So Crazy It Just Might Work

If ever there was a time for an idea “so crazy it just might work,” 2010 is it. At the height of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Saturday Night Live lampooned the BP engineers’ failed capping solutions, creatively titled “Top Hat” and “Junk Shot.” By comparison, the comedic suggestions to arm dolphins with mops and initiate the Schweppes Offensive actually seemed plausible. Unfortunately, as of the authoring of this column, a permanent solution still has not been found.

Over the past decade, the credibility of the engineering profession has been damaged by a spate of failures, from the New Orleans levees to the I-85 bridge collapse in Minneapolis. The nameless engineers at BP have fared no better in the press, though their challenge is admittedly near impossible. It’s apparent that no college course or previous experiences prepared the BP engineers for the challenge of repairing a gushing pipe more than a mile below the sea. At this point, I’m sure the engineers’ friendly suite of canned analysis programs and reference books have been shelved, and it’s back to the drawing board. Where will we find the new and creative ideas needed to solve this problem and others?

The profession needs different people with a new skill set and fresh ideas. New design challenges are encouraging enterprising engineers to pioneer new fields. Advances in technology have allowed new and traditional practices alike to focus on better design and improved communication with clients and the public. Engineers must now be technically savvy, creative, and charismatic to thrive in the new economy. Therefore, the engineering profession must do a better job of recruiting a more diverse workforce to fill these new roles.

In each previous era, engineers have risen to the challenges of the day. Thankfully, new engineering fields are springing up to tackle challenges not typically addressed in stereotypical bottom-line-driven engineering design. Sustainability consultants, for example, review designs and make recommendations to decrease energy consumption, improve interior air quality, and promote resiliency in operational systems. Such work requires a shift in professional attitudes.

Traditional engineering practice, heavy in hand calculations and 2-D drafting, is rapidly changing due to new digital tools. Professionals are using more 3-D visualization strategies to communicate engineering goals to clients and to the general public. This combination of digital art and engineering requires creative talent and mastery of the latest digital technology. Since producing a set of plans is no longer a daunting and time-consuming task, engineers can and must focus on improving designs.

In my profession, the creative responsibility for designing better buildings now largely falls on the shoulders of architects. Many structural engineers lament that a paltry few points in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program fall within their scope. In truth, designing greener buildings requires a holistic approach. Engineers can employ innovation, early collaboration, and better communication.

Granted, it takes a special type of engineer to communicate effectively with creative clients. The architectural mindset and liberal arts education attract a noticeably different talent pool than the analytical engineering crowd. Engineers need not be bookish, antisocial, math lovers. The Nerd Girls (www.nerdgirls.com) want to encourage other girls to change their world through science, technology, engineering, and math while embracing their feminine power. These girls celebrate their smart-girl individuality and take charge of their future, along the way challenging stereotypes about women and engineering.

There is no good reason for the engineering profession to outsource creativity to architects and other creative practitioners. Instead, engineering schools and companies ought to recruit a more diverse cohort. Women, ethnic minorities, and people with nontraditional backgrounds bring to the table a diversity of ideas needed in the profession. Fortunately, companies may have no choice but to hire a more diverse workforce; one in three GenYers is a minority (http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2005-11-06-gen-y_x.htm).

The challenges of the day can be solved only by outside-the-box thinking. Fortunately, younger engineers have an opportunity to be more creative than ever thanks to rapidly advancing technology and new roles for engineers in the design industry. Actively recruiting a more diverse workforce to fill these roles is another idea that’s so crazy it might just work.