As an inventor himself — Roman holds 12 patents, and was once honored as Inventor of the Year (by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame) — Roman focuses on inventors in several of the articles. He writes, “Inventors are agents of change and great economic growth; moving the world in new directions, creating wealth, and often, new infrastructure. They are the ones who shift the paradigms, causing earthquakes in the fabric of civilization.” In one article, Roman lists the attributes of inventors; in another, the author asks the reader to brainstorm how they — and society — have benefited from inventors.
Roman is an advisor to the Edison Innovation Foundation and docent/special lecturer at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey — so it is not surprising that several of the articles focus on, or mention, Edison. One goes into the benefits of hypnagogia — the state between waking and sleeping. He notes that Thomas Edison experimented with sitting in a comfortable chair with his eyes closed. He would hold a steel ball and let it fall onto a plate to startle himself awake — and then immediately write down what he was dreaming or thinking about. Roman lists others who drew on hypnagogia for inspiration, including Beethoven, Edgar Allen Poe, Nikola Tesla, Isaac Newton, and even Aristotle.
Other articles in the collection focus on Michael Faraday, a hero of Edison’s; and Howard Latimer, the son of a freed slave who was an inventor in his own right — and later, one of Edison’s employees.
Some essays focus on the workplace, for instance, comparing leaders to farmers: “Both are future-oriented, working and preparing their soil, and strategizing plans for next year’s harvest.”
A recurring theme in Roman’s writing is the need for engineers to develop strong communications skills. In one article, he discusses communications and companies, “Being able to speak in front of corporate leaders to get your ideas effectively heard, is an absolute must for obtaining corporate resources to turn your ideas into reality.” Another article encourages engineers to develop their storytelling skills, stating, “A story should be educational, designed to deliver something worth remembering, or maybe something inspirational. It should also be entertaining, delivered in a way an audience will remember.” Roman also encourages engineers to teach — again, not only to develop communications skills, but also to “put an edge on your ‘technological blade.’”
One of the more unexpected essays is on Roman getting inspiration from quotes of painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso. He discusses some of his favorite Picasso quotes and puts them in the context of his own career. Quotes he includes are:
- “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.”
- “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain artists once they grow up.”
- “Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.”
- “The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.”
This & That Ruminations of an Engineering Mind, by Harry T. Roman, is available free for members; non-members pay $2.99, from the IEEE-USA Shop.
Roman is a regular author for IEEE-USA E-Books. He was also honored with a Meritorious Achievement Award for developing continuing education products for IEEE, as well as Region 1’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and the IEEE Outstanding Engineer Award. Roman worked for 36 years in PSE&G’s R&D group. Further, he taught graduate-level R&D project management courses at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Roman also guides teachers-in-training ow to apply STEM techniques in the classroom at Montclair State University (New Jersey).
