Solutions, Learning, and Issues

Engineering Solutions

Engineering solutions have always had a major impact: globally, economically, environmentally, and socially. It is crucial that, especially in engineering, that mankind as a whole create, integrate and transfer knowledge and practice in order to develop professionals, leaders, and citizens that define and serve societal and environmental needs by applying the skills and knowledge that they have gained from their education in an effective and sustainable manner. Globally, every engineer is responsible for keeping check and maintaining a constant level of safety in every level of the profession. The decisions that these engineers make could lead to the next nuclear meltdown, release of mass amounts of toxins into the air, or to the development of some new technology the improves the lives of people across the world. This is the type of responsible ability that engineers are faced with on the job every day. Economically, engineering solutions have the capability to improve things exponentially. From the design of some technical program that has to capability to eliminate of accounting errors and discover flaws within large economical systems to the development of some new synthetic material that eliminates the need for raw products such as oil and gas. In some ways it as if engineering solutions and ideas are the driving force of advancement in society as a whole. Environmentally, engineering solutions are making changes daily. From the new smart cars that have the capability to get over 100 miles to the gallon to the development of advanced solar systems that are capable of producing “green” power double that of their predecessors. In turn these type of environmental solutions is what will allow the continuation of life as a whole, even when resources become almost non existent. Overall, engineering solutions are what lead society to live a much more healthy, safer, and longer life.

Lifelong Learning

As an Electrical Engineering student I realize that lifelong learning is a must and is crucial to my personal success and future in the job world and technology, especially in my particular field, is constantly changing and becoming absolute. Without devoting myself to lifelong learning, just like the latest obsolete software or outdated flip phone, I too will become obsolete as an Electrical Engineer, unable to meet the demands of the new and constantly changing technological world. One of the greatest actions that I take in order to stay up on what is taking place in my field outside of my formal education at the University of Tennessee is involving myself with many other professionals in the field. One way that I achieved this goal is by becoming a member, locally and nationally, of IEEE. This membership provides a constant flow of the latest and greatest advances that are taking place within electrical engineering and computer science. Also, being a part of this organizations provides the networks, tools, and information that would otherwise be unavailable to me if I were not a member. However, one of the best ways to engage in lifelong learning is to become come interested and involved in all aspects of your field. While I am privileged to call myself a electrical engineer I never in any way limit myself to that title. Especially as a young engineering student, there is no point in my day in which I refuse to gain knowledge in any type of engineering or design just because it does not follow my specific path. This attitude toward learning does not stem from forcing myself to better myself, but rather from my strong interest in the chance of learning something new and exciting which may be valuable for future reference as I grow in the field and possibly receive a chance to solve a problem that no one else can. I didn’t choose the field I am in merly for a high salary but rather to live life being in a career being surrounded by what I love and enjoy. This is the attitude that, in my opinion, is crucial to any student or person that is wanting to dedicated themselves to a life of learning.

Important Issues In Electrical Engineering

Due to the fact that Electrical and Computer Engineering is a quickly growing field, there are constantly new improvements and technologies emerging everyday. One of the main issues facing this field is the ability to develop renewable resources for the planet. Our planet has a finite amount of resources that can be used to create energy, resourced that are predicted to be nonexistent in the near future. That fact has sparked a global attempt to find ways to create new resources or develop ways to reuse the resources we have access to. The development of these technologies is a priority in the field of engineering due to the devastating impact a lack of resources could have on the world as a whole. Another issue currently facing the world is the development of clean water and its distribution to underdeveloped nations. Clean water is such a vital part of health human development and several third world nations lack the access to water filtration which leads to malnutrition and disease. Developing a cheap, reliable way to filtrate and distribute water to these nations would greatly increase the health of those nations as a whole. Another piece of exciting technology that has recently gained popularity is the use of 3-D printing. With the new era of 3-D printing emerging physical meaning can be given to ideas in a very short turnover time, allowing more time for brighter ideas and further advancement of technologies. I myself have gained a lot of experience this area from designing and printing a waterwheel for my teams portable hydro generator idea this semester. A major contemporary issue in the field of computer engineering is the development of quantum computing. A group of engineers from Australia have developed a way to store a bit on a single atom of silicon's nucleus. The implications of this development could be monumental. This could lead to vastly improved computing speeds and data storage capacity. These are just a few of many issues that are being tackled in the global spectrum of electrical and computer engineering. Engineering is one of the fastest developing industries and new issues develop on a daily basis.