Why don't you check John Flynn's web site he is or was an engineer very good one but he went out of the engineer business and is now and international teacher, author and owner of the Flynn quilting frame business I have no interest in this business except I have taken a couple classes from him and own couple of his book and I learned a lot from him good luck with your quilt

Judy Niemeyer's patterns are great...her husband is an engineer and I believe she too has a degree, but went with quilting. Her website is www.quiltworx.com Would love to see what you do. Please let us know.

Ask him. Show him a variety of quilts to find out what appeals to him. Ask him what colors are his favorite. I will always ask what pattern a person likes and let him/her choose the colors. The quilt is never just a surprise. I know from experience that this is wise. My grand-aunt gave me an expensive hand-quilted Mennonite quilt and I would never have chosen the rust/brown colors myself. I love the cream-colored back of the quilt which showed the hand-stitching better than the front and used that side most of the time.

There are some patterns that resemble cogs. I think they are similar in structure to Dresden plates but cut more into rectangles and squares to resemble cogs

Maybe a two or three or three color quilt with high contrast. Black and white and ? You could make a sampler. You could use blocks and fabrics related to his career and hobbies. Any sports interests? Tool blocks.

What about the Deco Gear pattern? It is a free pattern on Craftsy. You could always add to this wall hanging to make it a quilt. Just a suggestion.

Puzzle quilt or anything graphic.