Alexander Bennett, PhD •  Mechanical Engineer

 

I am a

Mechanical engineer

Alexander Bennett, PhD

Presented by Illumina

It’s important for scientists’ instruments to always be working optimally so that the data they output is accurate.

As a mechanical engineer, I design and build new instruments that other scientists can use to study DNA.

MY WORK SETTING

 

Indoor vs. Outdoor

I spend all of my time working inside a lab or at a desk.

 

People vs. Alone

I spend most of my time collaborating with other people.

 

Creative vs. Defined

My work is equally creative and defined.

My Work Needs

Essential Skills:

COMMUNICATION

In my job, I must try to understand what others need at a fundamental level. Communication, especially listening, is crucial.

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CURIOSITY

There’s always something new to learn. I’m constantly brainstorming ideas with the other scientists and engineers on my team.

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PROBLEM SOLVING

Whether I'm designing a new machine, troubleshooting a system, or optimizing a process, I constantly encounter complex challenges. My work requires problem solving to come up with innovative solutions.


ORGANIZATION

Keeping a good record of what you’ve been working on in a lab notebook is really important when projects are complex. Generally being organized will help you not lose time.

DAYS IN THE LIFE

Days in the Life

Come along and explore what three days at my job might look like!

How I Work


Check out what my place of work looks like on an average day.

This is what my workspace looks like!

  1. Football jersey. From my days playing NCAA football.

  2. Guitar. So I can practice when I have down time.

  3. Bonsai tree. Bringing peace and harmony to my workspace.

  4. Photo of me with my dogs. My two loves!

  5. Handbook of Mechanical Engineering. For referencing at work.

Did you know...

Mechanical Engineers work in nearly every scientific field.

Science and engineering are tools for people to build what they want to build, explore what they want to explore, or discover what they want to discover. And when you build skills in fields like mechanical engineering, it takes time, but then you can apply them to so many different problems and opportunities. Medicine, space travel, environmental issues, car design... you can use them to work on what you want to work on. If you can dream it, somebody's doing it. And if it doesn't exist yet, you can be part of creating it. There really are no limitations to what these fields can do, and what you can do with these tools.

Rewarding

These are the parts of my job I find particularly rewarding.

Solving an engineering puzzle is very gratifying!

Contributing to missions that have a positive impact on people’s health.

But everyone is different! Drag the circles to place them where you rate them.

Challenging

These are the parts of my job I find particularly challenging.

Being patient and taking my time to solve a tough engineering problem.

Not always achieving the results that you want.

These are the people I work with:

Programmers

I frequently meet with programmers to ask what is needed for their database.

Biochemists

We collaborate to figure out what they need from the engineers to improve their experiments.

Other Engineers

There are lots of different types of engineers that are problem-solving across different departments. We often cross-share ideas or work on something together.

WHAT’S NEXT?

What’s next for my field of work?

One of the most exciting things about working in STEM is how fast things change. things that aren't possible today could be possible tomorrow.

Mechanical engineering for 3D printing.



Mechanical engineers are instrumental in the development and testing of 3D printers - a novel form of material development. In the medical and health advancement field, 3D printers are being used to print live organ cells in the hopes of one day replacing the lengthy process of organ donations for people living with chronic or terminal health issues.

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PHOTOGRAPHER: Tchanavia Lastie • Illustrator: Ana Latese

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