(Updated) CHENGDU, China - A powerful aftershock destroyed tens of thousands of homes in central China on Sunday, killing six people and straining recovery efforts from the country's worst earthquake in three decades. More than 500 others were injured.Meanwhile, soldiers rushed with explosives to unblock a debris-clogged river threatening to flood homeless quake survivors.The fresh devastation came after a magnitude 6.0 aftershock — among the most powerful recorded since the initial May 12 quake, according to the US Geological Survey. The China National Seismic Network said the aftershock was the strongest of dozens in the nearly two weeks after the disaster.The new tremor killed two people in Sichuan province and injured more than 480 others, 41 seriously, the official Xinhua News Agency said.The news agency said Monday that the aftershock also killed four people and injured 20 others seriously in neighboring Shaanxi province.Some 71,000 homes that had survived the original quake were leveled, and another 200,000 were in danger of collapse from the aftershock that caused office towers to sway in Beijing, 800 miles away.Xinhua did not give any details on whether the houses were occupied.Before the aftershock, the Cabinet said the confirmed death toll from the disaster had risen to 62,664, with another 23,775 people missing. Premier Wen Jiabao has warned the number of dead could surpass 80,000.A mudslide caused by the aftershock blocked a road, but Xinhua said no serious landslides were reported.Previous landslides loosened by the quake jammed rivers across the disaster area, creating 35 new lakes that placed 700,000 survivors in jeopardy of floods, Vice Minister of Water Resources E Jingping told reporters in Beijing.The biggest concern was the new Tangjiashan lake in Beichuan county, where some 1,800 police and soldiers hiked with 22 pounds of explosives each to blast through debris, according to Xinhua.The news agency said the soldiers arrived at the lake early Monday "and immediately began work to defuse the danger of a major flooding."Hazy weather prevented helicopter flights to the area, and forecasts for rain increased the risk that lakes could overflow.Rain will "not only cause the amount of water going into the lakes to increase, but also influence their normal structure, so the situation is quite serious," said Vice Minister E. "It is a daunting task because of the unpredictability of when the barrier lakes will burst."About 20,000 people have been evacuated from the disaster area due to the flood risk, and the total relocated could rise to 100,000, said Liu Ning, chief engineer at the Ministry of Water Resources.The ministry also said 69 dams in Sichuan were in danger of collapse from quake damage, but reservoirs have been drained to lessen the risk. Authorities have said the world's largest water project — the Three Gorges dam, located about 350 miles east of the epicenter — was not damaged.Elsewhere in the disaster zone, people ventured cautiously back to homes to retrieve belongings, but some decided the risk of entering damaged buildings was too great.In Hanwang, 58-year-old Zhang Heqing was carrying a handful of plastic bags and had planned to go into his apartment block, but the coal mine employee said he had second thoughts."I just don't dare to go in," he said. "I live on the fifth floor and the staircase is blocked and you can't even open the doors."Down the street, retiree Huang Huimei, 75, and her husband were busy stacking pots, pans, chairs and bed boards in a pile for movers to take to the provincial capital of Chengdu, where her son lives. Her building remained standing but had serious cracks and was not safe for habitation.She had spent most of the time since the quake caring for her 95-year-old mother."I don't know if we'll be back," she said as her husband handed her part of a cooking stove through the front window of their ground floor apartment. "These apartments weren't that safe before the quake. My husband worked for the coal mine and it's supposed to rebuild the company apartments. But who knows when."More than 15 million homes were destroyed in the disaster, and the Chinese government has appealed for tents to help shelter survivors.Across town, about 10 families were living in makeshift shelters of picnic table umbrellas and nylon tarps draped over simple wood frames, pitched in a muddy lot that used to be a food market. Chickens pecked at watermelon rinds, while the survivors used plastic basins to wash and piles of scrap wood for cooking fires."The local government officials have done a good job for themselves. They're living up there," said a camp resident who pointed to a neat row of tents up a hill."They didn't do such a good job here where the regular folks have to live," said the man, who would only give his surname, Wang.State television reported Sunday that a survivor trapped by the initial quake was rescued alive Friday, more than 11 days after the disaster.Xiao Zhihu, an 80-year-old bedridden man, was found in Mianzhu north of Chengdu, the report said. He survived because his wife was able to get food to him through the rubble of his collapsed house, but there were no further details given or a reason for the two-day delay in reporting the rescue.Meanwhile, one of two pandas missing since the quake from a major preserve for the endangered animals in Wolong, near the epicenter, was sighted Sunday, Xinhua said. The panda, named Xixi, disappeared before staff could reach it, but was believed safe, the report said. The search will continue Monday.The pandas' home at the world-famous Wolong reserve was badly damaged in the quake and five staff members were killed.Eight pandas from the reserve are spending the next six months at the Beijing Zoo on a special Olympics visit that was planned long before the quake. The animals were flown Saturday afternoon by special plane to Beijing from Chengdu. - AP
Source:GMANEWS.TV
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying scientific knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria. The American Engineers’ Council for Professional Development (ECPD, the predecessor of ABET) 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.”
