Career choices were as difficult 150 years ago as they are sometimes today.  Recent research into literary engineers caused me to look at the life of Robert Louis Stevenson.  Born into the fourth generation of a family of lighthouse and harbour engineers, Robert Louis was trained for the same profession.  He attended Edinburgh University, and struck up a good relationship with Fleeming Jenkin who taught the Engineering Course.  This was not through attendance at his classes, however.  Jenkin wrote:

“It is quite useless for you to come to me, Mr Stevenson.  There may be doubtful cases, there is no doubt about yours.  You have singly not attended any class.”

He did go on-site, however, and as a result of his experience he resolved on the career for which he is world famous:

“What I gleaned, I am sure I do not know; but indeed I had already my own private determination to be an author; I loved the cut of words and the appearance of life; and travellers and headers, and rubble, and polished ashlar, and pierres perdues, and even the thrilling question of string course, interested me only (if they interested me at all) as properties of some possible romance or as words to add to my vocabulary … though I haunted the breakwater by day, and even loved the place for the sake of the sunshine, the thrilling seaside air, the wash of waves on the sea face, the green glimmer of the divers’ helmets far below, and the musical chinking of the masons; my one genuine pre-occupation lay elsewhere, and my only industry was in the hours when I was not on duty.”

By the age of 21 Robert Louis Stevenson was determined on his career as a writer.  Despite his protestations it is clear he had an admiration for and empathy with the world of civil engineering.  At the end of his short life he wrote:

“the top flower of a man’s life … small is the word; it is a small age and I am of it.  I could have wished to be otherwise busy in this world.  I ought to have been able to build lighthouses and write ‘David Balfours’ too.  Hinc illae lacrymae.”

Today an engineering degree is seen as good training for a career in the City, for Robert Louis Stevenson it gave him the opportunity to develop his vocabulary and insight into the maritime world.

Mike Chrimes

The third week in January saw the ICE Journals Forum take place at Great George Street. 

Speakers highlighted many of the challenges facing journal publishing.  While all agreed on the significance of the ‘gold standard’ refereed journals produced by ICE, academics are driven by the need to publish in heavily cited refereed journals, whereas many practising engineers look for papers on practice and lessons learned, although have little time to publish themselves and are sometimes embargoed from doing so by corporate communications policy.

To balance these two aspects is a challenge for any of the Journal Editorial Panels. 

Generally, while most members seem to prefer a hard copy journal to scan, few actually subscribe and rely instead on internet or other searches, and advice of colleagues or librarians to find articles of interest.  The dilemma for publishers is that without hard copy sales to individuals there is little incentive to go to the expense of printing a paper which can be made available via the internet. 

It was also clear that many members have little knowledge or experience of using the ICE Virtual Library, and the range of journals ICE produce.  One wonders whether the latter is due to the impersonality of interest where one can download a paper without being aware of the journal it came from or its publisher – not that this ignorance helps in judging the status of the information being downloaded.

Mike Chrimes

2010 is the year of the ICE’s new website, depending on how you count such things the fourth or fifth version. 

This website has been under development for some time, and consumer web applications are moving on rapidly. 

The domination of the i-phone may well be seriously challenged by the Google phone, and one can expect that Nokia and other manufacturers will be trying to compete.  The raft of i-apps raises a further challenge for learned societies like ICE.  Their members may be limited in their workplace by the apps they can use, but the reality is many members everyday access to knowledge will increasingly be via i-apps. 

The demand for i-pod broadcasts and bytes of information available for phone apps can only increase.  ICE’s ability to satisfy this is likely to be the key to success in maintaining relevance to members as a source of knowledge over the next five years. 

Plenty of work for us all then!

Mike Chrimes

A recent request to review a biography of Thomas Elliott Harrison (Rocket Press, 2008) provided surprising insight into careers in civil engineering in the 1820s. 

Harrison, a Past-President of ICE, was for many years Engineer of the North Eastern Railway, one of the largest railway companies in the UK.  Of middle class parentage he became, at the age of 16, a pupil of William Chapman, the leading civil engineer in the North East where Harrison grew up.  His parents evidently thought civil engineering a suitable career; and his father who had interests in the coal trade and local railways was in a position to judge.At the age of 21, his pupillage complete, Harrison, armed with a letter of introduction to Thomas Telford, came to London to seek his fortune.  The year was 1829.

Telford, as ICE President, and himself well known for nurturing young engineers, might have been expected to encourage Harrison.  Harrison reported instead: “He received me most kindly, and when I explained the object of my visit, he said: ‘Young Man, you have made a great mistake in choosing civil engineering for your profession, and the sooner you turn yourself to something else the better, for there are very few that rise to eminence; all the work is centred on them, and the rest have little or nothing to do.’  For twelve months I was cast down, and thought what he said was only too true.”
 
Harrison actually worked as an accountant for about a year, until 1830 when he was taken on to help survey Robert Stephenson’s London-Birmingham Railway.  The profession has much to thank the railways for, as it created opportunities for a new generation of civil engineers, and broke the elitist monopoly that Telford referred to.

