Innovation is viewed as the application of better solutions that meet personal needs.
John Smeaton -LRB- 8 June 1724 -- 28 October 1792 -RRB- was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges , canals , harbours and lighthouses .. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist .. physicist. physicist. Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed civil engineer , and often regarded as the `` father of civil engineering '' .. He was associated with the Lunar Society .. Lunar Society. Lunar Society