Preface
1. Ubiquitous Risk
2. Engineering Is Rocket Science
3. Doctors and Dilberts
4. Which Comes First?
5. Einstein the Inventor
6. Speed Bumps
7. Research and Development
8. Development and Research
9. Alternative Energies
10. Complex Systems
11. Two Cultures
12. Uncertain Science and Engineering
13. Great Achievements and Grand Challenges
14. Prizing Engineering
Notes
Illustration Credits
Index
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University. The author of more than a dozen previous books, he lives in Durham, North Carolina, and Arrowsic, Maine.
"Analyzing both historical and contemporary examples, from climate
change to public health, Petroski shows how science often overlooks
structural, economic, environmental and aesthetic dimensions that
routinely challenge engineers. Moreover, he says, sometimes science
trails technology, as when engineers had to design the first moon
landing vehicles before scientists learned its surface composition.
Far from being hostile toward science, Petroski pleads for
continued cooperation between science and engineering. When, as
Petroski laments, even President Obama has sometimes omitted
engineering in touting science, this book could hardly be more
timely."--Publishers Weekly
"With customary acuity and variety, Petroski is sure to please his
established readership with these interesting disquisitions on
technology." --Booklist
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