Download - 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
-
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
1/18
18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
Charles Murray, Senior Technical Editor, Electronics & Test4/23/2013
Engineers are a talented bunch. And although their talents typically take them to a quiet office or a lab, that's not
always so. Sometimes, their gifts place them in the limelight, and we tend to forget where they started.
Jimmy Carter and Herbert Hoover, for example, took their talents to the top spot in world politics. Tom Landry used
his analytical skills to become a legendary football coach. And Alfred Hitchcock's innate intelligence launched a
career as history's most recognizable film director.
Of course, there will always be a few who are rumored to be engineers, but aren't. Folklore has it, for example, that
Cindy Crawford, Ashton Kutcher, and Mr. T were engineers. But none were awarded engineering degrees or toiled as
engineers. And Mayim Bialik, best known from Blossomand as Amy Farrah Fowler on The Big Bang Theory, wentfrom child star to earning a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. She will be speaking this week atDesign West.
Here, we've collected photos of individuals, most of whom earned engineering degrees and then found fame
elsewhere. Did we miss anyone? Tell us in the comments section below. Click the image below to start the
slideshow.
http://www.designnews.com/profile.asp?piddl_userid=384322http://www.designnews.com/profile.asp?piddl_userid=384322http://www.ubmdesign.com/sanjose/http://www.ubmdesign.com/sanjose/http://www.ubmdesign.com/sanjose/http://www.ubmdesign.com/sanjose/http://www.designnews.com/profile.asp?piddl_userid=384322 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
2/18
Filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock directed Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Vertigo, and many other
major movies, but started his working life as an engineer. He studied engineering at the London County Council
School of Engineering and Navigation and worked as a draftsman before launching a career in movies in the 1920s.
(Source: Wikipedia)
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=1 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
3/18
At 6'8" tall and 305 pounds, Eric Fisher of Central Michigan University has the body of an offensive tackle, but the
mind of an engineer. Fisher, who is earning a degree in mechanical engineering, is expected to be a first -round
choice in this year's National Football League draft.
(Source: Tim Fitzgerald/CMU Athletics)
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=2 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
4/18
Tom Scholz, guitarist for the rock band Boston, earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in mechanical engineering
from MIT. Scholz worked as a senior product design engineer for Polaroid before launching his music career.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=3 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
5/18
Former New Hampshire governor John H. Sununu earned Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degrees in mechanical
engineering from MIT. He also served as the associate dean of the engineering college at Tufts University and as the
White House Chief of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. A firm believer in the value of an engineering
education, Sununu told Design News in a 1998 interview: "You can't fake your way through engineering school. No
level of glibness gets you through a thermodynamics exam."
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=4 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
6/18
Academy Award-winning film director Frank Capra is best known for such movies as It Happened One Night, Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life, but was educated as an engineer. Capra graduated from the
California Institute of Technology in 1918 with a degree in chemical engineering.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=5 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
7/18
Roger Staubach won a Heisman Trophy and a Super Bowl MVP Award, but still managed to squeeze an engineering
degree onto his resume. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Staubach served in Vietnam and didn't start playing
pro football until age 27, but ended up earning a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=6 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
8/18
Technically speaking, Jimmy Carter graduated from the US Naval Academy with an unspecified major (the custom at
the time), but studied reactor technology and nuclear physics in graduate school. He also served as an engineer in
US submarine fleets in the Atlantic and Pacific.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=7 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
9/18
-
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
10/18
Dolph Lundgren is best known as the imposing Russian boxer, Ivan Drago, in the 1985 movie Rocky IV, But the
Swedish-born actor and martial artist also holds degrees in chemical engineering from the Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm and chemistry from Washington State University.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=9 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
11/18
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=10 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
12/18
Host of a nationally syndicated talk show and an author, Montel Williams holds a Bachelor's degree in general
engineering from the US Naval Academy. Williams, who also studied Mandarin Chinese, served as a Naval
intelligence officer specializing in languages.
US Congressman Joe Barton of Texas has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1985. He holds a
Bachelor's in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master's in industrial automation from Purdue
University.
Danny Granger of the National Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers holds a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering
from the University of New Mexico. Granger, who stands 6'8" tall, told nba.com that engineering was his goal as a
youngster. "I wanted to be a civil engineer and I was using basketball as my ticket to get a degree," Granger said.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=12http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=11http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=12http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=11 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
13/18
Pete Stark was a 40-year member of the US House of Representatives (1973-2013) and was the sixth-most senior
member of Congress when he left office earlier this year. The California congressman received a Bachelor's degree
in general engineering from MIT in 1953.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=13 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
14/18
Doug Glanville is best known for having played centerfield for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Chicago
Cubs, but he also earned a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. The
former Ivy League athlete has also served as a color analyst for ESPN, written guest columns for The New YorkTimes, and penned a book, The Game From Where I Stand.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=14 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
15/18
Former Senator John E. Sununu, son of John H. Sununu, was the youngest member of the US Senate throughout his
six-year term. He earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1986 and 1987,
and an MBA from Harvard in 1991.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=15 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
16/18
Former US President Herbert Hoover was a globally experienced mining engineer and a graduate of Stanford
University with a degree in geology. He had no experience as an elected official when he ran for president and won in
1928.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=16 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
17/18
Legendary Dallas Cowboys' football coach Tom Landry earned a Bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the
University of Texas and a Master's degree from the University of Houston
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=17 -
8/13/2019 18 People You Didn't Know Were Engineers
18/18
Hollywood legend Hedy Lamarr is the only individual on our list with no formal training in science or engineering, but
she earns a spot for having co-invented and patented a "secret communication system" during World War II. The
technology used frequency hopping as a means to make it harder for enemies to detect or jam radio-guided
torpedoes. It later served as the foundation for the spread spectrum systems that are today employed in Bluetooth
and WiFi networks. Lamarr's invention was not well known until 1997, when she finally received an award from theElectronic Frontier Foundation for her work. Ironically, the movies Lamarr made with Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy,
Judy Garland, and Lana Turner in the 1930s and 1940s have faded, while her frequency-hopping technology lives on
in countless modern products.
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1395&dfpLayout=blog&cid=nl.dn14&dfpPParams=ind_184,bid_22,aid_262423&doc_id=262423&image_number=18