One suspects that there are a number of today’s engineers who hope that the high speed rail revolution may produce a similar window of opportunity.

Mike Chrimes

Celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the first lighting of Eddystone Lighthouse – aka Smeaton’s tower – caused me to review the life of John Smeaton.  One feature of his career is his research output, and it is of interest that he insisted on managing his workload to give him at least a day a week to devote to research.

Engineers with a yearning to do research, but lacking a more orthodox funding stream, might consider looking to the Leverhulme Trust who are currently seeking applicants for proposals for UK-based and overseas research.

A variety of funds are available for non-, or retired, academics seeking funding for Research.  Application materials are available from www.leverhulme.ac.uk.

Closing dates for 90 Research Fellowships (up to £45k) are 10 November 2009, Study abroad studentships (up to £17k) 7 January 2010, Emeritus Fellowships (up to £22k) 2 February 2010, Study abroad Fellowships  (up to £22k) 10 February 2009.

Conditions and eligibility vary but are not limited by subject discipline. They provide a source of funding for those whose careers would not normally provide access to research grants.

Mike Chrimes

In the year that ICE has had its first woman President, it is of interest to note what the American Society of Civil Engineers has been doing to encourage women into engineering.  Two publications recently received in the ICE Library illustrate alternative approaches.

Women in engineering: pioneers and trailblazers looks at the careers of iconic female leaders in civil engineering.  None is more iconic than Emily Roebling who took over the Brooklyn Bridge project following the death of her father-in-law and a crippling injury to her husband, Washington Roebling.  She demonstrated that women could master both engineering theory and project management more than a century before there was anything like a consensus that this was desirable in the industry.

The collection of essays entitled: Women in engineering: professional life looks at social and cultural issues, obviously from a US perspective, as well as addressing career concerns.

Both these volumes are intended to encourage women to pursue full careers in the profession.

Mike Chrimes

The House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology has called for evidence on Engineering Research in the UK. 

It reflects a growing belief that after the next election public expenditure cuts will inevitably occur and research spending will be one area to come under scrutiny. 

Civil engineering research at UK universities is regarded as an area of international excellence.  There are plenty of arguments to support the view that the UK government over the past 30 years has failed to support research in the way that leading competitors like Japan have done.  Recent government policy tends to follow election cycles rather than address long term goals.  Such short termism makes it difficult to develop new ideas to reality, or retain excellence in terms of people in research positions. 

There must be a real concern that cuts will be done on a short term savings basis without regard to the economic benefits of a long term strategy.  Uncertainty is hardly likely to encourage new graduates to pursue a research career.

Mike Chrimes

The news that ICE members have approved a modest subscription increase this year, despite the economic downturn, must be seen as an indication of members’ overall satisfaction with the performance of their professional body. 

In the late 1970s recession there was no such endorsement and a ballot led to a rejection of the ICE budget and widespread cuts. The situation today, particularly as regard services for graduates and members in the Regions, is now very different.  Then Regional support was minimal, with the concept of membership development officers only just being introduced as Regional Training Officers, no Regional ICE offices, and a Library without any e-access.

The post was then an important source of member enquiries to the Library, and no online catalogues were available, even at Great George Street.  There were, of course, positive aspects of membership, the recently introduced NCE had revolutionised communication for members compared with the previous decade, but clearly this was not enough to persuade members to vote for a subscriptions rise. 

Now, although finances are tight, it should be possible to retain momentum and continue to improve ICE’s profile and its services to members.

Mike Chrimes

Recently I have had occasion to consider the role of the construction client. 

ICE is proposing a Good Client Guide, which should be available by the autumn.  The client’s pivotal role in the success of a project has long been recognised – John Smeaton noted this in the 1760s, and gave advice to the Board of the Forth-Clyde Canal, making clear what they should expect of him and others on that project. 

One problem is the whole range of clients in the construction sector.  In schools, for example, there are the elected politicians setting out strategy, civil servants responsible for delivery, and then local government, perhaps in different political control, and finally the ‘school’ itself – with its staff and other stakeholders.  They, the ultimate client, are very dependent on both the expertise of the other client tiers in getting policy and funding right, as well as the construction professionals involved in delivery. 

In this situation developing a client guide is a challenge – how much should we assume the client knows?  How much detail do we need to provide about procurement systems, risk, and project management.  Before long it ceases to be the couple of sheets of advice Smeaton provided, and becomes a heavyweight handbook. 

Hopefully, ICE Guide will get the balance right.

Mike Chrimes

The recent CIRIA AGM presented contrasting pictures of how the construction industry is coping with the recession.

Davis Langdon are looking to diversify and find new markets, whereas Nuttall are concentrating on core civil engineering, perhaps reflecting the way in which housing and commercial building work has fallen away more rapidly than infrastructure. 

Speakers varied in their view of when recovery may come, with late 2010 generally favoured, although concerns were raised about the impact of public spending cuts after 2011, unless recovery is rapid. 

Let us hope the optimists are correct!

 Mike Chrimes