The Engineers Week 2021 theme ‘Imagining Tomorrow’ reminds us that the advances made by innovative engineers today help lay the groundwork for a better future. The work of engineers is at the heart of emerging solutions to better utilize alternate energy sources, improve transportation, address climate change, spearhead breakthroughs in medical treatment, and much more.
GAI Professionals Consider Future Benefits of Today’s Advances
A selection of GAI’s multidiscipline Professional Engineers, Engineers in Training, and Engineering Interns look ahead with predictions of how they believe today’s developing technical solutions may benefit the world we share in the years to come.
Kathy Leo, PE (Florida):
“In my mind, the collaboration that comes from embracing diversity unleashes ideas that propel us into the future. So, in addition to looking at new technologies, we focus on the process: by bringing together contributors who represent different communities, cultures, and viewpoints, our differences become strengths that lead to real innovation.”
Kathy leads GAI’s teams for infrastructure civil engineering, water, and aviation throughout the company and heads GAI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee.
Abeera Batool, PhD, PE (California):
“I believe that Artificial Intelligence, and particularly Machine Learning (ML), are especially promising. ML can help us make precise decisions based on historical data. It has so many potential applications, but the area that excites me the most is its uses in the medical field. A radiologist’s eye may miss a small tumor, but ML technology can help identify any mismatches … the possibilities are endless in this field!”
Abeera specializes in the geotechnical engineering branch of civil engineering.
Elijah-Cole Lloyd, EI (Indiana):
“I’m very excited about the future of renewable energy and how it’s stored. With solar panels on the rise and becoming more accessible to homeowners, many people can step away from utilizing power provided by utility companies—and in some cases, people can even sell excess energy back to the utilities. Homeowners who’ve gone solar can also add storage cells that allow energy to be stored and shared among their neighbors during a power outage.”
Elijah-Cole specializes in supporting a range of transportation infrastructure projects.
Jordan Panek, PE (Pennsylvania):
“The use of Augmented Reality is becoming more common for several industries across the world, and it stands to benefit the construction industry as well. Over the next 20 years, it’s possible that we will be using virtual blueprints to monitor construction in real time.”
Jordan specializes in site civil design projects for a range of energy industry clients.
Learn More About Engineers Week 2021
For more information on Engineers Week 2021, visit the DiscoverE website. Programs planned in association with Engineers Week 2021 include Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (Feb. 25), the 2021 Persist Series (a series of live online broadcasts next airing March 10), and more.
Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) in 1951, Engineers Week is dedicated to facilitating a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers. That means inspiring young people to pursue an engineering path through a series exciting programs, stimulating activities, and by sharing the inspiring achievements of the engineers at work today.