Brendan Kearns is a former chartered engineer at eircom who shares remarkable stories from our connected world in his new book Evolution of Telecommunications.

From Bell's accidental discovery of the telephone while trying to improve telegraph systems to Ireland's transformation from 50% manual exchanges in 1979 to today's fiber networks, Brendan reveals the engineering breakthroughs that built modern communications. His comprehensive guide traces the path from Morse code to AI and quantum computing, sharing tales of underwater cable failures that led to heat equation breakthroughs, why an undertaker invented automatic switching, and the cybersecurity challenges facing today's networks.

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

• How the telephone was accidentally invented
• Why Ireland's telephone infrastructure was decades behind in 1979
• The engineering challenges of laying the first transatlantic cables
• How automatic telephone switches were invented by an undertaker
• Why successful engineering leadership requires small collaborative teams
• The cybersecurity threats facing modern telecom networks

Connect with Brendan:

Book: "Evolution of Telecommunications" available on Amazon.ie
https://www.amazon.ie/EVOLUTION-TELECOMMUNICATIONS-Brendan-Michael-Kearns/dp/1068201509

MORE INFORMATION

Looking for ways to explore or advance a career in the field of engineering? Visit Engineers Ireland to learn more about the many programs and resources on offer. https://www.engineersireland.ie/

Engineers Journal AMPLIFIED is produced by DustPod.io for Engineers Ireland.

QUOTES

• We engineers, we're very inquisitive people. We do like to break things from time to time. That's necessary, but then you have to fix them afterwards. - Brendan Kearns
• Sometimes practice can come before theory. You can't wait for the theory to be written first. You gotta do things to make things happen. - Brendan Kearns
• The telephone was invented by Bell in 1876, but he wasn't trying to invent the phone - he was trying to improve the telegraph. - Brendan Kearns
• Engineering is the art of giving something flesh, in my opinion. - Brendan Kearns
• I always like to work on small teams, no more than four or five people, where everybody is completely engaged and where everybody is honest with what they know and don't know. - Brendan Kearns

KEYWORDS
#telecommunications, #engineering, #innovation, #cybersecurity, #career-transition