Orange County Branch Newsletter

January 2013

Secretary's Column

Thank an Engineer

By Cindy Miller, PE



Happy New Year!

As we begin 2013 and immerse ourselves in the many interrelated, yet separate worlds of engineering, it seems to be the appropriate time for a moment or two of reflection.

As members of ASCE we are all engineers.  We are, more often than not, invisible to the naked eye of the citizens of Orange County and the other communities, states and countries we serve.  We are the quiet force of progress, the problem solvers, the unrecognized heroes. We sign our plans, but not our finished work. People can’t look at a bridge and say “Oh, that’s a Tapas Dutta Bridge”, or at a reservoir and say “That’s a Cindy Miller Reservoir “, as they can say “That’s a Frank Lloyd Wright house”. 

We are the profession that makes everything in the built environment possible.  All that is man made that surrounds us engineers have touched in some way.  We spent countless hours in some of the hardest classes that college has to offer to become the people who solve the problems of the world.  Health and safety are our responsibility.  Getting people where they need to go is our responsibility.  Developing shelter, designing recreational opportunities, finding and preparing sites for alternative energy and preventing flood hazards are all our responsibility, and the list goes on.

It really is time for the world to thank an engineer. As we approach National Engineers week this February 17-23, we can thank each other-- along with the 70 engineering, education and cultural societies and over 50 corporations and government agencies that celebrate with us as we call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make.  Founded as “National Engineers Week” in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers in conjunction with President George Washington’s birthday, it is among the oldest of America’s professional outreach efforts. 

Although we tirelessly champion our projects for the good of society and for the health and welfare of the public, it would be nice, one day, if people in general would realize the true contributions engineers make to society.  Although we are satisfied to make the world a better place, without getting the credit, one day our time will come for a public relations campaign…..and we might see it going something like this. . . on separate billboards, separate Twitter posts, separate ads, blogs and Facebook sites across the globe:

Like clean, safe drinking water?  Thank an Engineer.

Confident driving over bridges?  Thank an Engineer.

Glad you don’t have to use an outhouse tonight?  Thank an Engineer.

 On time for work this morning?  Thank an Engineer.

Got shelter?  Thank an Engineer.

Enjoy the game?  Thank an Engineer.

Love civilization?  Thank an Engineer.

Take the train today?  Thank an Engineer.  (And not just the one in the engine compartment.)

With National Engineers week just a few weeks away, I would like to say THANK YOU!  To my engineering colleagues, friends and family.  Our civilized world just wouldn’t exist without you. 


 

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