Engineers Must Show Up to Run Things – and Be Leaders

By Richard G. Weingardt, P.E., Eng-i
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It seems – to borrow from Dickens – that these are the best of times and the worst of times for engineers. Today’s world holds many obstacles and, at the same time, great promise for engineering – great promise for becoming a powerful force in the coming days and years.

What makes this so? Because what engineers do adds value to society (and few other professions can honestly say that). Engineers know how to do things like design a bridge or highway, a building or treatment plant, a mechanical or electrical system, etc. They are, essentially, wealth creators – and responsible for the world’s infrastructure, which impacts everyone’s standard of living.

Yet as powerful as all that is, American engineers today seem to have slipped out of public view and consciousness. Why are engineers so often overlooked when crucial decisions are made and credits given out? And why are they rarely thought of as having leadership qualities?

Engineers are called on to make things run but they’re rarely called on to run things – or to help set policy. Plus engineering is more and more being considered a commodity to be purchased by low bid or lowest price.
These trends have a negative effect on the public’s – and the media’s – perception of engineering as a learned profession on par with doctors, lawyers and scientists. And this negative perception impacts not only the stature of engineering but the ability of its members to be properly compensated for the value they add and the responsibility they assume.

How can we engineers get out of this fix? By staying within the comforts of our engineering offices, putting our noses to the grindstone and working harder then ever at doing engineering? By gathering behind closed doors within the narrow confines of our profession, bemoaning the wrongs that non-engineers have inflicted on us? By whining to the media? Will doing any of these solve the profession’s current dilemmas? I don’t think so!
The World is Run by Those Who Show Up! To get out of the quagmire we’re in, we show up. Even more than that, we show up to lead. We need to get highly visible by getting meaningfully involved in our communities – and position ourselves to run things, not just make things run.

Now, realistically, we know all engineers won’t do that. But that’s okay. Not every engineer wants to be – or should be – a leader or hold important non-engineering leadership positions in their communities.
But, and it’s a big but, we definitely need a lot more engineers in leadership – beyond the margins of the engineering profession – than we currently have! Especially if we are to control our own destiny and use our engineering expertise to help our communities make the best societal decisions possible.
More and more, our world is becoming technologically dependent and sophisticated. It’s ludicrous not to have professionals who are well versed in engineering and technology at the table when crucial decisions dealing with these issues are discussed.

This is especially true in light of three major global developments well underway. These developments will affect all of our futures tremendously – as well as the futures of our children, our grandchildren and their children.

· Population Growth. 12 billion people will inhabit the earth around the end of this century. The population of the U.S. alone will double as will the need to double the size of its infrastructure.

· Terrorism. The war on international terrorism won’t go away any time soon. Our lifestyles will continue to be affected in countless ways, as will the need to incorporate elaborate security and safety features into engineering designs.

· The Incredible Proliferation of Computer-driven Technologies and Communication Tools. The Internet, for one, has greatly changed international commerce and shrunk the world many fold. With it comes ready access to low-price labor markets from every corner of the globe (and foreign engineers will work for much lower salaries than their American counterparts) – and 24-hour-a-day design assignments.

These three global developments demand that more and more engineering leaders be at the top of the “food chain” setting public policy and advancing civilization. Add to them the technological complexities of today’s society – many of the tools and systems people will use every day haven’t even been invented yet
Engineers in the past did get involved. For instance, the greatest building project of the mid-19th century was America’s transcontinental railroad, the first of its kind in the world at the time. It would never have been completed when it was without the vision, dedication, know-how and lobbying skills of a daring young civil engineer, Theodore Judah. He almost single-handedly kept the nation’s dream alive for the project – and at great risk to himself and his reputation. The driving force behind the design and completion of cutting-edge American bridges of the 1800s – the Eads and the Brooklyn – came from American engineers James Eads, John, Washington and Emily Roebling.
Roswell Mason, the first president of the Western Society of Engineers (1869-70), served as mayor of Chicago, as did fellow engineer DeWitt Cregier, the sixth president of WSE (1883-85). Mason, also a major guiding force on the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois for ten years, organized the relief and massive rebuilding of the city as a result of the great fire of October 9, 1871.

The Panama Canal – one of the world's greatest man-made wonders at the turn of the 20th century – was completed under the leadership of engineers John Stevens and George Goethals, two giants in the profession. Yet, they're not household names in contemporary society. Why not? And who are today’s counterparts to the likes of these legends of the past? Most people don’t know!

Why is so little known of the accomplishments of engineers? Have we modern-day engineers basically abdicated our roles as leaders and community participants?

