Professional and Career Topics

In all theoretical definitions 'Creativity' is described . . . as one of the fundamental requirements of engineering practices and management philosophy . . . Creativity and freedom are intertwined – and based on materials (excerpts in italics) presented in 2.2 An Engineer's Freedom and Creativity of Civil Engineering on Seashore . . . Creativity connotes freedom – freedom of choice, freedom of alternative thinking . . . But . . . engineering creativity is not like the creative works of many – for example, of an artist . . .

The above statements, and perhaps more, lead us to ask: What does an engineer's creativity mean then? Do engineers enjoy same freedom like others to be creative? How do the causes of constraints a practicing engineer faces – condition creativity? Do they feel complacent about their efforts – having an umbrella of Standards, Codes and Manuals shielding them?

Brooding over, here are what one can start with:

• I came up with a short answer: for all different reasons . . . an engineer does not enjoy much of a freedom like others – therefore has less latitude to be creative . . . Does it sound right?

• Something agreeable perhaps . . . An engineer's creativity is based on his or her level of skill and experience. . . . This, what to do and how to fix is the crux of engineering creativity . . . Something different from what we usually understand of creativity – is it not?

• How to categorize and qualify an engineer's works – let's say, from some sort of direction setting to project implementation – from more degrees of freedom to less. Here are something I thought of: Class A Engineering Freedom . . . to Class D Engineering Freedom . . . How do they sound?

  This subject-matter is posted as a stand-alone topic following Mitch's suggestion during our interactions in Engineer vs. Economist post . . .

  This is an interesting and important topic – I guess many have something to says on this – something enriched with valuable experiences, thoughts and opinions.

Dilip

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Dr. Dilip K Barua, Ph.D

Website Links and Profile

Your post brought to mind the Outstanding Civil Engineering Acheivement Honor Award Recipients. Randomly picking the 2024 recipients, these projects share elements of under budget, under schedule, or increased functionality. It would be interesting to unpack the factors that led these outcomes. My hunch is that there is a strong overprint of creativity. I could speculate, but it would be far more impactful to hear from the project teams. 

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Mitch Winkler P.E.(inactive), M.ASCE
Houston, TX
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This is a wonderfully thought-provoking topic, Dilip. Every endeavor limits creativity in some way; however, those we impose on professions such as engineering may be unusual or even unique. I'll need to ponder the subject.

Your thoughts about classes (or a spectrum) of appropriate creativity strike me as especially helpful. Shoreline erosion protection can perhaps accept greater risk, and thus more creative solutions, than can bridge design, for example.

I look forward to seeing more discussion.

Bill Mc

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William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
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Bill Mc – perhaps that's another way of equating risk with creativity – the more the perceived risk, the more conformal things have to be. The drives to minimize risk and maximize safety call for limiting the latitude of freedom. I would say, that is applicable to any type of engineering works. That's why the real-world engineering activities progressing from Class B to C and D freedom categories become increasingly impregnated with conformity requirements. Both conformity requirement and the degree of creativity remain side by side – but, as the reality of things kicks in – the qualification scale shifts with situations progressing from one to the next.

* * *

Well said Darya. Yes, imagination bred and nourished by freedom is very important. Imagination crystallizes to creative ideas to concepts to methods and products. Imagine attending a fine-art school or an entrepreneurial business meeting – the former would probably say, imagination and creativity make one stand out from the rest – the later would probably say, ideas make money . . .

Compare that with a typical project meeting . . . I remember attending a project meeting sometime during my early career. Something I said, prompted one my colleagues saying, Dilip is imagining things . . . another quipped, he is a dreamer . . . Our presiding boss reminded us that the project has a tight scope and budget to finish in time . . . Ah there it is! At the end of the day, that's the bottom line of reality that pushes everything down to the conformity queue.

Again, as in Civil Engineering on Seashore . . . all enjoy certain freedom as a human being – and we use this freedom to be creative in our many day-to-day works. So, this level of creativity is always there . . . That is what differentiates us (the personality, you mentioned) – the type of talent, the level of intellect that defines an individual. That's why no two artist's works are the same – that's why a business advertises that its products are different from others . . . and so on.

There comes the rationality of the "habits of mind" of AAAS 1990 definition, elaborated in NAP #12635 Publication.

Dilip

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Dr. Dilip K Barua, Ph.D

Website Links and Profile

Original Message:
Sent: 06-19-2025 09:06 AM
From: William McAnally
Subject: An Engineer's Freedom and Creativity

This is a wonderfully thought-provoking topic, Dilip. Every endeavor limits creativity in some way; however, those we impose on professions such as engineering may be unusual or even unique. I'll need to ponder the subject.

Your thoughts about classes (or a spectrum) of appropriate creativity strike me as especially helpful. Shoreline erosion protection can perhaps accept greater risk, and thus more creative solutions, than can bridge design, for example.

I look forward to seeing more discussion.

Bill Mc

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William McAnally Ph.D., P.E., BC.CE, BC.NE, F.ASCE
ENGINEER
Columbus MS
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Dear Dr. Barua,

Thank you for raising such a rich and reflective topic - it's something I've often thought about myself.

Personally, I believe creativity is either part of someone's nature or it isn't - and this applies to engineers just as much as to artists. Having technical experience is important, of course, but even without decades of seniority, an engineer can approach their work with a creative mindset.

It may not be "artistic" in the classical sense, but I can tell you - I absolutely feel like a creative soul when I'm developing a complex cost estimate or assembling a detailed project schedule! 😊

You can approach engineering work in a dry, mechanical way - or you can bring life to it by caring about the details. For me, details are creativity. A blue frame around a report may not solve a structural problem, but it reflects the engineer's personality - and the thoughtful design behind the work.

Of course, if the entire document is technically flawed, no amount of creative flair will help. That's why I agree - true engineering creativity requires a balance: competence plus imagination.

Thank you again for sparking this conversation. I'm eager to read what others think too!

Warm regards,
Darya Stanskova

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Darya Stanskova Aff.M.ASCE
Cost Estimator, Construction Engineer, Power Engineer, Project Manager
Clearwater FL
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