Philipp Troppmann - Mechanical Engineer
Meet Philipp Troppmann! Dr. Troppmann has a background in mechanical engineering and has had an interesting, multifaceted career. He has had the opportunity to interact with a number of the various career paths engineers can have.
Dr. Troppmann believes that it is very important to set a strong foundation for being an engineer. He recommends taking advanced math and physics classes both in high school and at the university level. He also believes that internships are very valuable for exploring the various careers and options one can have as an engineer.
Dr. Troppmann attended the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, also known as the RWTH, a prestigious technical university in Aachen, Germany, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. There, he took part in several internships to fulfill the mandatory 26 weeks of internships required to become an engineer. During one of his internships, he worked in the development of internal combustion engines. Working at the RWTH on projects for companies such as BMW and Mercedes, he was tasked with optimizing the engines to keep the noise they made to a minimum. At the completion of his postgraduate studies, Dr. Troppmann received a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the RWTH.
Following his university studies, Dr. Troppmann worked at the French company Air Liquide, a global leading supplier of industrial gasses. At Air Liquide, he was a project supervisor , which involved working long days and on weekends. While at Air Liquide, Dr. Troppmann obtained an equivalent of a Master’s Degree in Business Administration in France.
Following his work at Air Liquide, Dr. Troppmann began to work for the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. Initially working on the regulation of vehicle emissions, he now supervises a team of 25 people that evaluates proposals of industrial projects designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that provides funding for the accepted projects.
Dr. Troppmann enjoys several aspects of being a mechanical engineer. He believes that the mindset required for engineering can be very helpful for thinking about practical and hypothetical situations in a logical, organized way. He appreciates being involved with new processes and technologies and values looking at innovative ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He also enjoys the teamwork aspect of engineering where one can collaborate, expand on others’ ideas, and make progress as the team innovates. He appreciates that one rarely sits at a desk or brainstorms all alone without collaborating with coworkers.
Dr. Troppmann believes that being an engineer can be quite challenging. Bureaucracy can be difficult to work through, and financial and regulatory obstacles can often provide additional challenges. However, Dr. Troppmann also believes that finance and regulatory work can be very interesting because one must decide what is appropriate, feasible, and sensible within a range of options.
Dr. Troppmann recommends that people interested in a career in mechanical engineering begin their career with hands-on work to obtain practical experience and knowledge. He also suggests working for several years in the field before joining a consultancy firm or taking on a management position. He believes that it is useful to obtain a business degree because it can provide one the opportunity for career advancement and can open up more jobs for those with an engineering background. He also recommends that university students start in a broader field such as mechanical engineering in order to understand the field as a whole before specializing their studies. Most of all, Dr. Troppmann recommends looking for something that one personally is interested in instead of simply following someone else’s career path.
Dr. Troppmann believes that Artificial Intelligence will have a strong impact on engineering. While it is difficult to fully predict the impact of AI due to the fact that it is still developing, AI has the potential to streamline the design process and propose solutions to problems that engineers encounter. However, for the time being and the foreseeable future, a human engineer must still ultimately verify the tasks carried out by an engineer or by AI.
One of Dr. Troppmann’s favorite projects in his career was one that produced steam and electricity by burning off waste gasses.