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In the 1700s,
Benjamin Franklin, Alessandro Volta, Luigi Galvani, and
other early thinkers sought to understand the nature of an
unseen, unnamed energy. Their test materials consisted of
such things as kites, frogs' legs, zinc, and salt water. But
their findings allowed pioneers in the 18OOs--Ampere,
Faraday, Ohm, and Oersted--to discover the electrical
properties known as charge, resistance, potential, and
current, and the dynamics among them.
Within the next
hundred years, Charles Wheatstone and Samuel F. B. Morse had
developed electrical communication, resulting in networks of
telegraph lines over land and under the sea. The telephone
was beginning to transform the concept of communication
within cities, while Edison's incandescent light shone in
factories, stores, schools, and homes. In 1904 John Ambrose
Fleming's diode tube harnessed the electron in a
revolutionary way. Electronics was born.
As the heirs to
Faraday's and Flemings work, today's electrical,
electronics, and computer engineers, technologists, and
technicians continue to revolutionize the way we live. We
depend on the hundreds of thousands of these individuals who
design, produce, operate and maintain a vast array of
equipment and services.
Radio,
television, telephones, computers, airplanes, space
vehicles, automobiles, refrigerators and heaters, office
machinery and home appliances, life-saving medical equipment
and Martian battles fought with joysticks represent a mere
sampling of the now familiar facets of life made possible by
engineers, technologists and technicians. In our age of
satellite-transmitted television and transcontinental
computer networks, the challenges and opportunities in this
dedicated profession continue to mushroom. Today's careers,
like electricity itself, have enormous potential.
The
implementation of ideas through new products, systems, and
services is the essence of engineering as a socially
responsible profession. The rapid changes in electrical,
electronics, and computer technology and the diversity of
applications require a broad educational background and a
lifelong commitment to learning new and specialized
information.
This brochure
describes some of the many challenging careers in
electrical, electronics, and computer engineering and the
educational path necessary to become an engineer,
technologist, or technician. Whether you're a student,
faculty advisor, or parent, this information will help you
make sound decisions about a lifetime pursuit.
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