Landscape engineering

Landscape engineering is the application of mathematics and science to create useful land- and waterscapes. It can also be described as green engineering but, the design professionals best known for landscape engineering are landscape architects. Landscape engineering is the interdisciplinary application of engineering and other applied sciences to the design and creation of anthropogenic landscapes. It differs from, but embraces traditional reclamation. It includes scientific disciplines: botany, ecology, forestry, geology, geochemistry, hydrogeology, and wildlife biology. It also draws upon applied sciences: engineering geomorphology, landscape architecture, and mining, geotechnical, and civil engineering.

Landscape engineering builds on the engineering strengths of declaring goals, determining initial conditions, iteratively designing, predicting performance based on knowledge of the design, monitoring performance, and adjusting designs to meet the declared goals. It builds on the strengths and history of reclamation practice. Its distinguishing feature is the marriage of landforms, substrates, and vegetation throughout all phases of design and construction, which previously have been kept as separate disciplines.

Though landscape engineering embodies all elements of traditional engineering (planning, investigation, design, construction, operation, assessment, research, management, and training), it is focused on three main areas. The first is closure planning – which includes goal setting and design of the landscape as a whole. The second division is landscape design more focused on the design of individual landforms to reliably meet the goals as set out in the closure planning process. Landscape performance assessment is critical to both of these, and is also important for estimating liability and levels of financial assurance. The iterative process of planning, design, and performance assessment by a multidisciplinary team is the basis of landscape engineering.

Integrated engineering

Integrated Engnineering is a program created to meet the demand for engineers who are able to deal with a wide range of problems, often involving knowledge from several disciplines. The demand arise from the current state of industry, where both the products manufactured and the plants which make the products are progressing towards greater diversity and sophistication. Recent studies had shown concern in both Canada and in the United States that engineering graduates were not well-prepared for many of today's multi-disciplinary and project-based workplace. Several committees have been formed to study this and have published some material. One Canadian study was done by the Canadian Academy of Engineering and two of its main conclusions were:

Engineering faculties should ensure that breadth of learning, beyond the technical aspects of the specialist engineering discipline, is a major thrust in engineering education.
The engineering curriculum should emphasize problem-solving, design, and the development of the learning skills of their students. Integrated Engineers acquire background in core disciplines such as: materials, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and systems involving chemical, electro-mechanical, and biological components.

Academia and Accreditation
Integrated Engineering originated at the University of Western Ontario in Ontario, Canada and in 2000 the Applied Science Faculty of the University of British Columbia also began a degree program for Integrated Engineering. Though the program is relatively new, it has become increasingly popular in recent years. Currently, University of Liverpool, University of Windsor, University of Cardiff and University of Nottingham also offer Integrated Engineering programs.

In Canada the program has been fully accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board and engineers are able to obtain a Professional Engineer (P.Eng) Certificate. In University of Liverpool, the Integrated Engineering Program is accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and can lead to Chartered Engineer status.

Instrumentation Engineering

Instrumentation Engineering is the engineering specialization focused on the design and configuration and automated systems.

Instrument engineers usually have degrees in instrumentation engineering, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering and sometimes in the newer field of Control engineering/control systems engineering, engineering physics, and [industrial physics]. They typically work for industries with automated processes, such as chemical or manufacturing plants, with the goal of improving system productivity, reliability,safety, optimization and stability.

Information Engineering

Information Engineering (IE) or Information Engineering Methodology (IEM) is an approach to designing and developing information systems. It has a somewhat chequered history that follows two very distinct threads. It is said to have originated in Australia between 1976 and 1980, and appears first in the literature in 1981 in the Savant Institute publication 'Information Engineering' by James Martin and Clive Finkelstein. Martin and Finkelstein's ways parted soon after and from that time separate forms of Information Engineering were developed in Australia by Clive Finkelstein and his company, Information Engineering Services Pty Ltd, and in the UK, Europe and USA by James Martin and his company James Martin Associates. The Martin version gained much wider currency in the 1980s and 1990s, aided by his position as a major guru and prolific author in the IT world.

History
Information Engineering first provided data analysis and database design techniques that could be used by database administrators (DBA’s) and by systems analysts to develop database designs and systems based on an understanding of the operational processing needs of organizations for the 1980s.

After 1980 the Finkelstein thread evolved into the DP-driven variant of IE. From 1983 till 1986 IE evolved further into the business-driven variant of IE, which is designed for today's rapid change environment.

The Martin thread was strategy-driven from the outset and from 1983 was focused on the possibility of automating the development process through the provision of rigorous techniques for business description that could be used to populate a data dictionary or encyclopedia that could in turn be used as source material for code generation. The Martin methodology provided a foundation for the CASE tool industry. Martin himself had significant stakes in at least four CASE tool vendors - InTech (Excelerator), Higher Order Software, KnowledgeWare, originally Database Design Inc, (Information Engineering Workbench) and James Martin Associates, originally DMW and now Headstrong (the original designers of the Texas Instruments' Information Engineering Facility and the principal developers of the methodology). At the end of the 1980s and early 1990s the Martin thread incorporated Rapid Application Development (RAD) and Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and soon after also entered the object oriented field.

What is Information Engineering?
Information Engineering Methodology is a rigorous architectural approach to planning, analysing, designing, and implementing applications within an enterprise. It enables an enterprise to maximize its resources, including capital, people and information systems, to support the achievement of its business vision. It is defined as: "An integrated and evolutionary set of tasks and techniques that enhance business communication throughout an enterprise enabling it to develop people, procedures and systems to achieve its vision". Information Engineering has many purposes, including organisation planning, business re-engineering, application development, information systems planning and systems re-engineering.

The Variants of Information Engineering
There are two variants of Information Engineering (IE). These are called the DP-driven variant and the business-driven variant.

DP-Driven Variant of IE The DP-driven variant of Information Engineering was designed to enable IS Departments to develop information systems that satisfied the information needs of the 1980s - which was largely a DP-driven development environment. Most of the Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools available today support this DP-driven variant of IE.

Business-Driven Variant of IE From 1983 - 1986 Clive Finkelstein extended IE strongly into strategic business planning and developed the business-driven variant of Information Engineering. This variant is designed for rapid change in the client/server, object-oriented environment of the business-driven 1990s. Business-driven IE is documented in the later books by Clive Finkelstein.

Stages in the Information Engineering
Information Strategy Planning The fundamental objective of Information Strategy Planning (ISP) is to develop a plan for implementing business systems to support business needs.

Outline Business Area Analysis The OBAA answers a range of questions related to implementation of a business area. Select tasks to include in a particular project that provide support for business decisions and objectives. Specific information needs and priorities for the business area are needed.

