We worked with the engineers in the design and construction and testing phases in those various areas then we would get back together at the end of the week and brief each other as to what had gone on.

I'm not into politics but I am committed to a cause: ensuring design technology and engineering stays on the U.K. curriculum alongside science and maths - grounding abstract theory merging the practical with the academic.

Britain's great strength is its innovative design and engineering natural ability and we're not using it.

A good scientist is a person with original ideas. A good engineer is a person who makes a design that works with as few original ideas as possible. There are no prima donnas in engineering.

My dad was an engineer and so I had this picture of science and technology and pursuits of the mind as being more impressive than artistic pursuits which I saw a as kind of frivolous.

I would say the most help I got was from my dad. My dad is a civil engineer in Switzerland he's 90 years old now so he's no longer active as a civil engineer but still a very active person.

I was really bright as a kid and tested well and it was clear that I was going to get scholarships to any schools I wanted. My dad always said I could be an engineer at that time it was the elite of society: steady job working in science which was then the answer to every problem we had. It was kind of a mandate. Kind of a dream he had for me.

My dad was an engineer and he became the CEO of Chevron. His was an engineer's mind-set: Everything's kind of a problem how do you approach the problem?

My dad of course like a lot of Asian parents wanted me to be an engineer or doctor and never could understand why I would want to be a lawyer. And then when I first said I wanted to run for office he thought that was absolutely insane.

I went to engineering school which I thought was what I wanted to do for about two weeks. We had an orientation class and we met this guy where he worked and stuff and it was cool but I was like 'There is no way this is going to be my life.'