The Mind of an Engineer

Purnendu Ghosh

Engineering makes the forces of nature work for the good of mankind. Its purpose
is to serve our needs and cater to our wants. Need is limited, while want is
unlimited. Need is a necessity and denes the limits of enough. Want is an optional
and denes the depth of greed. We often do not know where the excess begins. It is
important, in this context, to understand how much knowledge is enough. What is
more stressful, over-information or under-information? If knowledge increases the
way it is increasing, how much intelligence will be enough to contain that
knowledge?
We have crossed various ages of engineering. After Stone Age, Bronze Age,
Iron Age and Steam Age, we are now in the Information Age. Engineering in the
broadest sense relates to the development, acquisition and application of technical,
scientic and mathematical knowledge about the understanding, design, development, invention, innovation and use of materials, machines, structures, systems and
processes for specic purposes. An engineer is a composite. He is not a scientist,
he is not a mathematician, he is not a sociologist or a writer; but he may use the
knowledge and techniques of any or all of these disciplines in solving engineering
problems. Neil Armstrong said, I am, and ever will be, a white-socks,
pocket-protector, nerdy engineerborn under the second law of thermodynamics,
steeped in the steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by
Laplace, and propelled by compressible flow.
The biggest challenge for engineering profession has been its integration with
the human needs. On the one hand, engineers are not limited by technology, and on
the other, they are worried about the risks to the environment, health, sustenance
and safety. The world wants methods that are appropriate to make competition look
natural. We are looking for cooperative competition.
Engineers work under various constraints: nature, cost, safety, environment,
ergonomics, reliability, manufacturability and maintainability, among others.
Industry wants real-world engineers equipped to deal with the complex interactions

P. Ghosh (&)
Birla Institute of Scientic Research, Statue Circle, Jaipur 302 001, India
e-mail: ghoshiitbisr@gmail.com
Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016
P. Ghosh and B. Raj (eds.), The Mind of an Engineer,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0119-2_1

P. Ghosh

across many disciplines. It wants engineers who can handle the unknown and the
unexpected problems.
Future engineers are expected to appreciate, more than before, the human
dimensions of technology. They are expected to have a grasp of the global issues.
There is a need to understand the nuances of working in a culturally diverse space.
According to some experts, good engineering designs should not be deprived of the
benets of a broad spectrum of life experiences, as adequate familiarisation with
societal demands is essential for practical technological literacy.
Future engineers need to be better equipped to deal with people of diverse
backgrounds, such as from social sciences, management and communication. Some
of the grand challenges that are enlisted, from an engineers point of view, are
environment protection, hunger, energy and controlling the spread of the diseases.
We need developers of responsible technologies and products.
We need managers to manage things, but we also need adequate number of
things to manage. There is a need to build faith in the public that engineers are
sensitive to their concerns. One of the biggest responsibilities of engineers is to
keep themselves updated about professional developments and practices.
This leads us to ask: Do engineers take pride in designing a thing and manufacturing it as they take pride in packaging it?

Convergence of Engineering and Life Sciences

There is optimism in the biotech world. The optimism is due to its ability to
manipulate and build living things. In order to retain this optimism, engineering and
biology must come closer to each other.
Bioprocess engineers have understood the need for better interaction at the
molecular and whole cell level as well as at the whole cell and community level.
They want to better understand the behaviour of biological systems when perturbed
by genetic, chemical, mechanical, or material interventions or subjected to pathogens or toxins. They have realised that there is a need to evaluate, and if needed, to
manipulate metabolic networks. Biocatalysts are also expanding their horizon; they
are now being designed for specic uses. New bioinformatics-based strategies are
being developed for protein design.
A revolution of sorts is also taking place in the eld of biomedical engineering,
where the major concern is to establish an interface between man and machine that
are relevant for healthcare and medicine. Cell engineering has extended its
boundary beyond the cells. It has included the use of cells and part of cells to build
structures, such as tissue and ultimately the whole organs. Cell engineering uses,
besides cell biology, engineering principles, chemistry, nanotechnology and
material science to control cell behaviour. Some of the major application of
biomedical engineering is in the areas of development of drug delivery platforms,
technologies for imaging the body and its components, devices for replacing