Detailed Business Area Analysis The purpose of a DBAA project is to provide detailed models as a solid basis for system design. The methodology helps find the right answers to the right questions. Applying the methodology is never an end in itself.

Business System Design The purpose of a Business System Design project is to specify all aspects of a system that are relevant to its users, in preparation for the technical design, construction, and installation of one or more closely related databases and systems. The key tasks are therefore structured to produce unambiguous consistent specifications, with the volume of detail necessary to make planning and technical design decisions.

Technical Design A Technical Design project prepares an implementation area for construction and installation. The key tasks are structured to produce a system and database that meet the user's acceptance criteria and are technically sound.

Construction The objective of the Construction stage is to produce a system, as defined in the technical specification, on time and within budget. The system should be of an acceptable quality, and contain all necessary operating and user procedures. The task is complete when the acceptance criteria for the business system are met.

Transition Transition is defined as the period during which newly developed procedures gradually replace or are interfaced with existing procedures. The execution of a Transition project obviously demands a thorough understanding of both the system to be installed and the systems to be replaced.

Techniques
Some technigues that are used during an IE project are:

Entity analysis identifies all the things that the enterprise may want to hold data about. The analysis classifies all of the things into different entity types, revealing how they relate to each other. Which is being described in the entity model.

Function analysis and process dependency takes a function (a major business activity) of the enterprise and breaks it down into elementary business processes. From this, two diagrams are prepared: the process decomposition diagram, which shows the breakdown of a business function, and the process dependency diagram, which shows the interdependencies of business processes.

Process logic analysis describes the sequences of actions carried out by a business process and shows which data are used by each action.

Entity type lifecycle analysis describes the significant business changes to entities and confirm that processes have been modelled to effect these changes

Matrix cross-checking creates cross-references between data objects and processes to verify that they are necessary and complete.

Normalization provides a formal means of confirming the correctness of the entity model.

Cluster analysis helps define the scope of design areas for proposed business systems.

Data flow and data analysis makes a comparison possible between the business area models and the systems currently supporting this area, these current systems are analyzed using data flow and data analysis techniques.

Software Tools Supporting Information Engineering
Information Engineering Facility (IEF) from Texas Instruments Software. This was subsequently sold to Sterling Software and then to Computer Associates. It still exists, in an evolved form within the Advantage suite. As of 2006 referred to as ALL:Fusion Gen, capable of generating J2EE and JAVA web applications in addition to legacy client/server and mainframe platforms.

Information Engineering Workbench (IEW) Later renamed to Application Development Workbench (ADW) from KnowledgeWare. Knowledgeware was also acquired by Sterling Software. The product no longer exists.

Others included Bachman's Data Analyst, Excelerator and others. See Computer-aided software engineering for more info.

The business-driven variant of IE is supported fully by Visible Advantage, an Integrated CASE (I-CASE) tool and by Visible Advisor, a hypermedia Methodology product.

Visio provides diagramming support to some of the Martin techniques.

Geotechnical engineering

Geotechnical engineering is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. Geotechnical engineering includes investigating existing subsurface conditions and materials; assessing risks posed by site conditions; designing earthworks and structure foundations; and monitoring site conditions, earthwork and foundation construction.

A typical geotechnical engineering project begins with a site investigation of soil and bedrock on and below an area of interest to determine their engineering properties including how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. Site investigations are needed to gain an understanding of the area in or on which the engineering will take place. Investigations can include the assessment of the risk to humans, property and the environment from natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, soil liquefaction, debris flows and rock falls.

A geotechnical engineer then determines and designs the type of foundations, earthworks, and/or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be built. Foundations are designed and constructed for structures of various sizes such as high-rise buildings, bridges, medium to large commercial buildings, and smaller structures where the soil conditions do not allow code-based design.

Foundations built for above-ground structures include shallow and deep foundations. Retaining structures include earth-filled dams and retaining walls. Earthworks include embankments, tunnels, levees, channels, reservoirs, deposition of hazardous waste and sanitary landfills.

Geotechnical engineering is also related to coastal and ocean engineering. Coastal engineering can involve the design and construction of wharves, marinas, and jetties. Ocean engineering can involve foundation and anchor systems for offshore structures such as oil platforms.

The fields of geotechnical engineering and engineering geology are closely related, and intersect in some areas. However, the field of geotechnical engineering is a specialty of engineering, where the field of engineering geology is a specialty of geology.

Geomatics engineering

Geomatics Engineering is a rapidly developing discipline that focuses on spatial information (i.e. information that has a location). The location is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for viewing and analysis. Geomatics Engineers apply engineering principles to spatial information and implement relational data structures involving measurement sciences, thus using Geomatics and acting as Spatial Information Engineers. Geomatics engineers manage local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructures.

Geomatics is a new term incorporating what used to be called "Surveying" along with many other aspects of spatial data management. Following the advanced developments in digital data processing, the nature of the tasks required of the Professional Land Surveyor has evolved and the term Surveying alone does not any more describe the whole range of tasks that the profession deals with. As our societies becomes more complex, information with a spatial position associated with it become more critical to decision-making, both from a personal and a business perspective, and also from a community and a large-scale governmental viewpoint.

Therefore, the Geomatics Engineer can be involved in an extremely wide variety of information gathering activities and applications. Geomatics engineers design, develop, and operate systems for collecting and analyzing spatial information about the land, the oceans, natural resources, and manmade features. Geomatics Engineering applications include integrating science and technology from both new and traditional disciplines:

Geodesy, also called Geodetic Science,
Cartography, computer and digital mapping,
Remote sensing, Photogrammetry (photogrammetric mapping),
Land Information Systems (LIS) and Land Information Science,
Land Information Management,
Real Property boundary determination,
Hydrography, Navigation, Topographic and Spatial Computing,
Surveying (including land, cadastral, aerial, mining and engineering surveying),
Construction layout, route design,
Image Understanding and Computer Aided Visualization,
Computer-aided Design (CAD),
Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Geographic Information Science, and Geoinformatics
Global Positioning System (GPS),
Applications programming,
Project management,
and much more
The more traditional Land Surveying strand of Geomatics Engineering is concerned with the determination and recording of boundaries and areas of real property parcels, and the preparation and interpretation of legal land descriptions. The tasks more closely related to Civil Engineering include the design and layout of public infrastructure and urban subdivisions, and mapping and control surveys for construction projects.

Geomatics Engineers serve society by collecting, monitoring, archiving, and maintaining diverse spatial data infrastructures. Geomatics engineers utilize a wide range of technologically advanced tools such as digital theodolite/distance meter total stations, Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, digital aerial imagery (both satellite and air-borne), and computer-based geographic information systems (GIS). These tools enable the Geomatics Engineer to gather, analyze, and manage spatially related information to solve a wide range of technical and societal problems.