One who practices engineering is called an engineer, and those licensed to do so may have more formal designations such as Professional Engineer, Chartered Engineer, or Incorporated Engineer. The broad discipline of engineering encompasses a range of more specialized subdisciplines, each with a more specific emphasis on certain fields of application and particular areas of tech.
Engineering is the application of science, technology, mathematics, art, and practical experience to the design and production of objects, tools or processes. Professional practitioners of engineering are called engineers. Engineers design and build aircraft (Aerospace), roads and buildings (Civil / Structural), computers and electronics (Electrical), machines and vehicles (Mechanical), medical devices (Biomedical), systems to clean up pollution (Environmental), applied engineering in agriculture (Agricultural) and much, much more. Without engineering, the world would be a very different place.
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.
Automotive engineers are involved in almost every aspect of designing cars and trucks, from the initial concepts right through to manufacturing them.
Broadly speaking automotive engineers are separated into three main streams: product engineering, development engineering and manufacturing engineering.
Product engineer (also called design engineer), that would design components/systems (i.e brake engineer and battery engineer). This engineer designs and test a part, seeing that it meets all its requirements (i.e. the shock), performs as required, material meets desired durability and so on.
Development engineer, that engineers the attributes of the automobile. This engineer may provide to the design engineer what spring rate he requires to provide the "ride" characteristics required for the automobile to perform as desired, etc.
Manufacturing engineer, determines how to make it.
In Toyota, for example, manufacturing engineering is regarded as a more prestigious career path than designing and developing the cars
Broadly speaking automotive engineers are separated into three main streams: product engineering, development engineering and manufacturing engineering.
Product engineer (also called design engineer), that would design components/systems (i.e brake engineer and battery engineer). This engineer designs and test a part, seeing that it meets all its requirements (i.e. the shock), performs as required, material meets desired durability and so on.
Development engineer, that engineers the attributes of the automobile. This engineer may provide to the design engineer what spring rate he requires to provide the "ride" characteristics required for the automobile to perform as desired, etc.
Manufacturing engineer, determines how to make it.
In Toyota, for example, manufacturing engineering is regarded as a more prestigious career path than designing and developing the cars
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It requires a solid understanding of key concepts including mechanics, kinematics, thermodynamics and energy. Mechanical engineers use these principles and others in the design and analysis of motor vehicles, aircraft, heating & cooling systems, watercraft, manufacturing plants, industrial equipment and machinery, medical devices and more.
Aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the branch of engineering behind the design, construction and science of aircraft and spacecraft. Aerospace engineering has broken into two major branches, aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. The former deals with craft that stay within Earth's atmosphere, and the latter deals with craft that operate outside of Earth's atmosphere. While "aeronautical" was the original term, the broader "aerospace" has superseded it in usage, as flight technology advanced to include craft operating in outer space.
Aerospace engineering is often informally called rocket science.
