Engineering Inc. - March/April 2003 - (Page 20)
2003 ACEC A N N U A L C O N V E N T I O N Alan By Jessica Bizik
LightmScience an The Mind of Alan Lightman's most recent novel, The
Diagnosis, is a brilliant yet disturbing p r o b l e m and then build that
solution. Imagination enters at examination of our modern obsession with
speed, information and money. In both stages. Of course, the most his
keynote address at the ACEC Annual Convention in Boston on May 12, impor
tant thing about a solu- tion to a problem is that it works, Lightman will
read passages from the book and engage the audience on related that it
actually solves the prob- issues, such as the uses and abuses of
technology, and the consequences of lem, but there are sometimes a
high-speed communication and its relevance for the business community.
Edi- thousand different ways that a given problem can be solved. In tor
Jessica Bizik gets the dialogue rolling here for Engineering Inc. choosing
among these many dif- Q. In the early 1980s, you n e e r i n g projects
today for interesting questions that don't ferent ways, the engineer can
use w r ote a number of essays on e x a m p l e , a new hydroelectric h a
v e answers, such as: Does d i f f e re n t criteria, such as ele- the
mind of science and the plant on a body of water near a God exist? or What
is love? gance, beauty and simplicity, the human side of science. What
major city often require biolo- As a novelist as well as a scientist, very
same aesthetic guidelines of do those phrases mean to you gists,
physicists, and engineers to I have found that artists often the artist.
When I look at the today? c o m m u n i c a t e their work and don't care
what the answer is and new [Leonard P. Zakim Bunker t h e i r ideas to a
much larger c o n s i d e r the question much Hill Bridge] near the
highway A. To me, the mind of science group of people than the spe- more
important than the answer. coming into downtown Boston, means the
particular way that cialists in their field. Thus, writ- I am overwhelmed
by its grace Q. You helped to create a com- s c i e n t i s t s and
engineers think ing and speaking skills are essen- and beauty. The bridge
seems to munication requirement at the about the world. For example, t i a
l . When we were in the float in the air; its curving sup- Massachusetts
Institute of Tech- scientists and engineers think of planning stages of
the new com- port struts have the delicacy of nolog y MIT , where students
p ro b l e m s in terms of definite m u n i c a t i o n requirement at the
strands in a spider web, yet must now take a writing or q u e s t i o n s
that have definite M I T, we asked a number of also the strength; it glows
and public speaking course in order answers. As a graduate student in
companies in engineering and s h i n e s against the night sky. to
graduate. Tell us about the physics, my advisor taught me technology what
skills they most That bridge is a work of art. need you saw in students
prior not to work on problems that valued in their new recruits, and to
this requirement and why Q. Are there any specific feats of could not be
posed with enough communication skills were near artful communication is
so engineering that have inspired clarity to guarantee a solution. the top
of the list. important to the future mathe- you as a researcher, a writer
or That solution might take a year maticians, biologists and engi- just as
a human being? Q. Is engineering poetic? to find, or 10 years, but the
solu- neers of the world. tion must be, in principle, open A. Yes, there
are many feats of to my discovery. This method of A. In my view,
engineering can A. The world is becoming more engineering that have
inspired thinking has been very fruitful in certainly be poetic. To me, an
and more complex and interdis- me. A good car is a triumph of the sciences.
But it also has its e n g i n e e r is someone who can c i p l i n a r y.
Scientific and engi- e n g i n e e r i n g . Most people are l i m i t a t
i o n s . There are many visualize a solution to a material l April 2003 2
0 ENGINEERING INC. M a r c h
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - March/April 2003
FROM ACEC TO YOU
MEMBERS ASK
NEWS & NOTES
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
EXCLUSIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DON YOUNG
ON THE ROAD
ANNUAL CONVENTION PREVIEW: ALAN LIGHTMAN
ACEC PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY SURVEY RESULTS
REFORM 2003
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
ONE ON ONE
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