THE ENGINEER IN

SOCIETY
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THREE CORE ASPECTS

(1) Who is the engineer?
(2) The engineer's role in society
(3) The history of engineering and
the engineering profession

(1) THE ENGINEER

One who translates into action the dreams of

humanity, traditional knowledge and concepts of
science to achieve sustainable management of
the planet through the creative application of
technology.
Science:
Well founded, testable knowledge about natural
phenomena.
Technology:
Systems concerned with solving problems and
meet needs in the real world.

(2) THE ENGINEERS ROLE IN SOCIETY

The scientist develops knowledge

and understanding of the physical
universe. Science is the pursuit of
knowledge in its purest sense
without any concern to the needs of
the society.
Engineering connects pure science to
society. It is a combination of both.

Unlike in science, in engineering the

environment in which engineers plan,
design, build, manufacture and operate
continually changes and the role of the
engineers has been fraught with
challenges and uncertainties.
Throughout history, engineers have
through creativity, analysis and pure guts
met these challenges with success and
unfortunately failures too.

(3) THE HISTORY OF ENGINEERING AND

THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION

Why study the history of

engineering?
Phases of the history of Engineering
Development of the engineering
profession

WHY STUDY THE HISTORY OF

ENGINEERING?

To understand why things happened.

To make sense of the present and

the future.

To understand the connections

between engineering and other basic
aspects of human society.
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HISTORY OF ENGINEERING
Consists of 3 overlapping phases:

The Scientific Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution.

The Modern Industrial Era.

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Phase 1: The Scientific Revolution

Started out at the end of the 16th century.

The rise of capitalism brought about strong

interest in the practice of the trades of the
traditional artisan who transformed into modern
professionals especially in civil, mining,
metallurgical and mechanical engineering.

Machines powered by steam engines replaced

human muscles.

Practical thinking became scientific in addition to

intuition

Engineering colleges and professional societies

emerged.

The Scientific Revolution

At the end of the 16th

century, observation &
experiment challenged
centuries-old dogma to
present a new view of
nature.
Galileo (1564-1642)
developed the
telescope from
observation of Jupiters
satellites. Concluded
that the Earth revolved
round the sun.

Galileo Galilee
1564 - 1642

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The Scientific Revolution

Francis Bacon (15611626) was an enthusiast

of industrial science
used inductive approach
to draw conclusions from
experimental data.

Rene Descartes (15961650) emphasized

deductive approach
through mathematics.
Advocated that science &
religion should be
separated promoted
the advancement of
science.

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Phase 2: The Industrial Revolution

Started in mid 18th Century.

The Machine Age period:

- Machines replaced animal and human
power.
- Revolutionalised many areas of
production and everyday life.

Symbolised by mass production and

transportation. Adam Smith (The Wealth of
Nations, 1776) division of labour and
standardisation for productivity of workers.
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Prominent emergent disciplines:

-

Electrical Engineering.
Chemical Engineering.
Marine Engineering.
Aeronautical Engineering.

Control engineering accelerated the

pace of automation.
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Industrial engineers designed and

managed mass production and distribution
systems.

Graduate schools emerged.

Tinkering became organised research.

Individual inventions organised into

systematic innovations.
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Some British Pioneer Engineers

in the 2nd Phase

John Rennie (1716 1821)

- Built Canals, docks and bridges

John Smeaton (1724 1792)

- Built a lighthouse, bridges, engines, windmills.

Thomas Telford (1757 1834)

- First president of the Institution of Civil
Engineers, built canals, harbours, bridges,
roads.

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John McAdam (1756 1836)

- Built roads.

Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (1769 1849)

- First chief engineer of New York. Designed
gun factory. Pioneered mass-production.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1769 1849)

- Designed first steamship to cross the
Atlantic.

George Stepherson (1781 1848)

- Railway engineer, the first president of the
Institution of Civil Engineers.

