What is engineering? My reflections . Part 1

 The society is transforming and technologies are being invented at exponential pace. We need a new look at engineering. This is an attempt.

What is engineering? My reflections 1


I requested the views of many. I got about 25 responses. About 25 % responded. My thanks to all those who responded. It shows every responder is concerned about this. I am glad. 

The poser was what is engineering?

Most seem to agree with the aim of engineering. I am not giving the individual  responses here,but I am giving a unified version which includes the views of most persons. 

The responses fall in one or more  of the following categories:

Outcome based

Quality based

Process based

Approach based.

Inclusion based.

Let us look at the components of the definition.

  1. Outcome based -  Engineering solves real world problems. It produces useful / beneficial applications for the people.. Utility aspect is important. It is not a basic abstract activity ,but application based.       

  ** But kindly note we can't ignore engineering theory like thermodynamics, circuit theory, networks, information theory, electromagnetics, turbulence, flows, . They play an important role in a better product.     **        

  1. Quality aspect - The product should be a robust one,  repeatable. It should be economical and efficient. Safety is essential. Scalability is becoming important. **Usability was ignored.  We needed operators; we didn't bother about end-users **

  2. Process based

1. Science oriented -  based on scientific principles. Most believe in this , there is a lot of truth to it. 

** But it is not always true . Examples are early metallurgy, thermodynamics, turbulence, Wright brothers experiments with flying , electromagnetic waves - we got electricity and higher frequency concepts before C V Raman came up with spectrum theory . Alternating current came from Tesla and used in the Niagara power plant  -, Engineering and science go hand in hand for development. Engineering theory evolved in parallel with science. Basic ideas come from science ,say , about electricity , but the overall structures were evolved by engineers. Examples are AC, harmonics, resonance, symmetrical components, traveling waves,etc. We definitely used some scientific principles and mathematics particularly in the early 20 th century. Later we used computer algorithms. **

2. Natural processes -

 **This seems to be more appropriate.**

.3 Components of  engineering - Tools, drawing, instrumentation, Design, analysis , synthesis, manufacturing etc.

  1. Approach based - innovative and appealing ; **intuitive sometimes ; reliable.**

sustainable - we are exploiting resources , so sustainability needs a major focus. it should become an inherent part of engineering activities.

  1. Inclusion based - today engineering is expanding to new sectors like health, retail, banking etc. 



Well that is a summing up of views from most. 

Now my questions on the completeness of this definition:


 The above definition is static . It does not include Transformations  happening like electronics, communications, computers etc . A question -Are these to be considered as  branches of engineering or not?

2. Unfortunately engineering is viewed as mechanisms oriented. It ignored humans  . But the situation is different now. Biomedical engineering deals with the human body. Computing is online. Society is connected. 

My second question:

 So do we need a new or added part to our definition. Is it Mechanistic or  humanistic / organic.?

 The definition should be futuristic; it should consider the changes wrought by AI, which we define as systems that extend human capability by sensing, comprehending, acting, and learning.  So how do we modify our definition?

3.Engineering is not  only  to be viewed as beneficial. 

Development has created many problems - complex life style, stress, unequal living , pollution, climate change, loss of data , loss of privacy, major failures etc. Should we have a mention of this in our definition?

Welcome discussions, comments and critiques.

Greetings

Dks

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