Engineering requires a background of mathematics and physics, as teachers everywhere will tell you. But those are just tools. Engineering, above all, requires a willingness to create — to solve a real problem that helps society. And good engineering has an aesthetic as well as a practical side. The best engineers produce things of beauty. Two great engineers of the 19th century were an Englishman Isambard Kingdom Brunel and a Frenchman Gustav Eiffel.

Brunel created the railroads of Britain and the first steamship manufactured from steel, the SS Great Britain. He built a famous suspension bridge over the Clifton gorge near Bristol, England — a beautiful structure that has preserved its looks to this day. Gustav Eiffel designed countless wonderful buildings, but is best known for the Eiffel tower, probably the most recognizable structure in the world. It is a masterpiece of engineering design. Stand underneath it and you are in awe of its classic lines.

Below: Launching of the steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the Great Britain in 1843.

Image courtesy Brunel 200

Suspension bridge over Clifton Gorge designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel

image courtesy Brunel 200