Engineering is the discipline and profession that applies scientific theories, mathematical methods, and empirical evidence to design, create, and analyze technological solutions, balancing technical requirements with concerns or constraints on safety, human factors, physical limits, regulations, practicality, and cost, and often at an industrial scale. In the contemporary era, engineering is generally considered to consist of the major primary branches of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, materials engineering and mechanical engineering.Julie Thompson Klein, Robert Frodeman, Carl Mitcham. The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinary. Oxford University Press, 2010. (pp. 149–150) There are numerous other engineering sub-disciplines and interdisciplinary subjects that may or may not be grouped with these major engineering branches.
Biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes).
Subdiscipline Engineering scope Major specialties Bioinformatics Data science within the scope of digital tools to collect and analyze biomedical data, such as DNA Information engineering Computational biology Genomics Molecular modelling Systems analysis Database management Bioinstrumentation Electronics & Measurement within the scope of devices and tools that are used in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, often overlapping with biotechnology Neuroscience Biomechatronics Photonics Instrumentation Biosensors Medical devices Biomaterials Materials science related to interfacing materials with or within the body Ceramic engineering Polymer engineering Metalworking Biocompatibility Implant design Drug delivery Biomechanics Mechanical systems involving kinematics, material deformation, artificial organs, transport of chemical substances across biological membranes, and flow related to biological substances inside and outside the body Military engineering Sports engineering Rehabilitation engineering Ergonomics Prosthetics Fluid dynamics Accident reconstruction Biomolecular engineering Biological systems Genetic engineering Chemical engineering Molecular engineering Chemistry Synthetic biology Systems biology Nanotechnology Clinical engineering Healthcare systems within the scope of hospital-related functions, including data management, instruments, and monitoring systems Facilities engineering Radiation protection Project engineering Healthcare technology management Logistics Cybersecurity Medical imaging Visualization systems for biological systems, such as MRI, EEG, PET, and CT Image processing Computer vision Signal processing Medical physics 3D reconstruction Artificial intelligence Neural engineering Brain–computer interface related to recording and processing signals from brain activity for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, often with the goal of replacing/restoring lost sensorimotor abilities Neuromodulation Neuroprosthetics Cognitive engineering Signal processing Biosignal processing Neurochips Neurorobotics Pharmaceutical engineering Process architecture within the scope of pharmaceuticals and drug delivery Process engineering Project engineering Manufacturing Drug design Quality control Scalability Regenerative medicine Tissue systems Tissue engineering Cellular engineering Tissue culture 3D bioprinting Stem cell therapy
Chemical engineering Chemical engineering is the application of chemical, physical, and biological sciences to developing technological solutions from raw materials or chemicals.
Subdiscipline Engineering scope Major specialtiesElectrochemical engineeringLarge-scale electrosynthesis of chemicals, electrowinning and chemical energy storage Explosives engineeringMolecular engineering Chemical behavior and interactions at a molecular level Biomolecular engineering – for biological systems Genetic engineering – modification and manipulation of genes Process engineering Chemical processes at an industrial level
Civil engineering Civil engineering comprises the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and natural built environments.
