• Question: When you were my age what inspired you and does it still?

    Asked by The BrightSpark to Ashwanth, Jeni, Mark, Natalie, Stephen on 10 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Mark Gowan

      Mark Gowan answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      What age are you?
      I was always taking things apart when I was growing up, seeing how things worked. With regards to my inspiration, I think the first civil engineering project I was in awe of was driving over the Humber Bridge when I was about 8. Apparently I talked about it for weeks afterwards.

    • Photo: Stephen Richardson

      Stephen Richardson answered on 10 Jun 2016:

      I think I have always been most inspired by people.
      People have done some really insanely inspiring things – they sailed round the world in wooden boats with bits of cloth to catch the wind instead of engines! They built palaces and temples and other massive buildings that are still standing after thousands of years. They built a rocket that could get someone to the moon and back! They made planes that can fly faster than sound!
      And closer to home, I knew a guy who started his own IT business and someone else who moved abroad to teach african farmers better ways to grow crops and another guy who gave up a career as a rocket scientist to be vicar because he wanted to help people!
      So lots of people have inspired me all through my life and they still do

    • Photo: Jeni Spragg

      Jeni Spragg answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      I remember being inspired by history, and realising how scientific and engineering inventions had shaped our world. For example, going to see factories that were important in the industrial revolution, which gave people a whole new way of life. Or learning about the history of medicine, and seeing the importance of the inventions that meant everyone can get access to the medicines they need – for example the mass-production of antibiotics so that now we don’t have to worry about infection.

      It’s pretty cool when you think about it – you can pick up anything in your room and it has a story to tell. For example, how many people have worked over hundreds of years to make your lightbulb switches on when you need it to?

      It still helps to think about it sometimes, if I’m ever bored or a bit stressed at work 🙂

    • Photo: Natalie Wride

      Natalie Wride answered on 13 Jun 2016:

      Hi BrightSpark 🙂

      When I was younger there used to be loads of things that inspired me, but I remember watching a program called Megastructures on TV and I found it fascinating how all these complex projects were built. Things like the world’s longest bridge or tallest skyscraper – it’s amazing seeing how Engineers solve all the challenges of these projects!

      I still sometimes watch episodes of this program but more generally, I love seeing construction projects and thinking ‘I wonder how that’s standing up?’ or ‘I wonder how they’re going to build that part?’ (Maybe I’m just nosey!) Now I’ve had the opportunity to work on different projects, I often find the smaller ones are the most difficult and complex ones and I love the challenges these bring – especially when you’re more responsible for them! So I guess yes, the big world famous construction project still, and probably always will, inspire me but so do the motorway projects that sometimes delay your journey!!

      What inspires you?

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