Synthesis post: Engineering

By: Khalifa Alzaabi, Khalifa ALHammadi, Abdulaziz Khudada, Boyuan Sun

Engineering is defined as the profession in which knowledge of mathematical, natural sciences, economical, and the materials and forces of nature. It is also understood by public as a subject where people create inventions and develop technologies. From the first industrial revolution to the second, from transmitting letters by steam trains to sending messages via electric currents we have already met so many conveniences and surprises brought by great engineers through history. With a high median salary, engineering became a very interesting major for college students nowadays. In order to achieve such thing, it requires a long career path from an engineer all the way up to a technical director or a fellow. This blog will talk about chemical and electrical engineering majors including the pros and cons of both fields with some examples that help to understand them clearly.

According to the data of Engineering Workforce Commission of the American Association of Engineering Societies, the numbers of students in several broad engineering fields is increasing since 2006. This clearly indicates that people are becoming more interested in engineering for several reasons which are:

· Salary

· Highly employable

· Acquire a variety of skills

Electrical engineering is considered to be one of the most important fields in todays world, since almost everything works via electricity. Electrical engineering is divided into two main categories which are: electronics engineering and electrical engineering technology. These two categorize of electrical engineering includes eight different major areas: Computer, Communication, Circuits, Digital controls, Instrumentation, Signal processing, Bioengineering, and Power. Some of the blog posts are about these major areas mentioned above; you can have a close look at them to know the difference and get a general idea about each section. Furthermore, during their 4-year bachelor degree, electrical engineering students learn different skills that are required to solve several real life situations so they are ready to work in the future more efficiently. Our blog was made keeping in mind what those people who are going to start their career as electrical engineers will be interested in. GPS is one of the important topics that involves electrical engineering in lots of ways, click (GPS or Not?) to read more about GPS technology and how does it relate to electrical engineers. As every field, there are some advantages that you will have as an electrical engineer; however, there are few disadvantages that are discussed in one of our post. These pros and cons were collected from doing a survey that has ten electrical engineers, to read the post click (Engineering students).

Chemical engineers on the other hand have a few students enrolling in it, since it is considered to be one of the hard fields that a person can get in. There are a lot of hard classes that student should take in order to get their degree as chemical engineers. In 2010-2011, a research was conducted to find out how many students of a specific fields are graduating every year from the US, and the results were found to be that only 6,487 students are graduating as chemical engineering per year. While mechanical engineering has over 19,000 students graduating annually. This clearly shows that most people who are interested in engineering prefer choosing fields other than chemical engineering. It’s true that chemical engineering is hard and needs a lot of effort in order to get the degree; however, if a person really do his best and earn a degree then he will have lots of advantages over other engineers. Some of the advantages are:

· High Salary

· Intellectually stimulating work

· Job security

Chemical Engineering also have a lot of interesting topics that a student will cover in his 4-year bachelors program. The most interesting topic to most students is nanotechnology, the blog talks about nanotechnology and what is it in a very brief way to read about it click (Nanotechnology).

To sum up, engineering is one of the most important fields globally because these fields have an important role in almost everything we use in our daily life. Over the decades, the number of engineering students has been increasing in universities since almost every company requires engineers. The blog will talk about several important topics for those who are willing to be engineers especially chemical and electrical engineering.



Sources:

[1] Stephan, Bowman, Park, Sill, Ohland, Thinking Like an Engineer: an Active Learning Approach, MSU, MI, 2013, Print.



[2]William C. Oakes, Les L. Leone, Engineering Your Future: A Brief Introduction to Engineering, 5th Ed, Oxford, NY, 2015, Print.



[3] http://www.asee.org/papers-and-publications/publications/college-profiles/2011-profile-engineering-statistics.pdf

Prompt #7: Contemplating Controversy

By: Abdulaziz Khudada

Electrical engineering is dealing with the technology of electricity. "Electrical engineers design, develop, test and supervise the manufacturing of electrical equipment, such as electric motors, radar and navigation systems, and communications systems and power generation equipment."[1]
There is a lot of good things to be an electrical engineer, but there are cons that make you hate to be an Electrical engineer. There is small number of women are in engineering programs. It can be hard for women to work in this field. Engineers spend most of their time working. The engineers need to have experiments, learn new things in order to keep their jobs.
Electrical engineers love their jobs because they can get benefits of their knowledge to use it out of their fields. Getting experiment in their work can help them to promote. They receive high salary from their jobs. There are many blogs about electrical engineering and they love their jobs for many different reasons. The most common reason is creating software for computers or smart phones. Maybe it difficult to find women works as engineer, but there are women working as engineer. Number of women engineers are growing day by day.
Every major has it own pros and cons. However, if someone love the major he/she chose nothing will change his/her opinion. Not everyone seeks for money. Some people seek for jobs that they love.

