Engineering Challenge for Sustainable World

Jung Uck SeoOctober 7, 2010Tainan, Taiwan

Lecture at the National Cheng Kung University

What is Engineering?

The profession in which a knowledge of the

mathematical and natural sciences gained by study,

experience, and practice is applied with judgment to

develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and

forces of nature for the benefit of mankind.

Engineering is a profession like medicine, law, etc. that

aspires to high standards of conduct and recognizes its

responsibility to the general public.

What is an engineer?

• Engineers use their imagination and analytical skills to invent, design, and build things that matter.

• They are team players with independent minds who ask, “How can we develop a better recycling system to protect the environment, design a school that can withstand an earthquake, or create cutting-edge special effects for the movies?”

• By dreaming up creative and practical solutions, engineers are changing the world all the time.

Science, Engineering, and Technology Scientist - Like an engineer, but a primary goal is the expansion

of knowledge and understanding physical processes. Engineer - Applies knowledge of math and the physical

sciences to the efficient design and construction of usable devices, structures and processes.

Technologist - Technologists focus on direct application of established engineering principles and processes. Math, the physical sciences, and underlying engineering theory receive limited coverage. More interested in hardware and processes.

Technician - Completes a 2-year degree in a narrow technical area such as electronics, drafting, or machining.

Artisans - Training may be a combination of schooling and work experience. Examples include, welders, machinists, electricians, carpenters, painters, steel workers, and artists.

Engineering Disciplines Aerospace Engineering Agricultural Engineering Biomedical Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil - Environmental, Ocean Engineering Computer Science and Computer Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution Industrial Engineering Mechanical Engineering Nuclear and Radiological Health Safety Engineering Petroleum Engineering…..

Engineering Functions Research - explore, discover and apply new principles Development - transform ideas or concepts into production processes Design - link the generation of ideas and the production Production and testing - manufacture and assemble components or

products Sales - market engineering products Operations - maintain equipment and facilities Construction - organizes bids, supervises certain components of

process Management - optimize the use of resources (equipment, labor,

finances) Education and training - teach engineering principles in university and

industrial settings Consulting - provide engineering services by alone or with other

engineers.

Employers and Career Paths for Engineers

Employers: Industry, Self, Education, NGO, Govt., Military, Others Career Paths:1) Corporate ladder2) Independent entrepreneur3) Military or government4) Engineering and social service aboard5) Professor/engineer6) Graduate work outside engineering7) A mix of above

Engineering as a ProfessionEngineering possesses those attributes that typicallycharacterize a profession: Satisfies an indispensable and beneficial need. Requires the exercise of discretion and judgment and

is not subject to standardization. Involves activities that require knowledge and skill not

commonly possessed by the general public. Has group consciousness for the promotion of

knowledge and professional ideas and for rendering social services.

Has a legal status and requires well-formulated standards of admission.

Systems Engineering• An interdisciplinary field of engineering focused on

how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed.

• Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more difficult when dealing with large, complex projects.

• Systems engineering deals with work-processes and tools to handle such projects, and it overlaps with both technical and human-centered disciplines such as control engineering, industrial engineering, organizational studies, and project management.

Electrification, Automobile, Airplane, Water Supply and Distribution, Electronics, Radio and Television, Agricultural Mechanization, Computers, Telephone, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Highways, Spacecraft, Internet, Imaging, Household Appliances, Health Technologies, Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies, Laser and Fiber Optics, Nuclear Technologies, High-performance Materials

Grand Challenges for EngineeringGrand Challenges for Engineering

What we do mean by Global Problematique?

The interconnected and interacting issues of all types which affect the becoming of life in the global ecosystem

The uncontrollable and interacting circumstances of all types, which constrain the timely and effective resolution of these issues.

The Club of Rome introduced the phrase “World Problematique” in 1960s. It has been used by many persons who deal with the set of issues combining into a threat to our common future. It is the entire framework of life on Earth and its contents as such:

(1) What we, humans, traditionally call Nature, or the environment, considered as everything alive or not (air, land water and minerals), and see commonly as external to human society.

(2) Contrary to the most common attitude, the global ecosystem includes our species. Homo sapiens is not external to its natural context but definitely inside of it and utterly depends on it for its existence. We are now the form of life that impacts most severely on the rest of the ecosystem. It is therefore logically incorrect, when addressing the problematique, mentally to isolate our species from its natural context.

Is World Sustainable?

