ECOR 1010

Introduction to Engineering
Lecture 2
What Do Grades at Carleton Mean?
Letter Grade & Grade It Means
Percent Point
A+ >90% 12 outstanding knowledge of course material
A A 85 to 89% 11
demonstrated through the course deliverables
A- 80 to 84% 10
B+ 77 to 79% 9 very good & better than average knowledge of
B B 73 to 76% 8 course material demonstrated through the
B- 70 to 72% 7 course deliverables
C+ 67 to 69% 6 expected amount of course knowledge was
C C 63 to 66% 5
demonstrated through the course deliverables
C- 60 to 62% 4
D+ 57 to 59% 3 below average and only just adequate course
D D 53 to 56% 2 knowledge was demonstrated through the
D- 50 to 52% 1 course deliverables
inadequate knowledge of course material was
F <50% 0
demonstrated - failing grade - no course credit
failure with no deferred final examination allowed
FND <50% 0 due to inadequate term work - no course credit
awarded

ABS absent from final exam

 What is Engineering?
• How does Engineering differ from Science?
• Engineers design the “stuff” that society uses
(including scientists and other engineers)!
– Problem solving & critical thinking (applied analysis)
– Design (synthesis)
– Professionalism (formal organization, ethics)
“A scientist can discover a new star, but he
cannot make one. He would have to ask
an engineer to do that.”
— Gordon L. Glegg, American Engineer,
1969
 What is an Engineer?
• Ingenium (Latin)
– innate quality, especially mental power, capable of
clever invention
• First used to describe those who had ability to
invent / operate weapons of war – military engineer
• The word became associated with design /
construction of works
– Ships, roads, canals, and bridges.
– People skilled in these fields were non-military or civil
engineers.
 Definition of an Engineer
• An engineer is: (from textbook)
– A person who uses science, mathematics,
experience, and judgement to create,
operate, manage, control, or maintain
devices, mechanisms, processes,
structures, or complex systems. Does this
in a rational and economic way with
human, societal, and natural resources
and environmental constraints.
 Definition of Engineering
• Definition of Engineering: (from American Engineers
Council for Professional Development)
– The creative application of scientific principles to
design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or
manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them
singly or in combination;
– or to construct or operate the same with full
cognizance of their design;
– or to forecast their behaviour under specific operating
conditions;
– all as respects an intended function, economics of
operation and safety to life and property
 Engineering Disciplines
Early 1800’s Late 1800’s Mid 1900’s Late 1900’s/Early 2000’s
Civil
Civil Civil Civil Environmental
Biological
Agricultural
Mining Mining Food Science
Mining Mining
Metallurgical Metallurgical
Metallurgical Materials Science
Mechanical Mechanical
Mechanical Aeronautical
Aeronautical Space Systems
Electrical
Electrical
What’s
Electrical Electronics Next ?
Computer Engineering
Industrial Systems
Communications
Chemical Software
Industrial
Manufacturing
Chemical
Process Eng.
Oil & Gas
 Interdisciplinary Approaches - 1
Ecology
Environment Chemistry
Late 1900’s/Early 2000’s Energy, Resource Earth Sciences
Civil Architecture
Environmental Infrastructure,
Sustainability Biology
Biological
Food Science Geography
Mining
Metallurgical
Materials Science
Mechanical
Aeronautical
Space Systems
Electrical
Electronics
Computer Engineering
Systems
Communications
Software
Industrial
Manufacturing
Chemical
Process Eng.
Oil & Gas
 Interdisciplinary Approaches - 2
Ecology
Environment Chemistry
Late 1900’s/Early 2000’s Energy, Resource Earth Sciences
Civil Architecture
Environmental Infrastructure,
Sustainability Biology
Biological
Food Science Geography
Mining Health Sciences
Metallurgical Biology
Materials Science Dentistry
Mechanical Biomedical Engineering
Aeronautical Health & Quality of Life Medicine
Space Systems Neuroscience
Electrical
Electronics
Computer Engineering
Systems
Communications
Software
Industrial
Manufacturing
Chemical
Process Eng.
Oil & Gas
 Interdisciplinary Approaches - 3
Ecology
Environment Chemistry
Late 1900’s/Early 2000’s Energy, Resource Earth Sciences
Civil Architecture
Environmental Infrastructure,
Sustainability Biology
Biological
Food Science Geography
Mining Health Sciences
Metallurgical Biology
Materials Science Dentistry
Mechanical Biomedical Engineering
Aeronautical Health & Quality of Life Medicine
Space Systems Neuroscience
Electrical
Electronics
Computer Engineering
Systems
Communications Chemistry
Advanced Materials Biology
Software
Nanotechnology
Industrial Medicine
Manufacturing Physics
Chemical
Process Eng.
Oil & Gas
 The Role of Engineers
• Engineering is a team activity.
– Engineering teams involve individuals with widely
different abilities, interests and education who
cooperate to advance the project.
– A typical technical team might consist of
• engineers,
• scientists,
• technologists,
• technicians,
• social scientists,
• skilled workers.
 Engineer
• Provides the key link between theory and
practical applications.
– Extensive theoretical knowledge,
– Ability to think creatively,
– Ability to lead a team towards a common goal.
– Knack for obtaining practical results,
• Education
– Basic requirement is a bachelor’s degree.
– Master’s or PhD is useful and sometimes
preferred.
Engineers are in demand
 Professional Engineer
• In Canada, the title “professional
engineer” is restricted by law.
– Only those persons who have
• Demonstrated competence
• Been licensed by provincial
professional engineering licensing
association.

