Herbert Hoover, a registered professional engineer, was the only modern-day U.S. president to earn his living actually doing engineering. In a well-known speech, he provided one of the most pithy and moving observations of the profession of engineering ever given. His Stanford University address* in the early 1950s inspired many in the engineering community, myself included. In fact, I proudly used Hoover’s address as the Foreword for one of my books, Forks in the Road, which urges engineers to strive for societal as well as industry leadership.

Over time, however, I’ve developed a concern about a crucial point in Hoover’s thesis. It has had (and can still have) a negative effect on practicing engineers, especially young, up-and-coming ones. As noble and selfless as his words are overall, I specifically take exception to Hoover’s proposition that there’s no issue if others take credit for engineering accomplishments. To him, when an engineer "looks back at the unending stream of goodness which flows from his successes" with a "satisfaction that few professions may know," it’s "the verdict of his fellow professional" that "is all the accolade he [or she] wants." Really!? Engineers want no public accolades?

Statements like this may be applauded in some engineering circles, but they encourage an unnecessary humbleness and apathy that allows the image and stature of engineers to be downgraded. Plus, it permits the perpetuation of falsehoods—and a deception that complex engineering feats and works are (or can be) accomplished by non-engineers. These kinds of misconceptions, in the long run, denigrate the stability of engineering as a profession.

That the public and media are kept in the dark about what engineers do is one thing; that young people considering engineering for their life’s work are not well-informed about engineers being the ones responsible for great engineering achievements is a different matter. Due credit should always be given to those who do the work. To not give credit is dishonest and misleading.

The lifeblood for every profession is its membership, which requires a constant replenishing of its talent pipeline. So when others take credit for engineering works and engineers remain silent, apathetic, or ho-hum about it, none of the "unending goodness" structural engineers do will override this terrible slight. Nor will it do much to encourage American students to join our ranks and accomplish great engineering feats. Top young people today want to know about the heroes in their profession. More than that, they want to know that their achievements will be recognized publicly.

As many futurists and visionaries expound, engineers are one of the single most needed groups of professionals required for the advancement of any nation—developed or developing. Their efforts influence a country’s production, growth, economic stability, and standard of life. Should the United States fail to keep pace with other nations in maintaining its talent pipeline in engineering, we could become a nation of pie-dividers, not expanders reliant on foreign engineers.

Writings by notables like Hoover about the greatness of the engineering profession can be heady stuff, but they have little value if their ideas don’t appear on the pages of the newspapers and magazines that our non-engineer neighbors read.

Otherwise, it’s just engineers talking to each other and patting themselves on the back. More people outside of engineering need to know that men like Hoover are saying, "There is the fascination of watching a figment of imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standard of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer’s high privilege."

On the other side of that coin, Hoover also said, "No doubt as the years go by, people forget which engineer did it [some engineering accomplishment], even if they ever knew. Or some politician puts his name on it. Or they credit it to some promoter who used other people’s money." Today, engineers need to correct this deficiency and see to it that all structural engineers receive proper credit for their accomplishments.

Being a structural engineer allows us to design many great structures, watch them get built, and point to them with the pride that comes with being responsible for creating something significant and useful. The American public needs to constantly be made aware of what U.S. structural engineers do and are responsible for. That’s how to keep a steady pipeline of talent coming. Let’s make sure engineers are given full credit for their work so more—not fewer—young Americans will want to join the profession. Only through them will we continue to keep the nation innovative and strong, especially in view of the highly competitive global workplace we now work in.

* See Addresses Upon the American Road by Herbert Hoover, Stanford Press, 1955.

Richard Weingardt, P.E., is CEO and chairman of Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc., a Denver-based structural engineering firm. He can be reached via e-mail at rweingardt@gostructural.com.