Geomatics Engineering is the field of activity that integrates the acquisition, processing, analysis, display and management of spatial information. It is an exciting and new grouping of subjects in the spatial and environmental information sciences with a broad range of employment opportunities as well as offering challenging pure and applied research problems in a vast range of interdisciplinary fields.

In different schools and in different countries the same education curriculum is administered with the name Surveying in some, and in others with the name Geomatics Engineering. While these occupations were at one time often taught in Civil Engineering education programs, more and more universities include the departments relevant for geo-data sciences under Informatics, Computer Science or Applied Mathematics. These facts demonstrate the breadth, depth and scope of the highly interdisciplinary nature of Geomatics Engineering.

Genetic engineering

Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA Technology, genetic modification (GM) and gene splicing are terms for the process of manipulating genes, generally implying that the process is outside the organism's natural reproductive process. It involves the isolation, manipulation and reintroduction of DNA into cells or model organisms, usually to express a protein. The aim is to introduce new characteristics or attributes physiologically or physically, such as making a crop resistant to herbicide, introducing a novel trait, or producing a new protein or enzyme, along with altering the organism to produce more of certain traits. Examples can include the production of human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the production of erythropoietin in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the OncoMouse (cancer mouse) for research, through genetic modification.

Since a protein is specified by a segment of DNA called a gene, future versions of that protein can be modified by changing the gene's underlying DNA. One way to do this is to isolate the piece of DNA containing the gene, precisely cut the gene out, and then reintroduce (splice) the gene into a different DNA segment. Daniel Nathans and Hamilton Smith received the 1978 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their isolation of restriction endonucleases, which are able to cut DNA at specific sites. Together with ligase, which can join fragments of DNA together, restriction enzymes formed the initial basis of recombinant DNA technology.

Some groups have argued[citation needed] genetic engineering is wrong and is "doing the work of God", but most scientists believe that genetic engineering is essential to help future medical discoveries.

Ecological engineering

Ecological Engineering is the emerging field of the use of ecological processes within natural or constructed imitation of natural systems to achieve engineering goals. It has also been described as "the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both" (Mitsch, 1998)

The following is submitted by David Del Porto: The term, "ecological engineering," was first coined by the late Dr. Howard T. Odum in 1962. Howard Odum was professor emeritus at the University of Florida, where his work in systems ecology had flourished.

Ecological engineering, he wrote, is "those cases where the energy supplied by man is small relative to the natural sources but sufficient to produce large effects in the resulting patterns and processes." (H.T. Odum, 1962, "Man and Ecosystem" Proceedings, Lockwood Conference on the Suburban Forest and Ecology. Bulletin Connecticut Agric. Station)

Another definition that follows from that relates to ecosystem management by human society (Center for Wetlands, University of Florida) :

"Ecological engineering is the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both. It involves the design, construction and management of ecosystems that have value to both humans and the environment. Ecological engineering combines basic and applied science from engineering, ecology, economics, and natural sciences for the restoration and construction of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The field is increasing in breadth and depth as more opportunities to design and use ecosystems as interfaces between technology and environment are explored."

Another definition seeks to use the ecological paradigm to construct ecologies to solve vexing world-class problems, such as pollution:

It is predicated on the believe that the self-organizing order found in stable ecosystms is so universal that it can be applied as an engineering discipline to solve the pressing problems of global pollution, food production and efficient resource-utilization, while providing a high quality of life for all human society. (David Del Porto)

In this definition, the ecological paradigm reveals how to safely utilize the polluting components of unwanted residuals, or "wastes," to ultimately grow green plants that have value to human society, but not at the expense of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Planning, design and construction with the ecological paradigm as a template is the work of ecological engineers.

Ecological engineering is based on the self-designing capacity of nature to take ecosystems to sustainable optimum states. Past engineering approaches overuse fossil fuels and require intensive maintenance because they are out of balance with nature. Ecological engineering solutions rely more on natural energy flows (solar-based) and are often very low maintenance, when done correctly.

Examples of ecological engineering are the restoration of a landscape or the creation of a wetland ecosystem to treat wastewater. In the case of restoring a landscape denuded of all soil by erosion, the ecological engineer would approach the problem not by trucking in tons of soil, he or she would work to establish soil-building organisms to do the work. In the case of wastewater treatment, the conventional engineer would use electricity to pump and aerate the water while dumping in tons of chemicals. The ecological engineer would use the natural assimilative capacity of certain plants and microbes to remove the pollutants of concern in a gravity-flow system.

Telecommunication

Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. In modern times, this process almost always involves the sending of electromagnetic waves by electronic transmitters but in earlier years it may have involved the use of smoke signals, drums or semaphore. Today, telecommunication is widespread and devices that assist the process, such as the television, radio and telephone, are common in many parts of the world. There is also a vast array of networks that connect these devices, including computer networks, public telephone networks, radio networks and television networks. Computer communication across the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging, is just one of many examples of telecommunication.

Telecommunication systems are generally designed by telecommunication engineers. Early inventors in the field include Elisha Gray, Guglielmo Marconi and John Logie Baird. In recent times, optical fibre has radically improved the bandwidth available for intercontinental communication, helping to facilitate a faster and richer Internet experience. And, digital television has eliminated effects such as snowy pictures and ghosting. Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry's revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product.

Audio engineering

Audio engineering is a part of audio science dealing with the recording and reproduction of sound through mechanical and electronic means. The field of audio engineering draws on many disciplines, including electrical engineering, acoustics, psychoacoustics, and music. Unlike acoustical engineering, audio engineering generally does not deal with noise control or acoustical design. However, an audio engineer is often more affiliated with the creative aspects of audio rather than formal engineering, as most professional audio engineers lack a formal and accredited Engineering degree. Audio engineering is different from acoustical engineering, which heavily relies on the underlying physics and mathematics of sound waves and their propagation.

Practitioners
An audio engineer is someone with experience and training in the production and manipulation of sound through mechanical (analog) or digital means. As a professional title, this person is sometimes designated as a sound engineer or recording engineer instead. A person with one of these titles is commonly listed in the credits of many commercial music recordings (also in other productions that include sound, such as movies).

Audio engineers are generally familiar with the design, installation, and/or operation of sound recording, sound reinforcement, or sound broadcasting equipment. In the recording studio environment, the audio engineer is a person recording, editing, manipulating, mixing and/or mastering sound by technical means in order to realize an artist's or record producer's creative vision. While usually being associated with music production, an audio engineer may be involved in dealing with sound for a wide range of applications, including post-production for video and film, live sound reinforcement, advertising, multimedia, broadcasting.

