American Scientist

Engineers are of two minds on how important they as individuals are vis–à–vis their projects. Some self–effacing ones see themselves as just part of a team: "No one man designed the bridge," Othmar Ammann said of his signature masterpiece, the influential George Washington, although it would certainly not have been built when, where and how it was had it not been for him. Others are self–promoters who take every opportunity to call attention to themselves: David Steinman, Ammann's archrival in bridge building, so bombarded editors with news releases and pictures that at least one editor noted that "his great accomplishments were sometimes clouded by his personality, which frequently made him the center of controversy."