April 30, 2015
What makes a design engineer?
A while ago, we talked on the blog about non-engineers use of CAD. And the discussion is still relevant. Defining the roles of design engineers and drafter—or CAD engineer—can be difficult for companies because those roles overlap, especially when it comes to CAD use. At the time, Chad wrote: From my perspective, I don’t think we can reliably determine the …
March 7, 2012
Stay Late or Go Home: Do Engineers Have a Choice?
I make an effort to read up on what’s going on the engineering world. Obviously, it’s relevant to what I write here at this blog. It helps me gauge what’s going on with lots of things ranging from technology, to engineering managerial issues to trends in engineering careers. One of the blogs I follow is the Harvard Business Review (HBR). …
February 23, 2012
Elementary Lessons: Acquiring Knowledge and Nurturing Creativity
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a small revelation I had about the lack of acknowledgement in engineering creativity at AU. In that post, I rattled on about the fact that the paramount focus in engineering education as well as ongoing engineering professional development programs focus on the acquisition of technical knowledge and not enough on nurturing creativity. But it’s …
January 20, 2012
Turning a Blind Eye to the Creativity in Engineering
A few months ago, I wrote a post here at engineering-matters that talked to multiple intelligences and how they relate to the engineering field. That topic struck me as important because it acknowledges the fact that engineering requires multiple types of technical skills and knowledge. It’s not all just about book smarts or visualization. A successful engineer needs to be …
December 19, 2011
Let’s Play A Guessing Game: Who’s this Engineer?
Here at engineering-matters, we’ve taken on some serious topics. And rightfully so. There’s a lot going on with the engineering profession. But as we approach the holiday season, I feel like we should maybe lighten the mood a little bit. I still want to take on a serious topic but have some fun along the way. So, let’s play a …
December 12, 2011
How Many of Today’s Products Are Truly “Engineered?”
Curious question, right? For those that are in engineering and have been exposed to the development of various types of products, you might have pondered this question before. It’s hard not to see other design and engineering processes and wonder what is the same or different. But for me, it’s a little different. In the past few months, I’ve been …