Audio engineers operate mixing consoles, microphones, signal processors, tape machines, digital audio workstations, sequencing software and speaker systems. Commonly an audio engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of a sound recording or other audio production and works together with a record producer or director, although the engineer's role may also be integrated with that of the producer.

In typical sound reinforcement applications, audio engineers often assume the role of producer, making artistic decisions along with technical ones.

Forensic engineering

Forensic engineering is the investigation of materials, products, structures or components that fail or do not operate/function as intended, and so cause personal injury for example. The consequences of failure are dealt by the law of product liability. The subject is applied most commonly in civil law cases, although may be of use in criminal law cases. Generally the purpose of a forensic engineering investigation is to locate cause or causes of failure with a view to improve performance or life of a component, or to assist a court in determining the facts of an accident. It can also involve investigation of intellectual property claims, especially patents.

Methods
Methods used in forensic investigations include reverse engineering, inspection of witness statements, a working knowledge of current standards, as well as examination of the failed component itself. The fracture surface of a failed product can reveal much information on how the item failed and the loading pattern prior to failure. Fatigue often produces a characteristic fracture surface for example, enabling diagnosis to be made of the cause of the failure. The key task in many such investigations is to identify the failure mechanism by examining the failed part using physical and chemical techniques. This activity is sometimes called root cause analysis. Corrosion is another common failure mode needing careful analysis to determine the active agents. Accidents caused by fire are especially challenging owing to the frequent loss of critical evidence, although when halted early enough can usually lead to the cause. Fire investigation is a specialist skill where arson is suspected, but is also important in vehicular accident reconstruction where faulty fuel lines, for example, may be the cause of an accident.

Close-up of broken fuel pipe from road traffic accidentThe broken fuel pipe shown at right caused a serious accident when diesel fuel poured out from a truck onto the road. A following car skidded and the driver was seriously injured when she collided with an oncoming lorry. Scanning microscopy or SEM showed that the nylon connector had fractured by stress corrosion cracking due to a small leak of battery acid. Nylon is susceptible to hydrolysis in contact with sulphuric acid, and only a small leak would have sufficed to start a brittle crack in the injection moulded connector. The crack took about 7 days to grow across the diameter of the tube, so the truck driver should have seen the leak well before it became critical.

FMEA and fault tree analysis methods also examine product or process failure in a structured and systematic way, in the general context of safety engineering. However, all such techniques rely on accurate reporting of failure rates, and precise identification, of the failure modes involved.

There is some common ground between forensic science and engineering, such as scene of crime and scene of accident analysis, integrity of the evidence and court appearances. Both disciplines make extensive use of optical and scanning electron microscopes, for example. They also share common use of spectroscopy (infra-red, ultra-violet and nuclear magnetic resonance) to examine critical evidence. Radiography using X-rays or neutrons is also very useful in examining thick products for their internal defects before destructive examination is attempted. Often, however, a simple hand lens suffices to reveal the cause of a particular problem.

Trace evidence is often an important factor in reconstructing the sequence of events in an accident. For example, tyre burn marks on a road surface can enable vehicle speeds to be estimated, when the brakes were applied and so on. Ladder feet often leave a trace of movement of the ladder during a slipaway, and may show how the accident occurred.

Applications
Most manufacturing models will have a forensic component that monitors early failures to improve quality or efficiencies. Insurance companies use forensic engineers to prove liability or alternatively non liability. Most engineering disasters (structural failures such as bridge and building collapses) are subject to forensic investigation by engineers experienced in forensic methods of investigation. Rail crashes, aviation accidents and some automobile accidents are investigated by forensic engineers particularly where component failure is suspected. Furthermore, appliances, consumer products, medical devices, structures, industrial machinery, and even simple hand tools such as hammers or chisels can warrant investigations upon incidents causing injury or property damages. The failure of medical devices is often safety-critical to the user, so reporting failures and analysing them is particularly important. The environment of the body is complex, and implants must both survive this environment, and not leach potentially toxic impurities. Problems have been reported with breast implants , heart valves, and catheters, for example.

Failures which occur early in the life of a new product are vital information for the manufacturer to improve the product. New product development aims to eliminate defects by testing in the factory before launch, but some may occur during its early life. Testing products to simulate their behaviour in the external environment is a difficult skill, and may involve accelerated life testing for example. The worst kind of defect to occur after launch is a safety-critical defect, a defect which can endanger life or limb. Their discovery usually leads to a product recall or even complete withdrawal of the product from the market. Product defects often follow the bath-tub curve, with high initial failures, a lower rate during regular life, followed by another rise due to wear-out. National standards, such as those of ASTM and the British Standards Institute, and International Standards can help the designer in increasing product integrity.

Ceramic engineering

Ceramic engineering is the technology of manufacturing and usage of ceramic materials. Approximately ten educational institutions in the United States offer degrees in this field, examples being Alfred University, and Rutgers University, and there are several in other countries. Some of these institutions are planning to change the names of their disciplines to "Materials science" or "Materials engineering." Clemson University and the University of Missouri–Rolla offer Ceramic & Materials Engineering which offers a wider spectrum of materials such as polymers, glasses, and composites in addition to ceramics.

Often the personnel working in these fields have been trained in Chemical engineering, Chemistry (for manufacturing), Mechanical engineering (for the study of strength, wear, etc.), or Electrical engineering and Physics (for optimization of Piezoelectric or Magnetic applications). Recently the field has come to include the studies of single crystals or glass fibers, in addition to traditional Polycrystalline materials, and the applications of these have been overlapping and changing rapidly.

Fire protection engineering

Fire protection engineering (also known as fire engineering or fire safety engineering) is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people and their environments from the destructive effects of fire and smoke.

The discipline of fire protection engineering includes, but is not exclusive to:

Active fire protection - fire suppression systems, and fire alarm.
Passive fire protection - fire and smoke barriers, space separation
Smoke control and management
Building design, layout, and space planning
Fire prevention programs
Fire dynamics and modeling
Human behavior during fire events
Risk analysis, including economic factors

In practice, fire protection engineers typically identify risks and design safeguards that aid in preventing, controlling, and mitigating the effects of fires. Fire protection engineers assist architects in evaluating buildings' life safety and property protection goals. FPEs are also employed as fire investigators, including such very large-scale cases as the analysis of the collapse of the World Trade Centers. NASA uses fire protection engineers in its space program to help improve safety.

