National Engineers Week runs February 21-27 and aims to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of engineers, increase understanding of engineering, and spark the interest of younger generations.

In honor of Engineers Week, some of Transtec’s engineers share their inspirations, thoughts, and advice on being an engineer.

Mengge Yuan

Project Manager at The Transtec Group

Who inspired you to become an engineer?

My host dad inspired me to be an engineer (specifically a civil engineer) after seeing him work on different types of projects across the world. When I was in college studying engineering, I worked on different research projects for couple years. That helped me determine that I prefer to be an engineer that implements technologies rather than a researcher.

What do you enjoy most about being an engineer?

Knowing that I am contributing to welfare of the public by just doing my daily job.

What advice do you have for aspiring engineers?

I made a lot of friends within my major when I was in college. It was very nice to know that everyone was struggling through college as much as I was, and we helped each other with our own strengths.

Engineers are not loners. It often requires us to communicate efficiently with each other, so it is very important to realize the value of teamwork. The nature of civil engineering demands us to be team players, keep this in mind and build your teamworking skills.

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

My favorite project is the first project that I worked on. I learned so much from this project and a lot good experience came with it. It was also the pre-COVID era, so the team and I were able to travel for meetings and actually see the roadway condition ourselves. Seeing our designs come into the bigger picture felt so rewarding.

Amanda Gilliland

Project Manager at The Transtec Group

Who inspired you to become an engineer?

I don’t think any person inspired me to become and engineer. I was inspired by the work and job security that came with it.

What do you enjoy most about being an engineer?

Civil engineering is in all of our day to day activities. I love doing something that significantly impacts the daily lives of so many people.

What advice do you have for aspiring engineers?

Find good mentors that are doing what you want to do and then learn everything you can from them.

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

I enjoy implementation projects. We do a lot of work with implementation of intelligent construction technologies. My favorite projects bridge the gap between research and practical application.

Mauricio Ruiz

Director of Engineering at The Transtec Group

Who inspired you to become an engineer?

As I started learning about career options, I was attracted to engineering because I was amazed by the work involved in civil infrastructure and the variety of areas of work (highways, airports, rail, vertical construction, dams, etc.) civil engineers could get involved with.

What do you enjoy most about being an engineer?

I enjoy coming up with solutions to practical problems.  I enjoy participating in multidisciplinary teams where I can contribute with work and ideas on my specific area of expertise, and I enjoy when I learn that the solutions I develop are useful, improve performance, are cost effective, and positively impact society as a whole.

What advice do you have for aspiring engineers?

Start getting involved in engineering societies where you can get acquainted with the different engineering fields.  Look for engineering internship opportunities.  Discover your engineering passion!

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

HIPERPAV was my favorite project.  Working on this project allowed me to get a very deep understanding of how concrete pavement works and allowed me to understand the fundamentals of how pavement design, materials, environment, and the construction process are interrelated.  The experience I gained working on HIPERPAV has been invaluable and has allowed me to have a better perspective that has served well on many other different kinds of projects.

Kiran Mohanraj

Project Manager at The Transtec Group

Who inspired you to become an engineer?

My dad. When I was 7, my dad – who is an English professor – was helping me with a science experiment for a school project. I started asking questions about how I could continue to do cool things like that, and my dad said I could be an engineer. After that, I built my own cable car in my yard.

What do you enjoy most about being an engineer?

All the cool things I get to do. Every day I discover something new. It’s never monotonous or repetitive, it’s fun and interesting.

What advice do you have for aspiring engineers?

Go for it! You don’t get the kind of satisfaction you get by being an engineer with anything else.

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

Every project has at least one challenge requiring an innovative solution making it singular in nature.  This means I don’t have one favorite project, but all favorite projects.

George Chang

Director of Research at The Transtec Group

Who inspired you to become an engineer?

Not one specific person, I was and still am self-motivated! But my mentors helped develop my passion. Years ago, I worked with people in the research field who became mentors to me. They helped to create a nurturing learning environment that I was able to immerse myself in and develop my passion for engineering.

What do you enjoy most about being an engineer?

The difference and impact the work I accomplish makes. All the little things I’ve accomplished in my career add up and have made some impact on the industry, and that is very fulfilling to me. I also train and teach engineers from all over the world through workshops. I’ve taught more than 10,000 engineers over the last 20 years. That opportunity to share my passion and show people how excited I am about what I’m doing is also extremely fulfilling.

What advice do you have for aspiring engineers?

Think big, work hard, and be curious. Devote passion to what you’re doing, because without the passion it’s difficult to stay interested and inspired to do something above and beyond. Drive your effort towards that big vision.

What is your favorite project you’ve worked on and why?

ProVAL and Veta. These engineering software products have a huge impact on the quality of pavements construction and testing.

To learn more about Engineers Week and getting involved, visit DiscoverE.org