Engineer

A funny but sexist cartoon. Both women and men are engineers.

Common Definition: A person who employs mathematics and scientific analysis for the design of building systems.

Unauthorized Definition: Engineers get excited about things no one else does. They love solving problems you didn’t know existed, in ways you don’t understand. Engineers solve these mysterious problems by performing precision guesswork based on unreliable data provided by architects and builders.

Sound Like a Pro: The construction industry is graced with several different flavors of engineer, each with the same world view but different tasks.

Civil Engineer – Bridges and roadways are designed by civil engineers. In residential construction they’re often in charge of site grading and water runoff issues.

Electrical Engineer – In our digital age, electrical engineers are heavily involved in all aspects of computer design. However, they also size the electrical service and wiring for homes.

Mechanical Engineer – Ever wonder who makes sure your heating and air conditioning works properly? Yes, a mechanical engineer most likely designed these systems. So if you’re too cold or hot blame them.

Soils Engineer – With wildly increasing growth in most metro areas, marginal building sites are being leveraged. To ensure the soils on these sites will support construction, soils investigations are often required. These reports are performed by soils engineers.

Structural Engineer – The structure inside a building is sized by a structural engineer ensuring members are strong enough to support expected loads.

Only a few years ago, engineers rarely worked on residential projects. Many municipalities (especially in urban areas) no longer trust architects to provide all the information needed to build. They now require engineers as part of the design team.

Fun Trivia: The first known engineer is Imhotep who designed and supervised a pyramid in ancient egypt around 2630 BC. He is also credited with the first known use of columns in architecture.

Archimedes by Domenico Fetti 1620

However, the most famous ancient engineer is perhaps Archimedes, from Greece (287-212 BC). Archimedes was the chief engineer for the fortifications of Syracuse, ingeniously repelling Roman invaders for two years. He also invented many contraptions including large ships, block-and-tackle-pulley systems, and an improved catapult. However, Archimedes didn’t invent the lever or mechanical advantage for which he’s best known. His quote, “δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω” is still mentioned in engineering schools today. If you don’t read Greek, it means “give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth”. Just like engineers today, Archimedes was brash enough to assume anything can be accomplished through engineering.

Image Credits:
Out of the way you swine, but Jim Thompson
Archimedes by Domenico Fetti 1620

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