• Question: Do you invent things? If so, what have you invented?

    Asked by Unicorns to Huw, Gosha, Ray, Stacey, Steve on 16 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Steve Cox

      Steve Cox answered on 16 Mar 2015:

      I wouldn’t say I invent things necessarily, but what I do is to connect things that have already been invented or discovered and combine them in a new way to make something someone hasn’t done before, or improve something that already exists

      I think that’s what a lot of day to day engineering is all about – “creating connections”

    • Photo: Huw Williams

      Huw Williams answered on 16 Mar 2015:

      Steve makes good point again here and we sometimes call this “Innovation” rather than invention. As Steve says that sometimes means taking something that already exists and using it in a new and unique way that no one has ever thought of before.

      Engineers are great innovators, one that stands out for me was writing a computer program to analyse lots of engine data in a way we’d never done before. For me that was really exciting as I was the first person to ever do that!

      Huw

    • Photo: Stacey Cutten

      Stacey Cutten answered on 17 Mar 2015:

      I wouldn’t say I have ever invented anything – I’m still only at the beginning of my career and still training…. Maybe one day 😛

    • Photo: Gosha Barzowska

      Gosha Barzowska answered on 17 Mar 2015:

      Same as Stacey – need to learn a bit more to start inventing 🙂
      However an engineer’s job is not only about inventing. it’s more about creating new things by applying already known knowledge and also imporving already existing products by defining its weaknesses – I think that would summarise what I do on daily basis. 🙂

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