Year of Engineering Success (YES). The calendar year 1997 was designated the YES by its British organizers. It was to be a twelve-month celebration of engineering achievement designed to bring public recognition to the profession. Even British engineers, when asked years later if they knew what the acronym stood for, were likely to answer, “NO.”

Bringing public attention to the profession seems to be a constant goal of engineering champions and their organizations, and the syndrome is no less common in America than it is in Britain. There is the oft-stated perception, especially among engineering society leaders and those who aspire to those positions, that their profession does not get proper public credit for its work. In fact, it is often the organization itself that is unrecognized. Unlike the medical and legal professions, which have their very visible and politically savvy umbrella groups of the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association, there is no single group that effectively represents engineers.

Many a layperson is, however, quite aware of engineering and the benefits it brings to daily life. Roads, bridges, buildings, automobiles, airplanes, clean water, electric power, appliances, computers, cell phones, and a virtually endless list of modern conveniences are known to be the works of engineers. That those engineers distinguish themselves as civil, mechanical, aeronautical, environmental, electrical, computer, or more esoteric types is of little significance or consequence in the larger scheme of things.