WHEN WE STARTED WORK on the special supplement we call the Watch List early last year, no one on staff knew exactly where it would end up. The brief was simple—write up profiles of 25 up-and-coming early career engineers working in established industry, academia, startups, or even engineering outreach. We’d done plenty of stories on young engineers, so this wasn’t something new. But it wasn’t until we collected them in one package that we realized that this special section would be special indeed.
We’re running it back this year with 25 more engineers whose progress we think is worth following. Among the engineers we profile in Watch List 2025 are C-suite leaders in energy companies or technology startups, researchers studying advanced robotics or the unintended effects of technology, lead engineers helping develop new nuclear reactors or spacecraft destined for the far reaches of the solar system. Heck, we even have a reality TV star and a professional football player.
Telling their stories—and in many cases uncovering key details these young engineers may not have even thought about before—is strategic content editor Sarah Alburakeh. We assigned Alburakeh last year’s Watch List within days of her joining the magazine, a trial by fire if there ever were one. She said this year’s supplement was different since she knew going in it would be months of long hours and hard work. But the results are, I think, extraordinary.
The Watch List is too big to fit neatly within the confines of the magazine, so we’ve broken it out into its own special issue. You can read Alburakeh’s introduction and three of her 25 profiles—Tim Latimer of Fervo, Ilayda Samilgil of Llume, and Brown doctoral student Eva Erickson, who competed this spring on Survivor—in the June issue. And then, pop over to the Watch List 2025 to read the whole set. (The Watch List is accessible to the public, so please share links to the issue with your friends.)
Elsewhere in the June issue, we have articles looking into some counterintuitive engineering, such as a comparison of the patients who had mechanical heart valve implants versus those who have tissue-based implants. Another story looked at the unaccounted-for energy efficiency of roof-mounted photovoltaic cells. And we talk to researchers in Germany who figured out the differences between two common types of electric vehicle batteries by tearing them apart to see what makes them tick.
We are also joined by Ansys CEO Ajei Gopal, who talks about the duty to assist the rising generation of engineers. Patent lawyer Kirk Teska provides a glossary on the sometime impenetrable jargon involving intellectual property. And you can test your knowledge of celebrities who just happen to have an engineering background in this month’s Big Quiz.
Also, let me add that if you know of an early career engineer you think is worthy of inclusion in next year’s Watch List, it’s not too soon to let us know. The nomination form for 2026 is up and running and waiting to hear from you.
—Jeffrey Winters, editor in chief
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