History
Fire protection engineering (FPE) can lay a claim to roots dating as far back as Ancient Rome, when the Emperor Nero ordered the city to be rebuilt utilizing passive fire protection methods, such as space separation and non-combusible building materials, after a catastrophic fire. The discipline of fire protection engineering emerged in the early 20th century as a distinct discipline, separate from civil, mechanical and chemical engineering, in response to new fire problems posed by the Industrial Revolution. Fire protection engineers of this era concerned themselves with devising methods to protect large factories, particularly spinning mills and other manufacturing properties. Another motivation to organize the discipline, define practices and conduct research to support innovations became clear in response to catasrophic conflagrations and mass urban fires that swept many major cities during the latter half of the 19th century (see City or area fires).

Education
Fire protection engineers, like their counterparts in other engineering and scientific disciplines, undertake a formal course of education and continuing professional development to acquire and maintain their competence. This education typical includes foundation studies in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and technical writing. Professional engineering studies focus students on acquiring proficiency in material science, statics, dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, engineering economics, ethics, Systems in engineering, reliability, and environmental psychology. Specialized studies in combustion, probabilistic risk assessment or risk management, the design of fire suppression systems, the application and interpretation of model building codes, and the measurement and simulation of fire phenomena complete most curricula.

In the United States, the University of Maryland (UMd) offers an ABET-accredited bachelor of science degree program in fire protection engineering, as well as graduate degrees. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) offers a masters and a Ph.D. in fire protection engineering. Other institutions, such as Oklahoma State University, the University of Kansas, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley, have offered courses in fire protection engineering or technology.

In Europe, the University of Edinburgh has been among the first universities to offer a degree in Fire Engineering and had its first research group in fire in the 1970's (these activities are now conducted at the new BRE Centre for Fire Safety Engineering). Other European Universities active in the fire engineering are Lund University, Stord/Haugesund University College, University of Manchester, University of Ulster, University of Leeds, University of Greenwich and London South Bank University.

Professional registration
Suitably qualified and experienced fire protection engineers may qualify for registration as a professional engineer. The recognition of fire protection engineering as a separate discipline varies from state to state in the United States. Few countries outside the United States regulate the professional practice of fire protection engineering as a discipline, although they may restrict the use of the title engineer in association with its practice.

The titles fire engineer and fire safety engineer tend to be preferred outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries influenced by the British fire service. Some proponents of the title fire safety engineer assert that the title fire protection engineer suggests a concern only with the design of active fire protection systems, such as automatic fire sprinklers, fire detection, fire alarm systems, smoke management systems, gaseous fire suppression and other special hazard systems. The advocates of the title fire safety engineer suggest it more accurately indicates an interest in both preventive and protective measures. Those who prefer the title fire engineer suggest that it encompasses a broader range of professional activities associated with fire risk management, including the management of fire services. All titles are widely recognised.

Engineering physics

Engineering physics (EP) is an academic degree, available mainly at the levels of B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. Unlike other engineering degrees (such as aerospace engineering or electrical engineering), EP does not necessarily include a particular branch of science or physics. Instead, EP is meant to provide a more thorough grounding in applied physics of any area chosen by the student (such as optics, nanotechnology, control theory, aerodynamics, or solid-state physics). This is why in some countries only the B.Sc. part of the degree is called a degree in Engineering Physics.

Engineering physics degrees are respected degrees taught in many countries. It is notable that in many languages the term for Engineering Physics would be directly translated into English as "technical physics".

More recently, as an apparent attempt to stress the interdisciplinary nature of such degrees, some institutions now use the term Engineering science.

Control engineering

Control engineering is the engineering discipline that focuses on mathematical modelling of systems of a diverse nature, analyzing their dynamic behavior, and using control theory to create a controller that will cause the systems to behave in a desired manner.

Background
Modern control engineering is closely related to electrical and computer engineering (E&CE), as electronic circuits can often be easily described using control theory techniques. At many universities, control engineering courses are primarily taught by E&CE faculty members. Previous to modern electronics, process control devices were devised by mechanical engineers using mechanical feedback along with pneumatic and hydraulic control devices, some of which are still in use today.

The field of control within chemical engineering is often known as process control. It deals primarily with the control of variables in a chemical process in a plant. It is taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum of any chemical engineering program, and employs many of the same principles in control engineering.

Other engineering disciplines also overlap with control engineering, as it can be applied to any system for which a suitable model can be derived.

Control engineering has diversified applications that include science, finance management, and even human behaviour. Students of control engineering may start with a linear control system course which requires elementary mathematics and Laplace transforms (called classical control theory). In linear control, the student does frequency and time domain analysis. Digital control and non-linear control courses require Z Transformations and algebra respectively, and could be said to complete a basic control education. From here onwards there are several sub branches.

Control systems
Control systems play a critical role in space flightControl engineering is the engineering discipline that focuses on the modelling of a diverse range of dynamic systems (e.g mechanical systems) and the design of controllers that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner. Although such controllers need not be electrical many are and hence control engineering is often viewed as a subfield of electrical engineering.

Electrical circuits, digital signal processors and microcontrollers can all be used to implement Control systems. Control engineering has a wide range of applications from the flight and propulsion systems of commercial airliners to the cruise control present in many modern automobiles.

Control engineers often utilize feedback when designing control systems. For example, in an automobile with cruise control the vehicle's speed is continuously monitored and fed back to the system which adjusts the motor's speed accordingly. Where there is regular feedback, control theory can be used to determine how the system responds to such feedback. In practically all such systems stability is important and control theory can help ensure stability is achieved.

Although feedback is an important aspect of control engineering, control engineers may also work on the control of systems without feedback. This is known as open loop control. A classic example of open loop control is a washing machine that runs through a pre-determined cycle without the use of sensors.

Packaging engineering

Packaging engineering, also Package engineering is a broad topic ranging from design conceptualization to product placement. All steps along the manufacturing process, and more, must be taken into account in the design of the package for any given product. Package engineering includes industry specific aspects of industrial engineering, materials science, project management, industrial design and logistics. Packaging engineers must interact with Research & Development, Manufacturing, Marketing, Graphic Design, Regulatory, Purchasing, Planning and so on. The package must sell and protect the product, while maintaining an efficient, cost-effective process cycle.

Education
Some packaging engineers have backgrounds in other engineering disciplines while some have college degrees specializing in this field.

Formal packaging programs might be listed as package engineering, packaging science, packaging technology, etc. BS, MS, and PhD programs are available. Students in a packaging program typically begin with generalized science, business, and engineering classes before progressing into industry specific topics such as shelf life stability, cushioning, labeling regulations, distribution testing, food safety, robotics, RFID tags, Quality management, packaging machinery, Tamper-evident methods, recycling, computer-aided design, etc.

Plastics engineering

Plastics engineering encompasses the processing, design, development, and manufacture of plastics products. A plastic is a polymeric material that is in a semi-liquid state, having the property of plasticity and exhibiting flow. The nature of plastic materials poses unique challenges to an engineer. Mechanical properties of plastics are often difficult to quantify, and the plastics engineer has to design a product that meets certain specifications while keeping costs to a minimum. Other properties that the plastics engineer has to address include; outdoor weatherability, thermal properties such as upper use temperature, electrical properties, barrier properties, and resistance to chemical attack.