Work cited:

[1] http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm

- the institution of engineering and technology

Best cities for Chemical Engineers

By Khalifa ALHammadi



Chemical engineering is considered as a hard major in universities, therefore there are few students who graduate as chemical engineers comparing to other engineering majors. Most companies do not require chemical engineers, there are few companies that hire more than one chemical engineer such as oil company. Though, the companies that hire chemical engineers still want new engineers. This means that there are limited companies that hire chemical engineers which are located in limited places. 

There are some oil fields that are located in the middle of the sea and there are other fields that are located in the dessert so there few places that are good in terms of living. According to the article in value penguin website the best city for chemical engineers in the Unites States is Houston. Houston is considered to be the best city for several reasons; one of them is the high salary rate because of the oil fields available there. If you are interested in knowing the other cities and the reasons of choosing them in details, please click the link below:

http://www.valuepenguin.com/2013/07/best-cities-chemical-engineers

Chemical Industries

By: Khalifa Alzaabi 

As a chemical engineer you might be involved in manufacturing, operation of processes, design. These are required for raw materials to turn into domestic and industrial products. Chemical engineers might also be doing research and development of new and improved products. According to national career services if any chemical engineer work in research and development they would:

•  Use computer models 
•  Develop methods to deal with a problem 
•  Planning how to work on the problem 

However, when working in manufacturing chemical engineers would:

• Work with plant designers 
• Help to supervise the operations 
• Work with quality control and health

Resources: 

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

Instrumentation and Measurement

By Boyuan Sun

Talking about instrumentation many of you may not have any idea. I was with you when I saw this word at the first time. However, what I do know is how to use a ammeter when I jumbled with my father’s utilities ten years ago.

Using an ammeter is a process involved with sophisticated and complicated measurements. In industrial and computer programming field correct and accurate measurements are extremely important. The instrumentation, as an ability of measuring or monitor, is a process to diagnose errors and under control the performance of industrial systems.

The description of control and instrumentation engineer is the job responsible for designing, developing, installing, managing and/or maintaining equipment which is used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes. [1]

For instance, the application we are using in our cell phone are corrected by the instrumentation system. The whole process relies on the execution coverage back feed to the processor which usually is a series of checking code, just like the functionality of a multimeter in a circuit.

The main problem this subject trying to solve is to measure the tiniest signal possible happening in a system. Whenever, this problem is met the technique called instrumentation amplifier should be used in the case. Using different technologies various signals are transformed into some information which is more obvious and easier to read.

[1] “Control and instrumentation engineer” Prospcets. n.p.n.d. Web. Nov 2015.

Engineering students

By Abdelaziz Khudada

Engineering students works hard in college to get degree in their fields. The students use different skills in order to find the solutions and improvements for any problem. Other field students think that engineering is easy, but it is not easy. They use math, physics, chemistry, and other science technique in studying. There are pros and cons to discuss about studying engineering for the students. I asked ten engineering students about what is the advantage of being an engineer. I asked my friends and they are studying in different universities around the US. I got almost the same answers for my questions.

Advantages:
1-Well payed.
2-Ability to work in a wide variety.
3-Critical thinking.

Disadvantages:
1-Spending more time in studying.
2-Hard to work with teams.
3-Tough education process.

My survey is to find what the engineers agree with in pros and cons. They all agreed that they can fin jobs, and get well payed. Engineers can works in different places. Using critical thinking is what makes the engineers find the solutions for hard problems. There are some disadvantages that makes some students hate to be engineer student. Spending more time than the other students in different majors. Most of the engineer students be in labs to solving, programming, or researching. Some students think that the projects depends on the team who you works with because if your team have less skills you will have hard time to make the project done. In the ending most of the students like being in engineering field because all the features that they can gain.

Work cite:
[picture] http://thenextweb.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/03/engineering-blueprint.jpg

Prompt #10: Recognizing Truth

By: Khalifa Alzaabi

There are many misconceptions about chemical engineering, people are trying to understand a whole major that requires 4 years to study by just reading its name. which is why they get most of the ideas wrong. In fact, some of them even try to convince other people with their inaccurate results by writing articles in the internet. For example, most people think that chemical engineers are chemists and they deal with chemicals only. As discussed in our previous posts, chemical engineers are not chemists. however, people are still thinking that way because of the name it self.

