IET UPDATES - HISTORIC ENGINEERS MORE WIDELY KNOWN THAN MODERN COUNTERPARTS


The man behind the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell has topped (41%) a poll of the greatest British engineers of all time ahead of George Stephenson (38%), the inventor of the steam locomotive engine and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (37%), who built the Great Western Railway.


Also featuring highly in the list was John Logie Baird (23%), the inventor of the colour television, and Michael Faraday (12%) the forefather of electromagnetism and electrochemistry who discovered electrolysis.


However, the significant achievements of more contemporary inventors such as British engineer Frank Whittle (11%), best known as the inventor of the turbo jet engine, came in much further down the list as did James Dyson (7%), inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.


The study was conducted by Opinion Matters on behalf of the Institution of Engineering and Technology


(IET) to find out how much the general public knows about engineering and how much it contributes to the nation and the world.


Barry Brooks, who has this week become the new President of the IET, said: “The survey highlights a lack of awareness of the central role of engineering and engineers in our everyday lives.


“Engineering and technology benefits everyone, everywhere in the world. When you turn on the lights, receive calls and data on your mobile phone, or drive your car, these things couldn’t have been done without the work of engineers.


“During my term as IET President, I will be working


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