Engineers have lots of answers to lots of questions. At Momentum, we figured we should take advantage this fact with Ask the Engineers, in which we ask one question to various folks in the School of Engineering. And readers, if you have a question you’d like to pose to the engineers, please send it our way.
This week’s question: What inspired you to become an engineer?
Dr. Amvrossios C. Bagtzoglou
Professor and Head of Department, Civil & Environmental Engineering
I come from a family of engineers. My father was a Civil Engineer, designing and constructing bridges, buildings, and ports. My uncle was also a Civil Engineer and a Fellow of ASCE. Of course, like the typical son that I was, I wanted to be nothing like my father. I love water (I am an Aquarius) and as a kid, I loved playing with dirt. So, groundwater hydrology was the natural conclusion of my career path. It is really funny that I ended up pursuing this career within a Civil Engineering sub-specialization and have been a Professor of Civil Engineering since 1997 and the Head of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering for the last 6 years.
Dr. Sangamesh G. Kumbar
Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and the Institute for Regenerative Engineering
Engineering is the embodiment of evaluating ideas on their merits and addressing relevant, challenging real-world problems by designing practical, efficient, and effective solutions. As such, it allows me to delve into significant global problems and approach them in a hands-on manner to design and build appropriate technologies in an effort to constantly address global needs and improve society. As a polymer engineer, my main focus has always been to research, design, and implement polymeric technologies for use in orthopaedic and other relevant clinical settings. My background allows me to make significant contributions to the fields of science and medicine to improve peoples’ quality of life, fulfilling my career-long mission of advancing science for the benefit of mankind.
Got a question for the engineers? Send it to weir@engr.UConn.edu
