Engineering

Mechanical engineers use mechanics and energy principles to design machines such as engines and motors. Many mechanical engineers work in the areas of air-conditioning and refrigeration, automotives, manufacturing, welding, and robotics. They designed the robotically controlled braces that people with disabilities use to walk.

Chemical engineering involves the processing and treating of liquids and gases. For example, some chemical engineers are studying ways to desalinate seawater—stripping it of salt to make the water safe to drink. Many chemical engineers work with petroleum and plastics, although both of these are the subject of independent disciplines. The term "environmental engineering" also applies to certain areas of chemical engineering, such as pollution control.

Working alongside architects, architectural engineers focus on the safety, cost, and construction methods of designing a building. For example, as the US population grows in the Southwest, more and more architectural engineers are investigating new ways to build on land where there is only sand and sagebrush.

Aerospace engineers design and develop technology for commercial aviation, the national defense, and space exploration. In 1990, aerospace engineers helped launch the Hubble Space Telescope, an orbiting instrument that allows us to see 10 times farther than we have ever seen before.

Careers in engineering span the alphabet. From aerospace to manufacturing to transportation engineering, no other career field offers young men and women such a wide choice of options.