ENGEN170 What is engineering and society PDF

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Assignment 2 for ENGEN170...

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What is engineering and society? 1. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a system used around the world which has become a part of everyday life. The GPS ‘is a global navigation satellite system that provides location, velocity and time synchronization’(Kyes,para.1). The GPS is now used around the world for multiple uses including smart phones, aircrafts, ships and construction equipment (Singh,para.2). The GPS has had a significant impact on society as it has allowed for simple and effective ways to navigate around the world, in small towns, the ocean and space. Today’s generation hugely rely on the GPS invention without knowing, to get to the places needed in their day-to-day lives. There is no one person who takes sole credit for inventing the GPS. Four engineers, scientists and mathematicians have been acknowledged for the work they have done towards the invention of the GPS. Roger L. Easton has been recognised for his concept called TIMATION which is a time-based system created from orbits and a master clock (Singh,para.4). Ivan Getting invented the concept of using satellites (Singh,para.7). He is also responsible for the administrator work in getting the GPS operational such as, the GPS design and making agreements with stakeholders (Singh,para.8). Bradford Parkinson was the chief architect of the GPS. He pulled together multiple programs including Easton’s TIMATION to create the ‘NACSTAR-Global Positioning System’ (Singh,para.10,11,12). Gladys West was the mathematician who did all the calculations and processed the data from the orbiting satellites to determine their exact locations (Singh,para.13). Together the above four inventors, engineers and mathematicians created the GPS. In 1973 the original GPS system was invented for The Department of Defense. Originally the GPS system was designed for the military. It was used to help their soldiers navigate to and from their base and to know and record their location accurately worldwide. Over the years the accuracy of the GPS has improved from within 100 metres to being accurate to the nearest centimetres. Civilian use has evolved much faster than expected and is believed to continue to grow and evolve (El-Rabbany,2002). The GPS that is known and used today, is the way it is, due to clever and determine minded people that pursued their creativity. In many years from now with more research and creativity the GPS may be used differently and more effectively. The purpose of the future GPS could solve a yet to be heard of problem for the next generation.

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2. Virtual reality was first invented in 1957 by Morton Heilig. He invented a device in which viewers could experience a screen display as well as smell, touch and hear sound from the same machine (Poetker,para.4). Many movies have predicted the use of virtual technology in the future, although their ideas of how it may be used are intensified to create a better story line for the movie. In the movie ‘Surrogate’ directed by Jonathan Mostow, humans are living their lives through artificial intelligence called surrogates. By using the virtual reality technology, they are able to see, feel, smell and touch everything their surrogate can from the comfort of their home. Today we have the working technology to experience this to a degree. By further enhancement of the already existing virtual reality technology, it could be utilized more in the workplace. Virtual reality is already being used in some workplaces for training purposes. BP has used virtual reality technology to expose their employees to start-up and emergency exit procedures during oil refinery (Thompson,para.15). This has allowed the company to prevent wastage of their product which therefore ensures for no loss of profit, but also prevents any health and safety issues from occurring if a trainee were to make a mistake. Virtual reality has also been used in a children’s hospital in Los Angeles to train surgeons for treating children in emergencies. This included how to save infants who have suffered from a seizure (Thompson, para.16). Therefore, by using virtual reality the surgeons have been able to practice life-saving procedures in an almost real context, giving the surgeon the best training for the real-life situation. Virtual reality is a type of technology that could become an everyday tool imitating teleportation. Similar to the movie ‘Surrogates’, virtual reality could be improved to allow employees or every day citizens to sit in a chair and experience, as an example, a conference meeting that is being held in another country. This would save companies large amounts of money for travelling expenses. Anyone at any time, could experience an event that is happening in another country, region or city without having to spend money on travel and accommodation. If virtual technology is upgraded enough for this to be possible, most companies wealthy enough, will be investing their money into this new technology which will ultimately save money and time.

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This would have a large impact on society as it would not only save money on travel expenses, but it would also save a lot of commute time. The only thing more valuable than money is time.