Aerospace engineering is often informally called rocket science.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the application of physical science (e.g. chemistry and physics), with mathematics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms. As well as producing useful materials, chemical engineering is also concerned with pioneering valuable new materials and techniques, an important form of research and development. A person employed in this field is called a chemical engineer.
Chemical engineering largely involves the design and maintenance of chemical processes for large-scale manufacture. Chemical engineers in this branch are usually employed under the title of process engineer. The development of the large-scale processes characteristic of industrialized economies is a feat of chemical engineering, not chemistry. Indeed, chemical engineers are responsible for the availability of the modern high-quality materials that are essential for running an industrial economy.
Chemical engineering largely involves the design and maintenance of chemical processes for large-scale manufacture. Chemical engineers in this branch are usually employed under the title of process engineer. The development of the large-scale processes characteristic of industrialized economies is a feat of chemical engineering, not chemistry. Indeed, chemical engineers are responsible for the availability of the modern high-quality materials that are essential for running an industrial economy.
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of engineering that deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical power supply. It now covers a range of subtopics including power, electronics, control systems, signal processing and telecommunications.
Electrical engineering may or may not encompass electronic engineering. Where a distinction is made, usually outside of the United States, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large-scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control, whereas electronic engineering deals with the study of small-scale electronic systems including computers and integrated circuits. Alternatively, electrical engineers are usually concerned with using electricity to transmit energy, while electronic engineers are concerned with using electricity to transmit information
Electrical engineering may or may not encompass electronic engineering. Where a distinction is made, usually outside of the United States, electrical engineering is considered to deal with the problems associated with large-scale electrical systems such as power transmission and motor control, whereas electronic engineering deals with the study of small-scale electronic systems including computers and integrated circuits. Alternatively, electrical engineers are usually concerned with using electricity to transmit energy, while electronic engineers are concerned with using electricity to transmit information
Military engineer
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 may be required to destroy something that that same engineer designed and constructed. In many armies the military engineers are also called pioneers or sappers.
In some countries, the modern military may comprise engineering units in say, weapon design or procurement, or of non-military civil engineering (e.g. flood control and river navigation works) which are not covered by this article.
In modern times a military engineer that usually operates during battle and under fire is called a combat engineer. For more modern aspects of military engineering and tools of the combat engineering corps, see combat engineering.
In some countries, the modern military may comprise engineering units in say, weapon design or procurement, or of non-military civil engineering (e.g. flood control and river navigation works) which are not covered by this article.
In modern times a military engineer that usually operates during battle and under fire is called a combat engineer. For more modern aspects of military engineering and tools of the combat engineering corps, see combat engineering.
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and natural built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings. Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it was defined to distinguish it from military engineering. It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including municipal engineering, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, wind engineering, geographic information system, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and construction engineering.
History
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.”In this context, now obsolete, an “engine” referred to a military machine, i. e., a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult). The word “engine” itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the Latin ingenium (c. 1250), meaning “innate quality, especially mental power, hence a clever invention.”
Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings matured as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering 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 (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 Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the Roman aquaducts, Via Appia and the Colosseum, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pharos of Alexandria, the pyramids in Egypt, Teotihuacán and the cities and pyramids of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec Empires, the Great Wall of China, 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.As one of the officials of the Pharaoh, Djosèr, he probably designed and supervised the construction of the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt around 2630-2611 BC. He may also have been responsible for the first known use of columns in architecture.
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".
The first steam engine was built in 1698 by mechanical engineer Thomas Savery. 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 nineteenth 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.
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.
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.
Even though in its modern form Mechanical engineering originated in Britain, its origins trace back to early antiquity where ingenuous machines were developed both in the civilian and military domains. The Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known model of a mechanical computer in history, and the mechanical inventions of Archimedes, including his death ray, are examples of early mechanical engineering. Some of Archimedes' inventions as well as the Antikythera mechanism required sophisticated knowledge of differential gearing or epicyclic gearing, two key principles in machine theory that helped design the gear trains of the Industrial revolution and are still widely used today in diverse fields such as robotics and automotive engineering.
