We spoke to Aoife Howard about earthquake recovery, the skills necessary for a successful career in engineering and how young people can forge their own path.
In 2007, accredited conservation and structural engineer Aoife Howard graduated from Trinity College Dublin, having specialised in civil, structural and environmental engineering. Since then she has earned a master’s degree, won a scholarship to continue her studies in the UK and Ireland and worked steadily in the field of engineering.
However, if you were to jump back a few years, to her secondary school experience, she was at the time unaware that a career in engineering was open to her. “I was always good at maths in school I think,” Howard told SiliconRepublic.com, “it was never really clear to me though, [because] at school I was never told that maths was the way to go, or that engineering was an option for me.”
When filling out her university selections initially, she had all manner of odd choices that weren’t really in her area of interest and engineering was nowhere to be found on the list. “I didn’t even have any science subjects,” she explained, “but Trinity accepted honours maths as a science subject, so that’s the reason I was able to go there rather than any of the other universities.”
After completing her leaving certificate, she filled out a change of mind form and wrote letters to every engineering company she could source in the phone book. Shortly afterwards she began her engineering course and worked each summer and Christmas with a local company. She admits that even when she first started at the university she hadn’t quite realised just how broad the engineering industry truly is.
She soon found herself drawn to conservation engineering, that is the practice of ensuring a building or structure is structurally sound, while preserving its heritage and the surrounding area. Typically this is a role for engineers skilled in designing, developing and implementing sustainable engineering solutions.
The human element of engineering
Having worked for a Dublin-based company for a number of years, Howard’s next adventure in engineering took her to New Zealand, where less than a week into her move she found herself in Christchurch, working on earthquake recovery after the 2010 incident. Over the course of seven years she was personally involved in restoring more than 5,000 homes.
During her time in New Zealand, where she was eventually leading her own team of five engineers, she became acutely aware of how STEM careers, such as engineering, can have a significant effect on how ordinary people live their lives.
“We got the best and the worst of people. You would go out to a little old lady’s house and she has no water for a year or two and she’s like ‘yeah there are people worse off’. But you need to get water, you need to get logistics and everything going back to your house. And then you go into a house that is very little affected by the earthquake and they are claiming that their entire house needs to be rebuilt.”
As the longest standing member of the team by the time she left in 2017, Howard is immensely proud of the work she carried out in New Zealand, particularly as she got to see first hand people able to return to their homes after the devastation. It was also a key opportunity for her to identify and develop the non-technical skills that are so crucial to the engineering space.
Communication, collaboration and cohesion
When it comes to critical skills, Howard noted the ability to communicate effectively, regardless of who you may be working with, was crucial during her time on the various earthquake recovery teams.
“We had a selection of senior engineers in the office. I was often given the ones who were quite frustrated with the system or quite upset with the system and it was all communication. It was learning how to speak to contractors, to the people who owned houses. You had to speak to lawyers, solicitors, speak to the council as well, to try and deal with permissions.
“So a lot of communication, which isn’t a part of any engineering degree course, which I think would be hugely beneficial to engineers, because understanding and being able to talk to people is such a huge part of engineering.”
While she notes the gender balance has improved somewhat in recent years, Howard is also of the opinion that as a woman and often the only one on site, it is imperative that you learn how to advocate and speak for yourself. Finding balance is important, but as the lead you need to listen but also establish yourself as the person making the final calls.
Particularly as Ireland and the STEM sector in general works to become more sustainable, Howard stated interdisciplinary collaboration between civil, structural and conservation engineers, architects, those in the energy space and other specialists is going to become a key aspect of the industry.
Take retrofitting older buildings for example, which aren’t designed to withstand modernised practices, leading to incorrect materials often being used, time wasted and poorer quality of work.
“Within Engineers Ireland we have discussed a few times how we engage with the energy groups within Engineers Ireland, to go ‘don’t forget about our buildings’, that are built pre-1920, that are being upgraded now, that needs to be done with care and with the right materials and the right products.”
Cross-collaboration is key, as houses have changed significantly over the decades and aren’t really used in the same manner as they were before. People simply aren’t in their homes as often now, meaning windows aren’t opened enough, fires aren’t being lit, people have very different, modern ways of cooking.
Not only that, but the climate has changed greatly and homes are no longer as resilient to the weather as they once might have been, meaning methods of insulation and building need to be more innovative and mindful of how we live now.
With this in mind, Howard would urge young people to consider a career in conservation engineering, noting it is a fascinating, ever-changing and highly rewarding discipline, typically chosen by passionate individuals. She is of the opinion that experts in this field deserve more of a say in the industry, therefore accredited professionals are always in high demand.
“The issue is that some areas, some people, take precedence and you’re forgetting that there’s a whole lot of sections of the industry that need, but also have, loads of knowledge and when we’re all at the table together, better decisions are made.”
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
