The Importance of Science in Engineering
Dr. William DeVries with the Jarvik 7, the world’s first artificial heart
It is almost universal for every student on their road of education to ask themselves in the middle of their science class, “when am I ever going to use this?” Although teachers are greatly annoyed by this question, and for good reason to be fair, the question does come from a genuine place of curiosity. At first glance, it is hard to see the connection between classes like biology and chemistry with the real world. You don’t imagine situations where you’d need to know the structures of a cell or names of elements. However, upon closer examination there is an intricate harmony between science and our surroundings in the form of engineering.
Engineering is a constantly evolving field that pushes the boundaries of what we thought were possible. Engineers are constantly solving technical problems related to construction, medicine, and a plethora of other areas to improve the efficiency and simplicity of our lives. And, one of the key things driving this constant innovation is the science we know and love. Science is considered the basis of all engineering as it tells engineers how certain materials and forces behave. It essentially tells WHAT one can do and engineers figure out HOW.
One important branch of science that is heavily involved in the engineering process is chemistry. In its most basic form, chemistry is the study of the composition and properties of matter. Chemistry forms the building blocks of almost everything around us, thus the field of engineering itself would hold very little worth without incorporating chemical laws and discoveries. A primary instance of the harmony of engineering and chemistry is molecular modeling, where researchers model or mimic the behavior of molecules. Software engineers design powerful systems that can create atomistic level descriptions of molecules which have been heavily used in the fields of drug design, material science, and computational biology. Electrical engineering also utilizes heavy application of chemistry, as electronics is by definition the manipulation of electrons. Batteries are one of the most widely used items in electron devices and thus much research goes into improving their efficiency. Adjusting the anode, cathode, electrolyte, and surface material all require basics of chemistry for maximum production and energy flow. Moreover, nanotechnology is entirely based on the manipulation of atoms to create complex molecules, thus engineers in this field need to be familiar with chemical reactions and the behaviors of certain elements to design safe and effective technologies.
Another field of science that is increasingly intersecting with the field of engineering. The technological revolution of our day has sprouted numerous innovations, many being in the medicinal field. This overlap with technology and medicine has brought numerous new disciplines of engineering that work to advance the healthcare system and patient wellbeing. One being bioinformatics, a field where engineers develop algorithms and tools to analyze data such as DNA sequences and protein structures to help understand inheritance and design new drugs. Moreover, the field of tissue engineering is one that is growing in popularity and it involves utilizing technology and biological processes to harvest tissues and organs to help potentially provide solutions for organ transplantation and tissue repair. Specifically, the tools responsible for this growth are biomaterials called scaffolds, which are complex frameworks made of biomaterials that support cell growth. Lastly, the field of biomedical engineering is one that is very popular and it involves integrating engineering principles with medicine to create novel devices for healthcare use such as prosthetics and artificial organs. The disciplines aforementioned are just a few of the plethora of applications of biology in the engineering field, and they highlight the massive societal benefit that stem from the unity of the two areas of study.
Similarly, physics is also heavily applied in the field of engineering. Physics studies the way the world works and engineering essentially takes that information and uses it to design and produce things for our daily lives. Almost every discipline of engineering is governed by some amount of physics. For example, civil engineering, a discipline that deals with design & construction of public works, relies heavily on laws of physics pertaining to the forces, tension, and harmonic vibrations, and all kinds of other concepts that are used to conduct complex calculations to ensure projects meet safety and performance protocols. Similarly, mechanical engineers use physics when dealing with aircrafts, watercrafts, engines, weapons, and other mechanical systems. Laws like Bernoulli’s principle and fluid dynamics are crucial when designing aircraft wings to create lift, and complex calculations involving drag, velocity, and air resistance are performed to ensure proper performance of weapon projectiles. The list goes on, with ECE’s requiring knowledge on thermodynamics and electromagnetism and robotic engineers needing dynamics & optics to program movement. If engineering is the person, physics is the brain that fuels constant innovation.
Science and engineering are two disciplines that have been intertwined for an extensive period of time already and continue to work together to generate new creations that work to better our world as a whole.
Bibliography
Haberman, Clyde. “Artificial Hearts Ticking along Decades after Jarvik-7 Debate.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Mar. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/us/artificial-hearts-ticking-along-decades-after-jarvik-7-debate.html. Accessed 10 July 2024
Gijare, Medha. “Role of Physics in Engineering and Technology: Top Diploma.” Top Diploma Engineering College in Pune-Maharashtra, 19 Aug. 2022, aissmspoly.org.in/role-of-physics-in-engineering-and-technology/. Accessed 10 July 2024
Sharma, Nidhi. “Wonders of Chemistry in Engineering.” AISSMS IOIT, 2019, aissmsioit.org/wonders-of-chemistry-in-engineering/#:~:text=Engineering%20chemistry%20aids%20E%26TC%20and,suitable%20materials%20for%20manipulating%20electrons. Accessed 10 July 2024
Chau, Tom. “Areas of Specialization in Bioengineering.” Navigate the Circuit, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, navigate.aimbe.org/why-bioengineering/areas-of-specialization-in-bioengineering/. Accessed 10 July 2024.
