What motivated you to want to become an engineer?
I was always interested in how things work & I was also always interested in Art. I think in away being an Electrical Designer & working with models & drawings really marries the two of these together.
How have you seen the Irish engineer landscape change throughout your career?
There has been a lot of changes in the engineering landscape throughout my career. Here are just some examples. From an electrical point of view I think LED’s have been a big game changer in designs as well as IoT & renewables. From a modelling perspective designing has completely changed. When I started as a designer & drafter everything was 2d & a lot of deliverables for a project where printed on paper & sent via post to our clients. Designs challenges were figured out on Site at a large expense. Now with BIM most items in a building are modelled in 3d. During the design process we have model reviews, H&S reviews, constructability review & most challenges in a design are figured out before construction has even started. Design documentation can easily be sent electronically & reviews can be done over zoom calls from anywhere around the world.
Any new technology in your field that you are excited about?
Because VR makes me dizzy I would have to say AR. Augmented reality is a very useful tool for looking at a design. I can see a future of engineers with AR glasses on just picking out elements & adding them to a design in AR.
How do you think engineers make a difference in the world?
Engineering is in every technical advancement that has ever happened in the world & that will ever happen. Take COVID for example. Great science minds came together to create a vaccine. Then engineers step in. Engineers provide expertise to build the required facilities that get that vaccine from development in a lab to distribution worldwide safely & affectively.
Can you please share advice that you have for anyone that is considering a career in engineering?
Engineering is such a vast subject with lots of opportunities. Like myself, you could study a specific subject & then go down a completely different path that you didn’t even know existed.