Engineering is the application of science and maths to solve problems.

While scientists and

inventors come up with innovations, it is engineers who apply these discoveries to the real
world.

Engineering is part of STEM education, which aims to engage students with science, technology,
engineering and mathematics yet, as a discipline, it has been practiced for thousands of years.

You can see examples of engineering in the Pyramids of Giza, at Stonehenge, the Parthenon and
elsewhere. Yet, today’s engineers operate in many different areas as well as building structures.

Engineers work on everything from cell membranes to construction and prosthetics to improving
engine and transport efficiencies and developing renewable energy resources.

While engineering dates right back to the invention of the wheel (and beyond), the term itself
comes from the word engineer, which goes back to the 14th century, when an ‘engine’er’ meant
someone who constructed military engines like catapults and other ‘siege engines.’ This military
meaning can still be seen in use today with the Corps of Royal Engineers and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.

The word ‘engine’ itself comes from the Latin word ‘ingenium’ (c. 1250), which means ‘innate
quality, especially mental power, hence a clever invention.’

Engineering developed beyond military applications and began to be applied to civilian

structures like bridges and buildings, leading to the creation of the term civil engineering, to
differentiate it from the original military engineering field.