In plastics engineering, as in most engineering disciplines, the economics of a product plays an important role. The cost of plastic materials ranges from the cheapest commodity plastics used in mass produced consumer products to the very expensive, so called engineering resins. The cost of a plastic product is measured in different ways, and the absolute cost of a plastic material is difficult to ascertain. Cost is often measured in price per pound of material, or price per unit volume of material. In many cases however, it is important for a product to meet certain specifications, and cost could then be measured in price per unit of a property. Price with respect to processibility is often important, as some materials need to be processed at very high temperatures, increasing the amount of cooling time a part needs. In a large production run cooling time is very expensive.

Some plastics are manufactured from re-cycled materials but their use in engineering tends to be limited because the consistency of formulation and their physical properties tend to be less consistent.

Construction engineering

Construction engineering concerns the planning and management of the construction of structures such as highways, bridges, airports, railroads, buildings, dams, and reservoirs. Construction of such projects requires knowledge of engineering and management principles and business procedures, economics, and human behavior. Construction engineers engage in the design of structures temporary, cost estimating, planning and scheduling, materials procurement, selection of equipment, and cost control.

Construction Engineering is differentiated from Construction Management from the standpoint of the use of mathematics, science and engineering to analyze problems and design a construction process. Construction engineers build many of the things that people use every day. Construction engineering involves many aspects of construction including: commercial, residential, bridges, airports, tunnels, and dams. It is an extremely large industry that provides employment and business opportunity to many and continues to grow. Currently there are nearly 6 million people working on construction in the United States. Construction engineers are in high demand.

Career
Construction is the largest industry in the United States. It provides jobs to millions ranging in all types of education. Construction makes 14% of the US Gross National Product. Construction engineering is important to the construction industry because it provides much of the design aspect from the office to the field. Construction engineers follow the plans of architects and sometimes design actual structures. After the structure has been designed the engineers make sure it has been built correctly by testing and overseeing the construction.

Tasks - Construction engineers have a lot of responsibilities in their job. Certain tasks have to be completed everyday in order to get the job done correctly. Analyzing reports is a main part of their job description. They must analyze maps, drawings, blueprints, aerial photography and other topographical information. Construction engineers also have to use computer software to design hydraulic systems and structures while following construction codes. They have to calculate load and grade requirements, liquid flow rates and material stress points to ensure that the structure can withstand stress. Keeping a safe workplace is key to having a successful construction company. It is the construction engineer's job to make sure that everything is conducted correctly. In addition to safety, the construction engineer has to make sure that the site stays clean and sanitary . Surveying the land before construction begins is also a job of the construction engineer. They have to make sure that there are no impediments in the way of where the structure will be built and if there are any they must move them. They also must estimate costs and keep the project under budget. Construction engineers have to test the soils and materials used for adequate strength. Finally, construction engineers have to provide construction information, including repairs and cost changes, to the managers.

Knowledge - Construction engineers build structures that are used by people everyday so they have to be safe and be able to withstand the elements. To complete the job properly construction engineers have to have the knowledge of many different aspects. Those aspects include engineering, technology, design, math, construction, customer service, management, transportation, public safety, and computers. They use the engineering, technology, and math aspects to make sure they build the structure to the set standards. They use customer service and management knowledge to deal with the people that could possibly buy the structure. They also use this knowledge to inform the management on how the project is coming along and if any changes are needed.

Skills - Most construction engineers have a love for math and science. In addition to these abilities there are many other skills needed to be a construction engineer. Critical thinking, listening, learning, problem solving, monitoring, and decision making are all very important in construction engineering. Construction engineers have to be able to think about all aspects of a problem and listen to other’s ideas so that they can learn everything about a project before it begins. After they have begun a project they must solve the problems that they encounter using math and science. They also have to monitor the workers on the job site for safety and to make sure that the project is on time and done correctly. Whenever a problem occurs it is up to the construction engineer to make the decision on how to fix it.

Abilities - Construction engineers have many different kinds of abilities they use to do their job. They have the abilities to reason, express themselves orally, sense a problem, comprehend (oral and written), order information, speak clearly, and visualize. Construction engineers use these abilities to communicate with other workers and to solve problems. They also have to use there abilities to know what kinds of materials to order and how to get those materials while staying under the budget.

Work Activities - Construction engineers have many activities that they have to do everyday. Those activities include drafting, decision making, computer interaction, communication, documenting, creative thinking, organizing, information collecting, estimating, and analyzing. Construction engineers use drafting to design structures and to show others how to build them. They have to analyze information and make the best decision and solve problems. Computers are an important tool used by construction engineers. They use them to write programs and solve equations. Communication is used everyday to interact with coworkers and supervisors. They have to communicate in person, by telephone, and through e-mail. Documentation is used to record important information that needs to be passed on to management. Most documenting is done in electronic form. Creative thinking is used to come up with new ideas and solve problems. Construction engineers have to be organized to accomplish goals and prioritize jobs. They have to gather information on the task at hand before they can start a project. This will help ensure that the job is completed correctly. In order to keep a project under budget, construction engineers have to estimate costs of materials and workers. Finally, they have to analyze data to find answers to problems they are having on the job site.

Educational Requirements - Construction Engineers are educated to design and build structures that are necessary for everyday life. There are only a handful of schools that offer a major in Construction engineering. Some of the more popular colleges are Purdue University, Iowa State University, Bradley University, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, National University and the University of Southern California. Bradley University offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction while Cal Poly Pomona and National University offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Engineering Technology. Cal Poly Pomona, Bradley University and National University are not accredited by ABET to offer degrees in Construction Engineering. However, Cal Poly Pomona is accredited by the Technology Accreditation Committee (T.A.C.) of ABET and their graduates are eligible to sit for the California Fundamentals of Engineering exam. The University of Southern California offers a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with an option in Construction Engineering. The list of accredited ABET programs in Construction Engineering can be found here (http://www.abet.org/schoolareaeac.asp ). For most Construction engineering jobs a Bachelor of Science is required and some construction experience. In order to work on projects that will be used by the public a construction engineer has to get a professional engineers license. The Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practice exams must be passed, and other requirements met, for a construction engineer to receive a Professional Engineers license.

Agricultural engineering

Agricultural engineers develop engineering science and technology in the context of agricultural production and processing and for the management of natural resources. The first curriculum in Agricultural Engineering was established at Iowa State University by J. B. Davidson in 1905. The American Society of Agricultural Engineering was founded in 1907.

