A guide to the everyday working world of engineers, written by researchers trained in both engineering and sociology. Everyday Engineering was written to help future engineers understand what they are going to be doing in their everyday working lives, so that they can do their work more effectively and with a broader social vision. It will also give sociologists deeper insights into the sociotechnical world of engineering. The book consists of ethnographic studies in which the authors, all trained in both engineering and sociology, go into the field as participant-observers. The sites and types of engineering explored include mechanical design in manufacturing industries, instrument design, software debugging, environmental management within companies, and the implementation of a system for separating household waste. The book is organized in three parts. The first part introduces the complexity of technical practices. The second part enters the social and cultural worlds of designers to grasp their practices and motivations. The third part examines the role of writing practices and graphical representation. The epilogue uses the case studies to raise a series of questions about how objects can be taken into account in sociological analyses of human organizations.

Articles previously published in Science scope.

"This book is not as much about answers as it is about questions. It is not intended to be a guide to the built world around us, but a spur to encourage us all simply to be more inquisitive. The first half of the book shows the struggle that goes into making ubiquitous objects do their jobs and the triumph that engineers experience when the objects succeed, and it tries to reveal some of the thought processes behind their work. In the second half of the book, stories unfold. In these stories, pieces of engineering and design are deployed in the world to carry out their useful functions, beyond the protective reach of the people who created them." -foreword.

This book provides an invaluable reference of materials engineering written for a broad audience in an engaging, effective way. Several stories explain how perseverance and organized research helps to discover new processes for making important materials and how new materials with unmatched properties are theoretically conceived, tested in the laboratory, mass produced and deployed for the benefit of all. This book provides a welcome introduction to how advances are made in the world of materials that sustain and define our contemporary standard of living. Suitable for trained materials scientists and the educated layman with an appreciation of engineering, the book will be especially appealing to the young materials engineer, for whom it will serve as a long-term reference due to its clear and rigorous illustration of the field's essential features.

A guide to the everyday working world of engineers, written by researchers trained in both engineering and sociology.

What makes a windup toy get up and go? How does an earbud operate? And why does the line you’re waiting in always seem the slowest? Get middle-schoolers engaged in the fascinating science behind familiar items with More Everyday Engineering. Like Everyday Engineering, this compilation brings together activities based on the “Everyday Engineering” columns from NSTA’s award-winning journal Science Scope. Thirteen hands-on investigations focus on three aspects of engineering: designing and building, reverse engineering to learn how something works, and constructing and testing models. Like the original collection, this book is easy to use. Each investigation is a complete lesson that includes in-depth teacher background information, expected sample data, a materials list, and a student activity sheet for recording results. The activities use simple, inexpensive materials you can find in your science classroom or at a dollar store. Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or enrichment-program leader, go beyond the usual bridge-building and egg-drop activities. Spark curiosity with appealing activities that will help middle schoolers understand that engineering truly is a part of their everyday lives.