"celebrities" in engineering? 6

[MechanicalAnimal]

I wasn't sure where to post this question, this section ended up as the logical choice...

I'm sure we often encounter TV shows, interviews in the newspapers etc where "famous people" and "celebrities" are asked for their opinions on such and such, general things...
Very often, subjects of this media attention are musicians, writers, all kinds of artists, some just very rich people, sometimes famous scientists, physicians, psychologists, CEOs of big companies, other (famous) reporters... but very, very rarely - engineers? Even when doing a report on offshore pipe laying or automotive, they'll typically "expose" the management and the "common worker", not the engineers...

Also, in general public, nearly everyone will be familiar with names of various artists, scientists, etc. but mention an engineer's name? Maybe Diesel and Tesla will ring a Bell, ( ), but mention "Otto" (or even "Otto's engine")and very rare people will know who he was and what kind of an engine it really is.

I'd like your opinion on this? Are people generally not interested in engineers, is there simply not enough engineers to "go around" as "famous"? Were there any "famous" engineers, and what are their names? I'd love to read up on their biographies etc, and learn something about them...

 

[PSE]

Kind of a local historical celebrity where I grew up was Glenn Curtis. In 1907 he set the land speed record using a motorcycle he had designed/built (136+ mph on sand). He was also rather successful in aviation eventually buying out/merging with the Wright Brothers forming Curtiss-Wright.

I would also offer Archimedes as someone who has stood the test of time in terms of name recognition.

Regards,

 

[frankjur]

And how about Thomas Andrews, managing director and head of the drafting department for the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. Andrews was the shipbuilder in charge of the plans for the ocean liner RMS Titanic. He sailed on its maidan voyage and went down with it when it sank.

In the movie, he was played by Victor Garber, and I though he did a better job than DeCaprio.


Frank A. Jur, P.E.
Electrical Engineer

 

[IRstuff]

That was DiCaprio 10 yrs ago, so at least, he's improved, as in The Departed.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[jmw]

He's gone? Good.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[IRstuff]

The Departed was actually pretty good, although its predecessor, Infernal Affairs, was more gritty and film-noir, while The Departed's ending, I thought was more satisfying, mainly because it had a better ending balance.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[thruthefence]

The original "Mr. Wizard" from '50's TV?

 

[MRWilliams]

Jeremy Clarkson has an honorary PhD in engineering, I don't know if he has ever done anything close to what I now understand as engineering. Although I might have your point on its head, he got his PhD for being famous, not famous for being an Engineer.

 

[jmw]

Actually, I think he got it for being "fatuous".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fatuous

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

Jeremy Clarkson did the sales pitch for Brunel in the 100 greatest brittons TV show, I think he came 2nd. As I recall he's also done some TV shows relevant to Engineering.

I'm guessing that's how he got the honary PHD, bit like Dibnah.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[jmw]

Yeah but Dibnah had some claim to being an engineer.

I do rather think Clarkson did his Brunel presentation well and with enthusiasm but I suspect he had a team of bright young researchers doing the leg work for him. As a good presenter he can present well without actually understanding a word of what he is saying. Indeed, when he started Top Gear it was said he didn't know a carburettor from a catheter.

I could be wrong, some Jaguar enthusiasts are very unhappy with him lately and may be a bit biased.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[trainguy]

Guys,

If Rowan Atkinson was a civil engineer, we could have called him Mr Beam...

tg

 

[KENAT]

http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/8889/rowanint.htm

Just doesn't work with electrical, mechanical, civil, structural, even aero would have worked, but no not electrical.

Unless it was an electron beam...

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[ChrisAust]

General Sir John Monash (D.Eng) was a civil engineer, but he's better known for winning World War One. The first time that Australian and American troops fought together (and the first time US troops fought under a non-American) was at the battle of Hamel, July 4th 1918, under Monash's command.

I'm surprised that nobody here has mentioned the classic distinction between military and civil engineers: Military engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets...

 

[drawoh]

ChrisAust,

I think that quote is "Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets."

My understanding of the title "civil engineer" is that they are trained in the same stuff military engineers are, but they are civilians. Most of the West Point graduate generals of the American Civil War were engineers. I would suspect that a lot of World War I generals were engineers. Four years of college should be something more than sword exercises.

JHG

 

[pierdesign]

in somewhat recent times only engineers having 15 minutes of name fame I can remember are the aforementioned Dean Kamen and Bert Rutan for his airplane around the world, although, I'm assuming he is an aerospace or other discipline engineer.

Recently a few young automobile designers have been so 'honored'.

 

[KENAT]

ChrisAust, I used to work on airborne weapon systems, to use almost everyone else designed targets, be it civil, mechanical, nautical etc.

As I understand it military engineers of old covered both of what would now be considered mechanical & civil. They'd design siege engines etc as well as the fortifications they were used against etc.

In the UK at least there are 2 differnt types of Military Engineers. Royal Engineers are basically doing civil engineering. Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers do the Electrical & Mechanical stuff.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[ChrisAust]

Drawoh, I don't know about the US WW1 Generals, but I suspect there were very few British or colonial engineering generals. Monash was quite unusual, and faced a lot of resistance from the British becuse he wasn't part of the aristocratic 'club'.

It would be an interesting study, to try to correlate 'military success' with 'the proportion of engineers in senior command positions'.

 

[drawoh]

ChrisAust,

I do not know much about Sir John Monash. The Canadian Corps in France in WWI was commanded by Sir Arthur Currie, a fat real estate agent. He consistently got results, so the British military establishment learned to respect him. Most of his grief came from politicians back home.

One has to watch out for national legends. When I was in public school in Canada in the early sixties, we were told that we were the descendents of United Empire Loyalists, and that Canadians made effective soldiers because we spent all our time outdoors, riding and shooting and stuff like that. It turns out that about half of the troops in the Canadian Corps in WWI were born in England. This tells us a lot about immigration to Canada, as well as about the sort of person who enlisted in the army.

Accounts about Monash and Currie point out that each were being considered by David Lloyd George as potential supreme commanders of the British armies in France. It is usually pointed out that both were Lieutenant Generals, and therefore, too juniour for the appointment.

Usually not pointed out is David Lloyd George's political background. He was a left-wing reformer who spent a lot of time prior to the war, supporting union rights. British generals mostly were members of the nobility, so there would have been friction, even if Lloyd George had had confidence in them. Currie and Monash would have provided opportunities to bait upper class twits. One should never disregard office politics.

The best general of the American Civil War probably was Nathan Bedform Forrest. He could barely read and write, so he was not trained as an engineer.

JHG

 

[JimCasey]

Well it's a good thing that Cindy Crawford has the Chemical Enginnering thing to fall back on if the supermodel career doesn't work out.

 

[KENAT]

Well she certainly does something to my chemistry -boom, boom, hah, hah.

(It's Friday and I'm off so give me a break for being completely off topic;-))

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...