The Impact of Engineering
The tools we make, and how they shape our world
The Engineering Impact
Team
Seth Shoemaker – A better look at our world
Kevin Hogg – The global impact
of Engineering
Chris Merrick – The economic
effect of engineering
Michael Wiseman – Green Computing &
the Environmental Impact of Engineering
Jonathan Johnson – The effect
on society from engineering
What is Engineering?
Engineering is the application
of scientific, economic, social
and practical knowledge in
order to maintain structures,
machines, devices, systems,
materials and processes.
-Wikipedia
It is a broad category of
activities that help solve
practical
problems
and
develop better tools to
overcome the challenges we
face.
Humanity’s Worldview
Past to Present
Ptolemy’s world map from ~150 AD,
Reconstructed in 15th Century
Mercator’s Naval Map, 1569 AD
Modern Satellite Images, 2001
Global Impact
Kevin Hogg
204 Sovereign Nation States
Engineering Solutions
Impacting the World

Atomic Energy: Energy independence,
destructive power.

Genetic Engineering: Genome sequences,
GMOs, cloning, and transgenic creations.

Semi-Conductor Devices: Brought us the personal
computer, and now the ‘pocket computer’.

Internet: Near instantaneous; connects us all to
data, information, knowledge and each other.
Atomic Energy

Power Generation:
1954 – First grid tied nuclear power plant (5 megawatt,
USSR)
Currently: 437 power reactors in operation in 31 countries
Produces 13%, 2,731TWh global power (2008)

Major Disasters:
Chernobyl (1986, Ukrainian SSR)
Fukushima Daiichi (2011, Japan)

Weapons of Mass Destruction:
Bombs: “Little Boy” (16kt) and “Fat Man” (21kt) - 1945
Missles: ICBM, SLBM

Radioactivity

Fission – Fusion
Fat Man and Little Boy
Weight
9,700 pounds
(4,400 kg
Length
120 inches (3.0 m)
Diameter
28 inches (710 mm)
Filling
Uranium-235
Blast yield
16 kt
Weight
10,213 pounds (4,633 kg)
Length
10.7 feet (3.3 m)
Diameter
5 feet (1.5 m)
Filling
plutonium
Blast yield
21 kt
Trident II D5 SLBM
Weight
129,000 lb (59,000 kg)
Length
44 ft (13 m)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (1st
stage)
Multiple W88 (475 kt)
or W76 (100 kt)
nuclear warheads
Diameter
Warhead
In service since1990…
Detonation
mechanism
Air Burst
Operational
range
7,000 mi (11,000 km)
Speed
Approximately
13,000 mph
(21,000 km/h)
(Mach 17 )
Guidance
system
Inertial
Genetic Engineering

Human Genome Project (1990)
Complete sequence (2003)

Dolly the Sheep (2003)

Transgenics:
GloFish (2003)
GMO Foods:

Flavr Savr Tomato (1994)

BT cotton, maize, potatoes (1995)

AquAdvantage salmon (under review)
Estimated in 70% USA processed foods
GMO crops aim to help world hunger
Ethics of patenting life forms?
Contamination of biosphere? No “undo” button…
Semi-Conductor Devices

Vacuum-tube Triode, precursor (1907)

First Germanium based Transistor came
out of Bell Labs (23 December 1947)

Silicon based transistors (1954)

First Transistor based computer (1953)
40 TRANSISTORS
TO DO THIS!
Athlon II X4
700M+ (2009)
Devices:
Diodes, transistors, photocells, IC’s, microprocessors, RAM, ROM.
Singularity?
Internet Envisioned
Global village
"The next medium, whatever it is — it may be the
extension of consciousness — will include television
as its content, not as its environment, and will
transform television into an art form. A computer as a
research and communication instrument could
enhance retrieval, obsolesce mass library
organization, retrieve the individual’s encyclopedic
function and flip it into a private line to speedily
tailored data of a saleable kind."
- Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962)
35%
Linking
the
Globe
Where Are We Today?
An Interconnected World Through Technology…
Global What?
Trade, markets, copyrights, treaties, warming, banking, industry,
warfare, village, networks, -ization…
Ever increasing technology seems to be leading us toward universal
community, which may in turn lead to a global government.
"We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for
future generations a new world order -- … When we are successful -and we will be -- we have a real chance at this new world order, an
order in which a credible United Nations can use its peacekeeping
role to fulfill the promise and vision of the U.N.'s founders.
-George Herbert Walker Bush ( September 11, 1991 )
193 UN Member States
Economic Impact
CHRIS MERRICK
eco·nom·ic
\ˌe-kə-ˈnä-mik, ˌē-kə-\
Adjective

