People of Germany: Rudolf Diesel (1858-1913) was a German inventor & mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine, and his mysterious death at sea. In the evening of 29 Sept 1913, he boarded the post office steamer Dresden in Antwerp on his way to a meeting of the Consolidated Diesel Manufacturing company in London. He took dinner on board the ship and then retired to his cabin at about 10 pm, leaving word to be called the next morning at 6:15 am, but he was never seen alive again. In the morning his cabin was empty and his bed had not been slept in, although his nightshirt was neatly laid out and his watch had been left where it could be seen from the bed. His hat and overcoat were discovered neatly folded beneath the afterdeck railing. There are various theories to explain his death. Biographers such as Grosser in 1978 present a case for suicide, and consider it most likely. Other theories suggest that various people’s business or military interests may have provided motives for murder. Evidence is limited for all explanations.

At least one story should be a happy one. This one was.

The whole story is rather long. I was working for a company that made water rides. We got an inquiry from a HUGE entertainment firm. They are still a money no object kind of organization for certain things. Sales received a request for a special ride system for a pair of cruise ships they were building. Part of this was a strange feature where water is used to push boats up small inclines. I was the expert on that so I was asked to look at that part and check what they had done.

The basic ride had been laid out with standard fiberglass tubes and they had a price figured out. The Client was less than happy with it. It was OooKaay. I had done projects with this company before. They lavish designers on the smallest details. I asked the salesman did they send artwork? Yes, but we can't build what they asked for. Show me the artwork. He did a bit reluctantly.

I cannot say exactly who the client was as I signed an NDA. They do not admit to having outsiders design their stuff.

They had prepared several renderings and even a set of story boards for their vision. It was really cool actually. Big crystal clear tubes wrapped around the top deck of the ship. Curved loops and long straight runs above happy people playing and stuff like that. Very Jetsons kind of look if you know what that is. If it were any other company wanting this it was impossible. But these guys will often spend whatever it takes to get what they want.

I told the salesman we can build exactly what they want. It will be very expensive but they wont mind. I know who can build those big clear tubes. I can do a full design for it and we can requote it. AND they will buy it.

There was a meeting in two weeks. Credit to the salesman and the owner that they told the customer that we were going to "try" to build exactly what they show in the pictures. and give them another price. I did a design for the whole layout in 3D CAD. I got sizes and quantities for the big tubes to be made from acrylic. We did computer renderings of the finished ride.

There are two companies in the world who can make acrylic that heavy to the size and quality required. I had done work with both. I got prices for the parts I needed. I took the most expensive option for costing it. The price quoted for the full blown concept was 10 times more expensive than the first one. They loved it. The PM (which that company calls the "producer") said if they could not get this exact thing it was not worth building the boats. ( Calling them boats was to piss off the ship people a bit)

So the adventure began. There was a lot to do. Key to this was the ships were to be built in Northern Germany. They had a full engineering team. (German Engineers!) They also had a consulting marine architect firm in Norway working on it. That was a bit scary. Lots of number crunchers. We had two guys. Me and one other to push numbers.

So I called another firm nearby that does very complex stuff and knew the ropes and had several PhDs on staff. I wanted someone not to actually do the work, but to look over our shoulders while we did it. They came back and said they couldn't, they did not do consulting and were very busy. But they knew a guy. This guy was a full professor at the local university and had several PhDs. Why you need more than one is a question, but hey he had them. I went to meet him and we hit it off. A fun good humored person and German to boot.

We showed him the plans and he was generous and helpful. He kept his eye on what I was doing, and what our structural engineer was doing. There were some things new to us like vibration in the structure from the engine exhaust pulses, and propeller speed. He was an expert on vibration. One of his PhDs involved aeroelasticity. My idea was to have him familiar with all our work just in case.

I went to a big meeting in Germany where I helped the ship designers to route access stairs and loading stations which was going inside one of the ship's stacks. There were also many mechanical items to sort with water flow and weight of the ride and the water in it that high in the ship. If affected stability. It was crazy and fun. I actually like hard things like that.

Unfortunately while all this was going on one of the managers was after me as I was not "on his team". No kidding he was an ass. So I was asked to leave the company just as the project was starting fabrication. Me delivering a big success would hurt his status. A real ass.

Then just in case happened.

A few months later there was a crisis. People flew in from California, Germany, and Norway. They found a problem with the ride supports. Everything was put on hold. I was not there, but I was told this later by my old boss told me what happened and it was great.

