This week I had to interview a professional in engineering. I picked my cousin, Karen, who is an assistant to public service director. She has a degree in civil engineering.
A few topics we covered were:
Her job:
As Assistant to public service director she is in charge of oversight of environmental storm water project, benchmark city operations with municipals, meets with governor and city council, answer questions from residents, reporters about public services. she works 40 to 45 hours a week dealing with water main breaks, budgeting issues, complaints, and contract construction. I asked why she wanted to pursue engineering and she gave me a really heartfelt reply. When the Exxon oil spill happened in 1989 the crisis made her want to help and do something to help the wildlife and the environment. So she became a civil engineer.
What she writes:
She writes emails, letters to correspondents, reports, letters to clients or reporters, specifications plans.
Why she writes:
she writes these because the job or project deals with large amounts of money and she has to communicate and document everything the job/project consists of.
Projects worked on:
some projects worked on were detention pond, retrofit, a dam removal and stream restoration (the project won an award from the state).
She is currently working on the new water tower for Farmington Hills.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Week 2 Free Post
I found this other article that was very interesting. It talks about a solution to sensor technology. Before sensors used to be big and expensive but now engineers are making the technology more efficient, smaller and cheaper.
This made me truly realize that engineers constantly try to find the best possible solution to problem. the article also made me realize that we work closely with other people and work to make other peoples lives easier. In my engineering classes my professors always talk about how engineers try to makes solutions to life's problems and make other people's life easier, so it was reassuring to see actual articles about new technology engineer's made that help other people. Also the innovation is very impressive too.
This made me truly realize that engineers constantly try to find the best possible solution to problem. the article also made me realize that we work closely with other people and work to make other peoples lives easier. In my engineering classes my professors always talk about how engineers try to makes solutions to life's problems and make other people's life easier, so it was reassuring to see actual articles about new technology engineer's made that help other people. Also the innovation is very impressive too.
Resources:
http://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/7020/LIDAR-Lite-Distance-Measurement-Sensors-for-Drones-and-Bots.aspx
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Week 2 Prompted Post
I found a blog related to engineering which I found very interesting.
Here's the link:
http://engineering.curiouscatblog.net/category/engineering/
I also found an article online written by a professional engineer
Here's the link to that as well:
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2014/01/flexible-electronics-get-more-bendy-still
Both are about engineering new engineering projects and have an identical purpose but have slightly different audiences.
The blog is about multiple engineering projects which uses average diction and explains what the project's about. He also takes a stance about the whole thing, whether he likes it or not. the blog uses articles and videos on the subjects it talks about. This makes me think that the blog is aimed to explain to the average person about engineering projects but it is made to let anyone who reads it understand what's going on.
The article on the other hand is about one project and uses a more formal diction and short paragraphs. it also has pictures and a short video to help readers understand what the membrane does and looks like. The article aims to tell people what the new project is but the audience familiar is more familiar with the resources used in the projects.
Resources (the links again)
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Week 1 Free Post
Here are the questions I didn't already answer in my first post.
The website answered What is a professional engineer? by saying"Professional engineers have fulfilled the rigorous education, examination, and experience requirements, which, under state licensure laws, permit them to offer engineering services to the public. Although engineering licensure laws vary from state to state, in general, to become a PE an individual must be a graduate of an engineering program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, gain four years of experience as an intern, and then pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam. PEs take legal responsibility for their engineering designs, being bound by a code of ethics to protect public health and safety."
It also had a question similar to What's new in engineering and the website answered with "From the mass production of the automobile to space travel, from the telephone to the Internet, and from bioengineered foods to clean water, engineers have applied their expertise to improve the quality of our lives"
The website also listed a few famous people who have engineering degrees. Some of which are Bill S. Nye, William S. Harley, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Tom Scholz from "Boston".
It also had other questions I didn't ask that were very interesting.
Here's a link to the website I found:
http://www.nspe.org/resources/media/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-engineering
Now I have two more questions to get answers to.
I used the Michigan State Engineering website and when to degree requirements for mechanical engineering and saw exactly what classes I need to take in order to receive a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. Here's a link to the page you can view all of the engineering degree programs and their requirements.
http://www.egr.msu.edu/undergraduate/academic/degree-programs
My last question is a little harder to answer because its more of an interview question and there are many fields of engineering which makes this question subjective to what engineer you ask.
