Engineering Your Future: A Comprehensive Introduction to Engineering

1.1 Definition of Engineering

• Engineering is the profession that uses math, science, and technology to design solutions for societal needs.

• The definition places three responsibilities on an engineer:

  • a) To develop judgement so that you can

  • b) Help mankind in

  • c) Economical ways

• Solutions should be within reach of common people and not harmful in any way.

• National Academy of Engineering (part of a related report): Integrate knowledge of math, science and technology and work with many others to create solutions that can improve the Human and Environmental conditions and enhance the stability of our planet.

1.2 The Earliest Days

• An eagerness to make life easier and more stable:

  • Better ways to find food through hunting and fishing

  • Better methods for providing shelter and clothing

  • From day-to-day survival to community living

• Pre-historic engineers engaged in problem solving and tool making but did not have a grasp of mathematical principles or knowledge of natural sciences; they relied on trials and used principles of mechanical and aerodynamics without formal knowledge.

• Transportation was not present initially and developed gradually; its emergence opened roads for travel, idea exchange, and improvement (e.g., boats).

1.3 Early Cities

• As cities grew, people with special aptitudes took on specialized jobs to build and innovate, giving rise to engineers.

• Stone tools developed in Egypt ($4000\,\mathrm{BC}$ to $2000\,\mathrm{BC}$) to gather food.

• Copper and Bronze axes were developed by smelting for hunting.

• The Step Pyramid of Sakkara (Egypt) dates to $2700\,\mathrm{BC}$.

• Mesopotamia’s contributions included wheels, sailing boats, and methods of reading and writing; engineers played a major role in pyramid construction; Imhotep oversaw the Step Pyramid of Sakkara ($2700\,\mathrm{BC}$) and ensured stones fit correctly.

• GREAT PYRAMID OF KHUFU (Khufu) – Largest masonry structure ever built, constructed around $2500\,\mathrm{BC}$:

  • Height approximately $480\ \mathrm{ft}$

  • Base approximately $756\ \mathrm{ft}$ on each side

  • About $2.3\times 10^{6}$ limestone blocks

1.4 Two historical engineers

• Leonardo da Vinci (born $1452\,\mathrm{AD}$ in Vinci, Italy; died $1519\,\mathrm{AD}$)

  • Artist, architect, and anatomist as well as engineer

  • Did not know Latin, limiting access to others’ work

  • Far ahead of his time; many ideas were used centuries later

  • Notable capabilities include:

  • a) Movable bridges

  • b) Remove water from moats of fortresses

  • c) Make mortars

  • d) Make dart throwers and flame throwers

  • e) Dig tunnels without making noise

  • f) Design ships and buildings

  • g) Flying machine

  • h) Sculpture in any medium

  • i) Painting

  • j) Designed shows and entertainments

  • k) Designed floats

  • l) 5000 pages of notes with various inventions; foot anatomy (notes on anatomy)

• Gutenberg and the printing press

  • In 1455, Johannes Gutenberg printed the first book (the Bible)

  • The invention transformed society by enabling mass dissemination of information

  • Early mass-production techniques involved metal casting, punch cutting, molding, and stamping

1.5 Computers, Information, Networking and People

• Functions of computing in engineering:

  • Do analysis, create models, test ideas quickly, store data

  • Computers in cars, spacecraft, kitchen appliances, and everyday devices

  • Health monitoring (e.g., fetal monitors)

• Pioneers and influence:

  • Bernard M. Gordon (helped popularize computing in everyday life) with Grace Hopper

  • Emphasizes applying technology to improve lives for all

• Networking:

  • Importance of networking in engineering practice

  • A computer conference for women named in honor of Grace Hopper; reference to the Harvard Mark I computer team

1.6 Teams and People

• Group work is essential: 1500+ engineers collaborating to build a jet engine

• Thomas Edison and team-based innovation: Edison’s group included Lewis Latimer, son of a freed slave

• Issues of recognition: women and people of color were often under-credited or overlooked

• The Internet enables exploration of diverse people: different genders, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations

