As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change…

“If I am in that position, you will see change because I have experience change as a Christian.”

— Dr. Christ Asabor

A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident…

— Henry Petroski

The space shuttle was designed, at least in part, to broaden our knowledge of the universe. To scientists, the vehicle was a tool; to…

— Henry Petroski

No one wants to learn from mistakes, but we cannot learn enough from successes to go beyond the state of the art.

— Henry Petroski

“In order to understand how engineers endeavor to insure against such structural, mechanical, and systems failures, and thereby also to understand how mistakes can…

— Henry Petroski

Engineering, like poetry, is an attempt to approach perfection. And engineers, like poets, are seldom completely satisfied with their creations. They notice, even if…

— Henry Petroski

We call the fates of the Titanic and the Concordia - as well as those of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia - 'accidents.'…

— Henry Petroski

Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect system is…

— Henry Petroski

[An engineer's] invention causes things to come into existence from ideas, makes world conform to thought; whereas science, by deriving ideas from observation, makes…

— Carl Mitcham

It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…

— Herbert Hoover

I've often thought that if planners were botanists, zoologists, geologists, and people who know about the earth, we would have much more wisdom in…

— William O. Douglas

“In all other construction disciplines, engineers plan a construction strategy that craftmen execute. Engineers don't build bridges; ironworkers do. Only in software is the…

— Alan Cooper

Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to…

— Oscar Niemeyer

“neighborhood was filled with engineers from Hewlett-Packard, then as now one of”

— Malcolm Gladwell

Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…

— Daniel Burka