1. Dreaming

Structural engineer Ben (not his real name) owes his life to medical engineering. He compares his heart pacemaker, implanted in his chest, with the bridges he has designed and realises that with such diversity existing definitions of engineering are inadequate. Engineering is done by people for people to make life a little better. Engineers make the ‘things’ we need and want—turning our dreams into reality. Aesthetics in engineering is more than beauty—it concerns our emotional relationship with things through our creative artfulness, ingenuity and inventiveness. What kinds of people are engineers? What is the difference between a technician engineer and a chartered professional engineer? How many engineers are women? What are the stories behind some of the great engineers of the past and the less well-known engineers of the present? What are the different branches of engineering? How important is engineering? How do engineers coax the forces of nature to do what we want? Most of us take engineering products for granted and are alarmed when sometimes they go wrong. What are the darker aspects of engineering such as weapons of war and the effects of climate changes as well as misuses of social media and the dark web? Do we need to get engineering out of its professional ‘silos’ and ignite some of its magic?