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neurological function, biomaterials for use in the body, organ replacement systems,
articial blood, etc.
Both bioprocess and biomedical engineering are application based engineering
disciplines such as ceramic, agriculture and petroleum engineering. In the changing
biotech scenario, it has become essential to bring bioprocess and biomedical
engineering disciplines together on the same platform. Biological engineering, the
merged discipline, will have extended territory and knowledge base. This
broad-based engineering programme needs to be developed in the pattern of
science-based engineering disciplines, such as electrical or mechanical engineering.
Science-based engineering disciplines are not specic to any particular industry;
electrical engineering is not only restricted to electrical industry but also serves
several other industries.
Biological engineering has potential to redesign enzymes, genetic circuits and
cells to their specications, or even build biological systems from the scratch. As
gene synthesis becomes cheaper and faster, it is believed that in the near future, it
will be comparatively easier to synthesise a microbe than to nd it in nature or
retrieve it from a gene bank.
Life, physical and engineering sciences are converging. This convergence is
being hailed as the third revolution in biological sciences. According to a document
prepared by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this convergence will
be the emerging paradigm for how medical, energy, food, climate and water
research will be conducted in the future.
The idea of convergence is to bring closer the technical tools as well as the
disciplined designed approach traditional to engineering and physics and apply
them to life sciences. In the third revolution, it is hoped that engineering and
physical sciences will transform biological sciences, and biological models will
simultaneously transform engineering and physical sciences. We are hoping for
intellectual cross-pollination. As a result of convergence, several exciting discoveries are shaping into realities. Convergence research in biomedical sciences is
possible through the convergence of material science, engineering, chemistry and
biology. Another interesting area is developing computational models to understand
how the bodys immune response operates. Yet another area is prevention of
blindness through high-tech imaging technology. The convergence of neuroscience,
electrical and computer engineering, and chemistry has made it possible to design
brain grafts for treating brain disorders and injury. This is possible due to the
coming together of various emerging scientic and engineering disciplines.

Engineers Have the Mind of a Polymath

Someone who knows something about everything and everything about something
is a polymath. Engineers have the mind of a polymath. Leonardo Da Vinci, apart
from painting studied anatomy, biology, mathematics and engineering. He was

P. Ghosh

known for his intellectual, artistic and physical pursuits. If he was proud of his
artistic creation, he was also proud of his ability to bend iron bars.
We all are polymaths, only our qualities are different. There is something else,
besides resolve and effort that makes a polymath. Ernst Schumacher writes,
Beethovens musical abilities, even in deafness, were incomparably greater than
mine, and the difference did not lie in the sense of hearing; it lay in mind.
Howard Gardner says that talent and expertise are necessary, but not sufcient to
make someone original and creative; achievement is not just hard work: the differences between performance at time 1 and successive performances at times 2, 3,
and 4 are vast, not simply the result of additional sweat. Gardner believes that the
answer to the questionwhy some minds are more beautifulwill come through a
combination of several ndings. Genetics will give some insight on why highly
talented individuals have a distinctive, recognisable genetic prole. Neuroscience
will explain why there are differences in structural or functional neural signatures.
Cognitive psychologists will tell us more about the psychology of motivation of
talented individuals. They will tell us why the talented individuals develop passion
to master their art.
Ideas do not magically appear in a genius head from nowhere. They always
build on what came before. Creativity is a chain reaction of many tiny sparks.
Creativity, like many other pursuits, is the product of hard work. R. Keith Sawyer
says, an idea may seem sudden, but in reality our minds have actually been working
on it all along. Sawyer says that insight and execution are inextricably woven
together. If the executioner is different from the one who rst saw the idea,
chances of its success are lesser. One of the advices of Sawyer is to develop a
network of colleagues and have freewheeling and unstructured discussions with
them.
The minds of creative people are special. They are wired for rapid and fluid
thinking, as they enjoy the ability to make quick associations. These minds can see
things in new ways. They can make connections between old things. These minds
are flooded with ideas like all other minds, but they have the ability to control the
flight of ideas that many minds do not have. These minds also get bad ideas, but
they possess the ability to purge the bad ones. These minds, like all other minds,
suffer from mood swings of high and low and are vulnerable and sensitive. But
creative people know how to navigate the tides.
Our spiritual and religious traditions tell us that the quieter you become the more
you can hear. We are advised to watch the thought, feel the emotion and observe the
reaction. Since we have mind, we can make sense of the world in a meaningful
way. Since we have mind, we have memory. Because we have memory we can
preserve, retain, and subsequently recall, knowledge, information and experience.
The human brain is not complete at the time of birth. Dynamic changes take
place in the human brain throughout life, probably for adaptation to our environment. The conventional view was that we are born with a set number of neurons,
and we are hardwired in a certain way. But the new understanding about brain
functioning is that the human brain can shape, form, eliminate and strengthen new
connections throughout life. Neuroscientists say that neurons can change their

