Most influential engineer: Chance to vote

The choices are:

Alan Turin

Bill Gates

Frank Whittle

George Stephenson

Isambard Kingdom Brunel 

James Watt

Katherine Blodgett

Leonardo Da Vinci

Marie Curie

Michael Faraday

Nikola Tesla

Rosalind Franklin

Steve Wozniak

Tim Berners-Lee

Willis Carter

The survey will be open until 31st December 2015 and results will be published in early 2016. To vote, click here:  HYPERLINK "http://www.bsria.co.uk/goto/influentialengineer" www.bsria.co.uk/goto/influentialengineer.

INSPIRE raises the question of why are STEM subjects important? What does engineering mean for you? Why does technology matter? There is one answer to those three questions which is quite simply ‘everything’. History has shown that those who pursue science arguably make the biggest impact to the world; incredible minds provide us with incredible ideas we once might have thought of as unbelievable but are now ingrained in our society.

Julia Evans, chief executive, BSRIA, said: “Science fiction has shown that the unbelievable can become reality. We now have wearable technology, video calls and tablets are a normal part of our personal and work lives, no one bats an eyelid at flat screen televisions. Yet these ideas were once viewed as technologically impossible, a dream. It is STEM that has made those dreams into a reality and not just for Back to the Future fans. 

The nature of STEM is about pushing boundaries and making the impossible possible. STEM has changed the way we work, travel, heal and enjoy life. The advancing of the human race has always depended on the bright minds willing to focus their energy on engineering ideas. Did you know that the first vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria in 10AD? Even at the beginnings of society we were trying new things.”