Genetic engineering, nanotechnology, astrophysics, particle physics: We live in an engineered world, one where the distinctions between science and engineering, technology and research, are fast disappearing. This book shows how, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the goals of natural scientists--to discover what was not known--and that of engineers--to create what did not exist--are undergoing an unprecedented convergence. Sunny Y. Auyang ranges widely in demonstrating that engineering today is not only a collaborator with science but its equal. In concise accounts of the emergence of industrial laboratories and chemical and electrical engineering, and in whirlwind histories of the machine tools and automobile industries and the rise of nuclear energy and information technology, her book presents a broad picture of modern engineering: its history, structure, technological achievements, and social responsibilities; its relation to natural science, business administration, and public policies. Auyang uses case studies such as the development of the F-117A Nighthawk and Boeing 777 aircraft, as well as the experiences of engineer-scientists such as Oliver Heaviside, engineer-entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford and Bill Gates, and engineer-managers such as Alfred Sloan and Jack Welch to give readers a clear sense of engineering's essential role in the future of scientific research. Table of Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2 . Technology Takes Off 2.1 From Practical Art to Technology 2.2 Construction Becomes Mathematical 2.3 Experimenting with Machines 2.4 Science and Chemical Industries 2.5 Power and Communication 3. Engineering for Information 3.1 From Microelectronics to Nanotechnology 3.2 Computer Hardware and Software 3.3 Wireless, Satellites, and the Internet 4. Engineering in Society 4.1 Social Ascent and Images of Engineers 4.2 Partnership in Research and Development 4.3 Contributions to Sectors of the Economy 5. Innovation by Design 5.1 Inventive Thinking in Negative Feedback 5.2 Design Processes in Systems Engineering 5.3 “Working Together� in Aircraft Development 5.4 From Onboard Computers to Door Hinges 6. Sciences of Useful Systems 6.1 Mathematics in Engineering and Science 6.2 Information and Control Theories 6.3 Wind Tunnels and Internet Simulation 6.4 Integrative Materials Engineering 6.5 Biological Engineering Frontiers 7. Leaders Who Are Engineers 7.1 Business Leaders in the Car Industry 7.2 Public Policies and Nuclear Power 7.3 Managing Technological Risks Appendix A. Statistical Profiles of Engineers Appendix B. U.S. Research and Development Notes Index I am impressed by the scope of Engineering - An Endless Frontier, and fascinated by Sunny Auyang's comprehensive knowledge of the subject. This is just the kind of book the National Academy of Engineering has been encouraging to promote the importance of engineering to the public. It will have a long shelf-life in that it pulls together material that is not readily accessible, and will serve as a reference for anyone interested in engineering as a profession. Engineering needs this book! --John Hutchinson, Harvard University Engineering - An Endless Frontier is extraordinary in scope. Sunny Auyang describes the different kinds of contemporary engineering practices and productions, attempts to provide historical background, explains the scientific basis for engineering innovation in different fields, and addresses the broad, systems level managerial, entrepreneurial, and design activities of professionals. It's rare to find a single author who can grasp and explain the essential features of modern technologies across such an array of industrial sectors and engineering disciplines and explain how they work, why they work they way they do, and what is required for their innovation, development and, yes, even maintenance. --Louis L. Bucciarelli, Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Technology Studies, MIT
Sunny Auyang tackles what she calls "the large pictures of the human mind," exploring the relevance of cognitive science findings to everyday mental life. Auyang proposes a model of an "open mind emerging from the self-organization of infrastructures," which she opposes to prevalent models that treat mind as a disembodied brain or computer, subject to the control of external agents such as neuroscientists and programmers.
This stimulating, uniquely organized, and wonderfully readable comparison of ancient Rome and China offers provocative insights to students and general readers of world history. The book's narrative is clear, completely jargon-free, strikingly independent, and addresses the complete cycles of two world empires. The topics explored include nation formation, state building, empire building, arts of government, strategies of superpowers, and decline and fall.
This stimulating, uniquely organized, and wonderfully readable comparison of ancient Rome and China offers provocative insights to students and general readers of world history. The book's narrative is clear, completely jargon-free, strikingly independent, and addresses the complete cycles of two world empires. The topics explored include nation formation, state building, empire building, arts of government, strategies of superpowers, and decline and fall.