a : of or relating
to economics <economic theories>

b : of, relating to, or based on the
production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and
services <economic growth>
Ancient

Plow

Wheel

Shipbuilding

Hydrology

Mining

Printing
Malthusian trap
Throughout history technical innovation resulted in
more people rather than increase the standard of
living
Thomas Robert Malthus
political economist
Daily wages (in pounds of wheat)
Babylonia (1800 -1600 BC) :
15
Classical Athens (328 BC):
24
England (1800 AD):
13
Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution

Textiles - materials, spinning machines

Metallurgy - smelting

Mining - steam pump

Steam Power

Chemicals - fertilizers

Machine tools

Paper machine - Fourdriner machine is the
predominant means of paper production today

Agriculture

Transportation - roads, canals, railways
Modern Economic Impacts


Electricity: light bulbs, communications, motors
Automobiles

Refrigeration

Materials: Plastics, Synthetic Rubber, Alloys

Shipping containers

Aerospace: 60,000 new products

Computers

Fiber Optics: 1 strand replaces over 600 copper wires

Internet: $684 billion, or 4.7% of all US economic
activity in 2010

Microcomputers
Modern Economic Impacts
In Wheat
3 lb chicken = $3 = 25 lbs of wheat @ $.12 per lb
25 lbs x (8 hrs / 0.2 hrs) = 1000 lbs of wheat
Information Age

Economic shift from
production of goods to
information computerization.

Information increases
efficiency

$500 billion from PCs in
workplace

70 per cent of workers in
developed economies are
information workers
Information Age
Negative Impacts



global job market
jobs replaced by computers
In 2010 manufacturing jobs fell 17,500,001 to
11,500,000 while manufacturing value rose 270%
Looking Ahead
Service exports: $200 billion surplus could create 2
million jobs
Mobile Technology: smartphone industry expected
$150.3 billion by 2014
Video Games: global videogame market expected
grow from 67 billion in 2012 to $82 billion in 2017
Genetic Engineering: Eliminate hunger worldwide
Robots
Google car: 300,000 miles
Volvo: Driverless car by 2014
Environmental
impact
MICHAEL WISEMAN
Overview

Consumer Electronics

Environmental Engineering

Green Computing
Electronics Production


Manufacturing

PCB

Components
End of Life

Recycle

Throw away
Scale

Estimated 5.6 billion mobile connections

Companies release a new phone about every
year

Apple sold three million iPads over a three day
period
Environmental Engineering

Definition


is the integration of science and engineering
principles to improve the natural environment
Examples

Sewage treatment plants

Dams
What is Green Computing

Efficient Production of Electronics

Efficient use of Electricity

Waste Disposal
Societal Impact
JONATHAN JOHNSON
Societal Impact
 The
Law of Unintended
Consequences

No matter how good a proposed solution
seems to be, it will have some unintended
consequences.
Societal Impact

Examples of Proposed Engineering Solutions with
Significant Societal Impact

Dynamite/Explosives

Cell Phones

GPS

Internal Combustion Engine

Asbestos

Light Bulb

Space Travel/Rocket Engine

Video Games

Gene Mapping

TV

Automobile

Pesticides
Examples of Engineering Solutions
with Significant Societal Impact


Problem: Need for instantaneous, global
communication

Solution: The Internet

Intended impact: Increased global information sharing

Unintended impact: Social isolation in some cases,
socially unacceptable uses
Problem: Decreasing energy supplies

Solution: Nuclear Power

Intended impact: Provide additional sources for world
energy needs

Unintended impact: Nuclear waste, concerns over
nuclear weapons capability
Case Study

Napster, Limewire, and other P2P
File Sharing Programs

Excellent technology and “engineering design” for
sharing files via Internet

What are the social implications of these
engineering designs?

