The parable of the hippos

Once there was a hippo. Actually, there were lots of hippos, and as these huge and inelegant beasts made their way in and out of rivers in Africa, they carved huge trenches. The riverbanks were sliced and scarred until someone said, “Stop! No more!” We must preserve our beautiful riverbanks. So they culled the hippos and the riverbanks healed. But when the rainy season began, the rivers overflowed and flooded the land. It seems that the hippos had carved out flood control channels. 

The parable of the hippos is obvious. One solution can create an entirely new problem. There are thousands of examples — good intentions that lead to even bigger problems. If there’s one thing we might all agree on — given our broad and electronically-delivered view of the world — it is this: the world’s problems are huge and complicated. The days of solving isolated problems without considering all the complications, consequences and ramifications are over.

Today’s engineers face these problems. In fact, the profession is changing to meet challenges this way. Engineers have sent rockets to the moon, built tiny cameras to explore our arteries, broken the sound barrier and explored parts of the ocean where there is no light. And now, as the vanguards of modern innovation, they are solving problems under this new paradigm that requires a new approach to traditional problem solving.

In a review of changes in the engineering profession over the past 80 years, the editors of Machine-Design magazine*, quoted Sujeet Chand, senior vice president and chief technology office at Rockwell Automation. Chand points out that two features of engineering will never change: engineers will always solve problems and engineers will always need strong skills in math and science.

In other ways, however, the engineering profession is changing. They are approaching problem solving differently.  Chand said:

Today we’re seeing more interdisciplinary work like mechatronics, where an electrical engineer needs expertise not just in electrical but also electronics, computer science, and mechanical. I see more melding of engineering disciplines with engineers becoming more flexible.

The second area concerns design constraints. Constraints include safety, sustainability, energy efficiency, reliability, manufacturability, and environmental. And there are more constraints today than before, and a lot more coming in the future. Engineers will have to understand all of these constraints their machines or products must meet.

The third area is collaboration. Today, the moment you walk into a work environment, you’re part of a team. An engineer must be able to collaborate and design virtually with a team distributed all over the world. And that involves communication, which means writing reports, giving presentations, talking to others, and attending meetings. The burden on engineers to communicate effectively continues to grow. Working with global teams presents language and culture barriers, how you talk to others, and even how you ask them to get something done.

This is exactly the approach that JMU’s School of Engineering is taking. The faculty is meeting this critical change by preparing future engineers to approach problems holistically and to measure their solutions against four pillars of sustainability — economic, social, environmental and technical.

Jacquelyn Nagel

One of those faculty members is Jacquelyn Nagel. In honor of National Engineers Week, Nagel and eleven other engineering professional are recognized as the 2012 New Faces of Engineering. We congratulate her, and we applaud JMU’s innovative school of engineering.

You might say that Professor Nagel and her JMU colleagues are heeding well the parable of the hippos. In doing so, they are preparing students to engineer an even brighter future for us all.

And to read about Jacquelyn Nagel and her inclusion in National Engineer’s Week’s New Faces in Engineering, visit http://www.eweek.org/site/Engineers/newfaces2012/nagel.shtml

Learn more about how JMU’s new engineering major is preparing engineers to meet the future at http://www.jmu.edu/engineering/

*To read all of Stephen J. Mraz’ story on the changing engineering profession, visit http://machinedesign.com/article/changes-in-the-engineering-profession-over-80-years-0407