Meet Dr. Lester K. Su, A Creative Engineering Professor Who Inspires

A lengthy career in college admissions provided me with the opportunity to meet and work with gifted and inspiring university faculty members. Research universities provide an intellectual climate that supports collaborative thought and shared work between faculty and partner departments, such as Admissions. Together, departments are able to jointly develop interesting initiatives, such as student recruitment programs that target the enrollment goals of a specific school or department within the university. These initiatives are powerful when you connect vibrant university faculty with talented high school students who then become undergraduates.

Through this kind of collaboration, I had the chance to work with Dr. Lester K. Su, now a faculty member at Stanford University in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Many Summer Scholars alumnae have used their summer program participation as an opportunity to explore their interest in engineering, science or mathematics. Through our new partnership with the Frank Minolli Foundation, 3 Summer Scholars in the 2013 cohort will also be awarded the Frank Minolli Engineering and Science Award. I invited Dr. Su to share his thoughts about the value of an undergraduate degree in engineering, as I thought it might inspire some of our Summer Scholars applicants, as well as our alumnae who are weighing their options for a college major. Here is what Dr. Su has to share:

When you hear the word ‘engineering’, your mind may think ‘math’ and ‘science’ while conjuring up images of cars or bridges or computer programmers or factories filled with machines; your parents might think of rooms populated by white-shirted men sitting at drafting boards. In reality, engineering is an ever-changing profession that, as much as anything, relies on the creativity of its practitioners. A great description of what engineers do is that they solve problems for the people of the world through creative applications of math and science. The variety of things that engineers are doing today is truly amazing. Engineers are working to develop sustainable energy sources that reduce our impact on the environment. They make robots that aid the rehabilitation of stroke patients, and devices that help surgeons perform surgical procedures more efficiently and accurately. They are working to improve food production in poorer regions of the world by making irrigation more accessible and reliable. And, of course, they make this year’s phones smarter than last year’s. It’s no stretch to say that there aren’t any aspects of modern life that engineers don’t influence somehow.

As an engineering major in college you’ll study a wide range of subjects including design, economics and business, and even ethics, and engineering programs nowadays make a point to include lots of projects that give a feel for the creative, hands-on aspects of engineering.  A good engineer doesn’t just work on math and science problems out of books. It’s just as important – maybe even more important! – to learn how to brainstorm solutions to problems no one’s seen before, and to discover practical ways to implement those solutions. The engineering profession is learning how valuable it is to have all different kinds of people become engineers, because everyone brings a different perspective that makes our work better.

Engineering isn’t necessarily on everyone’s list when thinking about potential college majors, but the education you get as an engineer is terrific preparation for work in lots of fields, like medicine, law, or business, even if you don’t choose engineering as a career. Majoring in engineering is a great way to keep your options open!