Chemical Engineering, like its counterpart Mechanical Engineering, developed in the nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution. 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. The role of the chemical engineer was the design of these chemical plants and processes.
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. 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.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.
In 1990, with the rise of computer technology, the first search engine was built by computer engineer Alan Emtage.
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.”In this context, now obsolete, an “engine” referred to a military machine, i. e., a mechanical contraption used in war (for example, a catapult). The word “engine” itself is of even older origin, ultimately deriving from the Latin ingenium (c. 1250), meaning “innate quality, especially mental power, hence a clever invention.”
Later, as the design of civilian structures such as bridges and buildings matured as a technical discipline, the term civil engineering 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 (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 Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the Roman aquaducts, Via Appia and the Colosseum, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pharos of Alexandria, the pyramids in Egypt, Teotihuacán and the cities and pyramids of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec Empires, the Great Wall of China, 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.As one of the officials of the Pharaoh, Djosèr, he probably designed and supervised the construction of the Pyramid of Djoser (the Step Pyramid) at Saqqara in Egypt around 2630-2611 BC. He may also have been responsible for the first known use of columns in architecture.
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".
The first steam engine was built in 1698 by mechanical engineer Thomas Savery. 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 nineteenth 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.
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.
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.
Even though in its modern form Mechanical engineering originated in Britain, its origins trace back to early antiquity where ingenuous machines were developed both in the civilian and military domains. The Antikythera mechanism, the earliest known model of a mechanical computer in history, and the mechanical inventions of Archimedes, including his death ray, are examples of early mechanical engineering. Some of Archimedes' inventions as well as the Antikythera mechanism required sophisticated knowledge of differential gearing or epicyclic gearing, two key principles in machine theory that helped design the gear trains of the Industrial revolution and are still widely used today in diverse fields such as robotics and automotive engineering.
Chemical Engineering, like its counterpart Mechanical Engineering, developed in the nineteenth century during the Industrial Revolution. 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. The role of the chemical engineer was the design of these chemical plants and processes.
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. 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.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.
In 1990, with the rise of computer technology, the first search engine was built by computer engineer Alan Emtage.
List of engineering branches
Aerospace Engineering - The design of aircraft, spacecraft and related topics.
Agricultural Engineering - The engineering principle applications in agricultural fields such as farm power and machinery, biological material process, bioenergy, farm structures as well as agricultural natural resources.
Biomedical Engineering - The application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field.
Ceramic Engineering - Theory and processing of raw oxide material, and advanced material that are polymorphic, polycrystalline, oxide, and non-oxide ceramics
Chemical Engineering - The conversion of raw materials into usable commodities.
Civil Engineering - The design and construction of public and private works, such as bridges and buildings. It has several sub-disciplines:
coastal engineering and marine engineering
construction engineering
Environmental Engineering - Environmental Engineers are concerned with protecting the environment by assessing the impact a project has on the air, water, soil and noise levels in its vicinity.
geotechnical engineering
water resources engineering (hydraulic engineering and hydrology)
materials engineering - an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering
municipal engineering - civil engineering as it specifically concerns municipal issues such as water, wastewater, transportation networks, subdivisions, communications, hydrology, hydraulics, etc.
structural engineering
surveying and geographic information system (GIS)
transportation engineering
wind engineering
Computer Engineering - The entire process of designing and coding computers and computer related devices.
Computer Science or Software Engineering - The design and development of software for use in digital systems
Electrical Engineering - The design of electrical systems, such as transformers, as well as electronic goods.
Fire Protection Engineering - is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people and their environments from the destructive effects of fire and smoke.
Industrial Engineering - The design and analysis of logistical and resource systems.
Instrumentation engineering - The design of all electronic instruments.
Mechanical engineering - The design of physical or mechanical systems, such as engines, kinematic chains, and vibration isolation equipment.
Manufacturing engineering - The ability to plan the practices of manufacturing, to research and develop the tool, processes, machines and equipment, and to integrate the facilities and systems for producing quality products with optimal expenditure.
