Who Are the World's Top Engineers Across Various Disciplines?

[sid_galt]

Who are the best engineers in the world?
In fields like mechanical, aeronautical, electrical etc.

Just curious

 

[Shawnzyoo]

Burt Rutan from Scaled Composites
he is responsible for SpaceShipOne & White Knight, Helios, GlobalFlyer and many others.

 

[Clausius2]

Burt Rutan from Scaled Composites
he is responsible for SpaceShipOne & White Knight, Helios, GlobalFlyer and many others.

Burt Rutan? Are you talking seriously? I cannot believe it.

If I had to mention the best engineers in the history, I would mention:

-Robert. H. Goddard (although he was a physicist) for inventing the first liquid propellant rocket. USA.

-Sergei Koroliev (URSS) for giving a definitive breakthrough to rocket science and designing the R-7 rocket (Sputnik launcher), in which it is based the current Soyuz TM.

-W. Von Braun (GER), for giving another breakthrough to rocket science this time in occident, and for the successfull Apollo Missions with Saturn V.

-Rudolph Diesel (GER), for inventing the Diesel Engine.

-Nicholas Otto (GER), for inventing the first 4 stroke gasoline engine.

-Juan de la Cierva (Spain), for inventing the first "Auto-Giro", in which it is based the current helicopters.

 

[russ_watters]

These days its tough to pick out a single engineer for "best" since most devices today are so complicated they require large teams of people. However, historically, Kelly Johnson or Jack Northrup for aeronautical. Pick any Lucent (Bell Labs) EE for electrical.

And though I'm a big fan of Burt Rutan, I'm not sure that he's all that great of an engineer. He's more of an airplane architect.

 

[FredGarvin]

Rutan is "technically" a designer. My designers remind me every day that there is a difference.

I say that if I am standing on a bridge, the best damned engineer in the world is the one that made sure that that bridge isn't falling down.

Historically, my nod goes to Kelly Johnson and Bessemer (there's a duo for ya)

Recently I would give top honors to Steve Wozniac (sp?)

 

[Shawnzyoo]

Rutan technically has an aeronautical engineering degree though

 

[brewnog]

Ooh Henry Bessemer, good one!

I'll throw Joseph Whitworth and Isambard Kingdom Brunel out there as far as historical figures go.

 

[ludi_srbin]

Nikola Tesla is deffinetly the best Electrical Engineer of all time, and maybe the best Engineer generally.

 

[leright]

He didn't as kfor the best engineers of all time...he asked for the best engineers in the world.

 

[Astronuc]

I guess the question needs further qualification.

There are many engineering disciplines such as mechanical, aerospace, civil, electrical, computer, chemical, metallurgical, nuclear, . . . .

and within each discpline there are numerous specialties, e.g. in mechanical, one can specialize in structures, thermodynamics, thermal-hydraulics, fluids (fluid dynamics), corrosion, . . . .

What are the criteria - number of journal articles, inventions, most important development in the field (over what period - this year, the last # years)?

http://www.nae.edu/nae/awardscom.nsf?OpenDatabase awards (primarily or exclusively US).

 

[Clausius2]

Well, although it could deviate the main purpose of this thread, I will situate this guy on the first positions of best engineers ever:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Korolev

For those who don't know him, as I said he was the counterpart of Von Braun in URSS.

 

[Learning Curve]

im suprised no one mentioned da Vinci

 

[Kenneth Mann]

Who are the best engineers in the world?
In fields like mechanical, aeronautical, electrical etc.

Just curious

I don't think you can answer this question, since most Engineers don't work in a vacuum (as Russ Watters alluded). How do you separate the conceptual ability from the design ability, from the managerial ability, from the entrepreneurial ability? Where there are teams, (even Edison worked with teams), who gets the credit?

KM

 

[nikola-tesla]

Of course it's Nikola Tesla!

 

[Nenad]

I would have to go with Nikola Tesla as well, in the field of Electrical Engineering. Thats would be my vote since I love AC devices, AC Power, Wierless Transmition of information etc...

Regards,

Nenad

 

[Maxwell]

I'd go with Tesla first and foremost.

Also, though technically physicists, I'd also like to nominate William Shockley and John Bardeen!

 

[young e.]

Best Electrical Engineer

i highly nominate "MICHEAL FARADAY" and "NIKOLA TESLA"in the field of electrical engineering.

