While scientists dream, engineers are the ones who convert those dreams into reality. That being said engineers are the backbone to the progress of every civilization, so let's take a look at the history of this amazing field and profession.
Take a nice look around yourself, go through all the things, instruments, gadgets, objects and machines you are surrounded with, most of this things which form an integral part of your everyday life, things without whom you couldn't manage to get through a single day and now consider how many of these things you owe to the great engineering minds of the present and the past generations.
Honestly, we as humans owe a great debt to these engineers who shaped up the modern world we live in. Just imagine how hard your life would have been if not for these brilliant minds who worked tirelessly to create a better world, a world that is more comfortable and adaptable.
Let's consider how our world would have been if not for this engineers,
For starters if not for engineers we would have still been ignorant of the concept of a wheel, so bid goodbye to all the forms of locomotives, bikes, cars, trucks, buses, trains, bicycles, buggies, carts, etc and welcome back the good old horses, camels, and mules.
Similarly, without the engineers, we wouldn't be having any sort of power or electricity concept that steals away all the artificial lighting systems, all the gadgets, and telecommunication forms so we'll be back to relying on those lanterns and candles for artificial light at nights and the cute little messenger pigeons and the really slow mail system for the communication purposes.
Another major impact would have been to the transmission of knowledge and education. Without the engineers there would have been no printing machines and printing presses which have been the backbone to the transmission and spread of knowledge, This would have not only impacted the engineering field but all the streams one could possibly imagine including the medicine, arts, etc hence holding back the success and progress in those fields too.
Likewise, the entertainment industry, the music industry, the gaming industry, the food processing industry, the textiles, and manufacturing industries, and every single thing you can imagine right now on the surface of the earth and beyond it wouldn't have been the same or wouldn't have existed at all.
So, now that we realize that we wouldn't have come this far as a civilization without the field of engineering and the wonderful engineering minds lets get to the real question,
How and when did this whole concept and phenomenon of engineering come into existence?
Contrary to proper belief, the field of engineering is not something that was established just a few centuries ago but instead its existence can be traced back to ancient times, times that we don't even have records of.
That's how old the field of engineering is.
The earliest known examples of engineering works could be the wheel, the lever and pulley systems, the sundial, hourglass, the pyramids, the great wall of china, Cities of the Indus valley, the siege weapons, etc.
The civilizations which were most famous for their engineering works in ancient times were the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Indus valley and the Mecipitopian civilizations.
The Engineering works and technology we witness at the present owe a great deal to the Medieval Times, in particular, The Islamic Golden Age during which leaps and bounds of progress were made and certain basic concepts were developed or say invented upon which most of our present technologies are based on.
Some of those Medieval developments may include the spinning wheel, windmill, wind-powered machines, steam-powered machines, crankshaft, and camshaft mechanisms, internal combustion engines, steam engine and automatic control, hydro-powered astronomical clock, music sequencer, water pumps, the concept of robotics and programmable machines are some of the few out of the hundreds of technologies for which were invented in the Muslim world and we are indebted to them for.
Prior to the industrial revolution, the engineering sector/field was primarily known as the mechanic arts and was mostly used for the purpose of manufacturing, construction, and military utilization but with the advent of mass production that came with the Industrial Revolution, the whole Engineering world was revolutionalized.
The actual Industrial Revolution was triggered with the invention of the very first steam engine and after which the actual term of an engineer as a profession came into existence in the early 18th century and was soon followed by the advent of specializations such as mechanical, civil, etc.
The earliest engineering disciples were that of Civil and Mechanical(which is considered to have originated from Great Britain) and were soon followed by Electrical, chemical, and aeronautics in the 19th centuries and the fields witness success and support from the governments and investors like never before as the countries competed among themselves to possess the most advanced of technologies and the two world wars gave them the further push.
In the 1990s we witnessed the advent of the first search engine giving birth to the Computer sciences engineering from which we eventually got Information technology and the rest is history.
The speed at which progress was made in the Post-Industrial Revolution aka the Modern age was incredibly swift and there are several reasons which can be credited for it.
The most incredible inventions we can credit to this age can be that of the automobile, aeronautics, power sources, the artificial intelligence, the modern computers and entertainment-based devices, communication devices such as the smartphone you use, the camera, the satellites, space programs, etc, for all of which we have none other than the razor-sharp engineer minds to thank for.
But the question we face now is, is this the limit? is this where it all ends, have we reached the peak of engineering development humanly possible?
Honestly, I don't think so. The truth is as we've seen throughout history, human needs are never satisfied and nor does his thirst to create an even more comfortable life.
So what does the future hold for the field of engineering and the engineer themselves?
Well, that's quite easy to answer. In my opinion, the opportunities are endless especially in some specific sectors/disciplines of engineering such as biomedical, robotics, artificial intelligence, etc
Engineers are the only minds who can actually figure out solutions to the modern crisis and problems we face such as global warming, climate change, and the environmental crisis. The engineers are the real superheroes upon whom rests the responsibility of preventing a possible extinction of life.
Similarly, the advancements made in the biomedical engineering sector have benefitted and changed the lives of millions for better and there is still plenty of possibilities out there to explore in it.
The search for cleaner and more sustainable power sources, less polluting materials, and complete automation of everyday life pieces of equipment are the major things to look forward to.
Considering all this the future of engineering looks brighter than ever and the only question left is, are the present engineers, willing to take up the responsibility, are they ready to do what is needed of them and are they willing to make a change?
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