The Engineer and His education

The Functions of the Engineer

Engineers design, build, and maintain various complex systems and structures, from
buildings to software. While there are many engineering professions, there is one
consistent engineering mindset: to innovate. To do so, they must think in increasingly
cross-disciplinary ways, finding combinations, patterns, and intersections between
previously disparate conceptual realms.
Engineers are the architects of the world. While stereotypes paint a picture of
engineering as an anti-social hard science that is primarily conducted behind a
computer, engineers are in fact the scientists and artists who created the Palm Islands
in Dubai and the Millau Viaduct in France. An engineer’s creativity does not always
need to be so grandiose—nano-engineers work down to a billionth of a meter in scale.
Those interested in engineering as a career can look forward to job security, lucrative
salaries, and career satisfaction in designing structures, systems, and products to
make life easier for humans and healthier for the planet.
Engineers combine rigorous scientific knowledge with elegant creativity to change
society and address global problems, often in previously unthought-of ways. This article
explores the expansive world of engineering, from microchips to aircraft, prosthetics to
nuclear reactors, cell phones to life-saving drugs.

What are some engineering functions?

The branches indicate what the engineer works with; the functions describe what he
does. In order of decreasing emphasis on science, the major functions of all
engineering branches are the following:
1. Research - The research engineer of B Tech College in Jaipur seeks new
principles and processes by employing mathematical and scientific concepts,
experimental techniques, and inductive reasoning.

2. Development - The development engineer applies the results of research to

useful purposes. Ingenious and creative application of new knowledge may
result in a working model of a new electronic circuit. However, it is a chemical
process, an industrial machine, or a gadget of optronics.

3. Design - In designing a structure or a product, the engineer of Engineering

Colleges in Jaipur selects methods, specifies materials, and determines shapes
to satisfy technical requirements and to meet performance specification.

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 4. Construction - The construction engineer is responsible for preparing the site,
determining procedures that will economically and safely yield the desired
quality. Also, it includes directing the placement of materials and organizing the
personnel and equipment.

5. Production - Plant layout and equipment selection, with consideration of human

and economic factors, is the responsibility of the production engineer. However,
he chooses processes and tools, integrates the flow of materials and
components, and provides for testing and inspection.

6. Operation - The operating engineer of Top Private Engineering Colleges

controls machines, plants, and organizations provide power, transportation, and
communication. However, he determines procedures and supervises personnel
to obtain reliable and economic operation of complex equipment.

7. Management and other functions - In some countries and industries, engineers

analyze customer requirements, recommend units to satisfy needs economically,
and resolve related problems. In addition, some industries decide how assets are
to be used.

The field of engineering work includes all those branches of technical service and of
business and professional work which have to do it with the utilization of natural
resources for human benefit. The function of the engineering service is the adaptation
of the laws and resources of nature to utilitarian purposes. It usually involves the
practical consideration or the active utilization of natural conditions and natural
resources through constructions. It requires technical training either through practical
experience and parallel study, or through study followed by practical experience.

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING
Aerospace engineers are at the forefront of the future. Aerospace engineers design
and model aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles to do what engineers do best:
chart the unknown and put it to work with rigorous scientific modeling. They are
changing the landscape of what is possible, whether that means putting a human on the
moon, connecting different parts of the world with satellite communication and air travel,
or exploring the far reaches of the solar system.

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
Automotive engineers design, test, and build land vehicles that operate in a wide
variety of environments, which in turn requires an extraordinarily complex and multi-
disciplinary approach. Fuel systems, thermodynamics, computer science, and industrial
logistics all intersect in automotive engineering to build smarter, more efficient, and
safer land transportation systems that, to the end-user, feel effortless. What is more,

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with the advent of autonomous vehicles, automotive engineers today benefit from an in-
depth understanding of cybersecurity.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
Biomedical engineers apply an engineering skillset to the biological sphere. They
design technology that interacts with the living body, whether this is designing and
developing advanced prosthetics, artificial internal organs, complex diagnostic
devices, or new drug treatments, biomedical engineers explore, enhance, and extend
life beyond its original limits.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Chemical engineers attack global problems at the chemical level. They apply
engineering skills to the field of chemistry to help mitigate pollution, optimize waste
management, refine fuel products, make energy systems more productive, revolutionize
agricultural processes, and work hand-in-hand with manufacturing operations to
consider the broader environment.

CIVIL ENGINEERING
Civil engineers design, build, and maintain the physical infrastructure that connects our
society. Roads, dams, buildings, airports, bridges, tunnels, water and waste systems—
civil engineers build and connect a jigsaw puzzle of moving parts so that they can come
together in safe, efficient, and productive ways. Nested underneath civil engineering are
three further specializations:

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Environmental engineers explore how humans interact with their environment, and vice
versa, often in areas such as waste disposal, recycling, pollution, and public health.

POWER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Power systems engineers deal with the transport of electrical power, with applications
in the smart grid, electric vehicles, and renewable energy sources.

WATER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Water systems engineers focus on fluid mechanics in waste and water storage and
transit, finding applications in dams, levees, potable water, and hydraulic energy.

COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Computer engineers design and develop the technical components of computers, such
as microprocessors, sensors, circuit boards, memory devices, networks, and routers. As
computer engineering continues to grow as a field, four sub-specializations have
developed within it:

SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
Software engineers design and develop the software that allows end-users to interact
with the underlying complexity of network systems in seamless, elegant ways, from

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apps to research engines and even tools that allow people and machines to
communicate with one another.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Electrical engineers design and develop all forms of electrical equipment, such as radar
systems, GPS, and electric motors, as well as new forms of power generation and
transfer. They work in tandem with federal or private entities to streamline today’s
systems and build tomorrows.

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING (ECE)

Electrical and Computer Engineering is an emerging subspecialty that explores the
interaction of machines with computers, with applications in robotics, autonomous
vehicles, power systems, lasers, medical equipment, and electromagnetics.

ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
Engineering management is the link between the engineering world and the world of
business. Engineering managers act as translators between the two worlds by
interfacing with both sides and streamlining the processes and organizational structures
of engineering teams and departments. Whether managing projects, products, or
people, engineering managers apply the engineering mindset—i.e., developing
processes that allow each element of a structure to work, in tandem—for optimal
efficiency.

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Industrial engineers design and maintain industrial and manufacturing processes. This
can include the interconnected and optimized storage and distribution of various
resources such as time, labor, machines, materials, information, and energy, which
increasingly travel across geopolitical borders. Whether streamlining supply chain
logistics, developing job evaluation tools, or calibrating manufacturing processes,
industrial engineers interact with computer networks, robotics, and organizational
structures in the pursuit of efficient, safe, and rapid productivity.

MATERIALS ENGINEERING
Materials engineers work at the atomic level—developing, processing, and testing raw
materials such as ceramics, plastics, composites, and metals. Materials engineers can
mold these elements to certain technical specifications, or apply an innovative approach
and discover or design or reproduce new materials that, like aluminum, one day
become the essential building blocks of the future.
Tasked with creating tactile materials at the atomic level, materials engineers create
new materials from known substances.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
Mechanical engineering is the development of machines. Such a broad mandate has
led to the development of more than 30 technical divisions according to the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), making mechanical engineering one of the
broadest genres of engineering. Often incorporating thermodynamics and materials

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science, mechanical engineers design and develop products as diverse as inkjet printer
nozzles, elevators, factory equipment, and thermal sensors. Mechanical engineers
interact with nearly every other facet of engineering.
Being one of the broadest engineering fields, mechanical engineers can be found
anywhere machines are made.

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
Nuclear engineers’ harness, study, and manage the power of the atom, primarily
through nuclear power and radiation. Not limited to developing reactor cores, radiation
shields, and power plant instrumentation, nuclear engineering also applies to medical
diagnosis and treatment. Acutely trained in the tremendous power and complexity of an
invisible-to-the-eye world, nuclear engineers find ways to prevent or correct nuclear
power plant emergencies, to safely dispose of nuclear waste, and to locate and irradiate
a tumor in a human body.

ROBOTICS ENGINEERING
Robotics engineers create robotic devices and the applications that run them. While
manufacturing is still the primary employer in this area, robotics has moved out of the
factory floor and into various industries, such as agriculture, aerospace, automotive,
biomechanical, and power systems management—with new applications in new arenas
being tested every day. Robotics engineers must not only learn to collaborate with many
different fields of research but also learn to anticipate and envision how robotics may
play a role in society.

SAFETY ENGINEERING
Safety engineering prevents accidents and reduces opportunities for human error in
engineered environments, which means that this type of engineering applies to almost
every discipline. Safety engineers ensure that buildings are structurally sound, that
advanced factory systems are designed with safety at the forefront, and that workers
have best-in-class clothing and equipment that protects them in specialized and
hazardous environments. Whether with medical equipment, airplanes, power plants, or
handheld devices, safety engineers are making sure that the priority is protecting the
humans interacting with engineered technology.

SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Closely related to engineering management, systems engineering focuses on issues
surrounding the design and implementation of complex systems. Systems engineers
look at the big picture and take into account the entire life cycle and the surrounding
ecology of a specific system, including operations, performance, test, manufacture,
cost, schedule, training, support, and disposal. Applicable to nearly any discipline,
systems engineers consider both the business and technical needs of stakeholders to
optimize design processes.

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What can you do with a mechanical engineering degree?

Mechanical engineering is the branch of engineering which covers how to maintain,

analyze, design and manufacture machinery in all of its forms.

This can span from the delicate design of tiny parts of electrical machines, to large-
scale industrial machinery, robotics and even biotechnology.

As one of the broadest fields of engineering, mechanical engineering will often overlap
with other engineering disciplines such as civil engineering, electrical engineering and
aerospace engineering.

Mechanical engineering graduates can use their numerical and computer skills to enter
careers in several fields including finance and management.

Top Industries For Mechanical Engineers

While mechanical engineers can find employment in virtually any field, they’re mainly
sought out by employers from industries such as:

● Aerospace

● Automotive

● Chemical

● Computer technology

● Construction

● Defense

● Design

● Electronics

● Information technology

● Materials and metals

● Pharmaceuticals

● Research and development

● Robotics

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In addition to the more engineering-focused industries, mechanical engineers can also
find employment in others, including education, finance, management, law,
government, medicine, research, and sales.