Military Engineering - Primarily concerned with warfare, military engineering encompasses mobility, counter-mobility, survivability, and general engineering tasks.
Mining Engineering - The exploration and extraction of raw materials from the earth, include ore reserves such as coal, metals, non-metals, aggregates, sand, and gravel. Proceeding extraction applying mineral processeng that includes ore size reduction, multiple classification, benefication, calcining, sintering, and other value adding processes
Nuclear Engineering - Application of the breakdown of atomic nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics.
Agricultural Engineering - The engineering principle applications in agricultural fields such as farm power and machinery, biological material process, bioenergy, farm structures as well as agricultural natural resources.
Biomedical Engineering - The application of engineering principles and techniques to the medical field.
Ceramic Engineering - Theory and processing of raw oxide material, and advanced material that are polymorphic, polycrystalline, oxide, and non-oxide ceramics
Chemical Engineering - The conversion of raw materials into usable commodities.
Civil Engineering - The design and construction of public and private works, such as bridges and buildings. It has several sub-disciplines:
coastal engineering and marine engineering
construction engineering
Environmental Engineering - Environmental Engineers are concerned with protecting the environment by assessing the impact a project has on the air, water, soil and noise levels in its vicinity.
geotechnical engineering
water resources engineering (hydraulic engineering and hydrology)
materials engineering - an interdisciplinary field involving the properties of matter and its applications to various areas of science and engineering
municipal engineering - civil engineering as it specifically concerns municipal issues such as water, wastewater, transportation networks, subdivisions, communications, hydrology, hydraulics, etc.
structural engineering
surveying and geographic information system (GIS)
transportation engineering
wind engineering
Computer Engineering - The entire process of designing and coding computers and computer related devices.
Computer Science or Software Engineering - The design and development of software for use in digital systems
Electrical Engineering - The design of electrical systems, such as transformers, as well as electronic goods.
Fire Protection Engineering - is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people and their environments from the destructive effects of fire and smoke.
Industrial Engineering - The design and analysis of logistical and resource systems.
Instrumentation engineering - The design of all electronic instruments.
Mechanical engineering - The design of physical or mechanical systems, such as engines, kinematic chains, and vibration isolation equipment.
Manufacturing engineering - The ability to plan the practices of manufacturing, to research and develop the tool, processes, machines and equipment, and to integrate the facilities and systems for producing quality products with optimal expenditure.
Military Engineering - Primarily concerned with warfare, military engineering encompasses mobility, counter-mobility, survivability, and general engineering tasks.
Mining Engineering - The exploration and extraction of raw materials from the earth, include ore reserves such as coal, metals, non-metals, aggregates, sand, and gravel. Proceeding extraction applying mineral processeng that includes ore size reduction, multiple classification, benefication, calcining, sintering, and other value adding processes
Nuclear Engineering - Application of the breakdown of atomic nuclei and/or other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics.
Main Branches of Engineering
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:
Aerospace Engineering - The design of aircraft, spacecraft and related topics.
Chemical Engineering - The conversion of raw materials into usable commodities.
Civil Engineering - The design and construction of public and private works, such as infrastructure, bridges and buildings.
Electrical Engineering - The design of electrical systems, such as transformers, as well as electronic goods.
Mechanical Engineering - The design of physical or mechanical systems, such as engines, powertrains, kinematic chains and vibration isolation equipment.
With the rapid advancement of Technology many new fields are gaining prominence and new branches are developing such as Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Nanotechnology, 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.
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
Aerospace Engineering - The design of aircraft, spacecraft and related topics.
Chemical Engineering - The conversion of raw materials into usable commodities.
Civil Engineering - The design and construction of public and private works, such as infrastructure, bridges and buildings.
Electrical Engineering - The design of electrical systems, such as transformers, as well as electronic goods.
Mechanical Engineering - The design of physical or mechanical systems, such as engines, powertrains, kinematic chains and vibration isolation equipment.
With the rapid advancement of Technology many new fields are gaining prominence and new branches are developing such as Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Nanotechnology, 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.
