NEW YORK—As the world’s population continues to climb, changes in the built environment are a must. The role of the engineer is becoming increasingly important in the equation, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
This is very evident in New York City.
“It seems like we have buildings on top of buildings, we have infrastructure so far as roads and services. … All of this is part of engineering in the city today,” said Theo Raus, 61, a mechanical engineer in New York with 30-plus years in the industry. “Everyone is concerned about what we have to do in order to maintain or hold things together.”
To ensure it all works and is accountable, there is a parallel increase in regulations. Raus has noticed the codes becoming stricter along with the requirements.
In addition to new developments, engineers also need to maintain what already exists.
“I think the country will need to address currently underperforming infrastructure and buildings in a major way,” said Nico Kienzl, lecturer at Columbia University and director at Atelier Ten, a sustainable consultancy firm.
The good news for engineers is that they have job security.
“This is a strong field for innovative and entrepreneurial engineers,” Kienzl said.
Kienzl, a leading expert in sustainability, is convinced that “engineering will become more performance based and more driven by sustainability considerations.”
His view is confirmed by the ASME survey, where, out of the 1,222 engineer-based participants, various sustainable areas, such as Renewable Energy, Green Building Technologies, and Solar/Wind Energy, were ranked highly as “emerging fields.” Energy related fields were “most frequently cited as the most cutting-edge disciplines or fields for engineering over the next 10 to 20 years,” according to the survey.
The survey participants anticipate a greater need for interdisciplinary teams of professionals. There will be a more concerted effort toward work in developing countries. Along with all of this hard work, the prestige of the profession is predicted to improve along with the financial rewards.
By and large, despite the potentially complicated road ahead the profession is optimistic about the future of the profession. The vast majority of respondents were “optimistic” or “moderately optimistic.”
The survey concluded, “Most engineers believe their profession can provide significant achievements to meet global challenges.”
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