Engineering in the Modern World

billington.jpgBridging engineering and the humanities, "Engineering in the Modern World" (EGR 102A/EGR 102B, CEE 102A/CEE 102B) is among Princeton’s most popular courses. The course emphasizes the role of entrepreneurs and inventors in creating our technological society. It focuses on feats of engineering such as bridges, railroads, power plants, highways, airports, harbors, automobiles, aircraft, computers, and the microchip. Historical analysis provides a basis for studying urban problems by focusing on scientific, political, ethical, and aesthetic aspects in the evolution of engineering over the past two centuries. The course is taught by civil and environmental engineering professor David Billington and mechanical and aerospace engineering professor Michael Littman.

"Technological literacy should be part of the liberal arts," said Billington, who received the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001 and the National Science Foundation Director’s Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars in 2003. "Our life is an artificial world, and everything in life is bounded by the built environment. I want my students to be equipped to see and interpret in an educated way the engineered environment that surrounds them."

Added Billington: "On the other hand, I would like engineers themselves to be more imbued with the history of their profession. If you ask most engineers, 'Who are the greatest engineers of the 20th century?' you will often get a blank look. The engineering field is forward-looking and with good reason. But the future is always an outgrowth of the past. You can’t grow from nothing."