Career Profiles: Jo Da Silva
My employer: I work for the ARUP, one of the largest, international, engineering design consultants.
My job: I am an Associate Director of ARUP, leading a group of 24 people working on a wide variety of projects in the UK and overseas. These projects include:
- A new London underground station at Wembley Park.
- The Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
- An art gallery in Atlanta, USA.
I am also a member of the "sustainability task force", an ARUP group committed to responsible building by respecting the environment to benefit as many people as possible.
My education: I studied for my engineering degree at Cambridge University after achieving A'levels in mathematics, physics and geography. Engineers need to understand mathematics and physics. However, geography provides a relevant background to appreciating the effects of civil and structural engineering projects on society and the environment.
Other projects I have been involved with: I worked in Hong Kong for two years on the design of Chek Lap Kok airport, the biggest Civil Engineering project in the world at the time. I helped with the conceptual design for the baggage handling hall, which was the size of several football pitches, and the detailed design of the 6 kilometre long glass wall around the building.
Back in the UK, I have designed a vaulted timber shell for an ecological school in Germany and an 80 metre glazed steel hemisphere that sits in the sea off Osaka, Japan housing a Maritime Museum.
Helping people: I am a member of RedR (Engineers for Disaster Relief), a charity that supplies engineers to work alongside aid agencies such as Oxfam, Save the Children Fund and UNHCR helping to relieve suffering in the aftermath of wars, famine, floods and hurricanes. In 1994, I spent 3 months in Africa, following the genocide in Rwanda, building refugee camps with food distribution centres, hospitals, and basic sanitation systems. This experience made me feel lucky to be an engineer, having skills that are really useful and that help people.
My television debut: I was involved in the BBC2 series "Secrets of the Ancients" trying to demonstrate how, in 200BC, Archimedes could have built a war machine that lifted Roman galleys called quinqueremes out of the water. In the programme, I explain how Archimedes' discovery of buoyancy coupled with his understanding of levers meant that it was possible. However, my attempts to build such a machine to lift an Italian fishing boat out of the water met with mixed success.
Encouraging engineers of the future: I am now a Visiting Senior Fellow at Cambridge University where I share my knowledge and experience with the young engineering students giving an industrial perspective to their studies.
The best things about my job: For me, engineering has provided the opportunity to travel, explore new ideas, develop new skills, and meet different people. What appeals to me most, is the mixture of creativity and pragmatism, and the unique set of challenges, that each engineering project offers.
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