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The word engine comes from the Latin word ingenerare, which means “to create.”
So, a person who creates is an engine-er just as a person who sings is a sing-er. People have been doing the work of engineers since the beginning of civilization. That was long before the word engineer came about. Here are some recent engineering accomplishments.
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▲ The International Space Station (ISS) orbits just over 250 miles above Earth. It’s the biggest structure humans have ever put into space. It is about the size of a football field and weighs almost 400 tons. There was no way the ISS could have been built on Earth and then launched into space. That was a problem engineers solved with a logical approach: They built the ISS piece by piece on Earth and assembled it in orbit. The Zarya Module, at right, was the first piece they built. Can you find it in the video of the ISS?
◀ You may have heard someone say, “That’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” when they meant something was hard to find. Imagine if the haystack were 300 million miles of space, and the needle were a comet about 2 miles across. What are the chances a spacecraft could find it? The answer is actually, “Pretty good.” In 2014, after a 10-year chase, the Rosetta spacecraft tracked down Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta’s robotic lander, Philae, touched down on the comet’s surface. It 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, something that somehow lives in the air, but it’s not. All around the world there are places called Internet exchange points (IXPs), where networks connect. Information from many sources passes from network to network at IXPs. 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 explores how to apply nanotechnology — technology associated with atoms and molecules — to people’s health. Her work focuses on detecting cancer early. To do that, she uses nanoparticles so small they can circulate in the bloodstream. Just how small must 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 as she pursues her work. The goal? Someday being able to detect cancer just by analyzing the chemicals in a patient’s urine.
This body part was printed. That’s right. It came out of a 3D printer. This machine is both similar to and different from the printer most people use with computers. First developed in 1986, 3D printers are programmed by software engineers. They build an object by adding layer after layer of material onto a bed, or base. 3D printing can be used to create just about anything, including bicycles, musical instruments, machine parts, even human body parts. For some projects, the material is a natural resin, like a sap, or gum, from a plant. For others, the material may be metallic powder. Biomedical engineers are using human cells in 3D printing. ▶
Think Piece!
Why might it be useful to be able to 3D print body parts?
A device like this must have the same weight and function as 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. When they use this knowledge to solve problems, they help make people’s lives better. ▼