The Mind of an Engineer

connectivity, morphology and strength of the connections in their early as well later
stages of life in response to environment and experience. Research has also shown
that brain has use it or lose it approach to neurological maintenance.
The engineering world is changing. A new mind is evolving to deal with this
world and with that is changing the future of engineering ethics. Some old ethical
questions shall remain, some old issues will be forgotten and some new questions
will be asked. As the UNs Millennium Project says, Some future issues are further
in the future than others. One of the future issues of engineering ethics is, if
technology grows a mind of its own, what ethical obligations we have for its
behaviour.
Engineers have a meaningful mind. Meaning is understood in relation to an
individuals basic needs, experiences and emotions. Meaning is interactive, selective and value-driven. A really meaningful mind understands others mind as much
as ones own mind. Meaning is like a large map or web, gradually lled in by the
cooperative work of countless generations. Meaning is thus, more linked to ones
cultural identity.
One of the purposes of the universe is to provide and prepare ground for the
emergence of an intelligent life. The purpose of the intelligent life is to ask profound questions and probe the nature of the universe itself. We are a miniscule part
of a multiverse. Ours is probably the only universe that supports life. Thanks to
engineers, we have been able to do what we are supposed to do.
The nature of our questioning mind varies. Milan Kundera says, It is questions
with no answers that set the limit of human possibilities, describe the boundaries of
human existence. Questions take us away from our comfort zone and help us to
move forward. The desire to ask a question shows a higher level of thought, one
that accepts that your own knowledge of a situation isnt complete or perfect.
Socrates liked to ask questions. Socrates asked questions for clarication,
questions that probe assumptions, questions that probe reasons and evidence,
questions about viewpoints and perspectives, questions that probe implications and
consequences and questioning the questions. Socratic set of questions do not
assume you are right or wrong.

Engineers in Innovative Ecosystem

Innovation scenario is changing in the engineering world. Joichi Ito of MIT says,
earlier the chain was ideateproposeraise moneyplanbuild. Now it should
be completely the opposite, build and then gure out the business model. This is
unstructured innovation. Some of the most interesting innovations happen when
the person doing it doesnt even know whats going on. True discovery, I think,
happens in a very undirected way, when you gure it out as you go along, says Ito.
If you are in a discipline, you are worried about peer review, as a consequence you
are knowing more and more about less and less, and that is, Ito says, is incremental

