciated for the clean burning fuel source it has been and continues to be for our customers.

In my current role, I manage the personnel who install new services, inspect our facilities as well as those who respond to leaks in our system to ensure the safety of our community to continue providing natural gas to new and existing customers. Yes, there are great alternatives, but like the gas industry, those require upgraded and maintained infrastructure, which we continue to improve and maintain to ensure safety and reliability. The energy world is more competitive now than before, but for me, that’s what makes it more interesting to be a member of a company that has been in business for more than 150 years, we continue providing a service/product many rely on for their homes and business livelihood.