• The Club of Rome• Brundtland Report• UNEP• MDG• One Planet Many People• Role of Engineering• Role of Systems Engineering• A New Path for World Development

New Challenges for Engineering• Complexity…through adopting a systems approach• Uncertainty…when decision-making in the absence of

complete information;• Change…by challenging orthodoxy and envisioning the

future;• People…through consultation processes and negotiation

to meet society’s and individual’s needs;• Limits to growth…through seeking efficient resource use,

ensuring pollution control and maintaining ecosystem services;

• Whole-life costs…by considering environmental and social externalities and embracing life-cycle management;

• Tradeoffs…by providing optimization around a single variable to create solutions acceptable for all; and

• New leadership…through building multidisciplinary / multiculture teams like symphonies.

Systems WorldThe world around us can be looked at in a variety

of ways. One way is to see the world as made up

from many interacting systems: weather, societal,

economic, ecological, floral, faun-al, tectonic

plate, oceanic, and so on.

This is very much a connected view of the world:

nothing is isolated and totally independent;

everything is part of something bigger, and

everything comprises many interacting parts – subsystems.

Global Crisis

Crisis ( 危機 ) = 危脅 + 機會

危脅 : Threat Global Community

機會 : Opportunity Engineering

Crisis = Threat + OpportunityCrisis = Threat + Opportunity

Global Crisis

Crisis 危機 危機 = 危脅 ( Threat)+ 機會

(Opportunity)

Global Issues The present path of world development is generatingimbalances, vulnerabilities, inequities, exclusion andpolarization which constitute clear threats to theprospects of both present and future generations. The Program draws on the independent, multicultural andinterdisciplinary membership of the Club to clarify the keyelements of a new path for world development. It will propose new lines of thinking and action which areurgently needed to: avert the risks and consequences ofcatastrophic climate change; reduce the devastatingimpacts of human activities on ecosystems andenvironment and the overuse of the biological andphysical resources of the planet; achieve more fairness inthe distribution of vital resources and opportunities andof the costs and benefits of globalization;

Global Issues - cont Accelerate global efforts to eradicate poverty anddeprivation of a growing world population; Adapt and reform the structure of international institutions to address the integrated problems of a world in rapid transformation; and broadly, to achieve equitable and sustainable world development and thus preserveinternational security and world peace.In order to manage the complexity of such an extensive“problematique”, the program strategy focusessuccessively on five clusters of interconnected issueswhile recognizing the linkages between the clusters. In each case, a small expert conference develops proposals for action and identifies issues for in-depth analysis through internet-based, international research networks. The five clusters are:

The Five Clusters1. 1. Environment and ResourcesEnvironment and Resources: Climate Change, : Climate Change,

Energy Security, Ecosystems and Water.Energy Security, Ecosystems and Water.2. 2. GlobalizationGlobalization: Distribution of Wealth and Income, : Distribution of Wealth and Income,

Employment, Economic Restructuring, Trade and Employment, Economic Restructuring, Trade and Finance.Finance.

3. 3. International DevelopmentInternational Development: Demographic Growth, : Demographic Growth, Environmental Stress, Poverty, Food Production,Environmental Stress, Poverty, Food Production,

4. 4. Social TransformationSocial Transformation: Health and Employment, : Health and Employment, Social Change, Values, Culture, Identity and Social Change, Values, Culture, Identity and Behavior.Behavior.

5. 5. Peace and SecurityPeace and Security: Justice, Democracy, : Justice, Democracy, Governance, Solidarity, Security and Peace.Governance, Solidarity, Security and Peace.

Reminding Points

• Systems engineering denotes different things to different people

• Social & Human factors are critical to the birth of visionary systems engineering and engineers

• Systems engineering and engineers are critical to mission and programmatic success

• Continuously Improving systems engineering capability is a challenging and important task for the Military services, Government agencies, and Industries

Systems Engineering on Global Citizenship• Systems Engineering fosters key interdisciplinary

research and development on corporate citizenship and provides a framework for further academic debate on corporate responsibility in a global society.

• This provides a unique forum to discuss the consequences of the social and political mandate of business firms and examines the implications of these consequences for the theory of the firm.

• Systems Engineering should collaborate with various disciplines such as management studies, economics, sociology, legal studies and political science to evaluate the concept of corporate citizenship and to analyze the role of private business in global governance and the production of global goods.

