We’ve always wondered what engineers actually do. It’s one of those professions that has a lot of mystery surrounding it, like spies, donut hole makers and the people who mow weird shapes into fields. We don’t see them, but somehow all that stuff still gets done.
Anyway, getting back to engineers, we’ve been stumped for a long time and have been searching high and low, near and far, for any kind of clue as to what they get paid to do. We assumed it had to do with a blend of math and science, but couldn’t say for sure. Then we heard that the Christa McAuliffe School was hosting engineer week. Problem solved.
And what we learned is that they make slimy silly putty, bridges using toothpicks and marshmallows, and straw rockets. Man, we should have become engineers. Well, that’s at least what they did when visiting elementary school children during four days of classroom demonstrations culminating with an expo that can only be described as pure chaos.
In actuality, engineers like Claire and Josh Lund don’t just sit around having fun all day, because unfortunately they do have real work to get done. Although it sure was fun for them to be a kid again, even if it was only for a couple days.
When we looked at the schedule outlining the week, we found it curious that there were two engineers with the same last name working for different companies right here in Concord. Well, turns out it’s not that weird, since Claire and Josh are married, and with their kids attending Christa McAuliffe School they had no problem volunteering for the engineering show and tell.
Claire is a chemical engineer at Sanborn Head, while Josh is what you would call a structural engineer at McFarland Johnson. For the record, Claire was the one making slimy silly putty with the kids, using glue and a mixture of borax and water.
“It’s not directly related to what I do on a daily basis, but that would be boring for them,” Claire said. “Kids have a ton of fun with it. I’m sure parents are being asked to go buy glue and borax.”
Josh had visitors to his makeshift laboratory using old marshmallows and tooth picks to construct bridges fit for a matchbox car.
“The toothpicks stick in them better,” Josh said of the air dried marshmallows. “And the kids are less likely to eat them.”
But in the real world, Claire does a lot of consulting when it comes to environmental stuff. Saving you from any engineer speak that we can’t even decipher, she makes sure her clients are in compliance with environmental regulations when they try to expand and grow their businesses. She works with the N.H. Department of Transportation and Department of Environmental Services, as well as with many privately owned companies.
While we pictured this crazy lab with chemical experiments at every turn, Claire does a lot of work with calculations and taking samples. The analytical work is sent out for examination.
“I want the kids to be excited about science,” she said. “Personally, I think chemistry is cool.”
Her main goal is to keep the little amount of clean water on the planet just that way, clean.
Most of Josh’s work has to do with bridges and highways. And since at the Insider we’re all about full disclosure, Josh is working on the Sewalls Falls Bridge project and is in no way trying to keep us from driving over it.
“We’re trying to open it as quickly as we can,” he said. “It’s obviously a bridge that everyone knows.”
He wanted the kids to see the concepts behind his work, which is why he brought in the marshmallows and toothpicks. It’s probably a little early for them to be working with steel and welding equipment anyway.
Josh will see the Sewalls Falls Bridge reconstruction from the conceptual phase all the way to final design, which is all done electronically these days.
“Now, everything is done with computers,” Josh said.
He does a lot of work within the state as well as other New England states, but we’re pretty sure he leaves the marshmallows at home during those work days.
“There’s always going to be bridges and roads to be built,” Josh said.
