University:
Virtual High School
Course:
TMR3M | Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Academic year:

2024
Views:

372

Pages:

5
Author:

Leilani Contreras

Discover Engineering Introduction What is engineering? Many people have difficulty answering this question. In fact, engineering is a diverse field; there are many disciplines within engineering that can involve the application of a very different body of knowledge and skills. Nearly everything that is not “natural” (i.e., created by Mother Nature) most likely was designed and created with input from engineers. The shampoo you used this morning to wash your hair, the technology that cleans the water you drink, the buildings in which you live, work, and attend school, and the iPhone you use to communicate all involved the expertise of engineers in the initial design, building and testing, and final production. All engineers are problems solvers. The differences among engineers in varying disciplines are dependent on the types of problems that they solve. In general there are four major disciplines within the engineering field: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical. Many other engineering disciplines are derived as an extension of or a specialization within one of these major disciplines. For example, environmental engineering is a subcategory of civil engineering. Other engineering disciplines have resulted from the combination of aspects of two or more of the major disciplines. Mechatronics is a relatively new branch of engineering that incorporates both mechanical and electrical engineering principles. In this activity you will investigate the four major disciplines of engineering and consider their impact on you and the world. Equipment    Engineering notebook Pencil Computer with Internet access Procedure 1. What is engineering? Based on your current perception, in a few sentences define the term “engineering.” 2. Describe the four major disciplines of engineering and identify problems or projects that an engineer in each discipline might encounter.  Chemical engineering  Civil engineering  Electrical engineering  Mechanical engineering 3. Choose a discipline of engineering (other than chemical, civil, electrical, or mechanical) that is of interest to you. Describe this engineering field and explain how it is an extension of, specialization within, or combination of one or more of the four major engineering disciplines. (Optional—create a PowerPoint slide to describe your chosen engineering discipline.) 4. Describe your selected achievement in a few sentences. 5. Which major discipline of engineering do you think was most involved in the development of this achievement? Justify your answer. 6. If you were an engineer within the discipline that you chose in item 3, which engineering grand challenge would you like to work on? 7. Describe your selected grand challenge. 8. Why is a solution to this challenge important to the world? 9. How could you, as an engineer in your chosen discipline, contribute to a solution to this challenge? Conclusion Questions 1. What is it about engineering that is common to all disciplines of engineering? That is, what makes an engineer an engineer regardless of the work one does? 2. Why do you think engineering has been called the stealth profession? (Hint: there are many Internet resources that address this question.) 3. How is an engineer different from a scientist? 4. What interpersonal characteristics do you think are important to the success of an engineer of any discipline?