Further Praise for Applied Minds

“Applied Minds will enlighten you about the minds that transform our lives. It beautifully conveys the true vision of engineering and its impact on nearly every aspect of life and global progress. This book is refreshing, most approachable, and highly recommended for anyone interested in understanding engineering.”

—C. D. Mote Jr., president, National Academy of Engineering

“This is a delightfully interesting book and an essential treatise about ingenuity and systems thinking. Be it a mundane problem or a grand social challenge, the engineering frame of mind offers vital insights and inspiration toward better solutions.”

—Rita Colwell, U.S. science envoy, former director of the National Science Foundation, and National Medal of Science laureate

“As a scientist, I have come to recognize the unique value that ‘thinking like an engineer’ brings to almost any important endeavor. In Applied Minds, Guru Madhavan skillfully uses stories to illustrate how engineers think, while also explaining how engineering has profoundly improved our lives. Hopefully his new book will help many talented young readers become excited about engineering as a career.”

—Bruce Alberts, U.S. science envoy, president emeritus of the National Academy of Sciences, editor-in-chief emeritus of Science, and National Medal of Science laureate

“Applied Minds is filled with elegant and touching narratives about engineering design, but just as often about pragmatism and spotting and solving problems in daily life. Graceful, versatile, and a joy to read.”

—Richard Foster, director emeritus of McKinsey & Company, and author of Creative Destruction

“Applied Minds is captivating, entertaining, and hugely informative. Want to better understand how and why the engineering mindset is supremely important for everything from technology to human progress? Read this excellent book.”

—Gordon England, former U.S. secretary of the Navy and deputy secretary of defense

“Any attempt to describe how engineers think would be a daunting task, but Guru Madhavan is more than up to it in his Applied Minds. With the liberal use of excellent examples and personal reflections, he expands on the often narrow image of engineers to inspiring descriptions of the many roles played by those who translate dreams and science into humanity-serving reality.”

—Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Henry Hatch, former chief of engineers and commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers