Engineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes In the electronics industry, especially for those building ICs, some technologists can be referred to as "process engineers" as contrasted to "design engineers". The project would be collaborative; the process engineers might be considered responsible for realizing a physical circuit design which might have been laid out and that safely realize a desired objective or inventions. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development ECPD changed its name to Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in 1980, and in 2005 changed its name again to ABET, Inc (ECPD, the predecessor of ABET ABET, Inc., formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, is a non-profit organization that serves the public by accrediting United States postsecondary degree programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. Accreditation is intended to certify the quality of these programs. There are over 2,800 programs[1]) has defined engineering as follows:

“[T]he creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property.”[2][3][4]

One who practices engineering is called an engineer An engineer is a skilled technical professional. Engineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness". The industrial, and those licensed to do so may have more formal designations such as European Engineer, Professional Engineer Professional Engineer is the term for registered or licensed engineers in some countries who are permitted to offer their professional services directly to the public, Chartered Engineer, or Incorporated Engineer Incorporated Engineer is a professional qualification in engineering (obtained after an Engineer's degree) offered through professional associations that act as subsidiary instruments of the Engineering Council UK, the regulatory authority for professional registration of engineers in the United Kingdom. The broad discipline of engineering encompasses a range of more specialized subdisciplines Engineering is a collective term to describe the application of scientific theory in the design, creation, and maintenance of technology. According to 1992 NSF data, the largest fields of engineering are Civil, Electrical / Electronic, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, each with a more specific emphasis on certain fields of application and particular areas of technology.

Contents

History

The Watt steam engine The Watt steam engine was the first type of steam engine to make use of steam at a pressure just above atmospheric to drive the piston helped by a partial vacuum. Improving on the design of the 1712 Newcomen engine, the Watt steam engine, developed sporadically from 1763 to 1775, was the next great step in the development of the steam engine, a major driver in the industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The onset of the, underscores the importance of engineering in modern history. This model is on display at the main building of the ETSIIM in Madrid, Spain

The concept of engineering has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental inventions such as the pulley, lever, and wheel. Each of these inventions is consistent with the modern definition of engineering, exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop useful tools and objects.

The term engineering itself has a much more recent etymology, deriving from the word engineer, which itself dates back to 1325, when an engine’er (literally, one who operates an engine) originally referred to “a constructor of military engines.”[5] In this context, now obsolete, an “engine” referred to a military machine, i. e., a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult A catapult is any one of a number of non-handheld mechanical devices used to throw a projectile a great distance without the aid of an explosive substance—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines). The word “engine” itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the Latin Latin is an Italic language historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe. Romance languages such as Italian, French, Catalan, Romanian, Spanish, and Portuguese are descended from Latin, while many others, especially European languages, including ingenium (c. 1250), meaning “innate quality, especially mental power, hence a clever invention.”[6]

Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings matured as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering Engineering has been an aspect of life since the beginnings of human existence. Civil engineering might be considered properly commencing between 4000 and 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia when humans started to abandon a nomadic existence, thus causing a need for the construction of shelter. During this time, transportation became[4] entered the lexicon as a way to distinguish between those specializing in the construction of such non-military projects and those involved in the older discipline of military engineering A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive, and logistical structures for warfare. Other duties include the layout, placement, maintenance and dismantling of defensive minefields and the clearing of enemy minefields and the construction and destruction of bridges. In some cases an engineer (the original meaning of the word “engineering,” now largely obsolete, with notable exceptions that have survived to the present day such as military engineering corps, e.g., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency. Although generally associated with dams, canals and flood protection in the United States, USACE is involved.

Ancient era

The Acropolis The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis in the world. Although there are many other acropolises in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of and the Parthenon The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena whom the people of Athens considered their protector. It was built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are in Greece Greece /ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda [e̞ˈlaða] , historically Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [e̞ˈlas]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, [e̞liniˈkʲi ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan, the Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world aqueducts An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose. In a more restricted use, aqueduct (occasionally water bridge) applies to any bridge or viaduct that transports water—instead of a, Via Appia and the Colosseum The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, near present-day Al Hillah, Babil in Iraq, is considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. They were built by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BCE. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his sick wife, Amytis of Media, who, the Pharos of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse, the pyramids There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods in Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر‎ Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Egyptian Arabic: Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about 1,010,, Teotihuacán Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the so-called "avenue of the dead", and its colorful and the cities and pyramids of the Mayan The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Preclassic period , many Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c. 250, Inca The Inca civilization began as a support group in the Cuzco area, where the legendary first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200. Under the leadership of the descendants of Manco Capac, the Inca state grew to absorb other Andean communities. In 1442, the Incas began a far-reaching expansion under the command of and Aztec Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political and military dominance over large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the Late post-Classic period in Mesoamerican chronology Empires, the Great Wall of China The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total; a more recent archaeological survey using advanced technologies points out that the entire Great Wall, with all of, the Buddhist Stupa and Yoda Cannel in Sri Lanka, among many others, stand as a testament to the ingenuity and skill of the ancient civil and military engineers.

The earliest civil engineer known by name is Imhotep Imhotep , fl. 27th century BC (2650-2600 BC) (Egyptian ii-m-ḥtp *jā-im-ḥatāp meaning "the one who comes in, with peace") was an Egyptian polymath, who served under the Third Dynasty king, Djoser, as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He is considered to be the first engineer, architect and.[4] As one of the officials of the Pharaoh Meaning "Great House", it originally referred to the king's palace, but by the New Kingdom had become a form of address. The Egyptian term for the ruler himself was nsw-bjt(j) (rendered in Babylonian as insibya; Egyptological pronunciation "Nesu(t)-Bit(i)"), "King of Upper and Lower Egypt", literally "he of the, Djosèr Netjerikhet or Djoser is the best-known pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt. He commissioned his official, Imhotep (ca. 2650-2600 BC), to build the first of the pyramids, a step pyramid for him at Saqqara. Variants of his name include Zoser, Dzoser, Zozer, Dsr, Djeser, Djésèr, Horus-Netjerikhet, and Horus-Netjerichet, he probably designed and supervised the construction of the Pyramid of Djoser The Pyramid of Djoser , or step pyramid (kbhw-ntrw in Egyptian) is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier Imhotep, during the 27th century BC. It is the central feature of a vast mortuary complex in an enormous courtyard surrounded by (the Step Pyramid The construction of step pyramids has been an ancient part of several cultures throughout history from the. These pyramids typically are large and made of several layers, or steps, of stone. The term refers to pyramids of similar design that emerged separately from one another, as there was no connection between the different civilizations that) at Saqqara Saqqara or Sakkara, Saqqarah is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world's oldest standing step pyramid, as well as a number of mastabas. Located some 30 km south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 km by 1 in Egypt The History of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from around 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state, until the country fell under Greek rule in 332 BC around 2630 Categories: 3rd millennium BC | 27th century BC | Centuries -2611 BC Categories: 3rd millennium BC | 27th century BC | Centuries . [7] He may also have been responsible for the first known use of columns A column in structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces. Other compression members are often termed "columns" because of in architecture Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment, from the macro level of how a building integrates with its surrounding context (see town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture).[citation needed]

Ancient Greece The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization and shaped cultures throughout developed machines in both the civilian and military domains. The Antikythera mechanism The Antikythera mechanism , is an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as the first known mechanical computer) designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1901 from the Antikythera wreck but its complexity and significance were not understood until decades later. It is now thought to have been built about 150–100, the earliest known model of a mechanical computer in history[8], and the mechanical inventions Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and the explanation of the of Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and the explanation of the are examples of early mechanical engineering. Some of Archimedes' inventions as well as the Antikythera mechanism required sophisticated knowledge of differential gearing A differential is a device, usually but not necessarily employing gears, capable of transmitting torque and rotation through three shafts, almost always used in one of two ways. In one way, it receives one input and provides two outputs; this is found in most automobiles. In the other way, it combines two inputs to create an output that is the sum, or epicyclic gearing Epicyclic gearing or planetary gearing is a gear system that consists of one or more outer gears, or planet gears, revolving about a central, or sun gear. Typically, the planet gears are mounted on a movable arm or carrier which itself may rotate relative to the sun gear. Epicyclic gearing systems may also incorporate the use of an outer ring gear, two key principles in machine theory that helped design the gear trains A gear train is a set or system of gears arranged to transfer rotational torque from one part of a mechanical system to another of the Industrial revolution and are still widely used today in diverse fields such as robotics Stories of artificial helpers and companions likewise attempts to create them have a long history, but fully autonomous machines only appeared in the 20th century. The first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate, was installed in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them. Today, commercial and and automotive engineering Modern automotive engineering is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufacture and operation of motorcycles, automobiles, buses and trucks and their respective engineering subsystems.[9]

Chinese, Greek and Roman armies employed complex military machines and inventions such as artillery Artillery is a military combat arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force. Artillery is also a system of scientific research and its application towards design, capability and combat use of the above matériel which was developed by the Greeks around the 4th century B.C.,[10] the trireme, the ballista and the catapult. In the Middle Ages, the Trebuchet was developed.

Renaissance Era

The first electrical engineer is considered to be William Gilbert, with his 1600 publication of De Magnete, who was the originator of the term "electricity".[11]

The first steam engine was built in 1698 by mechanical engineer Thomas Savery[12]. The development of this device gave rise to the industrial revolution in the coming decades, allowing for the beginnings of mass production.

With the rise of engineering as a profession in the eighteenth century, the term became more narrowly applied to fields in which mathematics and science were applied to these ends. Similarly, in addition to military and civil engineering the fields then known as the mechanic arts became incorporated into engineering.

Modern Era

Electrical Engineering can trace its origins in the experiments of Alessandro Volta in the 1800s, the experiments of Michael Faraday, Georg Ohm and others and the invention of the electric motor in 1872. The work of James Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz in the late 19th century gave rise to the field of Electronics. The later inventions of the vacuum tube and the transistor further accelerated the development of Electronics to such an extent that electrical and electronics engineers currently outnumber their colleagues of any other Engineering specialty.[4]

The inventions of Thomas Savery and the Scottish engineer James Watt gave rise to modern Mechanical Engineering. The development of specialized machines and their maintenance tools during the industrial revolution led to the rapid growth of Mechanical Engineering both in its birthplace Britain and abroad.[4]

Chemical Engineering, like its counterpart Mechanical Engineering, developed in the nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution.[4] Industrial scale manufacturing demanded new materials and new processes and by 1880 the need for large scale production of chemicals was such that a new industry was created, dedicated to the development and large scale manufacturing of chemicals in new industrial plants.[4] The role of the chemical engineer was the design of these chemical plants and processes.[4]

Aeronautical Engineering deals with aircraft design while Aerospace Engineering is a more modern term that expands the reach envelope of the discipline by including spacecraft design.[13] Its origins can be traced back to the aviation pioneers around the turn of the century from the 19th century to the 20th although the work of Sir George Cayley has recently been dated as being from the last decade of the 18th century. Early knowledge of aeronautical engineering was largely empirical with some concepts and skills imported from other branches of engineering.[14] Only a decade after the successful flights by the Wright brothers, the 1920s saw extensive development of aeronautical engineering through development of World War I military aircraft. Meanwhile, research to provide fundamental background science continued by combining theoretical physics with experiments.

The first PhD in engineering (technically, applied science and engineering) awarded in the United States went to Willard Gibbs at Yale University in 1863; it was also the second PhD awarded in science in the U.S.[15]

In 1990, with the rise of computer technology, the first search engine was built by computer engineer Alan Emtage.

Main branches of engineering

Main article: List of engineering branches

Engineering, much like science, is a broad discipline which is often broken down into several sub-disciplines. These disciplines concern themselves with differing areas of engineering work. Although initially an engineer will be trained in a specific discipline, throughout an engineer's career the engineer may become multi-disciplined, having worked in several of the outlined areas. Historically the main Branches of Engineering are categorized as follows:[13][16]

With the rapid advancement of Technology many new fields are gaining prominence and new branches are developing such as Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Nanotechnology, Tribology, Molecular engineering, Mechatronics etc. These new specialties sometimes combine with the traditional fields and form new branches such as Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics and Electrical and Computer Engineering. A new or emerging area of application will commonly be defined temporarily as a permutation or subset of existing disciplines; there is often gray area as to when a given sub-field becomes large and/or prominent enough to warrant classification as a new "branch." One key indicator of such emergence is when major universities start establishing departments and programs in the new field.

For each of these fields there exists considerable overlap, especially in the areas of the application of sciences to their disciplines such as physics, chemistry and mathematics.

Methodology

Design of a turbine requires collaboration from engineers from many fields

Engineers apply the sciences of physics and mathematics to find suitable solutions to problems or to make improvements to the status quo. More than ever, Engineers are now required to have knowledge of relevant sciences for their design projects, as a result, they keep on learning new material throughout their career. If multiple options exist, engineers weigh different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best matches the requirements. The crucial and unique task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to produce a successful result. It is usually not enough to build a technically successful product; it must also meet further requirements. Constraints may include available resources, physical, imaginative or technical limitations, flexibility for future modifications and additions, and other factors, such as requirements for cost, safety, marketability, productibility, and serviceability. By understanding the constraints, engineers derive specifications for the limits within which a viable object or system may be produced and operated.

Problem solving

Engineers use their knowledge of science, mathematics, and appropriate experience to find suitable solutions to a problem. Engineering is considered a branch of applied mathematics and science. Creating an appropriate mathematical model of a problem allows them to analyze it (sometimes definitively), and to test potential solutions. Usually multiple reasonable solutions exist, so engineers must evaluate the different design choices on their merits and choose the solution that best meets their requirements. Genrich Altshuller, after gathering statistics on a large number of patents, suggested that compromises are at the heart of "low-level" engineering designs, while at a higher level the best design is one which eliminates the core contradiction causing the problem.

Engineers typically attempt to predict how well their designs will perform to their specifications prior to full-scale production. They use, among other things: prototypes, scale models, simulations, destructive tests, nondestructive tests, and stress tests. Testing ensures that products will perform as expected. Engineers as professionals take seriously their responsibility to produce designs that will perform as expected and will not cause unintended harm to the public at large. Engineers typically include a factor of safety in their designs to reduce the risk of unexpected failure. However, the greater the safety factor, the less efficient the design may be. The study of failed products is known as forensic engineering, and can help the product designer in evaluating his or her design in the light of real conditions. The discipline is of greatest value after disasters, such as bridge collapses, when careful analysis is needed to establish the cause or causes of the failure.

Computer use

A computer simulation of high velocity air flow around the Space Shuttle during re-entry.

As with all modern scientific and technological endeavors, computers and software play an increasingly important role. As well as the typical business application software there are a number of computer aided applications (CAx) specifically for engineering. Computers can be used to generate models of fundamental physical processes, which can be solved using numerical methods.

One of the most widely used tools in the profession is computer-aided design (CAD) software which enables engineers to create 3D models, 2D drawings, and schematics of their designs. CAD together with Digital mockup (DMU) and CAE software such as finite element method analysis or analytic element method allows engineers to create models of designs that can be analyzed without having to make expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes. These allow products and components to be checked for flaws; assess fit and assembly; study ergonomics; and to analyze static and dynamic characteristics of systems such as stresses, temperatures, electromagnetic emissions, electrical currents and voltages, digital logic levels, fluid flows, and kinematics. Access and distribution of all this information is generally organized with the use of Product Data Management software.[17]

There are also many tools to support specific engineering tasks such as Computer-aided manufacture (CAM) software to generate CNC machining instructions; Manufacturing Process Management software for production engineering; EDA for printed circuit board (PCB) and circuit schematics for electronic engineers; MRO applications for maintenance management; and AEC software for civil engineering.

In recent years the use of computer software to aid the development of goods has collectively come to be known as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).[18]

Engineering in a social context

Engineering is a subject that ranges from large collaborations to small individual projects. Almost all engineering projects are beholden to some sort of financing agency: a company, a set of investors, or a government. The few types of engineering that are minimally constrained by such issues are pro bono engineering and open design engineering.

By its very nature engineering is bound up with society and human behavior. Every product or construction used by modern society will have been influenced by engineering design. Engineering design is a very powerful tool to make changes to environment, society and economies, and its application brings with it a great responsibility, as represented by many of the Engineering Institutions codes of practice and ethics. Whereas medical ethics is a well-established field with considerable consensus, engineering ethics is far less developed, and engineering projects can be subject to considerable controversy. Just a few examples of this from different engineering disciplines are the development of nuclear weapons, the Three Gorges Dam, the design and use of Sports Utility Vehicles and the extraction of oil. There is a growing trend amongst western engineering companies to enact serious Corporate and Social Responsibility policies, but many companies do not have these.

Engineering is a key driver of human development.[19] Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has a very small engineering capacity which results in many African nations being unable to develop crucial infrastructure without outside aid. The attainment of many of the Millennium Development Goals requires the achievement of sufficient engineering capacity to develop infrastructure and sustainable technological development.[20] All overseas development and relief NGOs make considerable use of engineers to apply solutions in disaster and development scenarios. A number of charitable organizations aim to use engineering directly for the good of mankind:

Cultural presence

Engineering is a well respected profession. For example, in Canada it ranks as one of the public's most trusted professions.[21]

Sometimes engineering has been seen as a somewhat dry, uninteresting field in popular culture, and has also been thought to be the domain of nerds. For example, the cartoon character Dilbert is an engineer. One difficulty in increasing public awareness of the profession is that average people, in the typical run of ordinary life, do not ever have any personal dealings with engineers, even though they benefit from their work every day. By contrast, it is common to visit a doctor at least once a year, the chartered accountant at tax time, and, occasionally, even a lawyer.

This has not always been so - most British school children in the 1950s were brought up with stirring tales of 'the Victorian Engineers', chief amongst whom were the Brunels, the Stephensons, Telford and their contemporaries.

In science fiction engineers are often portrayed as highly knowledgeable and respectable individuals who understand the overwhelming future technologies often portrayed in the genre. The Star Trek characters Montgomery Scott, Geordi La Forge, Miles O'Brien, B'Elanna Torres, and Charles Tucker III are famous examples.

Occasionally, engineers may be recognized by the "Iron Ring"--a stainless steel or iron ring worn on the little finger of the dominant hand. This tradition began in 1925 in Canada for the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer as a symbol of pride and obligation for the engineering profession. Some years later in 1972 this practice was adopted by several colleges in the United States. Members of the US Order of the Engineer accept this ring as a pledge to uphold the proud history of engineering.

A Professional Engineer's name may be followed by the post-nominal letters PE or P.Eng in North America. In much of Europe a professional engineer is denoted by the letters IR, while in the UK and much of the Commonwealth the term Chartered Engineer applies and is denoted by the letters CEng.

Licensing and certification

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (April 2007)

In most Western countries, certain engineering tasks, such as the design of bridges, electric power plants, and chemical plants, must be approved by a licensed Professional Engineer or a Chartered Engineer or an Incorporated Engineer.

Engineering licensure in the United States remains largely optional for the vast majority of practicing engineers not directly working on projects deemed to implicate "public health and safety" (this typically covers civil engineers and government contractors). This is known as the "industry exemption." And even for such public-safety projects, it is often sufficient for only the supervising engineer to have a license. Consequently, a relatively small minority of engineers in the United States are actually licensed; this is of growing concern to some engineering organizations who believe licensure is important for maintaining the status of engineering as an elite and learned profession like medicine and law. However, becoming a "Registered Professional Engineer" or "P.E." is still often pursued as a professional credential for prestige, even when not actually required for particular employment.

Licensure in most states is generally attainable through combination of education, pre-examination (Fundamentals of Engineering Exam), examination (Professional Engineering Exam), and engineering experience (typically in the area of 5+ years). In the United States, each state tests and licenses Professional Engineers. Currently most states do not license by specific engineering discipline, but rather provide generalized licensure, and trust engineers to use professional judgment regarding their individual competencies; this is the favored approach of the professional societies. Despite this, however, at least one of the examinations required by most states is actually focused on a particular discipline; candidates for licensure typically choose the category of examination which comes closest to their respective expertise.

In much of Europe and the Commonwealth professional accreditation is provided by Engineering Institutions, such as the Institution of Civil Engineers from the UK. The engineering institutions of the UK are some of the oldest in the world, and provide accreditation to many engineers around the world. In Canada the profession in each province is governed by its own engineering association. For instance, in the Province of British Columbia an engineering graduate with 4 or more years of experience in an engineering-related field will need to be registered by the Association for Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (APEGBC) [22] in order to become a Professional Engineer and be granted the professional designation of P.Eng.

The federal US government, however, supervises aviation through the Federal Aviation Regulations administrated by the Dept. of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration. Designated Engineering Representatives approve data for aircraft design and repairs on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Even with strict testing and licensure, engineering disasters still occur. Therefore, the Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer, or Incorporated Engineer adheres to a strict code of ethics. Each engineering discipline and professional society maintains a code of ethics, which the members pledge to uphold.

Refer also to the Washington accord for international accreditation details of professional engineering degrees.

Relationships with other disciplines

Science

Scientists study the world as it is; engineers create the world that has never been.

—Theodore von Kármán
Bioreactors for producing proteins, NRC Biotechnology Research Institute, Montréal, Canada

There exists an overlap between the sciences and engineering practice; in engineering, one applies science. Both areas of endeavor rely on accurate observation of materials and phenomena. Both use mathematics and classification criteria to analyze and communicate observations. Scientists are expected to interpret their observations and to make expert recommendations for practical action based on those interpretations.[citation needed] Scientists may also have to complete engineering tasks, such as designing experimental apparatus or building prototypes. Conversely, in the process of developing technology engineers sometimes find themselves exploring new phenomena, thus becoming, for the moment, scientists.

In the book What Engineers Know and How They Know It,[23] Walter Vincenti asserts that engineering research has a character different from that of scientific research. First, it often deals with areas in which the basic physics and/or chemistry are well understood, but the problems themselves are too complex to solve in an exact manner. Examples are the use of numerical approximations to the Navier-Stokes equations to describe aerodynamic flow over an aircraft, or the use of Miner's rule to calculate fatigue damage. Second, engineering research employs many semi-empirical methods that are foreign to pure scientific research, one example being the method of parameter variation.

As stated by Fung et al. in the revision to the classic engineering text, Foundations of Solid Mechanics, [24]

"Engineering is quite different from science. Scientists try to understand nature. Engineers try to make things that do not exist in nature. Engineers stress invention. To embody an invention the engineer must put his idea in concrete terms, and design something that people can use. That something can be a device, a gadget, a material, a method, a computing program, an innovative experiment, a new solution to a problem, or an improvement on what is existing. Since a design has to be concrete, it must have its geometry, dimensions, and characteristic numbers. Almost all engineers working on new designs find that they do not have all the needed information. Most often, they are limited by insufficient scientific knowledge. Thus they study mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and mechanics. Often they have to add to the sciences relevant to their profession. Thus engineering sciences are born."

Scientists and engineers make up less than 5% of the population but create up to 50% of the GDP.[25]

Medicine and biology

Leonardo DaVinci, seen here in a self-portrait, has been described as the epitome of the artist/engineer.[26] He is also known for his studies on human anatomy and physiognomy

The study of the human body, albeit from different directions and for different purposes, is an important common link between medicine and some engineering disciplines. Medicine aims to sustain, enhance and even replace functions of the human body, if necessary, through the use of technology. Modern medicine can replace several of the body's functions through the use of artificial organs and can significantly alter the function of the human body through artificial devices such as, for example, brain implants and pacemakers.[27][28] The fields of Bionics and medical Bionics are dedicated to the study of synthetic implants pertaining to natural systems. Conversely, some engineering disciplines view the human body as a biological machine worth studying, and are dedicated to emulating many of its functions by replacing biology with technology. This has led to fields such as artificial intelligence, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and robotics. There are also substantial interdisciplinary interactions between engineering and medicine.[29][30]

Both fields provide solutions to real world problems. This often requires moving forward before phenomena are completely understood in a more rigorous scientific sense and therefore experimentation and empirical knowledge is an integral part of both. Medicine, in part, studies the function of the human body. The human body, as a biological machine, has many functions that can be modeled using Engineering methods.[31] The heart for example functions much like a pump,[32] the skeleton is like a linked structure with levers,[33] the brain produces electrical signals etc.[34] These similarities as well as the increasing importance and application of Engineering principles in Medicine, led to the development of the field of biomedical engineering that uses concepts developed in both disciplines.

Newly emerging branches of science, such as Systems biology, are adapting analytical tools traditionally used for engineering, such as systems modeling and computational analysis, to the description of biological systems.[31]

Art

There are connections between engineering and art;[35] they are direct in some fields, for example, architecture, landscape architecture and industrial design (even to the extent that these disciplines may sometimes be included in a University's Faculty of Engineering); and indirect in others.[35][36][37][38] The Art Institute of Chicago, for instance, held an exhibition about the art of NASA's aerospace design.[39] Robert Maillart's bridge design is perceived by some to have been deliberately artistic.[40] At the University of South Florida, an engineering professor, through a grant with the National Science Foundation, has developed a course that connects art and engineering.[36][41] Among famous historical figures Leonardo Da Vinci is a well known Renaissance artist and engineer, and a prime example of the nexus between art and engineering.[26][42]

Other fields

In Political science the term engineering has been borrowed for the study of the subjects of Social engineering and Political engineering, which deal with forming political and social structures using engineering methodology coupled with political science principles.