All in all the Internet was very helpful in answering my questions. I got quick answers and additional information about engineering.
- What do I need to study for this major?
- What jobs do engineers have?
- What is a professional engineer?
- What's a typical day for an engineer?
- What's new in engineering?
- Who are some famous people with engineering degrees?
The website answered What is a professional engineer? by saying"Professional engineers have fulfilled the rigorous education, examination, and experience requirements, which, under state licensure laws, permit them to offer engineering services to the public. Although engineering licensure laws vary from state to state, in general, to become a PE an individual must be a graduate of an engineering program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, gain four years of experience as an intern, and then pass the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam. PEs take legal responsibility for their engineering designs, being bound by a code of ethics to protect public health and safety."
It also had a question similar to What's new in engineering and the website answered with "From the mass production of the automobile to space travel, from the telephone to the Internet, and from bioengineered foods to clean water, engineers have applied their expertise to improve the quality of our lives"
The website also listed a few famous people who have engineering degrees. Some of which are Bill S. Nye, William S. Harley, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Tom Scholz from "Boston".
It also had other questions I didn't ask that were very interesting.
Here's a link to the website I found:
http://www.nspe.org/resources/media/resources/frequently-asked-questions-about-engineering
Now I have two more questions to get answers to.
I used the Michigan State Engineering website and when to degree requirements for mechanical engineering and saw exactly what classes I need to take in order to receive a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. Here's a link to the page you can view all of the engineering degree programs and their requirements.
http://www.egr.msu.edu/undergraduate/academic/degree-programs
My last question is a little harder to answer because its more of an interview question and there are many fields of engineering which makes this question subjective to what engineer you ask.
All in all the Internet was very helpful in answering my questions. I got quick answers and additional information about engineering.
Work Cited
"Frequently Asked Questions About Engineering." National Society of Professional Engineering. NSPE. 2014. web. 17 Jan. 2014
"Degree Programs." Michigan State University College of Engineering. Michigan State University. 2013. web. 17 Jan 2014
"Degree Programs." Michigan State University College of Engineering. Michigan State University. 2013. web. 17 Jan 2014
Week 1 Prompted Post
For my first post I have ten questions about engineering that I am going to try to answer with a single book. I am going to use my engineering 100 textbook to try and answer as many of my questions as I can.
2. I can also answer the second question with "engineers solve real-life problems, their ultimate motivation is to work toward making life better for everyone"( Stephan et al. 3).
3. The Thinking Like an Engineer textbook gives several engineering majors but it doesn't give all engineering majors. The majors it does list are Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Material Science Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
9. For my ninth question the textbook writes a section internships, study abroad, and research programs that students can be a part of.
My Textbook was somewhat useful in answering my questions but I will definitely need more resources to answer my other questions the textbook didn't. I think I will use the Internet to look up and answer the unanswered questions. Another approach maybe an interview with someone who is an engineer, they could answer questions like what a typical day for them would be like?
- What is engineering?
- what do engineers do?
- what are the types of engineering majors?
- what do I need to study for this major?
- what types of jobs do engineers have?
- what is a professional engineer?
- What's a typical day for an engineer?
- what's new in engineering?
- What kinds of project will I be apart of?
- Who are some famous people who have engineering degrees?
2. I can also answer the second question with "engineers solve real-life problems, their ultimate motivation is to work toward making life better for everyone"( Stephan et al. 3).
3. The Thinking Like an Engineer textbook gives several engineering majors but it doesn't give all engineering majors. The majors it does list are Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering, Biosystems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Material Science Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
9. For my ninth question the textbook writes a section internships, study abroad, and research programs that students can be a part of.
My Textbook was somewhat useful in answering my questions but I will definitely need more resources to answer my other questions the textbook didn't. I think I will use the Internet to look up and answer the unanswered questions. Another approach maybe an interview with someone who is an engineer, they could answer questions like what a typical day for them would be like?
Work Cited
Stephan, Elizabeth A., Bowman, David R., Park, William J., Sill, Benjamin L., Ohland W. Matthew. Thinking Like an Engineer: An Active Learning Approach(Custom Edition for Michigan State University). New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. Print
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