CHAPTER 2

THE ENGINEER

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The Engineer
What is an Engineer?
Engineers are individuals who combine knowledge of science,
mathematics and economics to solve technical problems that confront
society.
Practically;
Engineers convert scientific theory into useful applications.
They help to provide mankind's needs.
The root of the word engineer derives from engine. In early
English, the verb engine meant to create

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Engineering
Engineering is the application of scientific and
mathematical principles to practical ends such as the
design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and
economical structures, machines, processes, and
systems.

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The Technology Team

Technology development is a complex process involving the
coordinated efforts of a technology team consists of:

Scientists, who study nature in order to advance human

knowledge. They use their knowledge to acquire new
knowledge Degree: BS, MS, PhD
Engineers, who apply their knowledge of science, math and
economics to develop useful devices, structures etc. Degree:
BS, MS, PhD

Technologists, who apply science and math to well-defined

problems that generally do not require the depth of
knowledge possessed by engineers and scientists. Degree: BS

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The Technology Team

Technicians, who work closely with engineers and scientists to
accomplish specific tasks such as lab procedure, model
building. Degree: Two-year associate degree

Artisans, who have the manual skills ( welding, machining,

carpentry) to construct devices specified by scientists,
engineers, technologists and technicians. Degree: High
school diploma plus experience
Successful teamwork results in accomplishments larger than
can be produced by individual team members.

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Major Engineering Disciplines

Civil Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Aerospace Engineering
Materials Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
Architectural Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Computer Engineering

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Major Engineering Disciplines At QU

Architecture Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Industrial and System Engineering
Computer Engineering

Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering

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Engineering Disciplines
Civil Engineering:

- Oldest type of engineering

- Building walls, bridges, and roads on a large scale

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Civil Engineering
Construction Engineers:
Environmental Engineers:
Geotechnical Engineers:

Structural Engineers:
Transportation Engineers:
Urban Planners:

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Engineering Disciplines
Mechanical Engineering:

- Create mechanical things

- Engines, lathes, mills, vehicles, etc.

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Mechanical Engineering
Energy Production:
Machines:

Manufacturing:
Transportation:
Heating, Ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration:

Heat Transfer:
Fluid Flow:

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Engineering Disciplines
Electrical Engineering:

- Generators, transformers, radio transmitters, computers

- Analog and digital equipment's

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Electrical Engineering
Power Generation and Transmission:
Motors:

Electronics:
Computers:
Communication systems:

Instrumentation and Measurement:

Automatic Control:

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Engineering Disciplines
Chemical Engineering:

- Manufacturing of gasoline, oil, plastics, pharmaceuticals, etc.

- Design and assemble chemical plants

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Chemical Engineering
Petrochemical Engineers:
Pharmaceutical Engineers:

Fine Chemical Engineers:

Food Engineers:
Safety Engineers:

Environmental Engineers:
Design Engineers:

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Engineering Disciplines
Industrial Engineering:

- Integrates systems of people and machines

- Develop scientific management

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Industrial Engineering
Methods Engineers:
Plant Layout Engineers:

Cost Engineers:
Quality Engineers:
Human Factors Engineers:

Operations Research Engineers:

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Engineering Disciplines
Aerospace Engineering:

- Deals with Air and Space

- Aircrafts, Missiles, Rockets, etc.

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Aerospace Engineering
Aerodynamics Engineers:
Propulsion Engineers:

Structural Engineers:
Control Engineers:

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Engineering Disciplines
Materials Engineering:

- Study rocks, soils, mines, ceramics, properties of materials

- Concerned with obtaining the materials required by modern
society

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Materials Engineering
Geological Engineers:
Mining Engineers:

Petroleum Engineers:
Ceramic Engineers:
Plastics Engineers:

Metallurgical Engineers:
Materials Science Engineers:

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Engineering Disciplines
Agricultural Engineering:

- Help farmers efficiently produce food and fibers

- Apply knowledge of mechanics, computers, electronics,
chemistry and biology to solve agricultural problems

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Engineering Disciplines
Nuclear Engineering:

- Nuclear engineers design systems that produce nuclear energy

such as nuclear power plants

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Engineering Disciplines
Computer Science & Technology:

- Deals with both computer software and hardware, but

emphasize more on software's.
- Design and built computers, write operating software's, etc.

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Engineering Functions
The engineers can be classified by the functions
they perform
Research Engineers, search for new knowledge to solve
difficult problems
Development Engineers, apply existing and new knowledge
to develop prototypes, new devices, structures
Design Engineers, apply the results of research and
development engineers to produce detailed designs of
devices, structures etc

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Engineering Functions
Production Engineers, concerned with specifying
production schedules, determining raw materials
availability, optimize assembly lines etc.

