Engineering disciplines offered at the University of New Brunswick - Term Paper Example

Engineering disciplines offered at the of New Brunswick Engineering disciplines offered at the of New Brunswick Conventionally, Engineering has been described as a professional discipline which uses scientific theories to create technological solutions relevant to society advancement. Unlike, contemporary era engineering practice which confined itself to the basic categories including chemical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering, modern day engineering categories are diverse.

The diverse disciplines are sub-disciplines and inter-disciplines derived from concentrating, combining, or extending the contemporary engineering categories. Like other leading university across the globe, the University of New Brunswick offers myriad engineering courses. These include chemical engineering, civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, Software Engineering, Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering, Geological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Forest Engineering (University of New Brunswick, 2013).

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering primarily focuses on conversion of raw materials into more refined and usable forms in day to day human activities. It offers students an opportunity to develop skills necessary for application of chemistry, mathematics and physics knowledge for purposes of raw material’s conversion. Amongst the areas covered in chemical engineering are atomic science, study of polymers, paper chemistry, drug’s study, fertilizer production, petro-chemical processes, and dye production, among others.

In general, chemical engineers focus on conversion of matter from one form to another. In the recent past, this engineering discipline has shown as shift towards establishment of sustainability criteria guidance tools. Several inspiriting philosophies have been incorporated into chemical engineering including Natural Step, Cradle to Cradle, Getting to Zero Waste, bio-mimicry, Resilience Engineering, Ecological Design, Green Chemistry, Inherently Safer Design, as well as Self-Assembly (American Society for Engineering Education, 2010).

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is amongst the big engineering disciplines which take a huge chunk of engineering graduates. In basically deals with design, construction, as well as maintenance of physical/natural built environment. Its areas of coverage include works on roads, bridges, canals, dams, and general buildings. Traditionally, it covers and extensive range of engineering disciplines. As a result, civil engineering students cover extensive topics including geotechnical studies, environmental engineering aspects, geophysics, control and instrumentation, transport, and water resources to mention but a few (American Society for Engineering Education, 2010).

Today, it remains at the forefront of global advancement as huge infrastructural projects are initiated across the globe. Among the emerging trends in the area include the modern transportations systems and of course, modern buildings design and construction. Computer Engineering Computer engineering is amongst the most modern forms of engineering. Today, this engineering discipline plays a central role in society’s advancement. It is believed to incorporate computer science and electrical engineering.

Engineers in this discipline receive training in electronic engineering, software design as well as hardware-software integration with respect to computer applications. Amongst the areas covered in this discipline include the study of micro-processors, small computers, as well as super-computers. As the world computer crazy and almost everyone own some form of computing device, computer engineers are finding themselves having to play a central role in modern-day advancement. Amongst the recent advances in the field include the emergence of smart phones, and tablets.

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is ranked amongst the oldest engineering disciplines. The study generally revolves around electrical, electronic, and electromagnetic applications. However, it covers a huge scope of applications including digital computing, power engineering, RF engineering, telecommunications, as well as signal processing, among others. Like other engineering disciplines, it has not been spared of modern day advances. Rather, it has grown to encompass broader aspects of modern-day engineering with some of the latest trends being development of smart grids.

Forest Engineering Forest engineering is amongst the many engineering courses at the University of Brunswick and is mainly focused on management, conservation and redevelopment of forests and associated resources. Forest engineers not only measure but also model forest growths based on geographical information systems (GIS) and make relevant recommendations (American Society for Engineering Education, 2010). Emerging trends in this field revolve around forest conservation and understanding of the new techniques which foster both industrialization and conservation.

Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering This is probably one of the most recent engineering disciplines. It is one of the areas where the University of Brunswick has done itself proud across the globe. This rapidly developing engineering discipline focuses on application of spatial information. In general, these branches of engineers apply other engineering principles to available spatial information and hence implement relational information structures which involve measurement sciences. Generally, it qualifies to be referred to as spatial information engineering (Blockley, 2012).

Engineering students in this field are destined to manage both local and global spatial information infrastructures. Amongst the recent advances in the field include Google earth and other GPS systems. Geological Engineering Geological engineering is amongst the less common engineering disciplines. It is multi-disciplinary and brings aboard geoscience principles in solution of engineering and environmental challenges. The discipline incorporates geology, civil engineering, as well as other engineering fields to offer flexible skill sets applicable in solution of an extensive range of modern-day problems such as mining (Blockley, 2012).

Major advances in the recent past include geotechnical site investigation rock, and soil varieties, environmental site characterization, hydrogeology, as well as groundwater studies. Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is also amongst the oldest engineering disciplines. It combines physics with engineering to come up with solutions to problems. Its areas of coverage range from machine design, analysis and development to management of industrial systems (Robinson, Sparrow, Clegg, & Birdi, 2005).

Most of mechanical engineers work in industries and manufacturing facilities. The recent advances in mechanical engineering revolve around advancement of robotics and their application to day to day life. Software Engineering This is a recent form of engineering and basically revolves around software development. It involves training of engineers to not only design but also manage software-based applications for the betterment of conventional systems. Today, software engines are so many in responses to the ever-growing demand for software.

The recent advances in this field primarily revolve around development of apps for computer-based systems including smartphones, tablets and PC’s. Chemical engineering is however my preferred disciplines. This choice is motivated by its multi-faceted nature with the advantage of not only handling what other engineering disciplines have to offer but going a step further and learning the processes which can be used in conversion of matter from one form to another. References American Society for Engineering Education (2010).

Engineering education. Washington DC: American Society for Engineering Education, p. 467. Blockley, D. (2012). Engineering: a very short introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. Dorf, Richard, ed. (2005). The Engineering Handbook (2 ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Robinson, M. A., Sparrow, P. R., Clegg, C., & Birdi, K. (2005). Design engineering competencies: Future requirements and predicted changes in the forthcoming decade. Design Studies, 26(2), 123–153. University of New Brunswick. (2013).

Engineering your future. Retrieved from http://www.unb.ca/saintjohn/sase/undergrad/engineering/