See also

Main article: Outline of engineering
Lists
Engineering portal
Related subjects

References

  1. ^ ABET History
  2. ^ Science, Volume 94, Issue 2446, pp. 456: Engineers' Council for Professional Development
  3. ^ Engineers' Council for Professional Development. (1947). Canons of ethics for engineers
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Engineers' Council for Professional Development definition on Encyclopaedia Britannica (Includes Britannica article on Engineering)
  5. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  6. ^ Origin: 1250–1300; ME engin < AF, OF < L ingenium nature, innate quality, esp. mental power, hence a clever invention, equiv. to in- + -genium, equiv. to gen- begetting; Source: Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
  7. ^ Barry J. Kemp, Ancient Egypt, Routledge 2005, p. 159
  8. ^ Wilford, John. (July 31, 2008). Discovering How Greeks Computed in 100 B.C.. New York Times.
  9. ^ Wright, M T. (2005). "Epicyclic Gearing and the Antikythera Mechanism, part 2". Antiquarian Horology 29 (1 (September 2005)): 54–60.
  10. ^ Britannica on Greek civilization in the 5th century Military technology Quote: "The 7th century, by contrast, had witnessed rapid innovations, such as the introduction of the hoplite and the trireme, which still were the basic instruments of war in the 5th." and "But it was the development of artillery that opened an epoch, and this invention did not predate the 4th century. It was first heard of in the context of Sicilian warfare against Carthage in the time of Dionysius I of Syracuse."
  11. ^ Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 2000, CD-ROM, version 2.5.
  12. ^ Jenkins, Rhys (1936). Links in the History of Engineering and Technology from Tudor Times. Ayer Publishing. pp. 66. ISBN 0836921674.
  13. ^ a b Imperial College London England: Studying engineering at Imperial: Engineering courses are offered in five main branches of engineering: aeronautical, chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical. There are also courses in computing science, software engineering, information systems engineering, materials science and engineering, mining engineering and petroleum engineering.
  14. ^ Van Every, Kermit E. (1986). "Aeronautical engineering". Encyclopedia Americana. 1. Grolier Incorporated. pp. 226.
  15. ^ Wheeler, Lynde, Phelps (1951). Josiah Willard Gibbs - the History of a Great Mind. Ox Bow Press. ISBN 1-881987-11-6.
  16. ^ U of Edinburgh Welcome to Chemical Engineering, which is celebrating 50 years this academic year, is part of the School of Engineering and Electronics (SEE), which includes the other three main engineering disciplines of electrical and electronic engineering, civil engineering and mechanical engineering.
  17. ^ Arbe, Katrina (2001.05.07). "PDM: Not Just for the Big Boys Anymore". ThomasNet. http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2001/05/pdm_not_just_fo.html.
  18. ^ Arbe, Katrina (2003.05.22). "The Latest Chapter in CAD Software Evaluation". ThomasNet. http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2003/05/the_latest_chap.html.
  19. ^ PDF on Human Development
  20. ^ MDG info pdf
  21. ^ Leger Marketing (2006). Sponsorship effect seen in survey of most-trusted professions: pollster. http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=b7647f97-f370-451e-9506-2f116da2c6a1&k=38584&p=2. , pg. 2, The occupations most-trusted by Canadians, according to a poll by Leger Marketing... Engineering 88 per cent of respondents...
  22. ^ APEGBC - Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC
  23. ^ Vincenti, Walter G. (1993). What Engineers Know and How They Know It: Analytical Studies from Aeronautical History. Johns Hopkins University Press.
  24. ^ Classical and Computational Solid Mechanics, YC Fung and P. Tong. World Scientific. 2001.
  25. ^ Reader's Digest, December 2005, p. 110
  26. ^ a b Bjerklie, David. “The Art of Renaissance Engineering.” MIT’s Technology Review Jan./Feb.1998: 54-9. Article explores the concept of the “artist-engineer”, an individual who used his artistic talent in engineering. Quote from article: Da Vinci reached the pinnacle of “artist-engineer”-dom, Quote2: “It was Leonardo da Vinci who initiated the most ambitious expansion in the role of artist-engineer, progressing from astute observer to inventor to theoretician.” (Bjerklie 58)
  27. ^ Ethical Assessment of Implantable Brain Chips. Ellen M. McGee and G. Q. Maguire, Jr. from Boston University
  28. ^ IEEE technical paper: Foreign parts (electronic body implants).by Evans-Pughe, C. quote from summary:Feeling threatened by cyborgs?
  29. ^ Institute of Medicine and Engineering: Mission statement The mission of the Institute for Medicine and Engineering (IME) is to stimulate fundamental research at the interface between biomedicine and engineering/physical/computational sciences leading to innovative applications in biomedical research and clinical practice.
  30. ^ IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology: Both general and technical articles on current technologies and methods used in biomedical and clinical engineering...
  31. ^ a b Royal Academy of Engineering and Academy of Medical Sciences: Systems Biology: a vision for engineering and medicine in pdf: quote1: Systems Biology is an emerging methodology that has yet to be defined quote2: It applies the concepts of systems engineering to the study of complex biological systems through iteration between computational and/or mathematical modelling and experimentation.
  32. ^ Science Museum of Minnesota: Online Lesson 5a; The heart as a pump
  33. ^ Minnesota State University emuseum: Bones act as levers
  34. ^ UC Berkeley News: UC researchers create model of brain's electrical storm during a seizure
  35. ^ a b Lehigh University project: We wanted to use this project to demonstrate the relationship between art and architecture and engineering
  36. ^ a b National Science Foundation:The Art of Engineering: Professor uses the fine arts to broaden students' engineering perspectives
  37. ^ MIT World:The Art of Engineering: Inventor James Dyson on the Art of Engineering: quote: A member of the British Design Council, James Dyson has been designing products since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1970.
  38. ^ University of Texas at Dallas:The Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering
  39. ^ Aerospace Design: The Art of Engineering from NASA’s Aeronautical Research
  40. ^ Princeton U: Robert Maillart's Bridges: The Art of Engineering: quote:no doubt that Maillart was fully conscious of the aesthetic implications...
  41. ^ quote:..the tools of artists and the perspective of engineers..
  42. ^ Drew U: user website: cites Bjerklie paper

