Last Updated on March 22, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev
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Engineering technology explained
Engineering technology is one of the most underrepresented fields which entail the cornerstones of most (if not all) modern economies. Engineering is a separate branch of engineering that mainly deals with the practical application of complex engineering calculations and concepts into tangible objects. Engineering involves the interpretation and taking of designs by engineers and turning them into practical concepts. Engineering technologists are the ones that help turn ideas and concepts by engineers into reality, for example turning electric motor ideas and models and turn them into those cool-looking Teslas we see and praise on the road.
The role of engineering technologists in innovation is to take concepts and ideas created by engineers and make them into real things through the building, testing, and evaluating using their distinct knowledge of engineering and technology.
Engineering, however, is closely similar to engineering. Both fields of study have foundations in mathematics and science in general and calculus and physics in particular. In most cases such as in mechanical engineering technology, they operate in teams in the same project so that their different skills can create innovative technological advancements.
The field of engineering is very broad and spreads its tentacles to other avenues and where there is engineering there is usually engineering. In technology, there are fields such as electronic engineering technology and even genetic engineering technology responsible for the practical evaluation, testing creation, and building of ideas in electronics and genetics.
Is engineering a science?
This question has been around almost as long as engineering itself. The answer is no, engineering is not a science. This is because science is a study of the natural world and how it operates. Engineering, however, is the use of this study to innovate and solve problems. The two disciplines overlap in many cases and are usually used interchangeably but are in reality they are actually two distinct disciplines. For example, while biology is the study of living things or life, biomedical engineering technology is a discipline that uses the knowledge in biology, chemistry, and other sciences to come up with processes that help treat patients and identify illnesses in the field of medicine.
Common fields of engineering technology
Computer engineering technology
This is one of the most common fields of engineering in modern times. It is essentially the pragmatic side of integrating software and hardware in the making of computers. This work is done by technologists at popular companies such as apple. Though similar to computer engineering, computer engineering is more practical and deals with the hands-on and practical side of combining computer hardware and software as well as testing and evaluating them to function perfectly together. The same can be said for electronic and electronics engineering which are similar fields that deal with the practical application and creation of electronics for appliances we use every day.
Civil engineering technology
Most people usually ask what is civil engineering as it strays a bit from conventional engineering but is an important field of engineering. Much like construction engineering or architectural engineering technology, civil engineering is a field that focuses on the practical aspect of construction when it comes to building and taking into consideration other mathematical and geographical aspects on construction sites. Firms such as Arup have such technologists in their workforce civil engineering technologists experiment with new engineering technology and road making or bridge constructing techniques or technology to improve civil engineering as a whole.
Manufacturing engineering technology
Manufacturing engineering is a prominent field of engineering that pretty much steers any new advancements for the products used by everyone in the world from appliances to cars. Manufacturing engineering technologists are responsible for creating, testing and trying out new technologies in the manufacturing industry. In the making of mobile phones, they are responsible for the making of chips and other technologies and finding ways of incorporating them into mobile phones while bearing the sizes of mobile phones. The is quite similar to industrial engineering technology.
Chemical engineering technology
Chemical engineering deals with the creation and modification of chemicals. These chemicals are used for different things, chemical engineering technologists are responsible for making and testing chemicals that are used in the world, some of them are used in homes and these technologists make them and test them to see if they are home friendly. Chemical technologists are also similar to pharmaceutical engineering technologists, whose job is to create and come up with new and better pharmaceutical chemicals for the health sector. They are responsible for the creation of medicines and vaccines after thorough research has been done by other professionals in medical research and they are responsible for testing out these forms of medications and vaccinations before they are released to the world.
Environmental engineering technology
Environmental engineering involves the innovation and trying out of new procedures, processes and products to use that are environmentally friendly or meant to rehabilitate the environment. These overlap with agriculture, mining and engineering at times and work together. Environmental engineering can be seen in agriculture where technologists come up with irrigation techniques that are not detrimental to the integrity of soils, such processes include drip irrigation among many others. Sometimes it comes up with measure engineering technologists tries to come up with the newest technology that can help maintain the integrity of environments.
Electrical engineering technology
This is another important field in engineering. Electrical engineering is now useful in every aspect of human life as there is a great migration that is taking place to everything electric. In the automotive industry. Electrical engineering has gained much prominence as carmakers are migrating to electric engines. Electrical engineering has been very instrumental in this migration as they are responsible for making better, electrical engines as well as better batteries to store power for these cars. These engineering technologists take part in all the technical engineering needed to come up with such technologies, these involve choosing the right materials and testing out prototypes, and modifying them to make them as efficient as possible.
Engineering is that salient driver of economies and development as well as the civilization that is responsible for the ease of our lives.
