Exploring Engineering

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Exploring Engineering

• Chapter 1
• What Engineers Do

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In this course you will study

• Energy, fuels, and engines
• Feedback and control systems
• Logic and computing systems
• Bridge building
• The elements of engineering design
• Engineering economics
• Engineering ethics
• And much more!

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Keys to YOUR Success

• Study skills
• Time management
• Writing skills
• Math skills

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Where to Find Information

• Your Instructors
• Your fellow team members
• Other students
• Campus resources

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Engineers Design

• Synthesis putting things together
• Analysis taking things apart

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ExampleBuying a Car

• A car salesperson might say
• a) This car was driven by an old 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)?

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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

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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 values)
• Variable Unit Number

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National Academy of Engineering Top 20
Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century

1. Electrification
2. Automobile
3. Airplane
4. Water Supply and Distribution
5. Electronics
6. Radio and Television
7. Agricultural Mechanization
8. Computers
9. Telephone
10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

1. Highways
2. Spacecraft
3. Internet
4. Imaging
5. Household Appliances
6. Health Technologies
7. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
8. Laser and Fiber Optics
9. Nuclear Technologies
10. High-performance Materials

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The National Academy of Engineering List of the
Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century.

1. Make solar energy economical
2. Provide energy from fusion
3. Develop carbon sequestration methods
4. Manage the nitrogen cycle
5. Provide access to clean water
6. Restore and improve urban infrastructure
7. Advance health informatics

1. Engineer better medicines
2. Reverse-engineer the brain
3. Prevent nuclear terror
4. Secure cyberspace
5. Enhance virtual reality
6. Advance personalized learning
7. Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

http//www.engineeringchallenges.org/
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What do you think about these choices?
http//www.engineeringchallenges.org/
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Engineering ethics

• Ethics are codes of conduct that allow us to
  co-exist with other human beings
• Engineering ethics is your adherence to codes
  that govern your particular profession.
• We will use the Code of Ethics for Engineers
  written by the National Society of Professional
  Engineers (NSPE)
• Every engineering society has equivalent canons

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Engineering ethics

• NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers
• 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.

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Engineering ethics - Example

• Compare the Code of Ethics or Canons to
  possible actions in an appropriate situation,
  Example
• A company purchased an expensive computer program
  for your summer job with them. The license
  agreement states that you can make a backup copy,
  but you can only use the program on one computer
  at a time. Your senior design course professor
  would like you to use the program for your senior
  design project. What should you do?
• a). Give the program to your professor and let
  him/her worry about the consequences.
• b). Copy the program and use it because no one
  will know.
• c). Ask your supervisor at the company that
  purchased the program if you can use it at school
  on your senior project.
• d). Ask your professor to contact the company
  and ask for permission to use the program at
  school.

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Engineering ethics - Example
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Engineering ethics - Example
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Engineering ethics - Example

• In this case you should do c) and d)
• Variations on this matrix/table method is used
  throughout this course in many engineering areas.
  
• Its a powerful way to organize your thoughts
• Of course in engineering ethics problems, you are
  encouraged to add more columns as other possible
  actions suggest themselves to you

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Summary

• This course teaches many areas of engineering
• The methods taught are broad in application and
  are based on physical and other principles
• You will learn how to think as an engineer a
  method of analysis that has broad applicability