Monday, November 23, 2015

Synthesis Post


Engineers design everything.  From the pencils we write with in class to the toothbrushes we use before we go to bed, engineers are one of the biggest reasons we have all the manufactured items that we use.  With this responsibility there comes a more innovative and creative side where engineers can come to design some really exceptional types of technology.  From new types of biotechnologies, to break-through energy technologies, to cutting edge consumer technologies, engineers can be responsible for some amazing products that have an impact on people's’ everyday lives.  Through the field of engineering you are able to apply your engineering skill-set and knowledge to create or have a hand in creating different types of new technology.


These days just about everything needs some sort of energy to be able to function.  From cell phones to pick-up trucks, these things all require energy and engineers are able to play a hand in the development and creation of new and improved energy technologies that benefit just about everyone.  Within our blog we tackled a few of these new energy technologies discussing what they were and how they are affecting people today.  The first energy that we covered was the development of geothermal energy which is currently ongoing.  This type of energy utilizes CO2 in its liquid state sending it into the earth to be heated by the earth’s core.  When the liquid is heated it becomes steam which is then used to turn turbines and generate energy.  The continued innovation of this energy will keep engineers busy as they strive to find the most efficient way to generate energy on such a massive scale.   This example that were covered in the blog are just a few ways of how becoming an engineer can lead to helping create new types of energy technologies.


As science advances and scientists are able to study and understand how the world around us works, technology will be following close behind.  Engineers are continuing to push further and further towards more advanced biotechnology.  Biotechnology is the technological application of biological systems.  The blog covered mostly the application of human biotechnology, like how engineers have been working on the reverse engineering of the human brain.  One post in particular covered a new technology involving the human eye involving the fixing of damaged cataracts.  Chemical engineers are in the process of developing a solution that will be able to mend a damaged cataracts allowing the common person to be able to heal their cataracts with a not-so-expensive solution.  All these and more breakthroughs in biotechnology have been driven to the forefront by determined engineers who are fixed on creating new types of advanced biotechnologies. However, engineering has a much broader impact on society than just fixing human ailments or making revolutionary new technology.  


Engineers everyday are affected by culture, whether that be a major in the way one would live to just something that will amuse the user. Take, for example, the new iPhone 6s screen. Engineers layered very thin screens on top of one another to enable more capabilities of the new phone, such as touching the screen harder to bring up more options. Is the phone screen really needed in society? More than likely not, but engineers did come up with a whole new way of making touch sensing products go to a whole new level. There are even engineers working on the future of human life. Thanks to world renowned engineer, Elon Musk, colonization of Mars is becoming a possibility of the future. This could be a major impact on how people live their lives and how they perceive space travel. Engineers are helping to revolutionize the world, from small changes, like iPhone screens, to traveling to another planet to live. People in the next few decades will be living a world that no one would have dreamed possible.


                                                  Interview between Elon Musk and Steven Colbert on his mission to Mars.


All of these new types of technologies are brought about with the intention of benefiting society in some way.  Engineers are the main catalyst for this idea of a better world where new technologies, no matter what kind they are, will make life easier for people.  New energy technologies, biotechnologies, and consumer technologies are all under the umbrella of responsibilities of engineers.  Engineers that will be entering the workforce soon have these types of things to look forward to.  The world needs engineers to keep doing what they do best and that is designing and creating advanced technologies.

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