An Engineer Imagines


Book Description

The long-awaited reissue of the autobiography of Peter Rice, one of the main structural engineers behind the Sydney Opera House, the Pompidou Centre, the Menil Collection and Lloyd's of London. 'I am an engineer. Often people will call me an 'architect engineer' as a compliment. It is meant to signify a quality of engineer who is more imaginative and design-orientated than a normal engineer... To call an engineer an 'architect engineer' because he comes up with unusual or original solutions is essentially to misunderstand the role of the engineer in society.' An Engineer Imagines is a rare look into the professional creativity and philosophy of Peter Rice, who was widely acclaimed as the greatest structural engineer of his generation. He was a man who, in Renzo Piano's words, could design structures 'like a pianist who can play with his eyes shut'. Working with many of the world's greatest architects on buildings that became icons of contemporary architecture, he brought a uniquely poetic feeling to his work. Joining Ove Arup & Partners in 1956, Rice had heard that 'it was a place where an oddball could fit in.' Taking on Arup's theory of Total Design to heart, Rice writes about the role of the engineer in society, and how he himself applied his creativity to various projects. He admits he became an engineer by accident, tentatively feeling his way through a career without a natural instinct. But as he takes you through each of his projects, one-by-one, you can trace his development from graduate to veteran. Written in clear and poetic language, Rice's autobiography is perfect for those who want to better understand postwar buildings, our concrete environment, or are budding students of engineering and architecture.




An Engineer Imagines


Book Description

The long-awaited reissue of the autobiography of Peter Rice, one of the main structural engineers behind the Sydney Opera House, the Pompidou Centre, the Menil Collection and Lloyd's of London. 'I am an engineer. Often people will call me an 'architect engineer' as a compliment. It is meant to signify a quality of engineer who is more imaginative and design-orientated than a normal engineer... To call an engineer an 'architect engineer' because he comes up with unusual or original solutions is essentially to misunderstand the role of the engineer in society.' An Engineer Imagines is a rare look into the professional creativity and philosophy of Peter Rice, who was widely acclaimed as the greatest structural engineer of his generation. He was a man who, in Renzo Piano's words, could design structures 'like a pianist who can play with his eyes shut'. Working with many of the world's greatest architects on buildings that became icons of contemporary architecture, he brought a uniquely poetic feeling to his work. Joining Ove Arup & Partners in 1956, Rice had heard that 'it was a place where an oddball could fit in.' Taking on Arup's theory of Total Design to heart, Rice writes about the role of the engineer in society, and how he himself applied his creativity to various projects. He admits he became an engineer by accident, tentatively feeling his way through a career without a natural instinct. But as he takes you through each of his projects, one-by-one, you can trace his development from graduate to veteran. Written in clear and poetic language, Rice's autobiography is perfect for those who want to better understand postwar buildings, our concrete environment, or are budding students of engineering and architecture.




An Engineer Imagines


Book Description

Peter Rice (1935-1992) was perhaps the most influential structural engineer of this century. The hundreds of buildings he worked on include such masterpieces as the Sydney Opera House, the Pompidou Centre, and Menil Collection, and Lloyd's of London. This is Peter Rice's autobiography. He tells the stories behind his best-known works, and describes his childhood in Ireland, his experiences with other great engineers including Jean Prouve and Ove Arup, and his views on materials - glass and polycarbonate, steel and concrete, stone, fabric. But above all, An Engineer Imagines is about the creative, humanist role of the engineer.




Ara the Star Engineer


Book Description

This is a STEM book and more! An inspiring, inclusive, whimsical way to learn about computers and technology from real-life trailblazers. Read the book, download hands-on activities, follow learning resources. Visit the website www.arastarengineer.com for more. Ara is a young girl who loves BIG numbers. She wants to count all the stars in the sky… but how? This is an upbeat adventure of Ara and her sidekick droid, DeeDee (“Beep!”). They use smarts and grit to solve a BIG problem and discover an amazing algorithm! A quest that takes them through a whirlwind of intriguing locations at Innovation Plex -- Data Centre, Ideas Lab, Coding Pods, and X-Space. Along the way, they encounter real-life women tech trailblazers of diverse backgrounds, including a Tenacious Troubleshooter, an Intrepid Innovator, a Code Commander, and a Prolific Problem Solver. They tinker-and-tailor, build-and-fail, launch-and-iterate, and in the end discover an amazing algorithm of success -- coding, courage, creativity, and collaboration (“Beeeeep!”). Ara is making a splash with industry CEOs and best-selling kids authors. “‘If she can see it, she can be it.’ With this story, girls can see leaders and be inspired to become one. A book for all ages and genders!” - Geena Davis, Founder and Chair, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media




