About the Different Types of Engineering
Engineering goes back to the earliest of human history worldwide, when people looked for ways to use science and mathematics to solve problems. Since then, engineers have continued to search and find many ways that they could improve health, entertainment, work and communications for others by making an invention or an older item work more efficiently. As technology changes, so too do the types of engineering.
History
Although even the earliest of humans invented tools and the Greek and Roman civilizations introduced water wheels, roadways and aqueducts, the term "engineer" did not arise until the 11th century. The Italian word "ingeniator" means "the ingenious one," and who else but Leonardo Da Vinci could be called the "Ingegnere Generale"? It was during the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s and into the 1800s when scientists truly began to demonstrate their ability to ask why. For a long time, the word engineer was most associated with the military engineer, or someone who constructed war machines. Yet, in the early 19th century, "civil" or nonmilitary engineers began to study technology off the battle field.
Types
France boasts the first school of engineering, tthe National School of Bridges and Highways, established in 1747, which trained civil engineers who built structures such as sewer and water systems, railroads and even cities. Civil engineering evolved hand in hand with mechanical engineering, which looked at all types of machinery. As the 1800s went by, electrical engineering grew with the invention of the electric cell, dynamo and electric motor and later the vacuum tube. Because electricity was so essential to technology at this point, most engineers were electrical and electronics engineers.
Function
As the 1800s turned into the 1900s, the position of chemical engineer grew in importance as chemical processes were used in different forms of industry and production. It was the beginning of the petroleum industry in the 1900s that made the chemical engineer more prominent. The father of chemical engineering, George E. Davis, was from England. He authored "A Handbook of Chemical Engineering," which defined this new science and founded the concept of unit operations. This was the idea that it is possible to study all chemical processes by dividing them into distinct operations, for example, filtration, extraction and distillation. These are all controlled by specific principles.
Significance
The computer and the rise of software engineering has had the quickest and greatest impact of all the engineering fields thus far. Software engineers are involved with computer processes, development and methods, which overlap with civil, mechanical and chemical engineering and more. Software engineering is used for huge projects as well as ones that cannot even be seen without a microscope. Prior to the 1960s, software did not exist, but within decades it had grown into all forms of structured analysis and design. Software engineering integrates the fundamentals of mathematics, computer science and the general sciences.
Time Frame
New forms of engineering continue to arise along with the greater sophistication of science. Nuclear engineering is concerned with nuclear energy release, control and use. Aerospace engineers invent machines, from airplanes to spacecraft that travel nearly 18,000 miles an hour. Bioinformatics emphasizes the use of computer and statistical methods to understand biological data from experimentation, including gene sequencing and chips. Ocean engineers, an extension of marine engineering, deals with ocean exploration and structures, harbors, underwater pipelines and ocean pollution. Nanotechnology brings together all the various forms of engineering to develop machines of the molecular level.
Tags: About Different, About Different Types, chemical engineer, chemical engineering, chemical processes, Different Types, Different Types Engineering