Testing Engineers, perform tests on engineered products to

determine their reliability and suitability
Construction Engineers, build large structures
Operations Engineers, run and maintain factories, chemical
plants

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Engineering Functions
Sales Engineers, use their tech. background to sell technical
products
Managing Engineers, coordinate the activities of the
technology team
Consulting Engineers, help companies with their Eng.
Talent
Teaching Engineers, educate other engineers in the
fundamentals of each engineering discipline
See the example: Rechargeable Battery

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Who Employs Engineers?

Example: USA

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Career Paths
There are at least seven career options for
graduating engineering students:
Corporate ladder
Independent entrepreneur
Military or government
Engineering and social service
Professor/engineer
Graduate work outside engineering
A mix of first six options

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How Much Formal Education do you need?

PhD

Annual Salary

80k

The answer depends upon your ultimate career objectives

Benefit Individual Satisfaction and Financial Gain

MS

30k

BS

10

15

20

25

Years since BS Degree

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ABET
Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology (ABET)
http://www.abet.org/

University engineering program ABET accredited

The accredited program assures that the program
meets the minimum professional standards.

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ABET Accreditation and Visit

Visit the University and analyzes the course of study for
the individual program
The quality of course work (Curriculum)
The quality of the students
Interview students

The competence of the faculty

The administration support

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ABET Accreditation
University engineering program be ABET accredited
ABET audits engineering programs on a regular basis to
assure that the program maintains high standards
Meet minimum professional standards
You will be an asset to the engineering profession and to
society
Accredited engineering program is required to become a
registered professional engineer in some countries (USA)

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Evaluation of an Engineering Program

ABET determines if the graduates have the following skills
Able to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
Able to design and conduct experiments
Able to analyze and interpret data

Able to function on multi-disciplinary teams

Understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
Able to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
Able to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
Knowledge of contemporary issues
Able to communicate effectively
Able to use to techniques, skills, and tools necessary for engineering practice
Able to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal

context

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ABET Engineering Curriculum

Four year engineering programs approved by The Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) includes a broad
range of courses.

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Why Do I Care About ABET

ABET audits engineering programs on a regular basis

to assure that the program maintains high standards.

Having an engineering degree from a four-year

accredited engineering program is required to become

a registered professional engineer.
Most degree programs in the College of Engineering at

QU are accredited by ABET

Others are in the process of getting accredited

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Engineering Professional Societies

American Medical Association (physicians)
American Dental Association (dentists)
Institute of Civil Engineers (1818 UK)

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 1852

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 1880
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 1908
Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)

Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

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Function of Professional Societies

Exchange of information and ideas between

members

Publish technical journals.

Holding technical conferences.
Maintaining technical libraries.
Providing employment statistics.
Improve standards of engineering education.
Social gathering
Give advise in technical maters.
Encourage research.
Encourage and publicize discoveries.

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Engineering Design Method

Engineers use engineering design method given below.
1. Identify and define the problem
2. Assemble a design team
3. Identify constraints and criteria for success
4. Search for/develop new solutions
5. Analyze potential solutions
6. Choose the best solution
7. Document the solution
8. Communicate the solution to management
9. Construct the solution
10. Verify and evaluate the performance of the solution

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Models
1. Qualitative Models

2. Mathematical Models
3. Digital Computer Models
4. Analog Computer Models

5. Physical Models

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Qualitative Models
A qualitative model is a simple relationship that is easily
understood.
If you were designing a clock, the time it takes to swing back and
forth would be a critical design criteria.
By observing a swinging rock tied to a string gives you an idea
that the longer strings need more time to complete a cycle.
A simple relationship such as this is very useful to an engineer,
however it is generally insufficient of in depth analysis.

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Mathematical Models
Engineering usually needs quantitative values. Thus, this
qualitative ideas are transformed into mathematical formulas
Thinking of a formula that determines the relationship between
L, length of the string
P, the time it takes to return to its original position and
the Angle

L
P 2
g

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Digital Computer Models

Mathematical models may be programmed and solved using

digital computers
In our pendulum example, we could write a program that

calculates the position of the pendulum as time progresses

At each position, we could calculate the air density, forces,

pivot-point friction
The computer model would use all of this information to

calculate the next position

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Analog Computer Models

Electronic circuits can be configured to simulate physical

systems (analog computers before the digital computers)

Physical Models
Some systems are extremely complex and require physical

models
Chemical engineers built a pilot plant to test a chemical

process before the industrial scale plant is constructed

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Traits of Successful Engineer

Interpersonal Skills
Communication Skills
Leadership
Competence
Logical thinking
Quantitative thinking
Follow through
Continuing education
Professional library
Dependability

Organization
Common sense
Curiosity
Involvement in the community
Creativity

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Traits of Creative Engineer

Does not give up (Commitment)
Asks why (Curious and constantly seeking understanding)
Never satisfied (how I could do this better)
Learn from accidents
Make analogies during learning
Develops quantitative and qualitative understanding
Has good visualization skills
Has good drawing skills (develop enough of other knowledge)
Possesses unbounded thinking
Has broad interest
Collect obscure problems
Keeps an engineering toolbox (formulas, Laws, cost, etc..)