| If you want to make an educated decision about what career to pursue, you need the right kind of information. This book gives you a real-world introduction to the study and practice of engineering. In addition to presenting a wide variety of vital information, we've even made it interesting to read!
Chapter 1, Engineering Majors, should help you determine what areas of engineering are most appealing to you. Chapter 2, Profiles of Engineers, features "live reports from the scene" from real engineers. They discuss their jobs and what they wish they had known going into the profession. Our problem-oriented focus is highlighted in such chapters as Engineering Fundamentals and Mathematics, where relevant introductory concepts are applied to actual engineering situations.
As you contemplate engineering, you should consider the dramatic impact engineers have had on our world. Note the eloquent words of American Association of Engineering Societies Chair Martha Sloan, a professor of electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University:
- "In an age when technology helps turn fantasy and fiction into reality, engineers have played a pivotal role in developing the technologies that maintain our nation's economic, environmental and national security. They revolutionized medicine with pacemakers and MRI scanners. They changed the world with the development of television and the transistor, computers and the Internet. They introduced new concepts in transportation, power, satellite communications, earthquake-resistant buildings, and strain-resistant crops by applying scientific discoveries to human needs.
-
- "Engineering is sometimes thought of as applied science, but engineering is far more. The essence of engineering is design and making things happen for the benefit of humanity."
Joseph Bordogna, President of IEEE, adds:
- "Engineering will be one of the most significant forces in designing continued economic development and success for humankind in a manner that will sustain both the planet and its growing population. Engineers will develop the new processes and products. They will create and manage new systems for civil infrastructure, manufacturing, communications, health care delivery, information management, environmental conservation and monitoring, and everything else that makes modern society function."
We hope that you, too, will find the field of engineering to be attractive, meaningful, and exciting-one that promises to be both challenging and rewarding, and one that matches well with your skills and interests.
You may be interested in knowing who authored each chapter. Dr. Oakes wrote the chapters on Majors and Problem Solving. Dr. Leone wrote Engineering Statistics, and Design. Mr. Young wrote Visualization and Graphics. Mr. Gunn wrote Technical Communication. Dr. Diefes wrote Computer Tools. Dr. Flori wrote Teamwork. Dr. Dilworth wrote Ethics. Dr. Potter wrote Units, Math and Engineering Fundamentals. A huge thanks is due Mr. John Gruender, executive editor of Great Lakes Press. His efforts contributed significantly to the final content and format of this book.
If you have comments or suggestions for us, please contact our editor, John Gruender, at jg@glpbooks.com or call (800) 837-0201. We would greatly appreciate your input.
-The Authors
|