J. Smith, B.Eng., P.Eng.

In Canada it is against the law to call
yourself a “professional engineer” if you
are not a licensed Professional Engineer
 Canadian Engineering
Accreditation Board (CEAB)
• PEO & other provincial/territorial associations
rely on CEAB to evaluate & accredit engineering
programs in Canada
• CEAB conducts regular & rigorous reviews of
engineering programs
• Publishes list of accredited programs in Canada
• All Carleton engineering programs accredited for
maximum available time (6 years)
 CEAB Academic Requirements
• Mathematics (linear algebra, differential and integral
calculus, differential equations, probability and
statistics, and numerical analysis)
– about 1/8th of the program
• Basic Sciences (physics, chemistry, biology or
geoscience)
– about 1/8th of the program
• Engineering sciences (ES)
– minimum of 1/8th the program ES plus ED must be
• Engineering design (ED) ½ of the program

– minimum of 1/8th the program

• Complementary studies (TSE, etc.) is about 1/8th of
the program
 Why Conform to CEAB?
• If you want to become a professional
engineer, then one of the principal
requirements is that you graduate from an
accredited program
• Other Requirements:
– Practical Experience (4 years)
– Professional Practice Examination Five
years
– Character attested to by references ago

– Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident

 Technologist
• Works under direction of engineers
– Applies engineering principles and methods to complex
technical problems.
• Education
– Completion of three year technology program from community
college.
• Often supervises work of others and is encouraged to
have qualifications recognized by technical society.
• Difference between engineering and technologist
education
– Engineering education typically provides greater theoretical
depth
– Technology diploma usually provides more hands-on
experience.
 Technician
• Works under the supervision of an engineer or
technologist in the practical aspects of
engineering,
– e.g., making tests and maintaining equipment.
• Education
– Completion of two-year technician program in a
community college.
• Association may confer title of Certified
Engineering Technician on those qualified.
– Certification is not necessary to work as a
technician.
 Skilled Worker
• Skilled in a trade such as electrician,
welder, plumber, carpenter, machinist,
millwright, etc.
– Typically carries out the designs and
plans of others.
• Has great expertise acquired through
formal apprenticeships and/or years of
experience.
• Most trades have a trade organization
and certification procedure.
 Open-Ended Problems
• Most engineering problems are open-ended
– They don’t have a single solution
• Just because there is more than one solution
does not mean the problem is easier to solve
– Actually, it can be the opposite!
– New students sometimes find open-ended problems
frustrating
– What skills are needed to solve such problems?
• Broad base of engineering knowledge
• Critical thinking skills
• Innovation
• Perseverance
 Engineering Skills
• How to represent a design problem
• How to make assumptions
• How to generate possible ideas for designs
• How to conduct an effective search for a
solution
• How to plan and schedule activities
• How to make efficient use of resources
• How to organize the components and
activities of a team design project
 Ingenuity
• Engineers often find clever ways to “skirt”
the laws of nature
– the “block & tackle”
• Innovation
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Transcontinental Railway
– Canadian Pacific Railway linked Canada from coast
to coast in 1885.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• De Havilland Beaver 1947
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• St Lawrence Seaway
– Series of canals / waterways that opened
Great Lakes to ocean going ships in 1959.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Athabasca Oil Sands
– Commercial oil sands development showed
the feasibility of recovering oil from the oil
sands.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Very-High-Voltage Transmission
– Hydro-Québec was first electrical utility to develop
transmission lines at very high voltage for long-
distance power transmission.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Nuclear power
– CANDU nuclear power system produces electric
power using natural uranium fuel and heavy-water for
moderation and cooling.
– No need for expensive fuel enrichment.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Alouette Satilite
– 3rd country into space – September 1962
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Trans-Canada Telephone Network
– Completed in 1958 as world’s longest microwave
network.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Winnipeg Floodway – 1963-1968
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• The Canadarm
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Confederation Bridge
– Longest bridge in the world crossing salt water
subject to winter ice hazards.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• IMAX
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• Pacemaker
– Developed by John A Hopps in 1949.
 Canadian Engineering
Accomplishments
• CN Tower
– Built in 1976 as world’s
tallest free-standing structure.
– American Society of
Civil Engineers listed
CN Tower as one of seven
wonders of modern world.
Engineering Requires Diligence
Tacoma Narrows Bridge - 1940

Washington
Quebec Bridge 1907
• longest cantilevered span in the world
• collapse during construction killed 75
Space Shuttle
Challenger

Columbia
Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor 1986
 All Engineering Is Interdisciplinary
Many engineering disasters are rooted in inadequate
interdisciplinary knowledge.
A FEW examples:
• No mechanical or civil engineer ever knows enough about
electric motors
• Electrical engineers never know enough about heat transfer
• Biomedical engineers will always need more medical
knowledge
• Systems engineers need to know more about mechanics
• All engineers need to know more chemistry
• All engineers need to know more about societal reaction to
technology
• All engineers need better imaginations !

But … we only have you here for four years,

So maximize your learning for the next four years !