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Archimedes of Syracuse: No discussion of notable engineers can leave out Archimedes of Syracuse. No matter how you might
quarrel with other additions on any list of great engineers, Archimedes must be on the list. He was a keen observer and inventor,
developing engineering principles of fluid displacement, as well as inventing the compound pulley one of the most important
inventions in all of history.

2.

Francis Bacon: The scientific method owes its existence to Sir Francis Bacon. A true Renaissance man, Bacon was also a philosopher,
statesman and lawyer in addition to being a scientist. He died in the name of science, as he fell victim to pneumonia during one of his
experiments as he studied the effects of freezing meat.

3.

Daniel Bernoulli: Perhaps youve heard of the Bernoulli Principle? This is the principle of fluid dynamics that is used in the
construction of aircraft to determine air speed. It was discovered by Daniel Bernoulli, son of a renowned mathematician. Bernoulli also
discovered how to measure blood pressure, and was well known for his work on the Conservation of Energy.

4.

John Logie Baird: The Scottish engineer John Logie Baird invented a mechanical television. While Philo T. Farnsworth would be
credited later with developing the dissector tube that made electronic TV possible, Baird is credited with providing the first televised
objects in motion, and the first televised human face, as well as demonstrating color television in 1928.

5.

Henry Bessemer: One of the most significant building advancements was the production of inexpensive steel. And the engineer who
created the process for mass-producing steel was Henry Bessemer. Bessemer had been working on a process similar to American
William Kellys process, and he bought the patent from Kelly. Today, steel is still made using process based on Bessemers method.

6.

Gustave Eiffel: The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France was named after someone; that someone was Gustave Eiffel. This French civil
engineer contributed to structural architecture, and enhanced metal construction of bridges.

7.

John Ambrose Fleming: Sir John Ambrose Fleming is the inventor of the first vacuum tube. His engineering feat is known as the
precursor to electronics even though the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated his patent.

8.

Edwin Armstrong: The American engineer Edwin Armstrong is know for his innovation of frequency modulation (used in FM radio
and for other purposes). He was also known for superheterodyning and regeneration.

9.

Seymour Cray: In todays computer dominated society, it is important to pay homage to Seymour Cray, the engineer believed to be
the founder of supercomputing, and the first to build a device making use of functional parallelism architecture.

10.

Wernher von Braun: One of the most important rocket developers, especially of rockets for the space exploration effort,
was Wernher von Braun. Initially working for the Nazis, developing the V-2 ballistic missile, von Braun later surrendered to the
Americans along with 500 rocket scientists and came to work in the U.S.

11.

Robert Goddard: Even though the New York Times panned Robert Goddards theories of travel to the moon by rocket, he had the
last laugh. He built the first liquid-fueled rocket, and it has been a source of technological advancement for decades.

12.

Arthur Casagrande: One of the greatest contributors to dam building and other earth construction was engineer Arthur Casagrande,
a pioneer in soil mechanics.

13.

Henry Darcy: The modern style Pitot tube was invented by Henry Darcy, an engineer who developed a law describing flow in porous
media. Today, Darcys achievements can be seen in hydrology and petroleum engineering.

14.

Wendell Bollman: When you see truss bridges spanning great lengths, you can thank Wendell Bollman, a self-taught civil engineer.
His designs for ferry bridges and other truss bridges have influenced us for decades, even though there is only one remaining
Bollman truss bridge still in existence.

15.

Thomas Brassey: This civil engineer is notable for his prolific railroad building. Thomas Brassey was the premier contractor for
railroading building throughout Europe, and is also responsible for Canadas Grand Trunk Railway.

16.

George Stephenson: English civil engineer George Stephenson built the first public railway in the world that made use of steam
locomotives. He was also friends with Thomas Brassey, and encouraged him to contract to build railways. The worlds standard railway
gauge is the Stephenson gauge, named after the man who developed it.

17.

Willis Carrier: Do you enjoy air conditioning in the summer? If so, you can thank Willis Carrier. Carriers first air conditioning success
came only a year after he earned his Masters in Engineering from Cornell. And the rest of us have benefitted every since.

18.

Burt Rutan: One of the most influential aerospace engineers is Burt Rutan, whose innovative designs are prominent in the
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He is responsible for SpaceShipOne, the first private rocket plane to put a person in
space, and for the first airplane to make it around the world without needing to refuel.

19.

Fazlur Khan: Considered to be central to the Second Chicago School of architectural design, Fazlur Khan is largely responsible for
inspiring some of the most interesting structural engineering feats of the latter half of the 20th Century, changing skyscraper
construction.

20.

Judith Resnik: Focus on the tragic Challenger explosion often centers around teacher Christa McAuliffe. However, Judith Resnik, a
NASA engineer, also perished in the flight. She had worked on orbiter projects, and influenced design procedures related to special
integrated circuitry.

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