Traces of Peter Rice


Book Description

This work is a gathering of essays in tribute to the life and achievements of a remarkable Irish- born structural engineer Peter Rice (1935-1992), 'perhaps the most influential of the 20th century'. His work and inventions underpinned the great buildings of his day, from the Sydney Opera House to the Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou), the Mecca Conference Centre, the Lord's Mound Stand in London, Stanstead Airport, the Menil Museum in Houston, La Defense in Paris, the Lille TGV Station, the Seville Pavilion of the Future, the Gourgoubes Full-Moon Theatre. Working in tandem with architects Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and Zaha Hadid, and the artist Frank Stella, he consciously placed himself in the tradition of the great 19th-century engineers, Telford, Stephenson, Brunel father and son, and Eiffel. A director of Ove Arup in London and a partner in Paris-based RFR, he was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal for Architecture in 1992. He summarized his vision and legacy in a keynote, posthumously published book An Engineer Imagines, written in the knowledge of an inoperable brain tumor from which he died aged 58. This monograph will be the focus of upcoming exhibitions in Dublin (Farmleigh), Paris, London and Milan, in 2012 and 2013.




Shaping Our World


Book Description

A look at engineering education today— with an eye to tomorrow Engineering education is in flux. While it is increasingly important that engineers be innovative, entrepreneurial, collaborative, and able to work globally, there are virtually no programs that prepare students to meet these new challenges. Shaping Our World: Engineering Education for the 21st Century seeks to fill this void, exploring revolutionary approaches to the current engineering curriculum that will bring it fully up to date and prepare the next generation of would-be engineers for real and lasting professional success. Comprised of fourteen chapters written by respected experts on engineering education, the book is divided into three parts that address the need for change in the way engineering is taught; specific innovations that have been tested, why they matter, and how they can be more broadly instituted; and the implications for further changes. Designed to aid engineering departments in their transition towards new modes of learning and leadership in engineering education, the book describes how to put into practice educational programs that are aligned with upcoming changes, such as those proposed in the NAE's Engineer of 2020 reports. Addressing the need to change engineering education to meet the demands of the 21st century head on, Shaping Our World condenses current discussions, research, and trials regarding new methods into specific, actionable calls for change.




Getting Sued and Other Tales of the Engineering Life


Book Description

Meehan's anecdotal essays on his education, socialization, and professional experiences as a geotechnical engineer should be illuminating to people who think of engineers as a dull lot and engineering as a dehumanized profession.




On Tyranny


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “bracing” (Vox) guide for surviving and resisting America’s turn towards authoritarianism, from “a rising public intellectual unafraid to make bold connections between past and present” (The New York Times) “Timothy Snyder reasons with unparalleled clarity, throwing the past and future into sharp relief. He has written the rare kind of book that can be read in one sitting but will keep you coming back to help regain your bearings.”—Masha Gessen The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.




Debugging Teams


Book Description

In the course of their 20+-year engineering careers, authors Brian Fitzpatrick and Ben Collins-Sussman have picked up a treasure trove of wisdom and anecdotes about how successful teams work together. Their conclusion? Even among people who have spent decades learning the technical side of their jobs, most haven’t really focused on the human component. Learning to collaborate is just as important to success. If you invest in the "soft skills" of your job, you can have a much greater impact for the same amount of effort. The authors share their insights on how to lead a team effectively, navigate an organization, and build a healthy relationship with the users of your software. This is valuable information from two respected software engineers whose popular series of talks—including "Working with Poisonous People"—has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.




Emma Ren Robot Engineer


Book Description