Frequently Asked Questions

A. “It's a tremendous opportunity to bring the field of engineering into medicine. For instance, to help burn survivors gain full function and use of their face through the use of burn masks, to help construction workers remain safe with a fall protection harness, to offer roll-over protection to farmers in their tractors, and to protect firefighters by making their gear fit well, thus preventing injury.”
- Jennifer

A. “Today there are more and more women that are going into firefighting, and as a result we're finding they are not fitting into the standard-sized firefighting equipment and clothing safely: boots are too big, gloves are too loose, ladder rungs are too far apart.”
- Jennifer

A. “Sustainable buildings are a necessary part of a functioning society. They reduce the use of energy, water, and provide a healthier environment. They are buildings we can operate without excessive use of fossil fuels. They make renewable energy more feasible.”
- Greg

A. “I became a "green" design engineer because I'm interested in the way the world works and interacts, and how things operate. I'm interested in systems. And I'm also interested in doing them right!”
- Greg

A. “What it takes to succeed in engineering is to be disciplined and to always strive to get the best answer and solve the problem in the best way possible. I've found that the right answer isn't always intuitive. You really have to look at things from many different directions. To solve problems and to value others' input to solve those problems is what will really help you be successful”
- Shellie

A. “What I find exciting is being able to take my family to the store and pull the product that I've designed off the shelf and show it to them. You see the hard work and decisions you've made right on the shelf. For me, it's a lot of fun to bring that product home and feed it to my dog.”
- Shellie

A. “Robotics is a very cross-functional industry. It takes a lot of different engineering disciplines to put a robot system together. There is a mechanical component that requires a mechanical engineer, a computer controls component that requires a software engineer, and an electrical component that requires an electrical engineer. All of these must come together for a robot system to be successful.”
- Erik

A. “Civil engineers can be involved with a variety of projects. Civil engineers get involved with the construction of dams, roads, bridges, buildings, and large environmental projects.”
- Gary

A. “I’m both, so sometimes I’m in the lab working with resins, mixing and actually processing them to make a composite material. Sometimes I’m in the office working with customers and contractors finding out what they need in a material and we try to solve that problem. Sometimes, I’m working at a computer. Sometimes I have lots of data to figure out and calculate.”
- Tara

A. “All types of personalities are good for engineering. We need people who are disciplined, focused and have a method to their actions. We also need people who are a little off center and can look at things different perspectives.”
- Erik

A. “We draw from many fields of engineering to integrate different technologies to develop new gee whiz products that no one’s thought of, in order to solve problems.”
- Tom

A. “You have to be a logical thinker. You need to be able to work though a problem in some systematic fashion. You’re going to have to work with others to be successful. And, you must have perseverance. Despite your teamwork and logic, it’s not going to work right the first time. You’re going to have to overcome obstacles to be successful.”
- Erik

A. “The two most important skills are people skills to get others to help you do what you need to do and analytical skills to understand what needs to be done.”
- Gary

A. “I was motivated by a strong work ethic and the desire to make a difference. I wanted to accomplish something. As a civil engineer, I’ve done that by constructing buildings for the good of the community.”
- Gary

A. “Physics, trigonometry, geometry, algebra, algebra 2 and the hard sciences.”
- Erik

A. “They included linear algebra, statistics and writing.”
- Erik

A. “My role is to learn as much as I can about the human body and physiology and how our products can best meet our customers’ needs.”
- Kim

A. “Science helps us analyze a problem in a specific way and come up with a way of getting to a solution. Everyday we use geometry and trigonometry to figure out how to make things fit together and how to make them work.”
- Gary

A. “The mathematical background for robotics is linear algebra and geometry. It is solving problems using matrices to effect a motion in space. So, to do this we go from linear algebra ultimately to geometry.”
- Erik

A. “A college degree isn’t necessary to work in the robotics field. But if you want to be working on the design of robots or robot systems, then you will need an engineering degree from a college.”
- Erik

A. “I recommend to any student to get involved in extracurricular activities, like in my case athletics. You’ll learn teamwork, discipline and time management.”
- Tara

A. “There are a lot of things that excite me about engineering. I get excited working with state-of-the-art equipment. It’s exciting to be creative and inventive, knowing that maybe something I work on will eventually be on an aircraft or solve a problem. That’s what gets me excited about engineering.”
- Tara

A. “I love robots! Robots are a lot of fun. Everyday I enjoy coming to work because robots are always new. We’re always taking this robotic arm and doing some new function with it. So, I get to see how other people apply robot technology and that’s different every single day.”
- Erik

A. “It’s great working here where we’re surrounded by cutting edge technology, experts in the field, and new innovative materials.”
- Tara

A. “There was a time I didn’t do well in math and science. But there was a turning point. A teacher talked to us about the uses of geometry. I realized there’s more to math than just classes. There are things I can do with math beyond high school.”
- Stan

A. “One of the challenges is not just figuring out what you have to do, but scheduling that and getting it all together. In a building, you’ll have hundreds of thousands of different pieces of material and equipment that have to come in on a timely basis in order to be installed without holding up the installation of other pieces. Scheduling all that stuff is really one of the biggest challenges we face in construction.”
- Gary

A. “I think one of the things that makes you successful that you can prepare for at this time in high school is your basic math and science skills. But other things are as important as having the analytical knowledge base – and these things are working with people and being creative to solve challenges.”
- Gary

A. “Work hard because engineering is a very competitive field! There are many applicants that want to work in engineering, especially robotics. So, if you want to work in the engineering field, especially robotics, you have to exert yourself!”
- Erik

A. “We use technology in our jobs everyday in robotics and engineering. You’re going to use computers and will need to be able to work with spreadsheets, design packages, and the internet. Yes, technology is an everyday occurrence.”
- Erik

A. “The days of the solitary engineer solving all of the problem by him or herself is over. We’ve become so specialized and there is so much to know, that it’s going to take several individuals to be able to solve an engineering problem. So, teamwork is crucial if you want to be able to work in an engineering field.”
- Erik

A. “Any automation field is stressful. You have high demands placed upon you. Systems are expected to be up and running on deadline and operating as specified. So, to be able to put all that together in a timely fashion does bring with it a certain amount of stress. But, we love it!”
- Erik