Last week I attended an engineering seminar entitled: From Mathematics to Medical Device Design. The presenter was very engaging, and I really liked the matter-of-fact way she talked about her personal history and current work.
I found it really interesting when the presenter discussed a project she had done as a graduate student at MIT. Her professor was tasked with creating a use for all the cork that Portugal generates. What I found fascinating was that she described this project as "a solution looking for a problem." I think that is a really cool way of looking at engineering. Paying attention to the excesses in the world is just as important as looking at the gaps in production when trying to solve economic issues. The result was an attempt at making wind turbines out of a combination of cork and plastic.
"A solution looking for a problem" -- Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't catch it during the talk, but now that you mention it, it really is a profound way to approach engineering!
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