P. Ghosh

thing. When you are anti-disciplinary, you have the freedom to connect things
together that arent traditionally connected.
If you are routine, you are not t to work in an innovative organisation.
Innovative organisations recognise the value of the individuals in the organisation.
They provide opportunities, so that one can stay at the bench without forfeiting any
of the managerial incentives. Innovative organisations recognise that bureaucracy is
the greatest enemy of innovation. The learning cultures that produce innovators
include collaboration, problem-based multidisciplinary approach to learning, taking
risks and learning from mistakes, creating real products for the real people, and
encouraging intrinsic motivation rather than relying on extrinsic motivation (like
carrots and sticks, As and Fs).
In this decade of innovation, our lives and the whole human ecosystem are going
through a major transformation. A system collapses when it runs out of resources,
and when consumptions are not enough. Innovation is a viable means to avoid this
crisis. As we approach the collapse, a major innovation takes place and we start all
over again, explain Geoffrey West and Luis Bettencourt of Santa Fe Institute.
In an innovation ecosystem, like in natures ecosystem, no single actor can
function in isolation. In an innovation ecosystem, experienced people can mingle
with newbies. Getting the right people is the most important ingredient of an
innovation ecosystem. Another important element is mixing people in productive
ways. The diffusion of ideas, skills and expertise is important for stimulating
innovations, and cooperation is essential for the exchange of relationships.
Some of the qualities we expect in an ideal engineer are strong analytical
skills, creativity, scientic insight, leadership abilities, high ethical standards,
dynamism, flexibility, pursuit of lifelong learning, and dedication for public cause.
It is a tall order even to conceive such an ideal, but then to create an ideal is always
a tall order. Knowledge will never be complete, because perfection is unattainable,
and truth is unfathomable. Moreover, we do not want knowledge frontiers to
advance so rapidly that we as a society lag behind.

Can a Good Engineer Become a Good Manager?

In the world of engineering, technical skills are not enough to provide
leadership. The engineers are expected to better bridge the gap between innovation
and manufacturing. Being the best in the world in scientic discovery is
important. It is also important to learn, as Paul Jacobs says, how to work in
interdisciplinary teams, how to iterate designs rapidly, how to manufacture sustainably, how to combine art and engineering and how to address global markets.
People expect from a low-priced car all the good things that make a car a good
car. In fact, this kind of expectation tends to push up the bars of engineering
excellence. Customers priorities and demands are most important and that decides
what kind of trade-offs can be made to lower the costs. There is nothing like
frugal nation, as far as expectations are concerned. We all like

The Mind of an Engineer

low-cost-high-value products. Only frugal innovation that works on the principles

of calculated trade-offs succeeds. The question iswho needs the frugal innovation moreresource rich or resource constrained?
The job prole of and also the expectations from an engineer are different from
that of a manager. The skills required to become a good engineer and a good
manager are different. The requirement of one job is focussing, whereas the need
of the other job is overseeing. As an engineer, one is evaluated on the basis of
performance. A manager is evaluated on the basis of group performance. For a
manager, what matters most is relationship building and conflict resolving skills.
Removing bureaucratic hurdles is one of the major responsibilities of a manager.
One way is to learn the game of ethical politics to achieve what you want to
achieve. The problem is playing politics is not every engineers cup of tea. They
nd it difcult to learn and practice it, ethically or otherwise. The job of a manager
is like that of a caretaker. A caretaker takes care of what is in place and tries to make
it more efcient.
B. Michael Aucoin, author of From Engineer to ManagerMastering the
Transition, says that transition from engineer to manager is possible. His recipe for
successful transition includes the following six fundamental principles: mastering
relationships, seeing the big picture, getting things done, communicating effectively, using assets wisely and taking things to the next level. It means good
engineers must also possess strong interpersonal skills, if they want to become good
managers. Engineers are individualistic by nature. They are required to develop
the gelling capacity that is required in group activities, if they want to become good
managers. Aucoin writes, Engineers are uniquely qualied to be managers and
leaders, in large part because they understand systems-thinking so well. Once you
understand that organizations are simply systems of people, youve got it made.
We the people have a deep yearning to visualise the big canvas and work
together effectively to see the big picture. Perhaps this is one of the major driving
forces of becoming a leader. We are prisoners of our own mind. Our world is the
size of our mind. We only can free our mind. We only can change our mind. It is
our mind where most interesting interdisciplinary conversations happen. It is where
the big ideas are generated. So much goes on inside the mind, even when it is
supposedly empty.

