Profession: retired - former R&D-engineer

Number of times previously entering contest: never

Favorite design and analysis tools: None yet - I use Microsoft "Paint" for drawings, but go to working scale models to prove concepts and designs.

For managing CAD data Gerald's company uses: the old-fashioned design tools

Hobbies and activities: writing, painting, sculpture, model-building

Online communities: "IdeasII" and "3-Scale Applications Consortium"

Inspired by: To bring simple "engineering meethods" back into fashion, in a spirit of "small is beautiful" & "appropriate technology". Individuals can become "fans" of engineering, and those who are enthusiastic enough can be motivated to get qualified : necessarily a hard - but rewarding -grind.