During my research about chemical engineering I found out a couple of interesting articles that relates to chemical engineering in a wrong way. It says that chemical engineering is just a mechanical engineering plus chemistry, which is totally wrong. In fact, there are some courses that chemical and mechanical students should take, but mechanical engineers can never do the work of chemical engineers and vice versa.

I saw some forums that discussed both chemical engineering and mechanical engineering. There were some comments that shows that some people really don’t know what really is chemical engineering. For instance, someone wrote “Chemical Engineering = applying Chemistry to Mechanical Engr, its just an offshoot/branch of Mech ENgr... Its like trying to compare a fruit with the main tree>>>NEXT plsss”. This clearly shows that he is just giving his opinion about this matter and he doesn’t care about what people will think when reading this comment


Sources:
http://www.nairaland.com

History of Electric Power Transmission

By: Boyuan Sun

In 1879 Edison brought the light to this world electrically and the first time electrical light is practical for normal family. On September first 1885 with the generator started to run 59 lucky customers enjoyed the gift from electrical age.

However, the system Edison was using is called direct current which is also known as DC. The drawback of this advanced system in 1800’s is that the electrical power can only be carried no more than several miles which means the noisy, polluting power plant must be locate in the center of the city. This is a huge restriction to the development of electrical system and a negative factor of the marketization of electric power.

Not long after the DC system was created a system called alternating system is invented by Nikola Tesla. With a higher voltage and an extremely high frequency, this system allows the current to be transmitted through a long distance with only small energy lost. This system is proved to be a better one and still being used up till now.

Thanks to those processes and improvements made by electrical engineering and related scientists world can now enjoy the convenience brought by the electricity might be created hundreds miles away


Work Cited:
SpiesLeaks. “Electric Power Transmission Grid - High Voltage Transmission and Distribution System.” Online video. Youtube, 2015.6.10. Web. 2015.11.14.

The pyramids

By:Khalifa ALHammadi

The ancient Egyptians are one of the oldest engineers. They used engineering concepts in order to build the pyramids. Without these engineering concepts the pyramids will not be able to stand till now. The first thing that impressed scientists is that the pyramids were built in the most stable place in Giza. Another important concept in engineering was creating measuring units. “The ancient Egyptians used cubits, palms and fingers as units for measuring. The cubit was divided into 7 palms and a palm into 4 fingers which resulted in 28 fingers for one cubit.” (Löhner). 

The Egyptians used the Pythagorean theorem to find the lengths of the pyramid because it has a tetrahedral shape. In order for them to move the giant rocks from one place to another, wheel and axle were used to make it easier for them. Wheel and axil is considered to be one of the first concepts in engineering, Egyptians used this concept to move rocks that were used to build the pyramids. There are a lot of different examples that show how Egyptians are engineers, the links below contain more information.



https://atlantablackstar.com/2015/06/12/9-engineering-feats-pulled-off-by-the-ancient-egyptians-that-would-be-nearly-impossible-for-modern-engineers-to-duplicate-today/

http://www.cheops-pyramide.ch/khufu-pyramid/pyramid-alignment.html




Works Cited:
Löhner, Franz. "The Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops)." Survey and the Alignment of the Khufu Pyramid. N.p., 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Edwin Westhoff. Pyramids. Digital image. Art Photography. Edwin Westhoff, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Prompt #9: Recognizing Significance

By: Abdulaziz Khudada

Electrical engineering has big role in technology. They can design, develop, test the electronic devices and electrical systems. Electrical engineers can join in any type of engineering projects. Many things are powered or controlled by electricity. “Technology without Electrical Engineers would be equivalent to kitchens without chefs.” [1]

Electrical engineers had big role in developing cars, networks, electronic devices, and a lot of technology stuffs. Other developing projects for EE (electrical engineering) is renewable energy. Solar energy is renewable energy by converting sunlight into electricity. Engineers can improve the efficiency of solar panels in order to get more power from a smaller area. Electrical engineers role is to make system with multiple sources of energy to guarantee stability, also have part in designing solar panels. Electrical engineers are responsible for controlling electrical generation. Bureau of Labor Statistics organization published article about solar power, and they shows every engineer role for the solar power developing. “Electrical engineers role is design, develop, test, and supervise the manufacture of electrical components. They are responsible for designing the electrical circuitry of solar panels and supporting devices for panels, such as inverters and wiring systems.” In the article you can see how much they paid and how the solar power works.

Sources:

[1] Molnar, James. “The Importance of Electrical Engineers.” EzineArticles. June 05, 2012. November 09, 2015.

Electric Power Industry 2009: Year in Review," Electric Power Annual (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2010).

http://www.bls.gov/green/solar_power/#growth

Applications of Nanotechnology

By: Khalifa Alzaabi

As discussed in my previous post, nanotechnology is the study and application of extremely small things and can be used across all the other science fields. In this post I will further explain more about nanotechnology and why is it used and how is it used.