1. FOR MICHEAL FARADAY FOR HIS INDUCTION MOTOR.
2. NIKOLA TESLA FOR HIS TRANSFORMER

 

[Manchot]

I'd go with Tesla first and foremost.

Also, though technically physicists, I'd also like to nominate William Shockley and John Bardeen!

Though William Shockley is pure scum, I wholeheartedly agree with the other two nominations. You can consider Bardeen to be an engineer, because he was a professor of electrical engineering while he was at UIUC.

 

[Ki Man]

im suprised no one mentioned da Vinci

he did do hundreds of sketches but i don't know if he counts as an engineer. he tried to be a super-hero by trying to take all the fields in the rennaissance and mushing them all into one person. astronomer, painter, engineer, etc.

he doesn't really count for one field in my opinion

 

[snowygrouch]

Automotive

Hi,
In my field Keith Duckworth.
Single handedly designed the best racing engine ever designed; the Cosworth DFV not only that but on a paper drawing board in 9 months in 1967.

The engine was designed for Ford to be used by Lotus; Lotus were eventually forced to allow other teams to use the DFV or the sport would cease to exist, it was that good.

The engine won on its first ever race and was unbeatable for years.

The DFV was still winning F1 races for McLaren in 1983 with Niki Lauda.

With a just a shorter stroke the engine was made as the turbo DFX which in INDY car and CART USA was a prolific winner well into the 1980s.

A re-developed DFV (the DFR) engine was winning in F1 as late as 1989, that's about 20 years at the top of Formula1 all from a one man design.

A rein for that long in any competitive industry in modern history is possibly without parrallel to my knowledge.

Keith was the first automotive engineer to genuinely really understand combustion and air flow far before CFD and FEA techniques existed.

In fact the engine was so good it is still used today in several racing classes where nearly 4 decades later it still wins; all this in spite that these days an engine will be designed by a fleet of engineers with millions of pounds of computing power.

The combustion chamber and valve anges Keith Duckworth used on the DFV form the basis for almost every successful petrol engine in production today; that's not a coincidence either.

Keith always claims he distrusts theories and doesn't read books. He prefers to analyse everything himself from scratch from 1st principles. What a man.

Just my take.

Calum

PS. For all time best Isombard Kingdom Brunel and Isaac Newton (more of a practial scientist perhaps) take a lot of beating.

 

[DonnaEng]

In my opinion, one of the best electronics engineers, alive in the world today, is a shy, slightly eccentric and reclusive man called Haruny Said - I believe he currently lives in Scotland, but spent several years working here in the US.

Everyone I have met that has worked with him says he is a genius. He seeks no credit for his work and is happy for others to take the credit and limelight.

 

[brewnog]

Wow, is a five year necropost a record?

 

[Evil Genius]

lol tony stark but on a serious not we got to give props to ben franklin for the oven rite.

 

[n.karthick]

i highly nominate "MICHEAL FARADAY" and "NIKOLA TESLA"in the field of electrical engineering.

1. FOR MICHEAL FARADAY FOR HIS INDUCTION MOTOR.
2. NIKOLA TESLA FOR HIS TRANSFORMER

No it is Tesla who has conceptualized and got patent for induction motor

In my opinion Nikola Tesla the best Electrical engineer ever lived in this earth.

 

[CourtOakes]

Mark Russinovich. Author of the Sysinternals tools. He is a Technical Fellow at Microsoft now. He was responsible for uncovering the Sony Root Kit. He would get my vote. I was a math major unsure of what to do with my life and my brother suggested I read about this genius who was now with Microsoft named Mark Russinovich. I am now a third year Comp E student and a computer tech with a major retail outfit. He inspired me to do what I am doing. He is also author of the novels Zero Day and Trojan Horse. They are both really good reads, BTW, for anyone who likes reading things where the science doesn't make you say to yourself, "this is absurd".

 

[CourtOakes]

Computer

MARK RUSSINOVICH (Microsoft)

 

[sandplasma]

Sergei Koroliev - fresh from the gulag to using old V2 Rocket parts to give birth to some of the greatest and most comlicated multi engine rockets the world had ever seen.

 

[berkeman]

Wow, is a five year necropost a record?

Pretty darned close. Most very old threads were supposed to be locked to prevent necroposts like that. Thread is now closed.