Engineering OverviewBy: Guy Boone, P.Eng & Robert Barta, P. Eng

FMPS Volunteer Engineers

http://Groups.Google.ca/group/FMPS-RPZ

NRC Engineering Challenge 2010

What is Engineering?

“Engineering is the application of science to the common purpose of life” Count Rumford (FirePlace Engineer)

• Engineering has been around since man first began to make tools

What is engineering?

Engineers provide the human voice in the ecosphere… What we build expresses what we believe it means to be here.

Sustainable Energy Systems:• Efficient, end use focused• Renewable• Diversity of Dispersed Sources• Least Cost• Smaller rather than larger units of supply• Short lead times, flexibility• Environmentally benign• Indigenous sources, self-reliance• Safe fail, quick repair

Examples of Engineering At Work

• Sewers, • Environmental Protection• Roads• Electrical Grid• Internet• Telephones• Automobiles• Airplanes• Toilet Cleaner• Gasoline• Steel

Engineering Trivia• Did you know that the invention of sewers and

aqueducts has saved more lives than all the medicine in the world put together?

• Why? Sewers and aqueducts provide a means of processing waste and eliminating diseases such as cholera and dysentery while providing clean water for drinking and other uses

• An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound cure!

It’s a Man’s World!

• Based on recent statistics, engineering is primarily a male dominated field with women only making up 19% of the profession (as of 2001.)

• However that is slowly changing as more women are studying to become engineers (currently some 30-40% of undergrads are female)

What Drives Engineering?

Trial & Error!!

Engineering is based on the remembering the lessons of past mistakes and problems.

Human beings do not know all the answers and the only way we learn is to do it.

Why Can’t We Be Friends? Lawyers & Engineers

• Why do Engineers have a legal responsibility?

– Our primary responsibility is to ensure the Public Health & Safety. Failure to carry out or negligence of that responsibility can lead to catastrophe and death.

Famous Engineering Failures/Errors

• The Titanic (1912)• Tacoma Narrows Bridge (1940)• Space Shuttle Challenger Exploding

(1986)• Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Explosion

(1986)• Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates

during reentry (2001)

What is the Difference between an Engineer and a Scientist?

• Engineers and Scientists tend to be lumped together because they work in the field of natural and man made science, but they are two distinct fields

• Until the 1800s, the distinction between a scientist and engineer was very narrow, but as the collective human knowledge grew so did the distinctions

• The major distinction between the two is that Scientists study natural phenomena and its potential uses for the sake of knowledge where the engineer takes that knowledge and applies it for a purpose.

• Another distinction is legal. A scientist has no legislated legal responsibility for their research/work whereas a Professional Engineer (P. Eng) does.

Scientists & Engineers in the Media

The (MAD) Scientist, Pet & Unwanted Visitor

EngineerSlightly Mad, but excessively Nerdy Scientist/Engineer

Famous Engineers (There are some?)• Famous Engineers & Inventors:

– Stanford Fleming (Canadian) invented the time zone– Andrew Grove-founder of Intel– Grace Hopper – coined the term, bug for computer programming,

mother of Fortran– Thomas Alva Edison –inventor of many electrical devices– Alexander Graham Bell (Canadian/Scotland)– inventor of the telephone– Steve Wozniak – designer of the first home PC, Apple I– Bill Nye –Science Guy– Guglielmo Marconi – father of modern radio

• Famous Engineers but for other reasons

– Montel Williams (Talk Show Host)– Rowen Atkinson (Mr. Bean)– Alfred Hitchcock (Movie Director)– Leonardo Da Vinci

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Civil– Construction– Materials evaluation– Home construction– Waste Management– Traffic flow and management

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Chemical– Drug Manufacturing (Legal)– Production of various Chemicals

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Electrical/Computer– Power Generation– Electronics– Telecommunications– Computers– Software

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Environmental– Study of the effects of various engineer

fields have on the environment and on humans

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Geological– Oil and Mineral Exploration– Evaluation of Geological formations for

suitability of various applications (nuclear waste disposal, power generation, waste management)

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Materials Science (Metallurgical)– Production of various metals, alloys– Failure analysis of materials (metal

fatigue, corrosion, durability)

What are the Different Branches of Engineering?

• Mechanical / Industrial– Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning– Design and Manufacture Equipment or

Parts (Construction, Automotive, Aircraft, etc.)

– Industrial Process

What Do Engineers Do?

What Kind of Jobs Do We Do?

• Design– Developing New Products

• Manufacturing– Takes the Design from Design (R&D) and attempts to design a

way to make the product cheaper and more efficiently

• Field Applications & Sales Support– Takes the finished product and tries to adapt it to the

customer requirements

• Sales– Using product knowledge & experience to sell the product to

the end user or systems integrator

What Kind of Jobs Do We Do?

• Management– Determines where the resources ($, manpower & Time)

should be best concentrated on

• Finance– Has basic knowledge of the field to help financial analysts

determine what companies and products are hot and which are not

• Consulting Engineers– Provides Engineering Expertise & Experience to a client

This is by no means the “complete list of jobs for engineers”!

The Boring Stuff—Who Are We?• My name is Guy Boone, and also known as “Gregory’s Dad”• Attended School in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland… • Graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland, Class of 1990

with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering• Worked with Telephone Company in Newfoundland, before joining

Nortel & later Alcatel in Ottawa. Currently work for Nemko Canada, as a “Safety Certification Engineer”.

• In my spare time, I volunteer as the HCMCA Outdoor Rinks Director.

• My name is Robert Barta

What do I need to study Engineering?

• Math is a very critical skill to have (in particular Calculus & Algebra)

• Basic Computer Skills (for all fields of engineering)

• Good communication skills (Written & Speech.) Like it or not, one has to communicate ideas and make people understand them!

• Decent grades…

The Life of a Student Engineer

• Many hours of Classes (my weekly workload in 1st year consisted of 31 ½ hours of classes & labs, my last year consisted of 33 hours of labs & classes)

• Information Overload…

• Learning Time Management & How to prioritize…

• Dealing with stress and learning how to relieve it

• Conflicting Priorities (study vs. having fun)

• Finding out where you want to go & what you want to do with your life

• Dealing with failure

Software Engineering

SuccessDisaster

The Difference between Software Engineers & Programmers

• Both programmers & software engineers work on all sizes of projects: small & large.

• Programmers emphasize the task of writing code to produce working software applications, independent of budget & schedule.

• Software Engineering tries to encompass software projects more completely, including budget and schedule; fits in a large business context with relationships to marketing, sales, production, installation, training, support, and operations; and methods to construct large applications that individual programmers cannot write alone.

One makes more money using their brain and not their body

• Shaquille O’Neal’s current contract is $125 million US over five years ($25 mil per year)

• Bill Gates makes somewhere between 2-5 Billion US per year (depending on whatever information is available)

Engineering is the language with which humanity communicates with

the rest of Nature…

Sustainable Energy:For Healthier Life for all:

• Efficient, end use focused• Renewable• Energy & water efficient homes • Energy efficient cars• Lower Cost and healthy for all• Environmentally friendly• Indigenous sources, self-reliance• Safe fail, quick repair

Is Engineering right for you?

• Find out what interests you

• Determine what school or program is for you.

• Research the schools you want to go to