Engineering is part of almost everything we do--from the buildings we live in and the roads and railways we travel on, to the telephones and computers we use to communicate and the X-ray machines that help doctors diagnose diseases. In this Very Short Introduction, David Blockley explores the nature and practice of engineering--its history, its scope, and its relationship with art, craft, science, and technology. He begins with its early roots, ranging from Archimedes to some of the great figures of engineering such as Brunel and Marconi, right up to the modern day, describing the five ages of engineering--gravity, heat, electromagnetism, information, and systems--and showing how they relate to one another. Blockley discusses some of engineering's great achievements as well as its great disasters--such as when things went catastrophically wrong at Chernobyl--using examples of everyday tools to reveal how engineering actually works. He also looks at some of the contributions engineers will have to make in the future in order to sustain and promote human well-being.

Have you ever wondered how it's possible to build a skyscraper, a big bridge, a jumbo jet, or a cruise liner?

Everything has structure. Structure is the difference between a random pile of components and a fully functional object. Through structure the parts connect to make the whole. Natural structures vary from the very smallest part of an atom to the entire cosmology of the universe. Man-made structures include buildings, bridges, dams, ships, aeroplanes, rockets, trains, cars and fair-ground rides and all forms of artefacts, even large artistic sculptures. The wide range of different industries in which structural engineers work includes construction, transport, manufacturing, and aerospace.

In this Very Short Introduction, David Blockley explores, in non-technical language, what structural engineering is all about, including examples ranging from the Shard in London and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to jumbo jets like the A380 and the Queen Elizabeth cruise liner.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The Brooklyn Bridge, London's Tower Bridge, San Francisco's Golden Gate--bridges can be breathtakingly monumental structures, magnificent works of art, and vital arteries that make life vastly easier. In Bridges, eminent structural engineer David Blockley takes readers on a fascinating guided tour of bridge construction, ranging from the primitive rope bridges (now mainly found in adventure movies), to Roman aqueducts and the timber trestle railway bridges of the American West, to today's modern marvels, such as the Akashi-Kaiky? Bridge, which has the largest span in the world. Blockley outlines the forces at work on a bridge--tension, compression, and shear--and the basic structural elements that combat these forces--beams, arches, trusses, and suspensions (or BATS). As he does so, he explores some of the great bridges around the world, including such lesser-known masterpieces as the Forth Railway Bridge (featured in Alfred Hitchcock's The Thirty-Nine Steps), and describes some spectacular failures, such as the recent bridge collapse in Minnesota or the famous failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.

This book illuminates what engineering is and how it relates to other disciplines such as art, architecture, law, economics, science, technology, and even religion. The author explains, from an intrinsic as well as descriptive perspective, why engineering is essential for our collective well-being, and how, like medicine, it is undertaken by people, and for people, to improve the human condition. He brings out the 'magic' of engineering practice as well as addressing the darker aspects such as warfare and the misuse of the internet. A too commonly held view assumes that the practice of engineers is a cold, purely quantitative and wholly technical enterprise of applying know science, and devoid of creativity or aestheticism. In 2013 the United States National Academy of Engineering launched a campaign called Changing the Conversation, Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering with four messages to impart about engineers: that they make a world ofdifference; are creative problem solvers; that they help shape the future, and are essential to health, happiness, and safety. In this volume, Professor Blockley incorporate these messages into an engaging exposition of engineering accomplishment in all of its evolving diversity, from the technician to the academic research engineer, illustrating the continuum of thinking and purpose from the fixer of the gas boiler to the designers of the A380 and the iPhone.

This book illuminates what engineering is and how it relates to other disciplines such as art, architecture, law, economics, science, technology, and even religion. The author explains, from an intrinsic as well as descriptive perspective, why engineering is essential for our collective well-being, and how, like medicine, it is undertaken by people, and for people, to improve the human condition. He brings out the 'magic' of engineering practice as well as addressing the darker aspects such as warfare and the misuse of the internet. A too commonly held view assumes that the practice of engineers is a cold, purely quantitative and wholly technical enterprise of applying know science, and devoid of creativity or aestheticism. In 2013 the United States National Academy of Engineering launched a campaign called Changing the Conversation, Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering with four messages to impart about engineers: that they make a world ofdifference; are creative problem solvers; that they help shape the future, and are essential to health, happiness, and safety. In this volume, Professor Blockley incorporate these messages into an engaging exposition of engineering accomplishment in all of its evolving diversity, from the technician to the academic research engineer, illustrating the continuum of thinking and purpose from the fixer of the gas boiler to the designers of the A380 and the iPhone.

Doing it Differently: Systems for Rethinking Infrastructure proposes 'systems thinking' as a methodology to deliver change. The book sets out the theory, concepts and tools using real-life examples to persuade people to think differently rather than simply relying on specific techniques or methods for particular types of problem.

The first edition was published in 2000 to respond to the Egan Report of 1998 which called for radical change in the construction industry. With UK Government spending in the order of 200bn over the next 10 years, this book is being directly helpful to those responsible for changes in the delivery of infrastructure needs.

The second edition has been updated to reflect the current and growing realisation of the importance of infrastructure to the national economy and to manage the effects of climate change. It is organised using a simple framework to help improve systems thinking capability and shared learning. It also includes a coherent treatment of complexity in construction with new clarifications of terms such as risk, vulnerability and resilience, and more on how to use tools such as the Italian Flag, as well as a new treatment of high consequence, low probability events to improve resilience.

Doing it Differently: Systems for Rethinking Infrastructure

• reflects the current and growing realisation of the importance of infrastructure to the national economy in UK and internationally including USA.
• includes numerous practical examples and case study boxes that help to illustrate major points
• provides the inspiration and resources to enable all infrastructure players to rethink and deliver change by doing it differently

We have an imperative, as never before, to change our ways. Climate change is presenting the entire human race with its greatest ever existential challenge. Like many I feel a growing sense of looming disaster. Yes, we are making some progress, but past agreements are not delivering. In this book I put a case for a new form of principled capitalism based on moral principles rather than utility and profit. I propose ten pillars that include systems thinking as citizens of the world and embracing Modern Monetary theory to guide decisions about macroeconomics and national debt.