Location: Los Angeles, USA

What do you do?

I am a structural analysis engineer for Boeing. I analyse repairs for 737 wings and empennage and ensure they are strong enough to restore the original capability lost when aeroplanes are damaged. This can be done in any number of ways, from corrosion, due to years of exposure to moisture, to a baggage loader ramming into the aeroplane.  I spend a lot of time talking with other engineers! My job requires lots of inputs from people with different specialities in order to get the right answer.

What can I see?

I work at a desk with a computer in our operations centre. There we have many screens where we can monitor the status of different customer requests and track aeroplanes on a map if need be. (I can not take any photos on site so the included image is an Airbus A320 flying over our office).

When I’m not doing science I… enjoy mountain biking, hiking, road cycling, woodworking, and skiing. I tend to enjoy building and tinkering with different machines that are related to these hobbies. For instance, I pretty consistently have to adjust my road bike’s derailleur (a device that shifts your gears) when it stops shifting efficiently. I also enjoy going into the great outdoors in order to appreciate Mother Nature – the best engineer of them all.