Aerospace Bio / Biomedical Chemical Civil ComputerElectrical / Electronic Environmental Industrial / Manufac. Materials Mechanical, .….Systems….. Others

Instruments

1. First Violins

2. Second Violins

3. Violas

4. Cellos

5. Double Basses

6. Flutes

7. Oboes

8. Clarinets

9. Bassoons

10. Horns

11. Trumpets

12. Trombones

12. Tuba

13. Timpani

13. Other Percussion Instruments

14. Harp …..

Good Engineers are like Maestros

The ConductorThe most important person in an orchestra is conductor. He, or she does not play an instrument at all. The conductor's job, at its most basic level, is to indicate the beat of the music. Most conductors use a long stick, called a baton, to make the beat as clear as possible.

The conductor moves the baton towards several imaginary 'points' which indicate which beat in the bar the orchestra is currently playing.

The conductor is also responsible for the preparation and rehearsal of the orchestra, and for making interpretative decisions - such as whether a certain passage should be slow, fast, soft, loud, smooth, aggressive, and so on. A conductor communicates these decisions both verbally (in rehearsal) and during the performance using different movements, gestures, and facial expressions.

Interdisciplinary Engineering Fields

Are you an artist, musician, or athlete? Wouldn’t it be great tobe able to combine your talent and passion with a career? There are plenty of traditional, nontraditional, andinterdisciplinary fields of engineering. They might just matchup with your interests, whether they involve design,architecture, law, business, geography, psychology, oreducation. As an acoustical engineer, you might develop a state-of-theart sound studio, or as a sports engineer you might createequipment that tests the performance of athletes. You might also work in “human factors engineering,” afascinating field that takes human behavior and psychologyinto account in developing products and systems.

Systems Engineering: an Art and a Science

We can compare systems engineering to an orchestra and its ability to perform a symphony. Most people understand what music is, but not everyone can play an instrument. Each instrument requires a different level of expertise and skill. Some musicians spend their entire careers mastering a single instrument, which is good because each one needs to be played well. But sophisticated music involves many different instruments played in unison. Depending on how well they come together, they may produce beautiful music or a terrible cacophony.

A Symphony is a SystemMusicians practice the science of music, and follow the process oftranslating notes on a page to play their instruments. The maestro,lead them to connect the process of playing to the art of creatinggreat music. Maestros do a lot more than just keep time. They:• are born with the insight into musical instruments and musicians beyond pitch, rhythm, dynamics, etc. • are necessary when the orchestra reaches a certain size and complexity• have typically mastered one or more musical instruments• may be composers• select and shape the music that an orchestra plays• interpret a composer’s music in light of the audience• strive to maintain the integrity of the composer’s intentions• organize and lead the musicians• are responsible for the success of the performance

Maestros and Systems EngineersThey know what the music should sound like (the look and function of a design), and

lead a team in achieving the desired sound (the system requirements).

Systems engineers know the fundamentals of mathematics, physics, and other

pertinent sciences, as well as the capabilities of various people and disciplines:

• master a technical discipline and practice multiple disciplines

• understand the end game and overall objectives of the endeavor

• create a vision and approach for attaining the objectives

• are architects or designers

• select / shape the technical issues to be addressed by multidisciplinary teams

• interpret / communicate objectives, requirements, system architecture, and design

• responsible for the design’s technical integrity

• organize / lead multicultural/multidisciplinary teams

• responsible for the successful delivery of a complex product or service

The similarities between maestros and systems engineers describe the latter’s

desired behavioral characteristics and capabilities.

Systems Engineers pay particular attention to verification and validation

Verification answers the question: “Did we build our system right?”

If yes, it proves our product meets the requirements. Practice the hard-earned lesson,

Validation answers the question: “Did we build the right system?”

If yes, it is supposed to do, which often goes well beyond just meeting requirements.

Test like you fly, fly like you test !

Global Ecosystem

The global ecosystem is the entire framework of life on Earth and itscontents.

First, it contains what we, humans, traditionally call Nature, or the environment, considered as everything alive or not (air, land water and minerals), and see commonly as external to human society.

Second, and contrary to the most common attitude, the global ecosystemincludes our species: Homo sapiens is not external to its natural context,but definitely inside of it and utterly depends on it for its existence. Weare now the form of life that impacts most severely on the rest of theecosystem. It is therefore logically incorrect, when addressing theglobal problematique, mentally to isolate our species from its natural context.

Moving towards Sustainable Development

ECO-CENTRIC CONCERNSECO-CENTRIC CONCERNS: Natural resources and ecological capacityTECHNO-CENTRIC CONCERNSTECHNO-CENTRIC CONCERNS: Techno-economic systems SOCIO-CENTRIC CONCERNSSOCIO-CENTRIC CONCERNS: Human capital and social expectations