INTO THE MYSTIC ENGINEERING FOR SCIENCE

Following are three projects where consulting engineers are working to advance the high cause of science. They are playing a key role on international teams who are working at the frontiers of our knowledge, charged with a mission to unravel the mysteries of our existence, whether it be seeking answers far out in the vast expanses of outer space, or by looking deep into the equally mysterious inner minutiae of living bodies, in the observation of atoms, molecules and transforming cells.

The consulting engineers are playing the more practical role in these programs by creating the facilities and conditions that enable the experiments to take place. But they too are venturing into uncharted areas. There are few precedents for these kinds of engineering projects, so they must solve each problem as it arises with ingenuity and originality. At the same time, they must keep a watchful eye on buildability and budgets. All three projects are sponsored by public money, and when you are working at this mammoth scale and at this level of engineering precision, the cost of a mistake can be out of this world.