In 1998, while visiting an engineering education society web site, I found a web page titled "Famous Engineers". Of the people listed on the page, roughly half were scientists. (Nothing against scientists but they had lots of "famous" web pages.) The listed included a terrorist and a former president who behaves as if despots deserve respect. Surely someone can do better than this, I thought. So I said, "Why Not"? It's the internet afterall! Pre-requisites are simple: those appearing on the page must have an engineering degree at some level or the equivalent as best as I can determine for the era in which they lived.

Suggestions are welcome but the page is an adhoc labor of love which I update a couple of times a year. The choice of those appearing is solely my decision and is a mixture of admiration on my part, luck in finding them, and often, something out of the ordinary. Most importantly there must be a web page about them to which I can refer. It could thought of as a Drudge Report of famous and not so famous engineers, that doesn't change much. The page is not meant to be all inclusive but is meant to offer a variety of individuals who serve as examples of the diverse nature of the practice of engineering. That they are famous and did something extraordinary, is a bonus. The primary goal of the page is to show students (or anyone else who is interested) that ordinary people such as themselves can do extraordinary things with sacrifice, diligence, hard work, perhaps a little luck every now and then, and ... an engineering degree.

The page is dedicated to John Gibson, former neighbor, friend, and mentor. I would include him on the page but he has no web page to which I can refer. After receiving a PhD from Hopkins in electrcial engineering, and a brief stint with the government, John eventually became President of IBM's components division, answering directly to the Watson brothers. He left IBM in the early 1970's when, as he put it, "the accountants took over". He also served on the Hopkins Board of Governors. He disliked bureaucracies. He is sorely missed.