Agricultural engineers design agricultural machinery and equipment and agricultural structures.Agricultural Engineers may perform tasks as planning, supervising and managing the building of dairy effluent schemes, irrigation, drainage, flood and water control systems, perform environmental impact assessments and interpret research results and implement relevant practices.

Some specialties include power system and machinery design; structures and environmental science; and food and bioprocess engineering. They develop ways to conserve soil and water and to improve the processing of agricultural products.

A large percentage of agricultural engineers work in academia or for government agencies such as the United States Department of Agriculture or state agricultural extension services. Agricultural engineers work in production, sales, management, research and development, or applied science.

Bioengineering

Biological engineering (also biosystems engineering and bioengineering) deals with engineering biological processes in general. It is a broad-based engineering discipline that also may involve product design, sustainability and analysis of biological systems. Generally, bioengineering may deal with either the medical (see biomedical engineering) or the agricultural fields (see agricultural engineering).

Because other engineering disciplines overlap bioengineering living organisms (e.g., prosthetics in mechanical engineering), the term can be applied more broadly to include food engineering and biotechnology. Biological engineering is called Bioengineering by some colleges and Biomedical engineering is called Bioengineering by others, and is a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization.

Biological engineers are similar to biologists in that they study living organisms. They are engineers because they have a practical design aim in mind - they use research to create usable tangible products. In general, biological engineers attempt to 1) mimic biological systems in order to create products or 2) modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, or sustain chemical and mechanical processes.

Food technology

Food technology, or Food tech for short is the application of food science to the selection, preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of safe, nutritious, and wholesome food.

Food scientists and food technolgists study the physical, microbiological, and chemical makeup of food. Depending on their area of specialization, food scientists may develop ways to process, preserve, package, or store food, according to industry and government specifications and regulations. Consumers seldom think of the vast array of foods and the research and development that has resulted in the means to deliver tasty, nutritious, safe, and convenient foods.

In some schools, food technology is part of the curriculum and teaches, alongside how to cook, nutrition and the food manufacturing process.

Early history of food technology
Research in the field now known as food technology has been conducted for decades. Nicolas Appert’s development in 1810 of the canning process was a decisive event. The process wasn’t called canning then and Appert did not really know the principle on which his process worked, but canning has had a major impact on food preservation techniques.

Louis Pasteur's research on the spoilage of wine and his description of how to avoid spoilage in 1864 was an early attempt to put food technology on a scientific basis. Besides research into wine spoilage, Pasteur did research on the production of alcohol, vinegar, wines and beer, and the souring of milk. He developed pasteurization—the process of heating milk and milk products to destroy food spoilage and disease-producing organisms. In his research into food technology, Pasteur became the pioneer into bacteriology and of modern preventive medicine.

By 1945, the original four departments that had taught the subject under different names (including those at the University of Massachusetts and the University of California) had been retitled "food science", "food science and technology", or a similar variant. The founding of the Institute of Food Technologists in 1939 has led to the general use of the term “food technologist.”

Developments in food technology
Several companies in the food industry have played a role in the development of food technology. These developments have contributed greatly to the food supply. Some of these developments are:

Instantized Milk Powder - D.D. Peebles (U.S. patent 2,835,586) developed the first instant milk powder, which has become the basis for a variety of new products that are rehydratable in cold water or milk. This process increases the surface area of the powdered product by partially rehydrating spray-dried milk powder.
Freeze Drying - The first application of freeze drying was most likely in the pharmaceutical industry; however, a successful large-scale industrial application of the process was the development of continuous freeze drying of coffee.
High-Temperature Short Time Processing - These processes for the most part are characterized by rapid heating and cooling, holding for a short time at a relatively high temperature and filling aseptically into sterilisation (microbiology)sterile containers.
Decaffeination of Coffee and Tea - Decaffeinated coffee and tea was first developed on a commercial basis in Europe around 1900. The process is described in U.S. patent 897,763. Green coffee beans are treated with steam or water to around 20% moisture. The added water and heat separate the caffeine from the bean to its surface. Solvents are then used to remove the caffeine from the beans. In the 1980s, new non-organic solvent techniques have been developed for the decaffeination of coffee and tea. Carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions is one of these new techniques. U.S. patent 4,820,537 was issued to General Foods Corp. for a CO2 decaffeination process.
Optimization- Food Technology now allows production of foods to be more efficient, Oil saving technologies are now available on different forms. Production methods and methodology have also become increasingly sophisticated.

Textile engineering

Textile engineering (TE) or textile technology deals with the application of scientific and engineering principles to the design and control of all aspects of fiber, textile, and apparel processes, products, and machinery. These include natural and man-made materials, interaction of materials with machines, safety and health, energy conservation, and waste and pollution control. Additionally, textile engineers are given training and experience in plant design and layout, machine and wet process design and improvement, and designing and creating textile products.

Courses
The courses taken in a typical TE degree program include Textile Engineering Systems, Textile Engineering Design, Mechanics of Fibrous Structures, Textile Engineering Quality Improvement, Textile Information Systems Design, Polymer Engineering, Polymeric Biomaterials Engineering, Mechanics of Tissues & Implants Requirements, Fabric Building Mechanisms, Special Topics in Textile Engineering, Dynamics of Fabric Production Systems, Textile Composites, Polymeric Biomaterials Engineering, Industrial Textiles, Textile Applications in Medicine, Engineering Economics, Basic Electronics of Textile Manufacturing and Quality Testing Machinery, Dyeing, Printing and other methods of textile coloration, and Industrial Planning and Organization (Moi University, 1991.

Throughout the Textile Engineering curriculum, students take classes from other engineering and disciplines including: Mechanical, Chemical, Materials and Industrial Engineering Disciplines. The TE curriculum provides a broad base of fundamental engineering courses as a foundation for studies in textile engineering. Students also learn such fundamental courses as Thermodynamics, Materials Science, Industrial Management, Applied Mechanics, and Engineering Drawing and Design.

Computer engineering

Computer engineering ( also called electronic and computer engineering) is a discipline that combines elements of both electrical engineering and computer science. Computer engineers are electrical engineers who have chosen to specialize in digital systems and controls rather than power electronics and physics. This specialization requires additional training in the areas of software design and theory, hardware-software integration, and instrumentation. Computer engineers are involved in many aspects of computing, from the design of individual microprocessors, personal computers, and supercomputers, to circuit design. This engineering discipline is especially useful for integrating embedded systems into devices and machines ( for example, several embedded computer systems are used to control and monitor the many subsystems in motor vehicles). Usual tasks involving computer engineers include writing software and firmware for embedded microcontrollers, designing VLSI chips, designing analog sensors, designing mixed signal circuit boards, and designing operating systems. Computer engineers are also suited for robotics research, which relies heavily on using digital systems to control and monitor electrical systems like motors, communications, and sensors.

