PEPP: Engineers' work woven into citizens' daily lives

Webster's Dictionary defines engineering as "1. the putting of scientific knowledge in various branches to practical uses 2. the planning, designing, construction, etc. of machinery, roads, bridges, etc."

While these two short definitions don't seem too earth-shaking, and one might believe that they suffice to explain what an engineer does, we still seem to be a mystery to many.

We don't drive locomotives. Few of us wear pocket protectors anymore. Most of us have gone to contact lenses instead of black rimmed glasses. Fewer and fewer of us each year can perform the art of mathematics with a slide rule.

So, what is it we do? We try to apply our scientific knowledge to practical use, and if we have done our jobs properly you will never know we were there.

When you turn on your faucet in the morning and clean, safe water comes out, we were there. When the car starts in the morning, we were there.

Engineers plan and design things to make your life easier and to protect your health, safety and welfare. We enjoy a challenge and believe there is a solution to any problem if you carefully study the situation.

The Ozarks Chapter of Professional Engineers in Private Practice is a subgroup of the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers. We have members from various branches of engineering, and in the design and construction field our members provide a variety of services.

Mechanical engineers design heating/air-conditioning systems, pumping equipment. Electrical engineers figure out how to get the electricity here and what to do with it when it arrives. Civil engineers design roads, bridges, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants.

So just remember that when the car starts, when your house is the right temperature, when you traveled the city streets safely, we were there.

(King Coltrin is an engineer with Great River Engineering and Salute Council liaison for the Ozarks chapter of Professional Engineers in Private Practice.)