Exploring Engineering: What Engineers Do

Chapter 1
What Engineers Do
In This Course You Will Study
The role of engineers and engineering
technologists
Force, motion, energy, fuels, and engines
Logic and computing systems
The elements of engineering design
Engineering economics
And much, much more!
Exploring Engineering
Engineers can be classified according to the kind of work they
do—administration, construction, consulting, design,
development, teaching, planning, production, research, sales,
service, and test engineers. Because engineering deals with the
world around us, the number of engineering disciplines is very
large. The table below lists some of the many engineering fields.
Aerospace Ceramic Electrical Mechanical Petroleum
Agricultural Chemical Environmental Metallurgical Sanitary
Architectural Civil Geological Mining Systems
Automotive Computer Manufacturing Nuclear Textile
Biomedical Ecological Marine Ocean Transportation
Engineering technology is the profession in which a knowledge
of mathematics and natural sciences gained by higher
education, experience, and practice is devoted primarily to the
implementation and extension of existing technology for the
benefit of humanity.
Engineering technologists work closely with engineers in
coordinating people, material, and machinery to achieve the
specific goals of a particular project. The engineering
technologist is often responsible for design and development.
The 21st century will be characterized by the
convergence of many technologies and engineering
systems. The products of today and tomorrow will be
“smarter” in which computers, sensors, controls,
modern alloys, and plastics are as important as
continuing expertise in the traditional engineering
disciplines.
Personal ethics are the standards of human behavior that
individuals of different cultures have constructed to make moral
judgments about personal or group situations.
Naturally, they vary over time and from culture to culture,
resulting in conflict when what is acceptable in one culture is
not in another. For example, the notion of privacy in U.S. culture
is very strong, and a desk is considered an extension of that
privacy, whereas in another culture, such as Japan, office space
is open and one’s desk would be considered public domain.
Professional Ethics
Having a code of ethics enables an engineer to resist the
pressure to produce substandard work by saying, “As a
professional, I cannot ethically put business concerns ahead of
professional ethics.” It also enables the engineer to similarly
resist pressure to allow concerns such as personal desires,
greed, ideology, religion, or politics to override professional
ethics.
As members of this profession, engineers are expected to
exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineers
perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires
adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct.
National Society of Professional
Engineers Code of Ethics
Fundamental canons
Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall
• Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
• Perform services only in areas of their competence.
• Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.
• Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
• Avoid deceptive acts.
• Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and
lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness
of the profession.
Engineering Ethics Decision
Options →
NSPE Canons 
Matrix
Go along with the
decision
Appeal to higher
management
Quit your
job
Write your state
representative
Call a newspaper
reporter
Hold paramount
the safety, health
and welfare of the
public
Perform services
only in the area of
your competence
Issue public
statements only in
an objective and
truthful manner
Act for each
employer or client
as faithful agents
or trustees
Avoid deceptive
acts
Conduct
themselves
honorably
Keys to YOUR Success
Study skills
Time management
Writing skills
Math skills
Where to Find Information
Your Instructors
Your fellow team members
Other students
Campus resources
Engineering Design Is:
Synthesis – putting things together
Analysis – taking things apart
Example - Buying a Car
A car salesperson might say:
a) “This car was driven by an older person
who never exceeded the speed limit.”
and
b) “It has great power, excellent fuel efficiency, and
low pollution.”
What would an engineer say to part a)?
Design Criteria
For part a) an engineer might say:
“It was driven by a human about 1.7 meters high
and 2 billion seconds old who never drove it
faster than about 70 meters per second.”
Variable Unit Number

Height meters 1.7
Age seconds 2x109
Speed m/s 70
Design Criteria
In part b) when the salesperson says
“It has great power, excellent fuel efficiency, and
low pollution.”
An engineer might say:

“(You fill in this part and define the variables,
units, and numerical values)”
Variable Unit Number
National Academy of Engineering
Top 20 Engineering Achievements of the 20th
Century
1) Electrification 11)Highways
2) Automobile 12)Spacecraft
3) Airplane 13)Internet
4) Water Supply and Distribution 14)Imaging
5) Electronics 15)Household Appliances
6) Radio and Television 16)Health Technologies
7) Agricultural Mechanization 17)Petroleum and Petrochemical
Technologies
8) Computers
18)Laser and Fiber Optics
9) Telephone
19)Nuclear Technologies
10)Air Conditioning and
Refrigeration 20)High-performance Materials
The National Academy of Engineering List of the
Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century.
8) Engineer better medicines
1) Make solar energy economical
9) Reverse-engineer the brain
2) Provide energy from fusion
10) Prevent nuclear terror
3) Develop carbon sequestration
methods 11) Secure cyberspace
4) Manage the nitrogen cycle 12) Enhance virtual reality
5) Provide access to clean water 13) Advance personalized learning
6) Restore and improve urban 14) Engineer the tools of scientific
infrastructure discovery
7) Advance health informatics
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/
Do you agree
with this list of
challenges?
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

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Chapter 1

What would an engineer say to part a)?

Variable Unit Number

An engineer might say:

Variable Unit Number

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