Computer engineering as an academic discipline
The first accredited computer engineering degree program in the United States was established at Case Western Reserve University in 1971; as of October 2004 there were 170 ABET-accredited computer engineering programs in the US.

Due to increasing job requirements for engineers, who can design and manage all form of computer systems used in industry, has led some tertiary institutions around the world to create a bachelor’s degree generally called computer engineering.[citation needed] Both computer engineering and electronic engineering programs include analog and digital circuit design in their curricula. As with most engineering disciplines, having a sound knowledge of mathematics and sciences is necessary for computer engineers.

In many institutions, computer engineering students are allowed to choose areas of in-depth study in their junior and senior year, as the full breadth of knowledge used in the design and application of computers is well beyond the scope of an undergraduate degree. The joint IEEE/ACM Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Degree Programs in Computer Engineering defines the core knowledge areas of computer engineering as

Algorithms
Computer architecture and organization
Computer systems engineering
Circuits and signals
Database systems
Digital logic
Digital signal processing
Electronics
Embedded systems
Human-computer interaction
Operating systems
Programming fundamentals
Social and Professional issues
Software engineering
VLSI design and fabrication
The breadth of disciplines studied in computer engineering is not limited to the above subjects but can include any subject found in engineering.

Environmental engineering

Environmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the environment (air, water, and/or land resources), to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites.

Environmental engineering involves water and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, and public health issues. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects.

Environmental engineers conduct hazardous-waste management studies to evaluate the significance of the such hazards, advise on treatment and containment, and develop regulations to prevent mishaps. Environmental engineers also design municipal water supply and industrial wastewater treatment systems as well as being concerned with local and worldwide environmental issues such as the effects of acid rain, ozone depletion, water pollution and air pollution from automobile exhausts and industrial sources.

Educational licensing requirements
To become an environmental engineer, at least a Bachelor's degree in engineering (usually civil or chemical, and more frequently environmental engineering) is required, usually followed by specialized training at the Master's or Doctoral level.
Most jurisdictions also impose licensing and registration requirements.

Development of environmental engineering
Ever since people first recognized that their health and well-being were related to the quality of their environment, they have applied thoughtful principles to attempt to improve the quality of their environment. The Romans constructed aqueducts to prevent drought and to create a clean, healthful water supply for the metropolis of Rome. In the 15th century, Bavaria created laws restricting the development and degradation of alpine country that constituted the region's water supply.

Modern environmental engineering began in London in the mid-19th century when it was realized that proper sewerage could reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases such as cholera. The introduction of drinking water treatment and sewage treatment in industrialized countries reduced waterborne diseases from leading causes of death to rarities.

In many cases, as societies grew, actions that were intended to achieve benefits for those societies had longer-term impacts which reduced other environmental qualities. One example is the widespread application of DDT to control agricultural pests in the years following World War II. While the agricultural benefits were outstanding and crop yields increased dramatically, thus reducing world hunger substantially, and malaria was controlled better than it ever had been, numerous species were brought to the verge of extinction due to the impact of the DDT on their reproductive cycles. The story of DDT as vividly told in Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" is considered to be the birth of the modern environmental movement and the development of the modern field of "environmental engineering."

Conservation movements and laws restricting public actions that would harm the environment have been developed by various societies for millennia. Notable examples are the laws decreeing the construction of sewers in London and Paris in the 19th century and the creation of the U.S. national park system in the early 20th century.

Briefly speaking, the main task of environmental engineering is to protect (from further degradation), preserve (the present condition), and enhance (the environment).


Environmental impact assessment and mitigation
It is a decision making tool. In this division, engineers and scientists assess the impacts of a proposed project on environmental conditions. They apply scientific and engineering principles to evaluate if there are likely to be any adverse impacts to water quality, air quality, habitat quality, flora and fauna, agricultural capacity, traffic impacts, social impacts, ecological impacts, noise impacts, visual(landscape) impacts, etc. If impacts are expected, they then develop mitigation measures to limit or prevent such impacts. An example of a mitigation measure would be the creation of wetlands in a nearby location to mitigate the filling in of wetlands necessary for a road development if it is not possible to reroute the road.

Water supply and treatment
Engineers and scientists work to secure water supplies for potable and agricultural use. They evaluate the water balance within a watershed and determine the available water supply, the water needed for various needs in that watershed, the seasonal cycles of water movement through the watershed and they develop systems to store, treat, and convey water for various uses. Water is treated to achieve water quality objectives for the end uses. In the case of potable water supply, water is treated to minimize risk of infectious disease transmittal, risk of non-infectious illness, and create a palatable water flavor. Water distribution systems are designed and built to provide adequate water pressure and flow rates to meet various end-user needs such as domestic use, fire suppression, and irrigation.

Wastewater conveyance and treatment
Water pollutionMost urban and many rural areas no longer discharge human waste directly to the land through outhouse, septic, and/or honey bucket systems, but rather deposit such waste into water and convey it from households via sewer systems. Engineers and scientists develop collection and treatment systems to carry this waste material away from where people live and produce the waste and discharge it into the environment. In developed countries, substantial resources are applied to the treatment and detoxification of this waste before it is discharged into a river, lake, or ocean system. Developing nations are striving to obtain the resources to develop such systems so that they can improve water quality in their surface waters and reduce the risk of water-borne infectious disease.

There are numerous wastewater treatment technologies. A wastewater treatment train can consist of a primary clarifier system to remove solid and floating materials, a secondary treatment system consisting of an aeration basin followed by flocculation and sedimentation or an activated sludge system and a secondary clarifier, a tertiary biological nitrogen removal system, and a final disinfection process. The aeration basin/activated sludge system removes organic material by growing bacteria (activated sludge). The secondary clarifier removes the activated sludge from the water. The tertiary system, although not always included due to costs, is becoming more prevalent to remove nitrogen and phosphorus and to disinfect the water before discharge to a surface water stream or ocean outfall.

Air quality management
Industrial air pollution sourceEngineers apply scientific and engineering principles to the design of manufacturing and combustion processes to reduce air pollutant emissions to acceptable levels. Scrubbers, electrostatic precipitators, catalytic converters, and various processes are utilized to remove particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds (VOC}, reactive organic gases (ROG) and other air pollutants from flue gases and other sources prior to allowing their emission to the atmosphere.

Scientists have developed air pollution dispersion models to evaluate the concentration of a pollutant at a receptor or the impact on overall air quality from vehicle exhausts and industrial flue gas stack emissions.

To some extent, this field overlaps the desire to decrease carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from combustion processes.