der Tüftler
Someone who likes to puzzle over a tricky technical problem until it is solved.
der Erfindergeist
The inventive spirit.
deutsche Ingenieurskunst
German engineering art. A fixed phrase of praise.
Daniel Düsentrieb
The German name of the Disney inventor known in English as Gyro Gearloose. In German-speaking countries the name stands for the brilliant, slightly scatterbrained inventor. His motto in the German comics, Dem Ingeniör ist nichts zu schwör, nothing is too hard for the engineer, comes from Heinrich Seidel’s “Ingenieurlied” of 1871.
das Land der Tüftler und Erfinder
The land of tinkerers and inventors. In 1999 this phrase summed up the image of the state of Baden-Württemberg.