Genetic engineering, nanotechnology, astrophysics, particle physics: We live in an engineered world, one where the distinctions between science and engineering, technology and research, are fast disappearing. This book shows how, at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the goals of natural scientists--to discover what was not known--and that of engineers--to create what did not exist--are undergoing an unprecedented convergence. Sunny Y. Auyang ranges widely in demonstrating that engineering today is not only a collaborator with science but its equal. In concise accounts of the emergence of industrial laboratories and chemical and electrical engineering, and in whirlwind histories of the machine tools and automobile industries and the rise of nuclear energy and information technology, her book presents a broad picture of modern engineering: its history, structure, technological achievements, and social responsibilities; its relation to natural science, business administration, and public policies. Auyang uses case studies such as the development of the F-117A Nighthawk and Boeing 777 aircraft, as well as the experiences of engineer-scientists such as Oliver Heaviside, engineer-entrepreneurs such as Henry Ford and Bill Gates, and engineer-managers such as Alfred Sloan and Jack Welch to give readers a clear sense of engineering's essential role in the future of scientific research. Table of Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2 . Technology Takes Off 2.1 From Practical Art to Technology 2.2 Construction Becomes Mathematical 2.3 Experimenting with Machines 2.4 Science and Chemical Industries 2.5 Power and Communication 3. Engineering for Information 3.1 From Microelectronics to Nanotechnology 3.2 Computer Hardware and Software 3.3 Wireless, Satellites, and the Internet 4. Engineering in Society 4.1 Social Ascent and Images of Engineers 4.2 Partnership in Research and Development 4.3 Contributions to Sectors of the Economy 5. Innovation by Design 5.1 Inventive Thinking in Negative Feedback 5.2 Design Processes in Systems Engineering 5.3 “Working Together� in Aircraft Development 5.4 From Onboard Computers to Door Hinges 6. Sciences of Useful Systems 6.1 Mathematics in Engineering and Science 6.2 Information and Control Theories 6.3 Wind Tunnels and Internet Simulation 6.4 Integrative Materials Engineering 6.5 Biological Engineering Frontiers 7. Leaders Who Are Engineers 7.1 Business Leaders in the Car Industry 7.2 Public Policies and Nuclear Power 7.3 Managing Technological Risks Appendix A. Statistical Profiles of Engineers Appendix B. U.S. Research and Development Notes Index I am impressed by the scope of Engineering - An Endless Frontier, and fascinated by Sunny Auyang's comprehensive knowledge of the subject. This is just the kind of book the National Academy of Engineering has been encouraging to promote the importance of engineering to the public. It will have a long shelf-life in that it pulls together material that is not readily accessible, and will serve as a reference for anyone interested in engineering as a profession. Engineering needs this book! --John Hutchinson, Harvard University Engineering - An Endless Frontier is extraordinary in scope. Sunny Auyang describes the different kinds of contemporary engineering practices and productions, attempts to provide historical background, explains the scientific basis for engineering innovation in different fields, and addresses the broad, systems level managerial, entrepreneurial, and design activities of professionals. It's rare to find a single author who can grasp and explain the essential features of modern technologies across such an array of industrial sectors and engineering disciplines and explain how they work, why they work they way they do, and what is required for their innovation, development and, yes, even maintenance. --Louis L. Bucciarelli, Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Technology Studies, MIT
How can we know the microscopic world without a measurement theory? What are the general conditions of the world that make possible such knowledge? What are the presuppositions of physical theories? This book includes an analysis of quantum field theory, and quantum mechanics and interacting systems are addressed in a unified framework.
Sunny Auyang tackles what she calls "the large pictures of the human mind," exploring the relevance of cognitive science findings to everyday mental life. Auyang proposes a model of an "open mind emerging from the self-organization of infrastructures," which she opposes to prevalent models that treat mind as a disembodied brain or computer, subject to the control of external agents such as neuroscientists and programmers. Although cognitive science has obtained abundant data on neural and computational processes, it barely explains such ordinary experiences as recognizing faces, feeling pain, or remembering the past. In this book Sunny Auyang tackles what she calls "the large pictures of the human mind," exploring the relevance of cognitive science findings to everyday mental life. Auyang proposes a model of an "open mind emerging from the self-organization of infrastructures," which she opposes to prevalent models that treat mind as a disembodied brain or computer, subject to the control of external agents such as neuroscientists and programmers. Her model consists of three parts: (1) the open mind of our conscious life; (2) mind's infrastructure, the unconscious processes studied by cognitive science; and (3) emergence, the relation between the open mind and its infrastructure. At the heart of Auyang's model is the mind that opens to the world and makes it intelligible. A person with an open mind feels, thinks, recognizes, believes, doubts, anticipates, fears, speaks, and listens, and is aware of I, together with it and thou. Cognitive scientists refer to the "binding problem," the question of how myriad unconscious processes combine into the unity of consciousness. Auyang approaches the problem from the other end—by starting with everyday experience rather than with the mental infrastructure. In so doing, she shows both how analyses of experiences can help to advance cognitive science and how cognitive science can help us to understand ourselves as autonomous subjects.
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