Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM
Monday, November 22, 2010 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium
Henry Petroski
"Engineers And Scientists: Similarities And Differences"
ABSTRACT -- Engineers and scientists are often grouped under the single rubric, "scientists," but this masks some fundamental differences in how the "two scientific cultures" think and what they do. The situation is not helped by the mass media and by popular culture that, when they make a distinction at all, promote professional stereotypes that are not helpful for developing an informed public, discriminating politicians, and enlightened public policy.
To further complicate the matter, the methods and goals of engineers and scientists often overlap in the real world of research and development. This talk will highlight some of the similarities and differences between scientists and engineers, employing historical examples such as the electrical engineer Charles Steinmetz, who was also a mathematician, and the prototypical scientist Albert Einstein, who was also an accomplished inventor.
SPEAKER --Henry Petroski teaches civil engineering and history at Duke University. He has a bachelor's degree from Manhattan College and a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. Before coming to Duke, he studied fracture mechanics at Argonne National Laboratory. He also taught at the University of Illinois and at the University of Texas at Austin.
Professor Petroski studies the role of failure in design, as described in his book To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design. His interest in invention is reflected in his book Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing. His interest in history is illustrated by his book The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance. These same themes recur in his other books (he has written fourteen in all) and in his many published articles, including a regular column on engineering in American Scientist.
Among his honors are a Guggenheim Fellowship; honorary degrees from Clarkson University, Trinity College, and Valparaiso University; the Ralph Coats Roe Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the Civil Engineering History and Heritage Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Professor Petroski is a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineers of Ireland, and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.