BACKGROUND TO MODERN ENGINEERING AND DESIGN
STUDY
TOPICS
ANIL MITRA phd, COPYRIGHT © 1985, EDITED AND
REFORMATTED May 2003
Document status: May 27, 2003
May be useful if I return to engineering / teaching
No action needed for Journey in Being
STUDY
TOPICS FOR ENGINEERING
Definition and characterization
Synthesis, maintenance, control,
production, management, marketing and analysis, finance, social interface
Deterministic and stochastic
systems
Technology
Design: complex systems
Engineering curriculum
Science and art / method and
technology
Sciences of nature and of the
artificial including technology
Design: Herbert Simon’s proposed
curriculum, 1969
Evaluation of design
Theory of evaluation: utility
theory, statistical decision theory
Computational methods:
Algorithms for optimal solutions:
linear programming, control theory, queuing, game theory, dynamic programming
Algorithms and heuristics for
choosing satisfactory alternatives
Formal logic of design: imperative
and declarative logics
Search for alternatives
Heuristic search: factorization,
means-end analysis, process-state and creativity
Allocation of resources for search
Theory of structure and design
organization: hierarchic systems, variability, evolution
… and representation
of design problems including use of formal mathematics: an approach to
creativity
Problem solving as natural
selection
Sciences of design; evolution of
complex systems; nature of creativity
Engineering: traditional, modern, and
future: emergent trends
Careers: today and tomorrow;
viability; job titles
Divisions of engineering
Reliability and statistical quality
control
Cad / cam systems
Topics for mechanical engineering
Measurement and observation
Units, dimensional analysis
Errors and uncertainties;
sensitivity
Economics and engineering economics
Ethics and professionalism
Statistics
Communication and presentation
Sketching
Problem solving
Phases of industry
Manufacturing, marketing, research
and development, staff and management
Modern problems of engineering
Areas emphasized in the britannica article
Engineering societies and their
publications
Consulting engineering
Reference systems and library use:
engineering, science and technology
Problem solving approaches as a
design problem: design of creativity
Handbooks: a review of their role
in learning and practice
Experimental methods and
measurement
Becoming a professional engineer:
registration
Human factors in engineering and
design
Human-machine systems
Research methods
Engineering and society
Engineering societies
Getting a patent
Information search and learning
methods
Robotics and mechanisms
Laser technology and holograms
Government agencies of relevance
Universities
Nature of the industrial divisions and work
Sectors of the economy
Mechanical engineering topics
Solar
Design
Economics and economic optimization
Research tools
Controls: automatic / optimal
State of the art - select areas
Instrumentation
University catalogs / journals for
update / conferences
How do mature engineers become
aware of fundamental problems in their disciplines?
Familiarity with technology
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