As we look back and reflect on the last 50 years, it is astounding to note not just the sheer number of engineering breakthroughs but also the quantum of advancements on existing technologies. While I am not an engineer, engineering and technology fascinates me. Here, I pick my favourite engineering marvels and how they have evolved over time.
The space of communication technology perhaps has seen the most visible and tangible evolution. The humble landline telephone has metamorphosed into mobile connectivity with the most amazing capabilities. History of sorts was made when the first portable cell phone call was made in 1973. Now, 41 years later, we are talking to people across oceans on mobile video, taking photographs and WhatsApping them over a mobile device. In just 41 years, the mobile phone has become the undisputed multi-purpose device?one that lets us talk, message, take photos, draw, calculate, bank, book tickets, watch videos, find places, listen to music and much more.
Aviation engineering is another area that fills us with wonderment. Some 111 years ago, Wilbur and Orville Wright completed their first sustained flight with a powered, controlled airplane. And 44 years later, in 1947, the sound barrier was broken. In 1976, Concorde?s commercial airline carried 100 passengers at twice the speed of sound. Today, aviation technology is being used in the mighty Bloodhound SSC car to break land speed records at 1,000 mph.
Countless times a day we flip a switch on?whether to light up a room, start a car, use an appliance or turn on a life-saving equipment in a hospital. Electrical engineering?whether from coal, sun, wind or water?gives power for life to go on, while remaining imperceptible to the naked eye. After the first light bulb in late 19th century and the invention of the flashlight in early 20th century, the advancements in electrical engineering have given us the power to work or play uninterrupted?whether day or night. Enjoying floodlit matches is one such benefit. Today, the world is focusing on renewable energy as a means to conserve, sustain and meet the growing needs of the modern world. I read somewhere that 2 billion people still do not have access to electric power. While electricity has been among the greatest engineering advancements of the 20th century, I guess it will be apt to say ?more power to electrical engineering in the 21st century?.
From the time Sputnik was launched in 1957 and since the first human (Yuri Gagarin) stepped into space in 1961, spacecraft engineering has witnessed rapid evolution. While satellite and spacecraft engineering is highly complex, the number of benefits it offers to civilians make us forget the staggering complexities behind these benefits. In fact, one of the most visible benefits to the common man is the GPS (Global Positioning System) that is enabled by satellites circling the globe.
The evolution of the internet, of computers, health technologies, nuclear engineering, automobile and civil engineering in the last 50 years has made gigantic contributions to the progress of mankind.
On the eve of the Engineer?s Day, let?s ensure that scientific temper pervades the consciousness of mankind across the globe.
Azra Fathima
The author is head, Marketing & Communications, The Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET), India
