born.Electricity has severed two main functions in society:the transmission of power and of information.Those electrical engineers who specialize in power transmission design and build electric generators,transformers,electric motors,and other high-power equipment.Those who specialize in information transmission design and build radios,televisions,computers,antennae, instrumentation,controllers,and communications equipment. Electronic equipment can be analog (meaning the voltages and currents in device are continuous values)or digital(meaning only discrete voltages and currents can be attained by the device).As analog equipment is more susceptible to noise and interference than digital equipment,many electrical engineers specialize in digital circuits. Modern life is largely characterized by electronic equipment.Daily,we rely on many electronic devices-televisions,telephones,computers,calculators,and so on.In the future,the number and variety of these devices can only increase.The fact that electrical engineering is the largest discipline -comprising over 25%of all engineers -underscores the importance of electrical engineering in modern society. 1.5.4 Chemical Engineering By 1880,the chemical industry was becoming important in the U.S.economy.At that time,the chemical industry hired two types of technical persons:mechanical engineers and industrial chemists.The chemical engineer combined these two persons into one.The first chemical engineering degree was offered at the Massachusetts institute of Technology(MIT)in 1888. Chemical engineering is characterized by a concept called unit operations.A unit operation is an individual piece of process equipment (chemical reactor,heat exchanger,pump,compressor, distillation column).Just as electrical engineers assemble complex circuits from components parts(resistors,capacitors,inductors,batteries),chemical engineers assemble chemical plants by combining unit operations together. Chemical engineers process raw materials (petroleum,coal,ores,corn,trees)into refined products(gasoline,heating oil,plastics,and pharmaceuticals,paper).Biochemical engineering is a growing subdiscipline of chemical engineering.Biochemical engineers combine biological processes with traditional chemical engineering to produce food and pharmaceuticals and to treat wastes. 1.5.5 Industrial Engineering In the late 1800s,industries began to use "scientific management"techniques to improve efficiency.Early pioneers in this field did time-motion studies on workers to reduce the amount of labor required a product.Today,industrial engineers develop,design,install,and operate integrated systems of people,machinery,and information to produce either goods or services. Industrial engineers bridge engineering and management. Industrial engineers are famous for designing and operating assembly lines that optimally combine machinery and people.However,they can also optimize train or plane schedules, hospital operations,banks,or overweight package delivery services.Industrial engineers who specialize in human factors design products (e.g.,hand tools,airplane cockpits)with the human user in mind. 1.5.6 Aerospace Engineeringborn. Electricity has severed two main functions in society: the transmission of power and of information. Those electrical engineers who specialize in power transmission design and build electric generators, transformers, electric motors, and other high-power equipment. Those who specialize in information transmission design and build radios, televisions, computers, antennae, instrumentation, controllers, and communications equipment. Electronic equipment can be analog (meaning the voltages and currents in device are continuous values) or digital (meaning only discrete voltages and currents can be attained by the device). As analog equipment is more susceptible to noise and interference than digital equipment, many electrical engineers specialize in digital circuits. Modern life is largely characterized by electronic equipment. Daily, we rely on many electronic devices—televisions, telephones, computers, calculators, and so on. In the future, the number and variety of these devices can only increase. The fact that electrical engineering is the largest discipline — comprising over 25% of all engineers — underscores the importance of electrical engineering in modern society. 1.5.4 Chemical Engineering By 1880, the chemical industry was becoming important in the U.S. economy. At that time, the chemical industry hired two types of technical persons: mechanical engineers and industrial chemists. The chemical engineer combined these two persons into one. The first chemical engineering degree was offered at the Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT) in 1888. Chemical engineering is characterized by a concept called unit operations. A unit operation is an individual piece of process equipment (chemical reactor, heat exchanger, pump, compressor, distillation column). Just as electrical engineers assemble complex circuits from components parts (resistors, capacitors, inductors, batteries), chemical engineers assemble chemical plants by combining unit operations together. Chemical engineers process raw materials (petroleum, coal, ores, corn, trees) into refined products (gasoline, heating oil, plastics, and pharmaceuticals, paper). Biochemical engineering is a growing subdiscipline of chemical engineering. Biochemical engineers combine biological processes with traditional chemical engineering to produce food and pharmaceuticals and to treat wastes. 1.5.5 Industrial Engineering In the late 1800s, industries began to use “scientific management” techniques to improve efficiency. Early pioneers in this field did time-motion studies on workers to reduce the amount of labor required a product. Today, industrial engineers develop, design, install, and operate integrated systems of people, machinery, and information to produce either goods or services. Industrial engineers bridge engineering and management. Industrial engineers are famous for designing and operating assembly lines that optimally combine machinery and people. However, they can also optimize train or plane schedules, hospital operations, banks, or overweight package delivery services. Industrial engineers who specialize in human factors design products (e.g., hand tools, airplane cockpits) with the human user in mind. 1.5.6 Aerospace Engineering