When we look at our communities, homes, places of business, or even means of transportation, there are a multitude of individuals who contribute their ideas and wealth of knowledge to make our world a better and more invigorating place.

The approximately two million engineers throughout the nation play a meaningful and significant role in how we live our lives on a daily basis.

National Engineers Week was Feb. 22-28, a perfect time to highlight what it means to not only be an engineer, but also how our work touches everyone.

Equally important, we must look ahead to the future to help connect our youth to this industry.

As a kid growing up, I enjoyed and became fascinated by solving problems.

Coming up with a thought, plan or concept to fix anything became a passion.

In some way, I wanted to play a vital role in forging a path to a more inclusive future.

I'm grateful to be doing that today as a civil engineer.

However, it's critical that my counterparts and I don't simply stop at the water's edge.

We need to keep building the momentum in a proactive fashion to let younger generations – in fact, all generations – know that their ideas can lead to fantastic outcomes.

As the world continues to change, so will our problem solving methods.

In the next two decades, it is projected that almost two billion additional people are expected to populate the Earth.

The reality is that 95 percent of this two billion will come from developing or underdeveloped countries.

With more people inhabiting our planet, it will inevitably create unprecedented demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, environmental cleanup, and infrastructure.

The responsibility and role of engineers will be essential in fulfilling those demands on various scales.

The national website for Engineers Week (discovere.org), has some interesting suggestions for talking with young people and high school students about civil engineering careers.

We must always present an image of having both the passion to make a difference in the world and the technical knowledge and expertise to achieve it.

That is the vital and core message our two million strong should be sending.

Time and time again our industry develops creative, practical solutions and we work with teams of -intelligent, inspiring people to design plans and build technologies and systems that make a difference in our world.

Professional and personal fulfillment is something we all strive for, and that's precisely what the engineering field can provide.

Let's take it a step further.

Those in our industry who speak to younger, aspiring world-changers should also paint mental pictures by asking the following questions: What would it feel like to have the expertise to build a school that could withstand a natural disaster?

What would it be like to help design a road system that puts an end to chronic traffic jams here in the United States or one that could bring two villages and their people together on another continent?

Do you see that old abandoned factory? What could it be transformed into?

Here in the Lehigh Valley region, my colleagues and I continue to be at the forefront of growth that is unprecedented.

We've had the privilege of taking our ideas and practices to extraordinary heights as our urban cores and rural communities continue to gain unparalleled strength.

It is quite phenomenal and humbling to be a part of the Lehigh Valley's resurgence.

But as always, there is more work to do and more ideas to be thought out.

As we recently celebrated National Engineers Week, we must increase public dialogue about the need for engineers and also bring engineering to life for kids, educators, and parents.

Finally, we must be mindful of what we can do to take our communities and our world to the next level.

Because in the end, that's what engineering is all about.

***

Editor's Note: Scott C. Muller, P.E., P.L.S., senior executive vice president of Gilmore & Associates, Inc. Engineering and Consulting.