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Where does the word engine come from? It is based on the Latin word ingenerare, which means “to create.”
Someone who creates is an engine-er, like how a person who sings is a sing-er. There have been engineers since civilization began. That was long before the word engineer came about. Check out these recent engineering feats.
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▲ The International Space Station (ISS) is the biggest object we have ever put into space. It orbits just over 250 miles above Earth. The ISS is about the size of a football field. It weighs almost 400 tons. There was no way it could have been built here and then launched into space. Engineers solved that problem with a logical plan. They built the ISS piece by piece on Earth and put it together in space. At right is a picture of the Zarya Module. It was the first piece they built. Can you find it in the video of the ISS?
◀ Did you ever hear someone say, “That’s like finding a needle in a haystack”? It means something is hard to locate. Imagine if the haystack were 300 million miles of space, and the needle were a comet about 2 miles wide. What are the chances a spacecraft could find it? The answer? “Pretty good!” In 2014, the Rosetta spacecraft tracked down Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It took 10 years to find that comet. Rosetta’s robotic lander was named Philae. It landed on the comet’s surface. Philae was the first robot ever to land on a comet. Now that’s an engineering feat!
You probably think of the Internet as something you can’t see, that somehow lives in the air. But it’s not. All around the world there are places called Internet exchange points (IXPs). Networks connect at IXPs, and information passes from one network to another. The Internet is a network of networks. That’s why it’s called the Internet. Engineers and researchers have been developing the Internet since 1969. ▶
◀ Biological engineer Sangeeta Bhatia works with ways to use nanotechnology in health care. This technology is associated with atoms and molecules. She focuses on detecting cancer early. To do that, she uses nanoparticles, which are super tiny particles. They are so small, they can travel in the bloodstream. Just how small should the particles be? How will they find cancer? How will they send that information to the outside world? These are some of the questions Bhatia asks in her work. The goal? To be able to detect cancer by analyzing the chemicals in a patient’s urine.
This body part was printed. It came out of a 3D printer. This machine is sort of like the printers we use with computers. 3D printers were first developed in 1986. Software engineers program them. The printer builds an object by adding layers and layers of material onto a bed, or base. 3D printers can create almost anything: bicycles, musical instruments, machine parts, and even body parts. Some objects are made of a natural plant resin, like a sap, or gum. Others are made with metallic powder. Biomedical engineers use human cells in 3D printing. ▶
Think Piece!
Why might it be useful to be able to 3D print body parts?
This device has to feel and work like the body part it replaces. Biomedical engineers have to know biology to design such things. They also need to know mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering. That way, they can solve many problems. The solutions help make life better for a lot of people. ▼