Let’s take politics. Only two professional engineers are in the U.S. Congress; John Hostlander is a mechanical and Joe Barton is a petroleum engineer. Currently, no engineers are the governors of any state.
State legislatures. There are more 5,000 state legislative seats – state senators and representatives – around the nation. At last count, less than three-dozen of them were held by professional engineers. Engineering, the second largest profession in the nation (second only to teaching), has more than two million engineers in the U.S. It has fewer than 36 of its registered professional members – professional engineers (PEs) – holding any of the 5,000-plus legislative seats nationwide.

It’s been years since a civil or transportation engineer held the U.S. Secretary of Transportation post – a position crying out for leadership by someone trained in civil/transportation engineering.
` What do you think lawyers would do if the U.S. Attorney General position were held by a non-lawyer? They’d be up in arms – marching on Washington! How about the position of Architect of the Nation’s Capitol? What would architects do if a non-architect were appointed to that slot? They’d be furious – rioting in the streets!
Why, then, do we engineers remain so silent while non-engineers – mostly lawyers – are appointed to various positions with titles like State Engineer, City or County Engineer, or Public Works Director? These are positions whose very existence requires the person holding them be responsible for engineering designs, for stamping and sealing engineering drawings and designs and/or overseeing such activities.
State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). About half of this country’s DOTs are headed by engineers. And only half of those are registered professional engineers. Think of it. Only 25% of the heads of our nation’s state DOTs are PEs. Hardly anything to be proud of in these times. Not when the basic charge of such leaders is to be the stewards of vital pieces of our country’s infrastructure – transportation.

Because of the three global developments, America will be in a massive infrastructure building – and replenishment – mode for years to come. Ever-increasingly crucial public decisions will need significant input from those with solid knowledge of engineering nuances.

If we professional engineers don't show up in leadership roles – inside and outside of politics – to provide this much needed expertise, who will? Who else – out there – is better suited for raising the public consciousness concerning the significance of good engineering than members of our profession?
If large numbers of engineers don't start showing up to help make critical public judgment calls, I'm afraid it's going to be business as usual. And our fate will continue to be in the hands of professional politicians, non-engineer activists and others with no engineering background – many of whom couldn't care less about the impact wise or not-so-wise engineering-laden decisions will have on us and future generations.
I don’t know about you, but to me, that's scary.
The same is true on another front.

To ensure the future and increase the credibility of this profession we must interest America's bright young people into becoming engineers. In doing that, we mustn't forget that young men and women today want role models – heroes – people they can look up to in the profession of their choice.

We need to do everything possible – including being public figures – to convince would-be engineers that there are, indeed, heroes in our ranks … and that engineering leaders are, indeed, involved in shaping this nation's future … and that engineering is, indeed, relevant to everyday events – the economy and the standard of living for all Americans.

These types of issues don’t get resolved – or go away – by simply addressing them exclusively among ourselves. To change the public's perception about issues important to us – and to raise the media’s awareness about engineering and the great deeds of engineers – let’s get beyond discussing them behind closed doors.

More engineers are needed in big-picture issues – to take on leadership roles outside of the profession and become notably visible and active in communities on public boards and commissions in as many venues as possible. Surely we can get more PEs appointed to such positions as the heads of state DOTs.
Just knowing we’re great and wonderful isn’t the answer. If the engineering industry is to make solid advances, we must take action. We can’t hang around and rest on our laurels. As old Will Rogers reminded us, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
We engineers cannot afford to “just sit there.” The world is changing too fast for that. And the three global developments will not allow it. More than any time in history, it is imperative that engineers show up to lead and run things – not just to make things run.

If you think that engineers don’t do things like that, let me mention a few engineering super-stars in our field who have done so recently. The mastermind behind the recent Denver International Airport was PE Bill Smith. Likewise, without the daring and dedication of PE Fred Salvucci, Boston’s massive Big Dig project would have remained a dream, not the reality it is today.

The current White House Chief of Staff for President Bush is PE Andrew Card. For many years, the most admired state senator in Texas was a PE – Bill Ratliff. He is now its lieutenant governor. One of the best presidents ever in the Colorado state senate was PE Tom Norton. He currently is in the governor’s cabinet, serving as the state’s Secretary of Transportation. In Illinois, PE Dale Risinger is a state senator – the first to be elected to such a lofty position – and, until recently, PE Tom Berns was a state representative.
These engineers are making (or made) a great impact as societal leaders. They are not alone; thousands more are making a difference and uplifting the stature of our profession by leaps and bounds. Let’s search them out, pat them on the back and thank them profusely for what they’re doing for all of us.

But even better than that, let’s join them and use our engineering skills to better the world. Let’s make these the best times ever for the engineering profession and for our communities. Having more, not fewer, engineers at the top of the food chain can help set societal direction is what is needed if we are ever to solve the quandary the engineering profession now finds itself in.

I applaud all of you who are now involved. I encourage those who aren't, to consider how much of a bigger impact you could make if you would. And how much more you could expand your range of influence and the significance of your work. It’s up to you – but becoming a leader (rather than a follower) will inspire many more to be top engineers than not.