’’Scientists investigate that which already is,
Engineers create that which has never been.’’
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, one of the world's greatest scientists, hit the nail right on the head when he
pondered the question 'what is engineering?'. In simple terms, engineers identify a problem, and
come up with a solution – often creating something completely new in the process. Traditionally,
engineering is about infrastructure. Engineers were known to create bridges and vehicles that got
us from A to B faster more efficiently. Now engineering is acknowledged as a discipline that
opens up opportunities and creates technology and products that help make our lives easier.
Engineers are shaping the future by applying their skills to almost everything you can think of,
from medicine to renewable energy, food technologies to sustainable mining. There really is no
limit to what engineers can do.
Engineering
Engineering is the practical application of science and math to solve problems, and it is
everywhere in the world around you. From the start to the end of each day, engineering
technologies improve the ways that we communicate, work, travel, stay healthy, and entertain
ourselves. Engineers are problem-solvers who want to make things work more efficiently and
quickly and less expensively. From computer chips and satellites to medical devices and
renewable energy technologies, engineering makes our modern life possible. In particular,
electrical engineers and computer engineers have a wide range of study options and career paths
that let them design, build, and manage those ideas into reality. The American Engineers' Council
for Professional Development has defined "engineering" as: The 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 or safety to life and property.Engineering
has existed since ancient times as humans devised fundamental inventions such as the wedge,
lever, wheel, and pulley. Each of these inventions is consistent with the modern definition of
engineering, exploiting basic mechanical principles to develop useful tools and objects.
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The term
engineering
itself has a much more recent etymology, deriving from the word
engineer
, which itself dates back to 1300, 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. 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.
Ancient era
The Ancient Romans built aqueducts to bring a steady supply of clean fresh water to cities and
towns in the empire. The Pharos of Alexandria, the pyramids in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon, the Acropolis and the Parthenon in Greece, the Roman aqueducts, Via Appia and the
Colosseum, Teotihuacán and the cities and pyramids of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec Empires, the
Great Wall of China, the Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur and tombs of India, 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. Ancient Greece developed machines in
both civilian and military domains. The Antikythera mechanism, the first known mechanical
computer, and the mechanical inventions of Archimedes are examples of early mechanical
engineering. Chinese, Greek and Roman armies employed complex military machines and
inventions such as artillery which was developed by the Greeks around the 4th century B.C., the
trireme, the ballista and the catapult. In the Middle Ages, the trebuchet was developed.
Renaissance era
William Gilbert is considered to be the first electrical engineer with his 1600 publication of De
Magnete. He coined the term "electricity".The first steam engine was built in 1698 by Thomas
Savery. The development of this device gave rise to the Industrial Revolution in the coming
decades, allowing for the beginnings of mass production.
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