Further reading

External links

Look up engineering in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikiversity has learning materials about Engineering
Technology
Applied science Archaeology · Artificial intelligence · Ceramic engineering · Computing · Electronics · Energy · Energy storage · Engineering geology · Engineering physics · Environmental Engineering Science · Environmental technology · Fisheries science · Materials science and engineering · Microtechnology · Nanotechnology · Nuclear technology · Optics · Particle physics · Zoography
Information Communication · Graphics · Information technology · Music · Speech recognition · Visual technology · Systematics · Informatics
Industry Construction · Financial engineering · Fishing · Industrial technology · Manufacturing · Machinery · Mining · Business informatics
Military Ammunition · Bombs · Combat engineering · Military technology · Military technology and equipment
Domestic Educational technology · Domestic appliances · Domestic technology · Food technology
Engineering Aerospace · Agricultural · Architectural · Audio · Automotive · Biological · Biochemical · Biomedical · BioTech · Broadcast · Building officials · Ceramic · Chemical · Civil · Computer · Construction · Control · Cryogenic · Electrical · Electronic · Engineering technology · Enterprise · Environmental · Food · Genetic · Hydraulics · Industrial · Materials · Mechanical · Mechatronics · Metallurgical · Mining · Naval · Network · Nuclear · Ocean · Ontology · Optical · Petroleum · Radio Frequency · Software · Structural · Systems · Technician · Telecommunications · Textile · Tissue · Transport · Traffic
Health / safety Biomedical · Bioinformatics · Biotechnology · Cheminformatics · Fire protection engineering · Health technologies · Medical technology · Nutrition · Pharmaceuticals · Safety engineering · Sanitary engineering
Transport Aerospace · Aerospace engineering · Automotive engineering · Marine engineering · Motor vehicles · Naval engineering · Space technology

Categories: Engineering | Engineering occupations

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Mon Jul 6 15:27:37 2009. [ refresh local cache ]
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

[Hide]▼
'Engineering' News
Report: Google engineering director leaves for VMWare - Bizjournals.com
news.google.com
Report: Google engineering director leaves for VMWare

Bizjournals.com

Mark Lucovsky, Google engineering director, is leaving Google to join Palo Alto-based VMWare, TechCrunch reports. Lucovsky was hired by Google (NASDAQ: ...

Google Engineering Director Leaves for VMware eWeek

Google Loses Engineering Director Who Once Caused Steve Ballmer To ... TechCrunch

Google Loses Prized Engineering Director (GOOG, MSFT) The Business Insider

StrategyEye (subscription)  - Softpedia  - ChannelWeb

all 529 news articles &raquo;
Google News Search: Engineering,
Fri Jul 17 12:48:29 2009
'Engineering' Images
Engineering jpg
tees.ac.uk
Engineering jpg
150px x 200px | 6.90kB

[source page]

Engineering Technology Course List

Yahoo Images Search: Engineering,
Tue Jul 14 02:28:35 2009
'Engineering' Blogs
Applied College of Management and Engineering BTech Admission ...
resultspundit.com
Applied College of Management and Engineering BTech Admission ...

rahul

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:24:07 GM

Admission For BTech (Information Technology) 2009 - ACME Institute Name: Applied College of Management and . Engineering. (ACME) Approved by AICTE, Govt. of.

Google Blogs Search: Engineering,
Thu Jul 16 12:09:00 2009
'Engineering' Answers
What type of engineering is best for weapons development?
Q. I am interested in weapons development and want to know what kind of engineering most suits this? Is it mechanical, mechatronic, electronic, aerospace?
Asked by paintrain62 - Fri Feb 20 02:42:19 2009 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments

A. Electronic has the most applications. Materials engineering would be good too. But most of the neat gadgets happen in electronics.
Answered by Charlotte Grey - Fri Feb 20 03:02:14 2009

Yahoo Answers Search: Engineering,
Wed Jul 15 06:00:12 2009
[Hide]▲