Running head: Engineer better medicine

Engineer Better Medicine and Medical Treatment

Luis Portillo
University Of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1302: Genre Analysis

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Introduction

The 14 grand challenges of engineering are topics/ideas of problems that engineers

themselves came up with that think that are keeping the 21st century behind. One of the main
problems that keeps this generation in the dark is that humanity has not been able to create the
best medication or medical treatment that they could have. Therefore, engineers agreed that they
need to focus in creating/innovating better medicine. In the iconography genre, Dr. Charles M.
Vest, the president of the National Academy of Engineering mentions in an interview video that
back in the 1950s, engineering was viewed as the mechanical aspect of the medical field. In the
past engineers were limited to invent things like, artificial limbs or an artificial heart, but now the
medicine/medical field is now gripping towards the genetic and molecular level, and engineers
too ( Charles, 2015). Dr. Charles supports the genre of typography. The National Science
Foundation (honorable foundation determined to advance scientific progress) funds the National
Academy of Engineering. The National Academy of Engineering is an organization that provides
the website Engineer Better Medicines (typography genre) where they enrich the idea of
engineering better medicine. It informs current projects and concepts that have a great intention.
Audience and Purpose
The typography Engineer Better Medicines and the iconography of Dr. Charles interview
video are both informing the same discourse communities. They are informing engineers who are
aware of the 14 challenges and in people who are interested in what engineers are doing to try to
come up with better medicine and better medical treatment. However, Dr. Charles M. Vest also
tries to persuade those desperate people who want better results towards illness, that engineers
are not only working in better medicine, but also in ways of preventing diseases. Both the
typography and the iconography are letting people know that there is hope, that there is actually

Engineer better medicine

someone that is helping doctors and scientists to find solutions. Engineers help as a different
point of view in the medical field. The audience knows that there are general medications for
specific illnesses and that they may cure it, or maybe just slow it down. However, they dont
know that engineers and doctors are working in faster and more efficient ways to model
medications that are personalized. Personalized medicine works more efficiently since it is
specifically manufactured to deal with the patients specific genetic information gathered by a
clinic. Patients like to know that they have personalized attention. The video/interview by Dr.
Charles is very formal (appearance and orally), and he uses high level of vocabulary that may
confuse the audience the first time it is watched. The replay will be clear. The typography is
formally written and has high level of vocabulary as well, but it is explained so well that it will
take only one time to understand it fully. Both of the genres are very similar since one supports
the other. However, the typography is rich in detail compared to the iconography.
Ethos, Pathos and Logos
Mentioned before, the video supports the website well and because of its credibility, it
establishes more solidness to the website when it presents the image/logo of the organization and
it is the president of the organization who gives a strong interview. The combination of the
credibility and the enriched detail helps inform and persuade. Both genres assist the emotion of
security and trust among the audience. Since one of the purpose of both genres is to inform, the
emotion of trust supports the detail that is mentioned, therefore, we have an audience that feels
secure and believes the information presented. The persuasive portion, is achieved if there is trust
from the audience. Dr. Charles M. Vest and the website mention examples of what the audience
knows that engineers have accomplished. Therefore, the audience can feel certain that engineers
will do as much as possible to invent those methods that patients desperately need. It is very

Engineer better medicine

appropriate for the audience to know that things have been accomplished before. The video
supports the website, but the audience can feel a big difference in the credibility portion because
a president, of any kind, presents a good icon, and the website only has its words and the
organization image to back it up.
Structure and Delivery
The website that presents the typography is presented well because it is very organized by
having different tabs- Engineer Better Medicine contains its own tab. Although the video might
have been limited by filming time, it reaches all its main points and it is presented formally. The
typography is presented in its own tab with information, and in addition, it presents its
information with different headers, which makes it easier to find specific information faster. It
also assists its purpose of informing. In contrast, although President Charles Vest is presented
very formally in the interview, it only presents one more visual. There is text in the video to
present him.
Conclusion
Both of the genres are effective in their own way However, the typography genre is more
effective in conveying its message because it is rich in detail. Any kind of audience always
demands for detail. Nevertheless, the audience (people who demand better medicine) will have
unanswered questions from both genres. How long will it take for engineers to perform? Will
there be an effective innovation? And how long will the innovation maintain successful for
patients?

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References

Engineer Better Medicines. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2015, from

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges/medicines.aspx
Engineer better medicines. (2015, March 23). Retrieved September 7, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrFWN5XnaRg