Lockdown Thoughts

In a previous post I mentioned that I would profile a few of the leaders that have influenced me in my career. I thought I would start at the beginning with my old University Professor, Tutor, and friend Colin Garner.

As a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my career. About the only thing I knew was that I didn’t want to take the final year module on ‘Internal Combustion Engines’ as it was massively over-subscribed and seemed designed for super-practical engineers that had taken engines to pieces since they were a kid. I was not one of those. But two things changed my mind. Firstly I landed an undergraduate job developing engines to run on natural gas which sparked my interest, and secondly I really liked the course tutor who had been my second year Thermodynamics professor. Colin was energetic and engaging in topic areas that had every right to be dull as dishwater!

So I ended up taking the course in my final year and I am so glad I did. Colin continued to liven up every lecture. I recall vividly how he demonstrated the energy-density of fossil fuels. He started by showing us just how much energy petrol contained by lighting a few teaspoons of it on the desk at the front of the theatre and letting it burn. Nothing makes you sit up and listen like a fire in the room! He then moved to a second demonstration where he mounted a small model-aircraft engine on a broom-stick and used it to spin himself round on a swivel chair at sickeningly high speed. These kind of antics became typical of his sense of humour and engaging style.

One of the things that Colin did with me was to make me feel more like a peer than a student. We engaged in equal conversation as I conducted my research, wrote papers, and he even involved me in debates with other professors (such as figuring out how thrust gets transmitted through a jet engine structure). This made me feel like my input was valued and that I had a contribution worth hearing.

Over my subsequent 17 years working in diesel engine development with Caterpillar I continued to meet with Colin and work with him at times. I have had less cause since I moved to NZ, but I still stay in contact and value his support and motivation. In particular I try to model one of his traits: to engage with everyone as a peer, rather than a boss. I hope I am as good at it as him one day! Colin is still Professor of Applied Thermodynamics and Loughborough University of Technology and consults with many big names in the field of IC engines.

Ben Reed
Managing Director - HamiltonJet