Celebrate Global Day of the Engineer
Global Day of the Engineer, taking place 3 April 2019, is a day to celebrate engineers and all they do to advance the pharmaceutical industry, while also engaging students to inspire the next generation of engineers to help them learn about the impact, fun, and creativity involved in engineering.
Engineers are the backbone of pharmaceutical manufacturing and greatly contribute to ISPE’s core mission in delivering education and knowledge to industry professionals in accordance with safe manufacturing and quality patient care. We are forever grateful for the amazing innovations engineers create every day.
So how will you celebrate? You could mentor a student interested in engineering, share photos on social media of an engineering project you’re currently working on or admire (make sure to include the official hashtag #GlobalEngineer), or simply say thank you to your engineering colleagues.
Engineer Spotlight
Why Are You Proud to Be an Engineer?
Simply, my professional mission is solving problems to help people. Some days that is reviewing complex engineering concepts to make a recommendation or decision. I’d like the students to know I just had my process controls textbook from 20 years ago open to respond to the email before this one! Other days it is sharing ideas & feedback with a team to support a positive experience, maybe not exclusive to engineering, but equally important to my mission.
What Is Your Advice for Students Interested in Engineering?
In this industry we often remind each other that we serve patients, which is to say all people. Having collective broader, stronger contributions from all people is what will serve patients best. To the students again, keep this in mind when starting out – your contribution is valuable as well as others on your teams.
What Is Your Most Memorable Contribution?
When I started out as an engineer I did it because I loved the problems solving, the math, and making things in the real world. I began my career at IBM making mainframe computers, which was cool, but not something that I thought of as contributing to mankind.
In 1988 I joined Bristol-Myers Squibb (back then just Brisol-Myers) entering the life sciences – everything changed… Now, every day – in some small way – I contribute to delivering the therapies that make people’s lives better.
I can help bring new treatments to patients who previously had no hope.
I can help protect keep the recipients of \ compounded drugs safe.
I can help bring existing treatments to more patients across the world.
I can help make needed drugs more affordable.
I can help give those I love a better and longer life through the exercise of my profession.
I’m not a doctor, or a pharmacist, or a scientist… I’m an engineer… I make dreams real.
Please join ISPE in our efforts to create opportunity, equality, and success for all pharmaceutical engineers and industry professionals worldwide by supporting the initiatives of the ISPE Foundation.
