John A. Roebling’s son Washington and his father John A. Roebling are perhaps the most prominent father-son duo in engineering history. Their joint triumph in the construction and completion of the Brooklyn Bridge (1883), linking what were previously two cities, New York and Brooklyn, is one of America’s most significant engineering achievements.
The Roeblings engineering family story is only one example. Engineering can be as rewarding as any other profession. “a family affair.”Engineers have a long history of teaching their children how rewarding, interesting and fun engineering can be.
“It was definitely the case in my family,”Iana Aranda is an enthusiastic member of engineering who is also the niece and daughter of engineers. “As a kid, I had always been my dad’s helper in all the projects he would take on,”She spoke. “And he’d always share the investigation with me. ‘How are we going to solve this?’ he’d say. And then later on, when I was making up my mind on a career direction, he asked really good, tough questions and helped me find my way.”
Aranda is a senior program manager for the Engineering for Global Development program. ASMEAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers. She is a leader in Engineering for Change’s efforts.www.engineeringforchange.org), a pioneering enterprise devoted to bringing the benefits of technology to less-advantaged areas of the world. She is writing the latest chapter of her family’s engineering story.
Another example is Tom Loughlin’s family story. “My mother’s father was an engineer,”Loughlin is the executive director at ASME. “He worked at Ingersoll & Rand on reciprocating pumps and had the most patents in his entire work group.”
Tom’s grandfather wasn’t the only one in his long line of relatives. “My dad’s father was an electrical engineer,”Loughlin said. He worked on communication instruments and started his own company. It was one of Hewlett Packard’s earliest acquisitions. His son, which is my dad, was also a mechanical engineer. He held about 15 to 20 patents. My brother, a mechanical engineer, holds about 10 patents. His area of expertise is electronics and fiber optics.”
Will engineering continue in the Loughlin household? “We’ll soon see.” Loughlin said. “My older daughter is a sculptor. I can see engineering in the solidity, strength, and dynamism her work. My younger daughter — She leans toward technology and math, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she moves in that direction.”
If she does choose a career in engineering, she won’t be the first, or last, to see the rewards and advantages of the engineering profession. For more information on mechanical engineering or how young people can find their way to a great career, please visit .asme.org”>www.asme.org.