There are a lot of nanotechnology applications that are used in our daily life without noticing and some of them will be created in the near future, for example:

             1. Medicine: researchers are developing a nanoparticles medicine in which it goes directly to the diseased cell

             2. Electronics: nanoparticles are used in electronics by decreasing the weight of the device and power usage and increase the capabilities of the device.

             3. Food: factories are now using nanomolecules to make food taste better and make it healthier for people to eat.

              4. Fabrics: by using nanoparticles it allows improvement in the fabric properties without any increase of weight, thickness, or stiffness.



Moreover, nanotechnology is being used for many other things in order to make it better for us to use. It true that this technology is new to people, but through time scientists and researches are going to find far more usage of nanotechnology than now.


Resource:

http://www.understandingnano.com

Biosensor- The Application of Electrical Engineering in Bioengineering Field

By Boyuan Sun

Speaking about the application of electrical engineering mentioned in the first post I wrote I would love to talk about that in the bioengineering field. Doing electrical engineering you always have to design the circuits and can’t avoid to build some thing electronic operational, something like a transducer.

The transducer is a part of a biological sensor, so called biosensor, combined with any kinds of biological element such like enzymes, antibodies or nucleic acids (Sally). The job of a transducer is to transmit the biological signal into a measurable electrical parameter like a change in voltage or current.

It is a huge for electrical engineers to achieve the transform between two different signals which also involves the study on materials. On the microelectronic level only slight reactions are happening between sensors and analyses which includes organic compounds, gases, ions and bacteria. So it is a real challenge for engineers to build such a small device to make the transforming of signals come true.

However, the pay back is huge after engineers and scientists over came those difficulties. The biosensor technology can be widely used in the medicinal field especially in testing sugar percent in blood for diabetics and pollution supervising.

Sally Robertson. “What are Biosensors?” News. AZO network, Oct 7, 2014. Web. Nov 8, 2015.

How to be a successful Engineer?

By Khalifa ALHammadi


In order to be successful in anything in life you must work hard for it. Hard work can get you anything you desire no matter how big it is. Hard work applies for engineering as well; to be a successful engineer you must work hard for it. Hard work is not the only thing; you must work in a smart way as well. There are some tips that help any engineer to be successful by smart and hard work. The first thing is setting a goal, you first must know how much successful you want to be and then start working to reach it. Another tip gaining the required skills by practicing. For instance, team work skills can only be obtained by working with a group. Working on more than one project with several teams is considered as hard work. While, interacting with the teammates professionally is considered as smart work. Another tip for becoming a successful engineer is focusing on improving skills that you are good in.




Last but not least, to know whether you are on the right track or no, evaluate yourself after a period of time and see what are the improvements. If there were improvements, then continue until you reach your goal and if there were no improvements try another way that will strengthen your skills. These tip are not only for engineers; other fields may do the same thing but with minor differences. The link below has 10 tips explained in details.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2009/12/02/10-tips-for-success-for-engineering-students-


Works Cited:

Linda. Success Ladder. Digital image. Http://www.langevin.com/blog/2014/04/21/instructional-techniques-5-tips-for-successful-training/. Langevin Blog, 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.

Why to be a Chemical Engineer?

By Khalifa ALHammadi


There are many reasons to choose chemical engineers as career. The main reason of being a chemical engineer is that chemical engineers can change the world. Chemical Engineers contribute in producing most of the things we use in our daily life. “They are working to save the environment by developing alternative technologies to combat acid rain, lead pollution and the greenhouse effect”. (CEB). Another reason is that chemical engineers are well paid. “Median annual starting salary for a person with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering is $70,000.” (Kociszewski).



The salary increase as the engineer gets more experience when working in the field. Besides that, Chemical engineering career is very wide, there are many choices available such as the oil industry, pharmaceutical industry and Nanotechnology. These choices help to secure the job of a chemical engineering student while he is studying. Chemical engineers attend a lot of conferences that occurs all over the world so the engineer will travel and see a lot of different places. These are some few reasons of why to be a chemical engineer, there are a lot of different reasons. If you want to know more, please see the link below.

http://chemicalengineeringnews.org/10-reasons-to-become-a-chemical-engineer-infographic/


Works Cited:




- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. University Of Cambridge, n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. 

- Kociszewski, Paulina. "10 Reasons to Become a Chemical Engineer [Infographic]." Chemical Engineering News. N.p., 13 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2015. 

- Chemical Engineering. Digital image. Imperial. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.