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Contributors to Industrial
Revolution
John Rennie
(1716 1821

John Smeaton
(1724 - 1792)

Thomas Telford
(1757 - 1834)

1st President of ICE, 1820

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Contributors to Industrial
Revolution
Marc Isambard
Brunel
(1769 - 1849)

Isambard Kingdom
(1806 - 1859)

Brunel George
Stephenson
(1781 - 1848)

1st President of
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IMechE,1847

High Point of British Industrialization

The Crystal Palace Exhibition in London in 1851 was a

celebration of British engineers and engineering, as it
marked the high point of British industrial ascendancy.

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Phase 3: The Modern Industrial Era

From mid 19th Century, Engineering

sciences took great strides:

- Material science & engineering

brought advanced material with
performance undreamed of.
- Astronautic engineering conquered
outer space.

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- Atomic power brought about the field of

nuclear engineering.
- Microelectronics, communications and
computer engineering joined forces to
kick start the information revolution.
- Maturing of graduate education.
- Rise of large-scale R & D organised on
the national level.

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At the turn of 21 Century:

st

Rapid development in information

technology.

Emergence of notable complex

technologies that required disciplinary cooperation and integration of knowledge:
-

Biotechnology.
Nanotechnology.
Environmental Technology.
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Timeline of Modern Technology

1851
1869

Crystal Palace Exhibition

Union Pacific Railroad across US, Suez
Canal opened
1876 Invention of telephone, 1st internal
combustion engine
1878 Beginning of electric lighting
1900 Invention of radio
1903 Wilbur Wrights propeller biplane flight
1913 Ford introduced moving assembly line
1914 Panama Canal opened
1926 Invention of TV
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Timeline of Modern Technology

1930
1942
1947
1957
1958
1969
1977
1981

Invention of gas turbine

1st electronic computer
Invention of transistor
Sputnik launched
1st integrated circuit
1st man on the moon
1st personal computer
Microsoft MS-DOS computer operating
system
1982 Compact disc
1996 Dolly the cloned sheep was born on 5
July
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Engineering Education & the

Rise of the Profession

During the Industrial Revolution, engineer

training in Britain involved paying a substantial
fee for a 5-year pupilage in an engineers office.

Britain did not establish engineering schools (@

London & Glasgow Universities) until 1840.

Failure to recognize the need for systematic

science-based education for technologists allowed
other countries to overtake Britain.

Formal & informal associations of practising

engineers, manufacturers, & scientists allowed
exchange of ideas & experience in the general
development of the engineering profession.

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Engineering Education & the

Rise of the Profession

One early leader of the engineering profession was John

Smeaton, the 1st Englishman to differentiate himself as a
Civil engineer (rather than military).

In 1771, Smeaton & some colleagues formed the

Smeatonian society of Civil Engineers.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) was formed in 1818

to distinguish itself from other societies.

In 1920, Thomas Thelford, a leading engineer of that time,

became the President of ICE.

In 1928, he obtained the Royal Charter for ICE to give it

the status as the leader of the profession.
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Engineering Education & the

Rise of the Profession

Other major powers adopted a much more

structured approach to training engineers.

In 1676, France set up a specialized army corps of

engineers.

In 1747, France established the 1st engineering

school, the Ecole Nationale des Ponts st Chaussees.

In 1794, the Ecole Polytechnique was established.

The engineering profession in France continues to

enjoy high social status.

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Engineering Education & the

Rise of the Profession

US Military Academy at West Point, established in 1802, was

the first American military engineering school.

The first non military engineering school in America , the

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was established in 1823 in
New York.

The success of Rensselaer in attracting students forced other

established US universities to introduce technical courses.

Germany established Berlin University in 1809 prototype for

the modern research university with academic rigor &
laboratory experiments.

Germany also established polytechnics the 1st at Karlsruhe

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in 1825.

