Civil Engineering Profession (2)

The word engineer is used in two ways in English. One usage refers to the professional engineer who has a university degree and an education in mathematics, science, and one of the engineering specialities. Engineer, however, is also used to refer to a person who operates or maintains an engine or machine. An excellent example is the railroad locomotive engineer who operates a train. Engineers in this sense are essentially technicians rather than professional engineers.

 

Engineers must be willing to undergo a continual process of education and be able to work in other disciplines. They must also adapt themselves to two requirements of all engineering projects. First, the systems that engineers produce must be workable not only from a technical but also from an economic point of view. This means that engineers must co-operate with management and government officials who are very cost-conscious. Therefore, engineers must accommodate their ideals to the financial realities of a project. Second, the public in general has become much more aware, especially in the last ten years or so, of the social and environmental consequences of engineering projects. For much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the attitude of the public could be summed up by the phrase, "Science is good". The most visible part of science was the engineering work. No one can avoid seeing the great dams, the bridges, the skyscrapers, and the highways that have created an impressive, engineered environment around us.

 

Nowadays, however, the public is more conscious of the hidden or delayed hazards in new products, processes, and many other aspects of civil engineering systems. For instance, new highways in the United States are no longer approved routinely; instead, highways and other similar projects must now undergo environmental impact studies to assess the project's effect on air pollution and other environmental concerns. A recent news story which reported that the Egyptian government now permits public criticism of the Aswan High Dam underlines this concern. The Aswan Dam is one of the engineering wonders of modern times, but several undesirable effects have been noted. The dam has, for instance, blocked the flow of silt down the Nile, so that the fertility of the land below the dam has decreased. Nutrients that were once carried down the river have been held back by the dam, and consequently schools of fish that once thrived around the Nile Delta have gone elsewhere. Still another reported effect of the dam has been the increase of the salinity of the soil which is irrigated by the water behind the dam. These and other problems might have been prevented by more thorough studies before construction was undertaken.

 

In other words, engineers do not work in a scientific vacuum. They must consider the social consequences of their work. Engineering is described here as a profession that makes practical application of the findings of theoretical science. Successful engineers must make sure that the work is also desirable and safe for society.

 

Words and phrases to be remembered:

a university degree – університетська ступень

engine – двигун

government official - держслужбовець

cost-conscious – чутливий до витрат, цін

accommodate – прилаштовувати

environmental consequences – екологічні наслідки

delayed hazard – довгостроковий/а риск, небезпека

environmental impact studies - вивчення екологічного впливу

to assess the project's effect – оцінювати вплив проекту

salinity of soil – солоність (мінералізація) ґрунту

air pollution – забруднення повітря

the flow of silt – потік мулу

fertility – родючість; плодючість

n utrient – живильна речовина

 

1. Make up infinitive phrases using the texts:

1. to distinguish 2. to meet 3. to assess 4. to undergo 5. to deal with

a. the project's effect on air pollution b. the design and construction of objects c.military engineering d. new challenges e. a continual process of education

 

2. Choose the correct questions to the italicized words:

1. In the nineteenth century engineers generally were craftsmen or 

project organizers.

a. When were engineers craftsmen?

b. Were engineers generally craftsmen?

c. Who were generally craftsmen?

2. Engineers must accommodate their ideals to the financial realities of a project.

a. What must engineers accommodate to the realities of the project?

b. To what kind of realities must engineers accommodate their ideals?

c. What must engineers accommodate their ideals to?

3. A railroad locomotive engineer is a technician who operates a

train.

a. Who operates a train?

b. What engineer operates a train?

c. What is a locomotive engineer?

4. Now the public is more conscious of the hidden or delayed

hazards in civil engineering systems.

a. Who is more conscious of the hidden hazards in civil engineering systems?

  b. What hazards is the public more conscious of?

c. Is public more conscious of the hidden hazards in civil engineering systems now?

5. The Aswan Dam is one of the engineering wonders of modern

times.       

a. What is the engineering wonder of modern times?

b. What is Aswan Dam?    

c. Is the Aswan Dam one of the engineering wonders?

      

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