The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has a vision to improve the world through engineering. With the institution having reached the landmark achievement of 100,000 members in more than 120 countries, now is a great time to explore the vision and consider what mechanical engineering is and what it means to be a mechanical engineering professional today.
In support of this, this month the institution will be unveiling a new campaign, Improving the World Through Engineering: Our Vision. It sets out to show how our members are helping to redefine what mechanical engineering is, and, through their work in some of the most innovative and dynamic industries, are genuinely changing and benefiting global society.
As institution chief executive Stephen Tetlow observes in his Analysis on page 10, the task of defining mechanical engineering is not an easy one because of the sheer range of technologies, products and services which thousands of professionals design and produce. The task is further complicated by the erosion of the boundaries between engineering and diverse disciplines, with the result that mechanical engineers play a role in almost every industry.
The campaign’s central hypothesis is that mechanical engineering is not what you think. It illustrates this theme with a series of case studies, many of which feature fellows of the institution working in what some may regard as surprising sectors for engineers. The opening pages consider the IMechE fellows who ensure you can enjoy your favourite Mars bar, or who work with surgeons to design long-lasting hip and knee replacements. Also covered are the British visionaries who are leading a new industrial revolution in additive manufacturing: creating products as if grown by nature, and rewriting engineering principles in the process.
Among the features in the campaign are case studies of IMechE fellows Paul Sadler and Chris Brockley-Blatt. Sadler is the engineer for theatre and opera who has brought to life sets for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne, while Brockley-Blatt is a satellite engineer. Also featured are the contributions to the London 2012 Olympic Games by Loughborough University’s Sports Technology Institute and Atkins Global.
Another case study looks at the novel approaches, in a world increasingly dominated by information and computation, that are enabling efficient human and machine collaborative relationships for such vital activities as co-ordinated responses to disasters.
What insights about the breadth and diversity of modern mechanical engineering can these case studies in the campaign book offer? Mechanical engineering is all about taking science and using it to produce things. It’s about translating theoretical research into practical applications for use by society. Mechanical engineers’ discoveries, creations and developments of technology laid the foundations for modern life as we know it. Today, engineers design, maintain, repair and operate everything we need in our daily lives, and in the future they will deliver the solutions to sustain and protect society’s existence.
Humans have always sought to improve the way they live. Today, mechanical engineering helps make people healthier, more comfortable, safer and richer. We live in a world shaped by engineering. Engineers contribute significantly to global wealth creation. Thanks to mechanical engineers many of us enjoy better healthcare, greater life expectancy and a good quality of life. We can get to school or work every day, and travel for business or holidays. We are better fed, better clothed and better housed.
In the developing world, engineers are bringing safe water sources to communities and designing devices to end preventable infant mortality. Satellites designed by British engineers can offer warnings of potential natural disasters and, as in the case of the tsunami in Japan, can be programmed to provide data about the worst-affected areas – helping rescuers to save lives.
Every giant technological leap forward has been achieved thanks to mechanical engineers. From smart phones to goal-line technology, from artificial hearts to spacecraft, and from air-capture devices addressing carbon emissions to mapping the human genome, engineers are at the forefront of ground-breaking innovations. Such advances offer unprecedented opportunities to further human understanding and enable society to become ever more sophisticated in its capabilities, and adventurous in its possibilities.
We live in an increasingly populated world. The population explosion, the over-consumption of resources, and climate change have combined to threaten the long-term survival of society. Engineers can offer the technological solutions that will reduce our impact on the environment, husband our natural resources in a sustainable manner, and ensure that we have enough energy to cope with the demand and population growth to keep the lights on around the world.
Engineers will be vital to shaping society to sustain us for the future: updating and enhancing our infrastructure in a planned way encompassing energy, transport, housing, town planning and land use. These big issues affect the whole world, and engineers will be at the heart of the matter, providing the expertise, knowledge and advice to help governments to come to a consensus to implement solutions.
Dan Johns, a world expert in additive manufacturing, currently working on the Bloodhound SSC project, is featured in the book. He says: “Additive manufacturing offers true freedom of design to alter the mechanical behaviour of things and design them from the inside out. Design and manufacture will truly emulate nature, where nothing is straight or square, material is only placed where it is needed and systems are smart and fully integrated. In this renaissance, engineers will be artists and visionaries to match the genius of Leonardo da Vinci.”