whats an engineer

What’s An Engineer?

A presentation brought to you by the Education Outreach Program

at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division,

Patuxent River, Maryland 

Engineers and scientists are often confused in the minds of the general public. Scientists explore nature in order to discover general principles. Engineers apply established principles drawn from mathematics and science in order to develop economical solutions to technical problems.

What is the difference between a Scientist and an Engineer?

What Does an Engineer Do?

An Engineer uses science, technology, and mathematics to design useful things for the benefit of people.

What Types of People Like Engineering?

  People who like to work with cutting edge technology

  Creative people

  People who like to solve problems

  People who like teamwork

  People who want to make things better

  People who want to help humanity

Is Engineering Just About Science and Math?

NO!!! Engineers are good communicators … they need to speak and write well to share their ideas and designs with peers and customers.

Engineers are “team players” ... they understand that working with people with different backgrounds and experiences will result in a better design.

Engineers have broad skill sets … many engineering jobs cross engineering disciplines. For example, an aviation structural engineer may have a civil engineering degree. Biomedical engineering combines biology, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering skills.

What Do Engineers Look Like?

YOU!

Do You Recognize These Engineers?

Astronauts Neil Armstrong Aerospace Engineer

Judy Resnick Electrical Engineer

Lonnie Johnson Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering degrees Invented the Super Soaker

“The Apprentice” Dr. Randal Pinkett Engineering degrees from Rutgers, Oxford and MIT

Bill Nye “The Science Guy” Television personality, Mechanical Engineer

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Improve the safety of the space shuttles and Navy aircraft   Build a more spacious airliner   Create satellites that detect drought around the world   Design robots that collect samples on other planets, revealing insights about our galaxy

  Develop parachutes, using new materials to improve their performance

Aerospace Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Design environmentally friendly cleaning products   Develop materials to prevent corrosion on Navy ships   Develop chemotherapy that has fewer side effects   Turn seawater into drinking water   Develop ways of mass producing vaccines to ward off epidemics   Reduce pollution by developing cleaner sources of energy

Chemical Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Create software that detects brain tumors earlier   Design a feather-light laptop   Develop software for Navy airplanes   Develop user-friendly blogging software   Oversee the computer network for a telecommunications company   Predict the strength of earthquakes through computer simulation

Computer Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Invent better MRI scanners, allowing doctors to see even more clearly inside a patient’s body   Develop better means of detecting underwater threats to Navy ships   Create special effects for the movies   Design cell phones that work more reliably and have more features

  Develop artificial retinas for the blind   Work on satellite communications systems that connect people around the world

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Design “smart” toys for kids   Design unique prototype parts for Navy airplanes   Develop cars that are more fuel efficient   Produce hypoallergenic air conditioning for hospital operating rooms   Create prosthetic hands that allow a person to type and write   Build aerospace vehicles to trek across planets and moons, collecting samples

Mechanical Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Design merchant ships, warships, drilling platforms and pleasure boats…even cruise ships!

  Find new ways of making boats and ships do their job better (cargo, salvage, drilling, exploration,…)

  Find new ways to make places that support ships work better (ports, docks, platforms,…)

  Design more innovative and efficient power and propulsion systems (go faster on less fuel)

  Find new materials for building ships (new metals, composites, plastics,…)

Naval Architecture Engineering

What Kinds of Engineers are there?

  Design and build complicated systems out of many parts (airplanes, cars, computers and software, medical, environmental,…)

  Make sure all pieces of complex systems are built correctly so they come together in the right way at the right time

  Solve complicated problems to make sure that systems do what they were designed to do, are reliable, and continue to improve

Systems Engineering

All new or modified Navy and Marine Corps aircraft are tested at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River.

The engineers at “Pax River” do important work for our country by ensuring the aircraft and equipment our service men and women depend on will:

  Keep them safe   And enable them to perform their mission successfully.

Pax River hires many types of engineers. Next is an example of the day in the life of an aerospace engineer:

What do Engineers do at Patuxent River?

There are many other types of Engineers!

Agricultural

Architectural

Biomedical

Civil

Environmental

Industrial

Manufacturing

Materials

Mining / Geology

Nuclear

Ocean

Petroleum

Software

And Many More!!

Why Be an Engineer?

  Interesting work and job satisfaction

  Great variety – electrical, biomedical, environmental, chemical and more!

  Solid foundation for other careers such as law and management

  Opportunity to benefit society by solving humanitarian and environmental problems

  Financial security

Start Preparing Now!

Preparing for college begins early! RecommendedCourseWorkfromTryEngineeringorganiza7on

  Math (4 Years): •  Algebra I and II •  Geometry •  Trigonometry •  Calculus

 Science (4 Years): •  Biology •  Physics •  Chemistry • (Other options include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Ecology, Astronomy, and Earth Sciences.)

  Language Arts (4 Years): •  English •  Electives in this area includes Speech/Debate, Communications/Media, and Journalism.)

  Foreign Language (3 Years): •  Your choice, based on what your school offers.

Additional preparation for College Success

  Take AP or Honors courses when offered

  Do well on standardized tests

  Join engineering or science clubs

  Get involved in other extracurricular activities that will help you build valuable skills for the future

  Apply for a summer job at an engineering facility or gain experience through a non-paid internship

  Apply for a government fellowship at www.asee.org

Local engineering degree pathways

CollegeofSouthernMaryland  Twoyearprogram  Transfer60creditstoUniversityof

Maryland’sengineeringschool

UniversityofMarylandattheSouthernMarylandHigherEduca7onCenter  JuniorandSeniorYearComple7on  Blendofteleconference,classroomand

campusformat  Coopera7veEduca7onOpportunitywith

NAWCADPatuxentRiver–EarnWhileYouLearn

WhereCanYouFindMoreInforma3on?

Na7onalDefenseEduca7onProgramhQp://www.ndep.ushQp://www.ndep.us/lLabsPax

AmericanSocietyforEngineeringEduca7onhQp://www.asee.org

NavalAirSystemsCommand(NAVAIR)hQp://www.navair.navy.mil/jobs

EngineerYourLifehQp://www.engineeryourlife.org

SocietyofWomenEngineershQp://www.swe.orghQp://aspire.swe.org

Education Outreach Resources

Education Outreach Coordinator Kathy Glockner (301) 342-2281 Kathryn.glockner@navy.mil

Education Outreach Coordinator Karen Lane (Calvert County only) (301) 706-0245 Karen.lane.ctr@navy.mil www.ndep.us/labs/patuxentriver

Higher Education and Research Partnerships Dr. Paul Hoffman (301) 342-9361 Paul.hoffman@navy.mil

References: American Association of Engineering Education and “Try Engineering”