A Chronological Summary of the

History of Biotechnology
Date
circa 10.000 BC
Implication(s)

Selective cultivation of crops begins

Birth of agriculture

8-9000 BC

Orchiectomy/castration of young bulls

Growth/behaviour
modification

5-9000 BC

Domestication of cattle horses and other

Birth of animal

live stock

agriculture

circa 6000 BC

Event

Yeast used to make beer by Sumerians

and Babylonians

circa 4000 BC

The Egyptians discovered how to bake

leavened bread using yeast. Other

Birth of

fermentation processes established in

fermentation-

ancient times include making yoghurt from

based classical

milk using lactic acid bacteria, using molds

biotechnology

to produce cheese; making tofu, producing

vinegar and wine by fermentation

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Date
Implication(s)

Event

circa 1400 BC
industry

Artificial incubation of eggs

circa 400 BC

Hippocrates (460-377 BC) determined

Birth of poultry

that the male contribution to a childs

heredity is carried in the semen. By

Early insights into

analogy, he thought that there might

reproductive biology

be a similar fluid in women, since children

clearly receive traits from each parent in
approximately equal proportion

circa 300 BC

Embryo development systematized

Birth of embryology

100-300 AD

Indian philosophers first pondered the

Early insights into

nature of reproduction and inheritance

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genetics

Date
Implication(s)
600-1700 AD

Event
Selective breeding of horses, dogs, cats,

Birth of embryology

and livestock species to produce animals

with desired traits systematized.

1651

Circulation of blood (Harvey)

Modern physiological
Principles

1665
born

Plant compartments called cells (Hooke)

Concept of cells

1674

Simple lenses used to study microscopic

Birth of microscopy

organisms (Leeuwenhoek)

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Date
Implication(s)
1856

Event
Existence of microbes demonstrated

Germ theory confirmed

(Pasteur)

1859

On the Origin of Species published

Theory of evolution

(Darwin)

1865

Principles of transmission of genetic

Birth of genetics

traits elucidated using pea plants

(Mendel)

1891

First successful embryo transfer

Birth of embryo

(Heape)

manipulation

technology
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1900

Application of artificial insemination

Increased pace of

Date
Implication(s)
1919

Event
Term biotechnology coined (Ereky)

Biotechnology in the
lexicon

1935

First virus discovered

Vectors for generic

mutations

1944

DNA identified as the generic material

Molecular basis of
heredity

1947

Elements of DNA found to be transposable

(McKlintock)

1949

Cryoprotectants used for cryopreservation

of sperm

Concept of natural
genetic engineering

Freezing/shipping of
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gametes and cells

possible

Date
Implication(s)
1950s

1953

Event
Mammalian tissues/cells grown in

Tissue culture technology

laboratory

developed

DNA described as double-helix of

Gene structure described -

nucleotides (Watson and Crick)

a key milestone in molecular

biology and modern biotechnology, and the birth of
genomics

1957

Liquid nitrogen cryopresevation

Long-term storage of cells/

gametes

1961
controlled

Role of RNA and ribosomes in protein

Enabled subsequent

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Date
Implication(s)
1966
of

Event
Microinjection technology developed

Physical manipulation
genes

1972

DNA from one organism recombined

Recombinant DNA

with that of another

technology

1977

Human gene cloned (Itakura)

Genes can be copied

1978

Commercial estrous synchronization

Timed artificial

in cattle

insemination and

embryo
transfer
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1980-1981

First transgenic mice (mice bearing

Mammalian generic

Date
Implication(s)
1981

Event
Transfer of murine embryonic stem (ES)
cells

1983

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) described

(Mullis)

Totipotent ES cells aid

transgenics

Rapid amplification,
detection and cloning of
genes

1985

1987

First transgenic domestic animals produced

Genetic engineering of

(pig)

livestock

Targeted gene disruption (gene knockout)

Enabled studies and

development of therapies
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for loss of gene function

Date
Implication(s)
1989

Event
Targeted DNA integration and germline

Potential for tissue

chimeras (mice)

engineering and gametic

transmission of transgenes

1993
enhanced

Recombinant growth hormone approved

for dairy cows

1993-1995

Functional nucleic acid vaccines introduced

Pharmacologically
milk production

Potential for engineering

medicines and for disease
prevention

1996

Sheep cloned by somatic (body) cell transfer

True mammalian cloning

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possible

Date
Implication(s)
1998

Event
Human embryonic stem cells derived

Multiple therapies for genetic

and immunological disorders

1999
our

Draft of complete human genome

Watershed events marking

sequence published

transition from the pre- to

the
post-genomic era
2001

Human genome mapped

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THANK YOU

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Q&A

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