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Turning Engineers Into Rock Stars!

James Shaw
Naomi Climer, president of the IET, outlines her campaign called - Engineer a better World - to make us realise that engineering is an exciting and creative activity, as part of her interview by Jim Al-Khalili on Radio 4's The Life Scientific.


Can she find a 'rock star' of engineering, a new Watt, Stephenson or Brunel, or are we all ensemble players in a huge engineering orchestra? Does it matter that there are no 'stars'? Does stardom come as a result of large incomes? Good Engineering is invisible, (it just works!); is it inevitable that good engineers are invisible too?

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    I am wary of role models. When I was in primary school I found it inspiring to read stories about Thomas Edison, Florence Nightingale and George Washington Carver and to see the Saltash bridge 'signed off' with 'I.K. Brunel - Engineer' was just fantastic!

    They were all an inspiration, I didn't have to 'identify' with them, short of them all being human. Alas now role models have to matched to the group that we are trying to inspire - I'm not convinced that children are that narrow minded. The other problem with role models, certainly of the 'rock star' variety, is that their flaws are ruthlessly exposed too.

    Ideally the public should see engineering achievements revealed by the 'ordinary' engineers involved. Scientists, authors and musicians get named as such. If an engineer was to make an appearance they are probably perceived as a being a presenter, public relations or sales person.

    Major companies could do far more, they, after all, need engineers and they hold the purse strings of the publicity machines. The media, I'm afraid, are fickle friends, instant wham! BANG! destruction is the fashion. That is even true for 'rock stars' now, no more hard work, just one appearance on a talent show and a star is born!
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    I am wary of role models. When I was in primary school I found it inspiring to read stories about Thomas Edison, Florence Nightingale and George Washington Carver and to see the Saltash bridge 'signed off' with 'I.K. Brunel - Engineer' was just fantastic!

    They were all an inspiration, I didn't have to 'identify' with them, short of them all being human. Alas now role models have to matched to the group that we are trying to inspire - I'm not convinced that children are that narrow minded. The other problem with role models, certainly of the 'rock star' variety, is that their flaws are ruthlessly exposed too.

    Ideally the public should see engineering achievements revealed by the 'ordinary' engineers involved. Scientists, authors and musicians get named as such. If an engineer was to make an appearance they are probably perceived as a being a presenter, public relations or sales person.

    Major companies could do far more, they, after all, need engineers and they hold the purse strings of the publicity machines. The media, I'm afraid, are fickle friends, instant wham! BANG! destruction is the fashion. That is even true for 'rock stars' now, no more hard work, just one appearance on a talent show and a star is born!
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