A Good Engineer Essay

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We aspire to be good professionals. As engineering students, we spend four years, sometimes more, learning how to optimize productions, reduce costs, and apply the scientific knowledge to the design and production of devices we expect will have some impact on the world. We learn how to deal with the most cutting edge technology, and how to adapt our thoughts to it. We learn to be competitive and meet the needs of employers. That, among other characteristics, makes an engineer a good professional. There is a difference, however, between a good professional and a good engineer. A good engineer understands the needs of a community and knows how to apply their technical knowledge to fulfilling those needs. They are able to go beyond common sense to benefit not only the company, but the society as a whole. A good engineer sees not only solutions, but also problems; they know there is always something to be improved upon, and make it their goal to make a difference. Their ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life for those in their community, and are able to adapt available resources to reach this objective. William Kamkwamba is the perfect example of a good engineer. Born in a small, poor village in Malawi, Kamkwamba was the second eldest of seven children. Both his parents were farmers, and depended on the cultivation of …show more content…

Due to the lack of proper tools, materials and instructions, several trials were necessary for William’s prototype to work; it broke and failed innumerous times. However, each failure showed William what he had done wrong, and allowed him to improve the system and to get it to its final version, a 12 meter high wind turbine, capable of generating 12 volts. Had him given up on his project after so many situations that brought it down, he would not have been able to accomplish so

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