A phalanx of German engineers sat on one side of the table. The ride project team joined by our PhD was on the other. I am sorry they did not call me in to watch. The ship engineers laid out what they thought was the problem. The professor listened carefully and thoroughly shot down all their concerns. "I was brought in at the beginning. I saw everything they were doing. I checked much of it. They have done a brilliant job and thorough. I see issues with your work. Oh and I have several PhDs from Germany how many advanced degrees do you have?"

The client went from very concerned to ecstatic. It was the ship's teams problem for not taking certain things into account. They had to go home and fix their work.

Germany Just Effectively Started Up An Atomic Combination Reactor

Controlled atomic combination – a spotless, close ceaseless wellspring of vitality – would upset the world. As of late, critical strides on the way to a completely operational, proficient combination reactor have been made, and this week another turning point has been come to: German engineersfrom the Maximum Planck Organization have effectively started up their atomic combination reactor,…

By Evelyn Keßler, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Dec. 21, 2012 BERLIN--Christian Hummel knew he would suddenly be confronted with all sorts of new situations when, after nine years at a major German steel company, his boss offered him the job heading up a three-person development unit.

Hummel thought long and hard before accepting. He would not only bear the responsibility for the work the team produced, but for how well the team functioned together. Would his peers accept his leadership? Could he evaluate the different strengths accurately so as to be able to assign work effectively?

Hummel, who works for Carl Stahl GmbH Steel in Süssen decided to accept the challenge. "I'm now responsible for my team producing innovative and marketable products," the 35-year-old says, adding that he had to get used to delegating and doling out occasional negative feedback.

In Germany, there is a shortage of engineers. According to the German Association of Engineers (VDI) in June 2012 there were 88,000 too few. Not surprisingly, hardly any have a hard time finding a job and if it doesn't work out, finding another one is no problem. Under conditions like that, if there is any conflict on the job there is little motivation to soul-search about what your own mistakes may have been.

There is an old joke about engineers--if they know how to eat with a knife and fork their level of social skill is considered to be top notch. That is overstating the situation considerably, of course, but the lack of social skills among developers costs employers a great deal of money. They lose out when an experienced expert quits and they can't find a comparable replacement for months. If conflicts in the work place are not addressed, productivity suffers due to lack of motivation.

What's more: engineers are increasingly expected to be more than mere technical experts. According to current VDI figures, a third of engineers have jobs such as general manager, section head, controller or consultant that require a greater skill set that includes developed social skills. Complex technologies require expertise at higher-up hierarchical levels.

Rainer Würslin knows this. As the dean of the mechatronics and electro-technical department at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences, he was one of the first in Germany to realize the need for engineers to receive training beyond math and physics. As early as 2002, his faculty was offering a seminar in making presentations and the art of effective self-presentation.

"And since 2005 we've been teaching future engineers moderation techniques, project management, and the basics of business administration," Würslin says, adding that these subjects are now requirements for any engineering degree.

Students also have to do at least 60 hours of social work during their years at the university. The work can be anything from conducting physics experiments with kindergartens children to running high school engineering projects.

In their sixth semester, students are also prepared for daily life at work. They are gathered into random teams and spend 150 hours working together on industrial projects. "Regardless of personal sympathies, participants have to deal with each other and with the task at hand so that they can present a result at the end of the semester," Würslin explains. This is not about creating friendships: it's about learning to get a project done successfully--a project one wouldn't necessarily choose, with people one wouldn't necessarily choose.

Würslin warns that the university can't make up for any fundamental problems students may have relating, nor does he think it should go too far instilling leadership skills: that's something graduates can learn over time on the job. He believes employers need to commit to investing in the continuing education of their employees.

Christian Hummel, the young team leader at Carl Stahl, agrees. Shortly after taking up his new position he attended a leadership seminar at the Carl Stahl Academy. Subjects included effective delegating, giving feedback and evaluating performance. Hummel says that the experience gave him more confidence. He particularly appreciated being able to speak with other company team leaders--not only about technical issues but leadership ones as well.

Professor Würslin believes that the willingness to review one's own behavior as one works towards successful team solutions is no more or less developed with engineering students than it is with others. He notes however that many of the 30% who leave the university's engineering program are the ones who have trouble working in a team--and points out that nowadays jobs in development and construction are too complex for individuals to deal with on their own. Particularly in the big firms, having enough soft skills to integrate into a team has become a necessity--not least when multicultural teams are involved. Many will at some point hold positions outside Germany.