The importance of ignorance in engineering research
July 15, 2026
When Dr. Evan Main contacted Dr. Gary Bowlin, chair of the Herff College of Engineering鈥檚 Department of Biomedical Engineering, he didn鈥檛 know the first thing about engineering. With an undergraduate degree in physics, Main considered himself a long shot to be accepted into Bowlin鈥檚 graduate program.
Luckily for Main, who now holds a PhD in biomedical engineering, Bowlin accepted him with open arms.
鈥淚 hadn鈥檛 taken a biology class since freshman year of high school,鈥� Main said. 鈥淏ut I had never heard of tissue engineering or regenerative medicine, and I was enthralled by it. I reached out and said, 鈥業 know I may not have the background you鈥檙e looking for, but are you looking for a PhD student?鈥欌�� He told me to come on and took a chance on me.鈥�
RELATED: Curiosity leads Evan Main to Herff and PhD in Biomedical Engineering
What Main didn鈥檛 know at the time is that his ignorance was his greatest strength. Bowlin calls it the 鈥渋mportance of stupidity.鈥�
鈥淓ngineers are learners, because what are we doing? We鈥檙e tackling problems that haven鈥檛 been solved yet. There鈥檚 no answer. We have to muddle through it and figure out a solution the best we can,鈥� Bowlin said.
A student without preconceived concepts and an open mind has more room to learn and Bowlin admits that, as an instructor, he鈥檚 often learning right alongside his students.
鈥淚 like to tell my students why I鈥檓 here. I鈥檓 here to watch you fail,鈥� Bowlin said. 鈥淏ecause if we鈥檙e not failing, we鈥檙e not doing something right. We鈥檙e not doing something that鈥檚 unknown, creative and moving life forward. I want to see you failing. And that鈥檚 a problem with this generation of students. They鈥檝e never failed.鈥�
Bowlin said real learning begins when he lets students loose in a lab with a societal problem that has no answer.
鈥淵ou need to stress that early in the curriculum and allow them to do that. Give them open-ended questions. If we give them a complete, unknown, open question that nobody has an answer to, what will they do? How will they tackle it? It鈥檚 not about answers. It鈥檚 about the approach,鈥� Bowlin said.
Of course, for intelligent people who are unaccustomed to facing problems they can鈥檛 immediately solve, continuous failure can be frustrating and discouraging. Bowlin said understanding that feeling of inadequacy is key.
鈥淚t really shuts us down,鈥� Bowlin said. 鈥淚t can be a driving force at a low level of ignorance and stupidity. But it could be debilitating if it gets too much for a person. As engineers, we have to be aware of what we鈥檙e getting into and find a way to maintain that level.鈥�
When that feeling becomes overwhelming, Bowlin said a good way of dealing with it is to put the problem to the side and wait for inspiration.
鈥淚 get approached to solve problems all the time and I don鈥檛 have an instant answer. It needs to go into my head and do whatever it鈥檚 doing in my brain for whatever period of time. I鈥檒l think about it. I鈥檒l come back and forth to it and then I鈥檒l be trying to fall asleep, or I鈥檒l be driving to my office and all of a sudden, an idea comes. Try this. What do you think about this? And that starts the process,鈥� Bowlin said.
Though people in the field may not realize it, engineering is very much a creative art. It鈥檚 a field that requires free thinkers and the ability to create something beautiful out of nothing.
鈥淟ife, in general, everything we see and do is our toolbox, going in there to solve these problems. Our education is part of that as well. But I think the life aspect is more important because that brings empathy in, as well, in understanding the problem and trying to solve the problem the best we can,鈥� Bowlin said.
But even when that problem is 鈥渟olved,鈥� that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean it鈥檚 complete. Part of the creative process, according to Bowlin, is returning to a project with fresh eyes and new ideas to see how it can be improved.
鈥淚 need to come back to it eventually and say, 鈥榃hat can I do? How can I improve this?鈥� As a person, I鈥檓 always learning. As engineers, we鈥檙e always working. I may learn something from someone tomorrow that convinces me I need to go back to that project and try it. Just see what this new idea may bring to solving the problem,鈥� Bowlin said.
So, if you find yourself in a lab feeling like you don鈥檛 understand the problem, that鈥檚 okay. Just know that you鈥檙e exactly where you鈥檙e supposed to be to begin the process of finding a solution.
鈥淎s engineers, we should always approach problem-solving with a beginner鈥檚 mindset, with curiosity, not certainty,鈥� Bowlin said. 鈥淥verall, invention and problem-solving are a balance between knowledge and naivete. Thus, tackle the challenges you face as engineers with curiosity, naivete, continuous learning, persistence, empathy and the courage to be different. Do that and you will leave a lasting impact.鈥