Innovation?

"Nearly every business's mission statement includes words about "innovation," yet risk-taking and creativity are often punished instead of rewarded." inc.com

Each time I drive over or under a bridge that I have inspected or designed, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment. I am inspired by the historic structures in and around New York and the attention given to their preservation and protection for future generations to admire and use safely. I am in awe at the new technology and innovative approaches utilized in recent bridge design around the world. A sustainable approach to design, coupled with proactive historic preservation of these many amazing structures that span across a variety of obstacles, allows us to travel the world over.

More Engineering Humor...

One of the better things I've come across today:

The risk/reward calculation for engineers looks something like this:
RISK: Public humiliation and the death of thousands of innocent people.
REWARD: A certificate of appreciation in a handsome plastic frame.

Courtesy of http://www.engineeringhumor.com/Quotes.html

Networking

This month has been a whirlwind of events and networking. I've managed to meet so many talented and interesting professional women. It all started with the 2011 GWIC (Groundbreaking Women in Construction)conference in NYC. I'm now an active member in ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers), and will hopefully be working toward establishing a Diversity Committe for the Met section. I've volunteered as a professional mentor with EWB (Engineer's without Borders)...let's hope they accept me! I can also be found on engineergirl.org, a site focused on mentoring middle school girls about engineering. I joined EWGA (Executive Women's Golf Association) at the urging of my mentor and supervisor...and am so glad I did! I also attended the Future Work Institute's "Gender Matters" networking event that taught me indeed, Men are from Mars, and Women are from Venus!

Let's hope I don't run out of steam...

I nominate me!

Despite negative feedback and advice to the contrary, I became an engineer. Known in middle and high school for my artistic ability, many naysayers complained that I should major in the “creative” arts, not engineering. I have a very natural ability in math, and loved chemistry and physics, and was drawn to the field of engineering after writing a 10th grade research paper on cryogenics.

Many financial and personal hurdles later, I completed a BS in Architectural Engineering and an MS in Engineering Management while raising a family. I worked for a moveable bridge expert firm in New York City for just under 7 years, and am currently "parallel tracking," employed with a large engineering and construction firm on Long Island as a Structural Engineer while managing my own design-based Minority-Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE), Cragnolin Design Associates (CDA).

My journey continues as I explore networking, sponsorship, and participate in organizations focused on directing and promoting women business owners and operators utilizing innovative business solutions.

Background and opinions...

When I first graduated, I knew absolutely nothing. Armed with an engineering degree and approximately 70% retention of engineering principles, I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed engineer who realized I didn't have the aptitude for indeterminate analysis. But that is what tables and references are for.

Born and raised in NYC, I was born in Manhattan's Belvue Hospital (insanity anyone?) and raised in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. My family moved to Reading, PA in the early '90's, and I attended university in Philadelphia, PA.

My views (which may or may not get me into trouble someday) include the following:

The notion that telework and distance learning should be the norm and are the key to solving our infrastructure and environmental problems.

Congestion pricing and an increase in tolls is actually good for our economy and the state of our roadways and bridges

The installation of sidewalks and bike paths on our bridges, in our tunnels, in our suburbs etc. is the key to the future of Earth, coupled with the implementation/acceptance of alternative and renewable fuel sources...which is actually something that I knew in the 7th grade.

Just my two cents. Oh, and we should get rid of paper money as well. It is wasteful and expensive. Coin or plastic please.

You Might Be An Engineer If...

· You have no life - and you can PROVE it mathematically.
· You enjoy pain.
· You know vector calculus but you can't remember how to do long division.
· You chuckle whenever anyone says "centrifugal force".
· You've actually used every single function on your graphing calculator.
· It is sunny and 70 degrees outside, and you are working on a computer.
· You frequently whistle the theme song to "MacGyver".
· You know how to integrate a chicken and can take the derivative of water.
· You think in "math".
· You've calculated that the World Series actually diverges.
· You hesitate to look at something because you don't want to break down its wave function.
· You have a pet named after a scientist.
· You laugh at jokes about mathematicians.
· The Humane society has you arrested because you actually performed the Schrodinger's Cat
experiment.
· You can translate English into Binary.
· You can't remember what's behind the door in the engineering building which says "Exit".
· You have to bring a jacket with you, in the middle of summer, because there's a wind-chill factor in the lab.
· You are completely addicted to caffeine.
· You avoid doing anything because you don't want to contribute to the eventual heat-death of the universe.
· You consider ANY non-engineering course "easy".
· When your professor asks you where your homework is, you claim to have accidentally determined its momentum so precisely, that according to Heisenberg it could be anywhere in the universe.
· The "fun" center of your brain has deteriorated from lack of use.
· You'll assume that a "horse" is a "sphere" in order to make the math easier.
· The blinking 12:00 on someone's VCR draws you in like a tractor beam to fix it.
· You bring a computer manual / technical journal as vacation reading.
· The salesperson at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions.
· You can't help eavesdropping in computer stores... and correcting the salesperson.
· You're in line for the guillotine... it stops working properly... and you offer to fix it.
· You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards to see how they do the special effects.
· You have any "Dilbert" comics displayed in your work area.
· You have a habit of destroying things in order to see how they work.
· You have never backed up your hard drive.
· You haven't bought any new underwear or socks for yourself since you got married.
· You spent more on your calculator than on your wedding ring.
· You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep.
· You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon
· You've calculated how much you make per second.
· Your favorite James Bond character is "Q," the guy who makes the gadgets.
· You understood more than five of these jokes.
· You make a copy of this list, and post it on your door (or your home page !)

Again...Courtesy of http://www.gdargaud.net/Humor/Engineer.html