• Question: What do you do extremely well in Engineering specifically? If there was anything you could change in your time of engineering, what would you change?

    Asked by Joshua.D to Dominic, Maedeh, Matthew, Matt, Monica on 15 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Matthew Oldfield

      Matthew Oldfield answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      Hi Joshua. The area that I am best at is making computer simulations. This means understanding the maths used in the computer program and also making models that match well with experiments.

      If I could change something in Engineering at the moment it would be to make things like motors, computers, sensors and robots cheaper. Often we have an idea but can’t try it out because it costs too much to build everything that we need. As an engineer building and testing equipment and ideas is one of my favourite things. When this is too expensive it is very sad!

    • Photo: Matthew Round

      Matthew Round answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      I like to think what I do best is problem diagnostics and then implementing change to solve that issue. Downtime of equipment can be a big issue for hospitals so if we can identify and fix things quickly this means we can get back to doing the important thing of looking after patients.

      If I could change one thing I think I’d like a bigger mug for my tea that I drink smugly after I’ve fixed something!!

    • Photo: Monica Rozeik

      Monica Rozeik answered on 15 Mar 2016:

      I use computer modelling a lot to look at the flow of blood through the valve before I build a real one. I really enjoy it and I can spend a lot of time on it which has let me get better at it over the years.

      Hmm when I was doing my engineering doctorate (same as a PhD but for engineering). I had to learn a lot of things from scratch, do a lot of experiments and then write a big report called a thesis after 3 years. I wish I could start again knowing what I know now. I think I could do a lot more now if I had another 3 years to try. But that’s life!

    • Photo: Dominic Eggbeer

      Dominic Eggbeer answered on 16 Mar 2016:

      I think my strengths lie in working with people like surgeons to interpret their problems and using design/engineering to develop an appropriate solution. I like problem solving by breaking the challenge down into tasks, developing a project to help solve the problem and then running the project.

      I would certainly like to improve my project management skills. I am not the most organised, but do recognise this limitation and use various methods to ensure people in my team know what they’re doing.

      If I could change one thing in my field of engineering it would be to educate the surgeons and other I work with on the value of being able to design for manufacture (be able to make the thing you design).

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