Facilitate illegal activities (copying of copyrighted
materials)?

Is the designer/company liable for how its technology
is used?
Societal Impact

Basic questions to ask yourself regarding
a design project

Who might be affected?

Is development of the product safe?

Is development of the product ethical?

What is the effect of the project on natural
resources? On human welfare? On human rights?

What could go wrong?

What are the risks and liability?

How might the product be used, other than for its
intended purpose?
Where will engineering
take us?
Questions?
References
Seth Shoemaker
• Title Image: “Earth viewed from Space,” www.wikipedia.com
• Talon Bomb Disposal robot - http://fineartamerica.com
• Ptolemy’s World map and Mercator Map – www.wikipedia.com
• Modern Satellite Image – www.NationalGeographic.com
• Prosthetic DARPA Arm image: Mike McGregor
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/advancing-the-prostheticaesthetic/1213
• Pale Blue Dot – www.NASA.gov
References
Kevin Hogg

Image Sources:

http://www.globaldenver.com/flagglobe.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Earth_Western_Hemisphere_transparent_background.pn
g/1024px-Earth_Western_Hemisphere_transparent_background.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TridentMissileSystem.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fat_man.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Little_boy.jpg

http://blog.spartanrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Planes-Trains-and-Automobiles.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PPTMooresLawai.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1901_Eastern_Telegraph_cables.png

http://nicolasrapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/world_map_05_DARK.jpg

http://th01.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2011/158/e/9/blue_dna_by_reby_c-d3ia7s9.png

http://blog.hicubes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/smartphone.jpg

Data:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_II

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_network

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_generation
References
Chris Merrick
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http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/economic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_growth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusian_trap
http://www.tutor2u.net/blog/index.php/economics/comments/explaining-themalthusian-trap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship#Prehistory_and_antiquity
http://educ.ubc.ca/courses/etec540/Sept07/tiany/researchtopic/research%20project.ht
ml
http://composite.about.com/od/inthenews/l/blnae1.htm
http://www.mintsocial.com/blogroll/economic-impact-of-the-internet-economy/
http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/economy-market-trends/technologyhas-had-500-billion-impact-nations-weal/nCXwS/
http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/none/305167-techonomy-recap-how-tech-impactsthe-economy
http://www.helium.com/items/842310-assessing-the-economic-impact-of-geneticengineering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Age
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_economy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_improving_technologies_(historical)#Infrastructu
res
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/video-game-industry-set-growth-122000072.html
References
Michael Wiseman
•
Murugesan, S., Harnessing Green IT: Principles and
Practices. IT Pro, Jan/Feb 2008, 24-33.
•
Niyato, D. and Chaisiri, S. and Sung, L, B. Optimal Power
Management for Server Support Green Computing, In 9th
IEEE/ACM International Symposium on cluster Computing
and the Grid, 84-91
•
Reynolds, G. Ethics In Information Technology. Joe
Sabation, 2010.
•
Ruth, S. Green IT- More Than a Three Percent Solution. IEEE
Computer Society, 2009, 74-78.
•
David, W. Meeting Green Computing Challenges. In 10th
Electronic Packaging Technology Conference. 121-126.
•
Williams, J and Curtis, L., Green: The New Computing Coat
of Arms?. IT Pro, Jan/Feb 2008, 12-16
References
Jonathan Johnson
•
IEEE Ethics Resources:
http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/ethics/resources.ht
ml
•
NSPE Ethics Resources:
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/EthicsResources/
•
Online ethics center for engineering and science:
www.onlineethics.org
•
Societal Impact of Engineering I:
http://jjackson.eng.ua.edu/courses/capstone/lectures/
LECT09%20--%20Societal%20Impact%20I_files/frame.htm