This was a fun 40-min presentation that I gave at a youth leadership conference in May 2009 entitled "Careers In Engineering". My audience was comprised middle school and high school students, predominantly from the middle to lower middle-class hispanic students. In addition, I shared extensive examples of great engineering feats created throughout history (not included) as visuals, from sports equipment, buildings, planes, RC toys and historical landmarks. Although I had a great time giving this presentation, there were 2 great learning lessons: (1). tone down the "professional" jargon, (2) be willing to adjust the talk to what the audience is interested in.

1. ENGINEERING: THE CAREER OF A LIFETIME 1 BY: FELIPE BERNAL, JR. B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO

2. GROUND RULES PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. BE RESPECTFUL AND CURTEOUS TO YOUR FELLOW CLASSMATES. HAVE FUN LEARNING!!! 2

3. 3 “YOU ARE ALL GENIUSES!!!”

4. Q: WHAT IS ENGINEERING EXACTLY? A: DEFINITION OF “ENGINEERING”: WIKIPEDIA ONLINE SAYS: “ENGINEERING IS THE DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION OF APPLYING TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND UTILIZING NATURALLAWS AND PHYSICALRESOURCES IN ORDER TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT MATERIALS, STRUCTURES, MACHINES, DEVICES, SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES THAT SAFELY REALIZE A DESIRED OBJECTIVE AND MEET SPECIFIC CRITERIA.” 4

5. 5 ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA SAYS: “ENGINEERING IS THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE TO THE OPTIMUM CONVERSION OF RESOURCES OF NATURE TO THE USES OF HUMANKIND…” “…DEFINED BY THE ENGINEERS COUNCIL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS THE CREATING APPLICATION OF ‘SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES TO DESIGN OR DEVELOP STRUCTURES, MACHINES, APPARATUS, OR MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, OR WORKS UTILIZING THEM SINGLY OR IN COMBINATION…” THE LATIN ROOT WORD FOR “ENGINEER” IS INGENERARE, WHICH MEANS “TO CREATE”.

9. 9 SOME SPECIALIZED SUBCATEGORIES OF ENGINEERING: AUDIO/VIDEO ENGINEERING AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING CONTROL ENGINEERING CRYOGENIC ENGINEERING ENERGY ENGINEERING FOOD ENGINEERING HVAC ENGINEERING GENETICS ENGINEERING METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING MINING ENGINEERING NAVAL ENGINEERING NUCLEAR ENGINEERING OCEAN ENGINEERING PETROLEUM ENGINEERING TEXTILE ENGINEERING

10. 10 WHAT ARE SOME QUALITIES OR PERSONALITY TRAITS THAT DEFINE AN ENGINEER? INNOVATIVE: COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS OR CONCEPTS. TECHNICAL: DESIRE TO SEE HOW THINGS WORK. IMAGINATIVE: USE THEIR IMAGINATION TO CREATE. CURIOUS: ALWAYS ASKING QUESTIONS. ANALYTICAL: GOOD IN MATH AND SCIENCE. STRUCTURED: TEND TO BE ORGANIZED OR METHODICAL. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY OTHERS?

11. 11 “WHAT IF I AM NOT ANY OF THOSE???”

12. 12 MAKE A LIST OF THOSE WHO INSPIRE YOU AND LEARN ABOUT THEIR LIVES, THEIR WORKS, THEIR LEGACIES!!! ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL BUCKMINSTER “BUCKY” FULLER HENRY FORD JAMES WATT LEONARDO DA VINCI MICHAEL FARADAY NIKOLA TESLA THOMAS EDISON

14. KNOWN TO AS A SCIENTIST, MATHEMATICIAN, ENGINEER, INVENTOR, PAINTER, SCULPTOR, ARCHITECT, MUSICIAN AND WRITER CREATING SOME OF THE GREATEST MASTERPIECES.

19. A MASTER’S IN SCIENCE (M.S.) - 2-4 ADDITIONAL YEARS.

21. 17 STEPS TO CREATING YOUR ENGINEERING ‘ROAD MAP’: TALK TO YOUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR. FIND A MENTOR. JOIN SCIENCE, MATH OR ENGINEERING CLUBS THAT INTEREST YOU. SHADOW AN ENGINEER FOR A DAY! MAKE A LIST OF ALL THE ENGINEERS, INVENTORS AND SCIENTISTS WHOSE WORKS INSPIRE YOU AND READ THEIR BIOGRAPHIES AND LITERARY WORKS. EXPLORE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. BUILD ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES!

22. 18 SO WHY IS ENGINEERING “THE CAREER OF A LIFETIME”? ENGINEERING IS THE LAUNCHPAD OF A GREAT JOURNEY!!!

23. 19 THANK YOU!!!

24. ENGINEERING: THE CAREER OF A LIFETIME 20 BY: FELIPE BERNAL, JR. B.S. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CAL POLY, SAN LUIS OBISPO