Engineering Needs Art

There is an enormous interplay between and mutual dependence of engineering and
art. Renaissance engineers were artists. Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate
engineer and artist. Art, at tandem with engineering, can take us to the blind and
imaginary spots. It is said that art deals with incoherence, imprecision, abstraction
and contradiction. These attributes are not expected to represent engineering. Isnt
incoherence an essential aspect of the human mind? Dont we live in a world full of
contradictions? The issue is how to make the two cultures merge and move

P. Ghosh

forward together. What would close the communication gap between engineers and
artists, since each side has something useful to offer to the other side?
Artists generally are considered more playful. Engineers are considered serious
types. Does playful approach diminish seriousness? Are not both engineering and
art serious business? Both artists and engineers need imagination. Both get distracted by complex social problems. Both want to come out of the blind alleys in
their own way. Engineering gives us perfection. Art brings into the fold of engineering, the unexplainable world of magic. It does not matter if it also brings into
the fold some amount of incoherence, imprecision, abstraction and contradiction.
Arent these also the attributes engineers need to be equipped with?
The world of science and technology is changing very fast. Collaboration among
diverse disciplines is becoming the norm. More and more people are realising the
importance of relatedness among unrelated things; the more unrelated the elements
are, the more radical and innovative is the synthesis.
Knowledge sharing is possible when basic values and understanding among the
collaborators match. A conceptualist can collaborate with an experimentalist, but
their roles in, and their approach to problem-solving are different. This is not to say
that others views should be accepted without critical examination, particularly
when they come from entirely diverse sources. In the engineering practices, collaborators share and complement conceptual or experimental approaches. In the
world of art, personal taste, vision and style of expression matter. Sharing and
complementing two diverse characteristics need better understanding. There is so
much truth in the beautiful observation of Murray Gell-Mann, What is especially
striking and remarkable is that in fundamental physics a beautiful or elegant theory
is more likely to be right than a theory that is inelegant.

The Future
No one knows where our future lies, still we make projections. The visionaries
among us are both utopian and dystopian. Utopian visionaries see in the future
world a state of balance and peace, and where all life is valued and sustained. Since
the world has achieved its full potential, they see no reason for one to be aggressive.
They maintain that man has no enmity or competition with nature. In the future
world, they nd no difculty to expect a world of equal opportunity and equitable
distribution of goods and services. They see in the future world abolition of cultural,
racial and gender-based prejudices. They believe that humanity has solved all its
problems with the help of sensibly developed and rightly used technologies.
Dystopian visionaries, on the other hand, imagine a future world where life and
nature are recklessly exploited and eventually destroyed. They predict catastrophic
destruction of our natural environment. They imagine the loss of complete freedom
of the mind, due to technological interventions. They believe future generations will
depend more upon articial intelligence than their native intelligence. They believe
technology will make them slaves of technology.

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Utopian future is projected by the idealist visionaries. Dystopian future, on the

other hand, is projected by those who feel oppressed by their environment and are
afraid to ght extreme odds. Overly disastrous future projection is denitely not a
great idea, as excessive optimism is. The point is to avoid utopian and dystopian
extremes and take a conciliatory middle path. If optimism is mixed with some
amount of pessimism, it works better. If in certainty, a certain amount of uncertainty
is mixed, it generally leads to better end results.
An ideal engineer is an adaptationist. An adaptationist extends or contracts
oneself as per the demands of the situation. An adaptationist knows how to manage
situations when extrapolations fail.
What should we do, as a country, to become the real player of the future world?
Countries not only want exceptional scientists and engineers, but also people who
are temperamentally innovators and think they t into their countrys core values.
Many would say, prepare young minds and nurture future innovators.
The young innovators want to make a difference and believe that they can live
on less. This generation knows how to nd support for what they need. They are not
afraid to take risks. Mistakes strengthen their self-condence. For the young
innovators, the advice of the wise is to stay true to what your passion really is and
your sense of a larger purpose in life.
We, the people of India, once believed that there was no country like ours, no
king like ours, and no science like ours. Cant we regain that spirit, and that
condence? Cant we, a country of 1.2 billion people, get back, literally, to zero?