Engineering

Taylor Roche-Dutch

What is Engineering?

• The application of scientific, economic, and practical knowledge in order to design, build, and maintain structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes.

• Using the resources of the world around us and the ingenuity of the human mind to create elaborate machines and infrastructure that advance society and make life easier.

My Thesis

Through engineering, society and the world advance and evolve. By utilizing advanced digital

technology and innovating older systems and concepts, mankind adapts to the changing

times.

Brief History of Engineering

Engineering as a concept is one of the fundamental fields of science. It entails the creation of modern technology and innovation of older systems and machines. It has existed for as long as man has, and has brought about much of what we use today. Engineering as a profession exploded after World War II, as new weapons and defenses were necessary to end the war.

Telephones and computers were major landmarks in the timeline of engineering. Eventually, cars and the internet evolved to change the face of the human species.

Why do I want to be an engineer?

• I firmly believe that technology and innovation are the foundations of society.

• The digital revolution is sweeping the world, and I need to be a part of it.

• The evolution of robotics and autonomous systems is vital to the human population, opening up new economic positions and reconstructing society as we know it.

Engineering Dual-Degree Program• Virginia Wesleyan College offers an opportunity for interested students

to earn two degrees within five years of schooling. 1. A Bachelor’s of Science in one of VWC’s science majors. This includes Biology,

Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Science, or Mathematics.2. A Master’s Degree in Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, or

Aerospace Engineering from Old Dominion University.

• Students take four years of classes at VWC, and are automatically enrolled and accepted into ODU for their fifth and final year.

• The Student must complete these classes:

The Many Types of Engineering

Mechanical

Fluids/Thermodynamics

Deals with heat and how it affects work and energy.

Work with everything from car engines to chemical reactions to black holes.

*Design & Manufacturing*

The broadest and most open branch.

Deals with the analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems.

Mechanical

Fluids/ThermodynamicsRequirements:

Design & ManufacturingRequirements:

Biomedical

• Use engineering principles and design concepts for medical, biological, and healthcare purposes.

• Design robotic or mechanical limbs, create advanced wheelchairs or movement aids, and design and fabricate other biological feats of engineering.

• *The fastest growing career and field of science in the world.*

• They just created this program at ODU, so there are no requirements as of right now.

*Robotics*

• Focus on the design, fabrication, and maintenance of autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic machines.

• Not offered in the dual-degree program, but pursuable in graduate school and in doctorate programs.

• Create everything from humanoid automatons, industrial manufacturing robots, ‘swarm’ bots, and infinitesimally small nano-machines.

Electrical and Computer

• Electrical engineers study computers, communication systems, integrated circuits, and radars to improve them.

• Computer Engineers are involved in hardware and software aspects of computing, from the design of microprocessors, personal computers, and supercomputers, to circuit design and fabrication.

Requirements:

Modeling and Simulations

• Gather information about real or theoretical engineering concepts.

• Use sophisticated computer programs to design and simulate machines, computer parts, and robots.

Requirements:

Aerospace

• Focus on the design, construction, and testing of aircraft and spacecraft.

• May be aeronautical or astronautical, whether they deal with space or sky.

Requirements:

Civil and Environmental

Civil• Design, construct, and maintain

the physical manmade environment.

• Focus on roads, bridges, canals, dams, and other buildings.

Environmental• Attempt to improve the natural

environment, provide healthy water, air, and land for humankind, and remediate pollution sites.

• Involves waste water management, air pollution control, recycling, and waste disposal.

Interviews with Students

Jules Whitehurst&

Don Taylor

Jules Whitehurst

• What inspired you to pursue the engineering field?

• Which field are you specifically interested in?

• What do you want to do with your degree in the future?

• It started in Sophomore year of high school, I got interested in how gaming controllers worked. I had an electronics class, and we learned to take apart computers for a project.

• Electrical engineering and Mathematics.

• I’m not sure, I know I want to go to graduate school and we’ll see after that.

Jules Whitehurst

• What interests at you at VWC pertaining to mathematics and engineering?

• Why did you choose mathematics as opposed to computer science or the other options for the dual degree program?

• After you finish calculus, you should take a class called Foundations of Logic and Proof. That class gave me a whole new outlook on math and a background on how it works.

• Everyone has something that clicks with them, and math always came pretty easily to me. Some people like experiments or biology, I like patterns and memorization.

Don Taylor

• What got you interested in the engineering field?

• Which specific field are you pursuing?

• Who/What do you want to work with in the future?

• All my life, I’ve loved tinkering with machines and designing objects to make life easier.

• The biomedical field.

• I want to create prosthetics and work with any organization that builds them. I believe that ideas are idols, not the people or organizations.

Don Taylor

• Why choose the biomedical engineering field?

• What are your values when it comes to engineering, and what do you want to do with it in the future?

• As Einstein said “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. I want to help people, but not make everything automatic for them.

• I feel that every person should be allowed to do whatever makes them happiest. I want to be able to make as many lives as possible as simple as possible. If someone loses a limb, I want to be able to help them, through technology, to lead a normal life. I want to give them the hands to reach out and grab life for themselves.

Where To Work After College