Scrolling through the lines of G-code iterations, I rubbed my eyes as my cursor hovered over the “Run” button on the monitor. The image of the Arc de Triomphe taunted me. My finger rested on the mouse in anticipation, but the high stakes furthered my anxiety. I had toiled endlessly to develop a printing system that would construct three-dimensional objects, ranging from chess pieces to human ears, using gels instead of plastics. After working out some kinks to my prototype –...

Glancing at the network of glass pipelines hanging in front of me, I jot down the pressure 0.032 torrs displayed on the barometer before I begin the experiment. As I release bromomethane from its chamber, the barometer’s reading skyrockets. I am a chemical-engineer-in-the-making... My first engineering experience came at the age of five when I received my first LEGO set. As a “civil engineer,” I erected seven-foot “skyscrapers” and developed miniature suburbs from a sea of colorful bricks. Growing older,...