1.7 Example of Team Approach: Brooklyn Bridge (Civil Engineering)

• Civil Engineering project: Brooklyn Bridge

• John Roebling started the project; he died of tetanus; Washington Roebling became conductor but fell ill

• Emily Roebling led for 14 years and completed the bridge

• Plaque on the bridge recognizes all three contributors, though Emily’s name is sometimes omitted

1.8 Civil Engineering – Designing Washington DC

• Pierre Charles L’Enfant designed the city plan; Andrew Ellicott took over

• Benjamin Banneker contributed to replicating the designs; he was the son of a freed slave and did not always receive credit

1.9 Brief look at Historical Background of Different Engineering Disciplines (Details in Chapter 2)

2 Aerospace Engineering

• 1. Aerospace Engineering – deals with flights of all kinds

• 2. Balloon flights

• 3. Sailplanes

• 4. Propeller planes

• 5. Jet powered aircrafts

• 6. Missiles

• 7. Rockets

• 8. Satellites

• 9. Ion propulsion rockets

• Solar wind vehicles

• Future interplanetary travels

3 Agricultural Engineering

• America leads the world in agricultural technology

• Focus on a roughly $5\%$ decrease in the labor force in agricultural engineering as many people moved to industry

• Food production increased substantially due to the incorporation of technology and engineering into agriculture

4 Chemical Engineering

• Newest discipline (after World War I) closely related to chemistry

• Industrial processes that change properties and composition of substances

• Mechanisms to join and separate chemicals

5 Civil Engineering

• Emerged in the 17th–18th centuries; birth of modern engineering disciplines

• Origin in France and then England (John Smeaton, 1761, recognized as the first civil engineer)

• Distinct from architecture and military engineering

• Core activities: surveying property, building roads, bridges, and canals; emphasis on construction

6 Computer Engineering

• Plays a big role in modern times: computers have been reduced from large to miniature scales

• Essential for both businesses and daily life

7 Electrical Engineering

• Based on electric and magnetic phenomena

• Provides power to many devices built by mechanical engineers

• Largest branch of engineering with more than $4\times 10^{5}$ engineers

8 Industrial Engineering

• Focus on principles and techniques to improve working conditions and efficiency

9 Bioengineering

• Applications of biotechnology: engineering applied to living things and to biology, medicine, behavior, and health

10 Mechanical Engineering

• Emerged during the Industrial Revolution when coke replaced charcoal in the UK; rise of better steel and iron production

• Development of lathes, milling and boring machines; invention of a wide range of devices including steam engines, automobiles, airplanes, and space shuttles

• Systems include heating and air-conditioning, radiators, gas and steam turbines, power generation, mechatronics, pumps, sensors, controls

• Broad scope includes:

  • Heating and ventilation, pipes

  • Transportation and aerospace applications

  • Energy generation and power plants

  • Device design and manufacturing processes

11 Green Engineering

• Definition: Green engineering is the design, commercialization, and use of processes and products in a way that reduces pollution, promotes sustainability, and minimizes risk to human health and the environment without sacrificing economic viability and efficiency

12 Notable Quotes and Thought Starters

• Bernard Amadei said – "We are in the golden age of engineering".

• Engineers Without Borders

• Technology should be used to improve human conditions

• Ellen Ochoa, NASA’s first Latina astronaut, said "Sky is not the limit".

• Many things are to be learnt from the past

QUIZ 1

• 1. Which of the following is considered to be the oldest branch of engineering?

  • a. Mechanical

  • b. Civil

  • c. Electrical

  • d. Computer

• 2. Which of the following engineering branches was established most recently (i.e., is the youngest)?

  • a. Mechanical

  • b. Civil

  • c. Electrical

  • d. Computer

• 3. Which invention is most closely associated with Gutenberg?

  • a. Mechanical screw

  • b. Telephone

  • c. Telegraph

  • d. Printing Press

• 4. Leonardo Da Vinci, in addition to practicing Engineering, also “dabbled” in all of the following professions except which?

  • a. Painting

  • b. Sculpture

  • c. Architecture

  • d. Politics