Subdiscipline Engineering scope Major specialties Environmental engineering Applications of environmental scienceEcological engineering – design, monitoring, and construction of ecosystems Fire protection engineering – as applied to the outdoor environment and wildfires Natural resources engineering Sanitary engineering – separation and removal of community sewage; increasingly interdisciplinary as a branch of environmental engineering Geotechnical engineering The behavior of earth materials and soil and rock mechanics, often in preparation of a project siteGeoprofessionsMunicipal or urban engineeringThe coordination and management of municipal infrastructure networks Structural engineering Structures that support or resist structural loads. Architectural engineering – building design and construction Construction engineering – construction procedures and management Earthquake engineering – structures subject to seismic loading Ocean engineering – offshore structures Pavement engineering – road structures subject to dynamic loading Wind engineering – structures subject to wind effects Tropical cyclone engineering – hurricane-force winds and emergency preparedness Transport engineering Facilities and infrastructure for any form of transportation of people and cargoRailway engineering – rail transport Traffic engineering – roadways Bicycle transportation engineering – cycling infrastructure Highway engineering – major roadways Water resources engineering Technical application of hydrologyCoastal engineering – construction within the coastal zone, often directed at combating erosion and storm surges Hard and soft engineering of shorelines Groundwater engineering – modifying groundwater by withdrawing or adding fluids Hydraulic engineering – supply and drainage of fluids River engineering – modification of a river's course, flow, or other characteristics
Electrical engineering Electrical engineering comprises the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. Subdiscipline Engineering scope Major specialties Broadcast engineering Radio and television broadcastingRadio-frequency engineering – radio-band signal devices Computer engineering Electronic computing devices Algorithm engineering Computational engineering – computational engineering models (CEM) Cybersecurity engineering Data engineering – systems which collect and use vast amounts of data Hardware engineering – physical computer equipment Information engineering – generation, distribution, analysis, and use of information in systems Network engineering Software engineering – application of computer science to software Teletraffic engineering – transportation traffic theory applied to telecommunications Electronic engineering Low-power electrical circuits using of active components such as semiconductor devices Control engineering – regulation of automated systems through sensors and corrective feedback Electronics denotes a broad engineering field that covers subfields such as analog electronics, digital electronics, consumer electronics, embedded systems and power electronics. Electronics engineering deals with the implementation of applications, principles, and algorithms developed within many related fields, for example solid-state physics, radio engineering, telecommunications, control systems, signal processing, systems engineering, computer engineering, instrumentation engineering, electric power control, robotics, and many others Instrumentation engineering – automated measurements Signal processing – analysis, modifying and synthesizing electronic signals Telecommunications engineering – processing and transmitting information through wired or wireless communications Microwave engineering Devices operating at microwave frequencies Microwave imaging Radar engineering RF microwave engineering Optical engineering Technologies that utilize light Optoelectronics Optomechanics Photonics Power engineering Generation and distribution of electric power High voltage engineering, involves the understanding of electromagnetic phenomena of large voltages and currents (such as partial discharge), as applied to the holistic power system design and its components, such as transformers, electric motors, electric generators, switchgear, to create coordination and harmony Power plant engineering Power system design, the development of a specific solution to address a power need, such as a new substation, a new power line, power system protection and so on Power system operations and control, involves plant and system operation, where protocols for the safe and continuous operation of individual equipment, subsystems, power plants, or the whole power system are developed and applied Power system planning, involves the modelling of power systems to analyse the management of current and future electricity demand Protection and control, involves the design of power system protection, measurements, metering, telecommunications, and so on
Material engineering Materials engineering is the application of material science and engineering principles to understand the properties of materials. Material science emerged in the mid-20th century, grouping together fields which had previously been considered unrelated. Materials engineering is thus much more interdisciplinary than the other major engineering branches. Subdiscipline Engineering scope Major specialties Biomaterial Materials implanted in the body Ceramic engineering Inorganic, non-metallic materials Composite material engineering Composite materials, materials with two or more macroscopic phases Computational materials science The use of modeling, simulation, theory, and informatics to understand materialsElectronic structure – analysis of electron energies and spatial distribution Density functional theory – method of calculating material properties Molecular dynamics – simulation of atomic movements and resulting material changes Phase field models – continuum treatments of interfaces, properties and their evolution Corrosion engineering Management and measurement of corrosion Electronic materials Semiconductors and other electronic materials Forensic materials engineering Analysis of material evidence to identify materials, determine the cause of failure, or reconstruct a crime or accident Material characterisation Methods of investigating material structure and propertiesElectron diffraction Electron Microscopy Spectroscopy X-ray diffractionMetallurgical engineering Metals including alloys, typically excluding polymer or ceramicsMetal alloys – combinations of elements that results in a metal Metal working – industrial fabrication of metallic materials NanotechnologyNanoscale materials, dimensions less than 100 nmBiomedical nanoengineering – nanomedicine Electronic nanoengineering – nanoelectronics Instrumentation engineering – as applied to nanosensors Materials nanoengineering – nanomaterials Nanoengineering – application of nanotechnology to traditional engineering fields Polymer engineering Polymer materials Surface engineering Surfaces of solid materials Tribology – friction and wear of surfaces in relative motionWelding engineeringPermanent joining of metallic and non-metallic materials using heat, pressure, or both, with or without filler materials Fusion welding – arc welding, laser welding, electron beam welding Solid-state welding – friction welding, friction stir welding, diffusion bonding Resistance welding – spot, seam, projection welding Brazing and soldering – joining using filler metals below base material melting point