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

 (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
meeting needs in the real world.
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(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
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

Why study the history of

engineering?

Phases of the history of Engineering

 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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 PHASES OF THE 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 9

emerged.
 The Scientific Revolution
Galileo Galilee
At the end of the 16th
century, observation & 1564 - 1642
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.
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 The Scientific Revolution
Francis Bacon (1561-
1626) was an enthusiast
of industrial science
used inductive approach
to draw conclusions from
experimental data.

Rene Descartes (1596-

1650) emphasized
deductive approach
through mathematics.
Advocated that science &
religion should be
separated promoted
the advancement of
science. 11
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 12

workers.
 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 Mechanical Engineers. 16
 Contributors to Industrial
Revolution
John Rennie John Smeaton Thomas Telford
(1716 1821 (1724 - 1792) (1757 - 1834)

1st President of ICE, 1820

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 Contributors to Industrial
Revolution
Marc Isambard Isambard Kingdom Brunel George
Brunel Stephenson
(1769 - 1849) (1806 - 1859) (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 a whole new
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 at

the national level.
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 At the turn of 21st Century:
Rapid development in information
technology.

Emergence of notable complex

technologies that required disciplinary co-
operation and integration of knowledge:
- Biotechnology.
- Nanotechnology.
- Environmental Technology.

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 Timeline of some Pioneers of
Modern Technology
1869 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 some Pioneers of
Modern Technology
1930
Invention of gas turbine
1942
1st electronic computer
1947
Invention of transistor
1957
Sputnik launched
1958
1st integrated circuit
1969
1st man on the moon
1977
1st personal computer
1981
Microsoft MS-DOS computer operating
system
1982 Invention of Compact disc
1996 Dolly the cloned sheep was born on 5
July

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 A Chronological Summary of the
History of Biotechnology
Date Event Implication(s)
circa 10.000 BC 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 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
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to produce cheese; making tofu, producing
vinegar and wine by fermentation
 Date Event Implication(s)

circa 1400 BC Artificial incubation of eggs Birth of poultry industry

circa 400 BC Hippocrates (460-377 BC) determined

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

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nature of reproduction and inheritance genetics
 Date Event Implication(s)

600-1700 AD 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 Plant compartments called cells (Hooke) Concept of cells born

1674 Simple lenses used to study microscopic Birth of microscopy

organisms (Leeuwenhoek)

1780 Successful artificial insemination of dogs Birth of artificial

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Insemination
 Date Event Implication(s)
1856 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

1900 Application of artificial insemination 28

Increased pace of genetic
in food animal breeding (Ivanov) improvement for breeding
 Date Event Implication(s)
1919 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 Concept of natural

(McKlintock) genetic engineering

1949 Cryoprotectants used for cryopreservation Freezing/shipping of

of sperm 29
gametes and cells
possible
 Date Event Implication(s)
1950s Mammalian tissues/cells grown in Tissue culture technology
laboratory developed

1953 DNA described as double-helix of Gene structure described -

nucleotides (Watson and Crick) a key milestone in molecular
biology and modern biotech-
nology, and the birth of
genomics

1957 Liquid nitrogen cryopresevation Long-term storage of cells/

gametes

1961 Role of RNA and ribosomes in protein Enabled subsequent controlled

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synthesis elucidated production of proteins
 Date Event Implication(s)

1966 Microinjection technology developed Physical manipulation of

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

1980-1981 First transgenic mice (mice bearing Mammalian generic

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foreign genes) engineering
 Date Event Implication(s)

1981 Transfer of murine embryonic stem (ES) Totipotent ES cells aid

cells transgenics

1983 Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) described Rapid amplification,

(Mullis) detection and cloning of
genes

1985 First transgenic domestic animals produced Genetic engineering of

(pig) livestock

1987 Targeted gene disruption (gene knockout) Enabled studies and

development of therapies
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for loss of gene function
 Date Event Implication(s)

1989 Targeted DNA integration and germline Potential for tissue

chimeras (mice) engineering and gametic
transmission of transgenes

1993 Recombinant growth hormone approved Pharmacologically enhanced

for dairy cows milk production

1993-1995 Functional nucleic acid vaccines introduced Potential for engineering

medicines and for disease
prevention

1996 Sheep cloned by somatic (body) cell transfer True mammalian cloning
possible 33
 Date Event Implication(s)

1998 Human embryonic stem cells derived Multiple therapies for genetic
and immunological disorders

1999 Draft of complete human genome Watershed events marking our

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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