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
Engineers apply the sciences of physics and mathematics to find suitable solutions to problems or to make improvements to the status quo. 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.
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.
Computer use
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 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.
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).
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 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.
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).
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.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.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:
Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Against Poverty
Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief
Engineers for a Sustainable World
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.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.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:
Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Against Poverty
Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief
Engineers for a Sustainable World
Engineers Without Borders
The name Engineers Without Borders (abbreviated EWB; the French translation Ingénieurs Sans Frontières or ISF is also commonly seen) is used by a number of non-governmental organizations in several countries, which are involved in engineering-related international development work. As many of these organizations developed independently, they are not formally affiliated with each other, and their level of collaboration varies.
Some EWB organizations have created an informal international network, Engineers Without Borders International, to unite their actions. However, unlike many international NGOs, each national group is fully independent and autonomous. Member of EWB International include EWB-USA and Engineers Without Borders (UK)
As most EWB members' development projects are generally small scale grass-roots partnerships, this is in part to reduce the red tape and various bureaucratic overhead costs associated with large organizations.
Moreover, due to their diverse origins, there is some disagreement between the various EWB groups regarding appropriate approaches to international development. For instance, the U.S. organization focuses on chapter-based design projects involving short assessment / implementation trips to the community in question. In contrast, EWB Canada puts a greater emphasis on capacity building, long-term volunteer work, and domestic outreach.
As a result of these differences, EWB Australia, EWB Canada, EWB-UK, ISF Spain, ISF Italy and ISF France have no formal involvement in EWB International, which is largely led by the U.S. organization. However, many of these non-EWBI groups do have some "informal affiliations" with each other, with the U.S.-based Engineers for a Sustainable World, and occasionally with the EWB International organizations
Some EWB organizations have created an informal international network, Engineers Without Borders International, to unite their actions. However, unlike many international NGOs, each national group is fully independent and autonomous. Member of EWB International include EWB-USA and Engineers Without Borders (UK)
As most EWB members' development projects are generally small scale grass-roots partnerships, this is in part to reduce the red tape and various bureaucratic overhead costs associated with large organizations.
Moreover, due to their diverse origins, there is some disagreement between the various EWB groups regarding appropriate approaches to international development. For instance, the U.S. organization focuses on chapter-based design projects involving short assessment / implementation trips to the community in question. In contrast, EWB Canada puts a greater emphasis on capacity building, long-term volunteer work, and domestic outreach.
As a result of these differences, EWB Australia, EWB Canada, EWB-UK, ISF Spain, ISF Italy and ISF France have no formal involvement in EWB International, which is largely led by the U.S. organization. However, many of these non-EWBI groups do have some "informal affiliations" with each other, with the U.S.-based Engineers for a Sustainable World, and occasionally with the EWB International organizations
Cultural presence
Engineering is a well respected profession. For example, in Canada it ranks as one of the public's most trusted professions.
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 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.
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 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.
Legislation
In most Western countries, certain engineering tasks, such as the design of bridges, electric power plants, and chemical plants, must be approved by a Professional Engineer or a Chartered Engineer or an Incorporated Engineer.
Laws protecting public health and safety mandate that a professional must provide guidance gained through education and experience. In the United States, each state tests and licenses Professional Engineers. 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)] 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
Laws protecting public health and safety mandate that a professional must provide guidance gained through education and experience. In the United States, each state tests and licenses Professional Engineers. 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)] 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
Science
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.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, 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,
"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."
In the book What Engineers Know and How They Know It, 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,
"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."
Medicine and biology
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.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.
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.The heart for example functions much like a pump, the skeleton is like a linked structure with levers, the brain produces electrical signals etc.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 utilizes 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.
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.The heart for example functions much like a pump, the skeleton is like a linked structure with levers, the brain produces electrical signals etc.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 utilizes 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.
Art
There are connections between engineering and art; 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. The Art Institute of Chicago, for instance, held an exhibition about the art of NASA's aerospace design.Robert Maillart's bridge design is perceived by some to have been deliberately artistic. 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. 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.
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.
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