• Question: What does an engineer do?

    Asked by Orla to Rory, Stephen, Alison, Brian on 1 Mar 2019. This question was also asked by Rossi 2, 835speq32, 699speq24.
    • Photo: Rory Scarrott

      Rory Scarrott answered on 1 Mar 2019:

      As I understand it, engineers make and test amazing things that use their incredible knowledge of how the world works, and mix it with science to push the boundaries of what is possible. Unfortunately I’m more of a scientist, but it’s brilliant to work with engineers and bounce ideas off them to push the science forward.

    • Photo: Stephen O'Connor

      Stephen O'Connor answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Engineers use scientific principles and maths to make things that can be used to improve the quality of human life and our understanding of the universe. They build x-ray machines for doctors to see if a patient’s bones are broken or fractured so that the right treatment can be given. They build telescopes so that astronomers can learn fascinating information about planets, stars, galaxies and perhaps even the origins of life.
      The first step for many engineers is to think of a plan of how to build something and what they will need to build it. The design may start as a simple sketch with pencil and paper before becoming a sophisticated 3-D model using computer software. It is then manufactured and tested in many stages until it works properly.

    • Photo: Alison Dufresne

      Alison Dufresne answered on 6 Mar 2019:

      We solve problems! Any problems! Though we’re best at problems related to designing and building things. Like satellites or toasters. We take math and science and apply what’s known, we run a bunch of test and figure out the best solution to the problem. We also cause a lot of problems but that’s because we’re humans.. đŸ™‚

Comments

  • Photo: Alison

    Alison commented on :

    We solve problems. It goes like this:
    Boss: “Hey, we have a problem, we can’t find a system that can get us from Earth, to this far away asteroid”
    Alison: “Well then we’ll invent one!”
    Then I do a bunch of math and computer aided design, talk to machine shops, get parts together, build the engine, test the engine, return to boss
    Alison: “Look I built this thing! It can get us to the asteroid”
    Boss: “Oh, now we need to get there, and back, and to the moon and maybe make it a different colour”
    Alison: “OK!”
    And the work continues..