3. In a first-year engineering lecture, engineering was defined by Rob Torrens, (2021) as ‘Engineering is the application of knowledge (science) – often to solve a problem. You use tools (technology) to successfully apply the knowledge’. The job of an engineer is to turn science into technology to enhance the quality of life. Chemical and biological engineers use chemistry and biology to create different products and processes in an environmentally conscious and cost-effective way. For example, a biological engineer creates prosthetic limbs (New Zealand Government [NZG], 2020, para.1). Engineers use biology to understand the movement of the limb they are recreating. Often different engineering disciplines work together to create a final product. The biological engineer will design the prosthetic limb, and the mechanical engineer will physically make it. There are also other job opportunities for chemical and biological engineers such as ‘food processing, materials and manufacturing, petroleum and pharmaceuticals’(NZG, 2020, para.17), ‘tissue engineering, biotechnology and instrumentation’(NZG, 2020,para.14). Chemical and biological engineers have had large impacts on today’s way of living. One important process chemical engineering is responsible for is creating the distillation process of oil which provides petrol and other oil related products for consumers (Anderson, para.13). The use of petrol has made a significant impact on society as it has changed the way we travel. Cars with petrol engines allows for faster and easier travel. Many other vehicles are also powered by petrol engines such as motorcycles, trucks, and different types of machinery. The use of petrol engine powered machinery has also made a large impact on society. In the time it takes to hand saw one tree down, multiple trees can be cut down with a petrol engine powered chainsaw. However, petrol has been found to not be environmentally friendly. Now chemical engineers are “working to find new sources for fuels e.g. bio-refineries, wind farms, hydrogen cells, algae factories and fusion technology” (Maitland, para.7). When a new source is found this will also influence society as it may help prevent climate change and be better for the environment.

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Engineers need many personal skills as well as having a well-educated maths and science background. Clift (1998), Henley (2006), King (2008), Mitchel et al (2004) suggest some key skills that employers look for in the engineering industry are; being able to work in a group environment, being able to use non-technical language to communicate technical ideas, using common sense, working to contribute towards sustainable development, thinking creatively, having independence and being able to control budgets and logistics (as cited in Dowling et al., 2020). Not only do engineers need to be able to come up with practical solutions but they need to be able to communicate their solutions and ideas with either the company they work for or the person requiring the solution. These personal skills are important to be a successful engineer. Another important skill is to be respectful and considerate of other people. When an engineer has an idea, they need to consider the cultural and societal effects it might have. Engineer’s idea’s must also tailor the ‘buyers’ needs and not their own. Engineering as a profession requires problem solving skills, the knowledge of, and the passion for science as well as an aspiration to make a difference.

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References Anderson,J. (2014, February 6). Chemical Engineers Vote on Modern Era’s Top 10 Best Inventions, Energy Dominates. Breaking Energy. https://breakingenergy.com/2014/02/06/chemical-engineers-vote-on-modern-eras-top10-best-inventions-energy-dominates/ Dowling,D., Hadgraft,R., Carew,A., McCarthy,T., Hargreeaves,D., Baillie,C., & Male,S. (2020). Engineering your Future: An Australasian Guide. (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. El-Rabbany,A. Introduction to GPS The Global Positioning System, MA, Norwood:Artech House, 2002, p.10 Kyes,J. (2020, May 23). Geotab What is GPS?. https://www.geotab.com/blog/what-is-gps/ Maitland,G. (2014, September 4). Ten Future Careers of Chemical Engineers (Day 100). IChemE. https://ichemeblog.org/2014/09/04/ten-future-careers-of-chemicalengineers-day-100/ New Zealand Government. (2020 May 22). Biomedical Engineer. careers.govt.nz https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/health-and-community/health/biomedicalengineer/ New Zealand Government. (2020 July 8). Chemical Engineer. careers.govt.nz https://www.careers.govt.nz/jobs-database/engineering/engineering/chemicalengineer/ Poetker,B. (2019 September 26). The Very Real History of Virtual Reality. https://learn.g2.com/history-of-virtual-reality#:~:text=Virtual%20reality %20technology%20was%20invented,1987%20by%20researcher%20Jaron%20Lanier Singh,I. (2019, February 10).Who invented the GPS? People behind the Global Positioning System. https://geoawesomeness.com/who-invented-the-gps/ Thompson,S. (2019, July 26). VR for Corporate Training: Examples of VR already being used. https://virtualspeech.com/blog/how-is-vr-changing-corporate-training Torrens,R. (2021). #2 What is Engineering? [PowerPoint slides]. Moodle. https://elearn.waikato.ac.nz/course/view.php?id=56264...