Engineering—An Endless Frontier

“Once natural scientists sought to discover what was not known and engineers tried to create what did not exist: Engineering—An Endless Frontier charts the drawing together of the two disciplines, showing that modern engineering has drawn on par with science in its emerging technologies and achievements.”—Bookwatch

“[Auyang’s] book is a concise yet comprehensive overview of how modern engineers in various fields have conducted scientific research, designed products, and managed enterprises. Indeed, we can learn a lot from her careful and detailed investigations of engineering practice, which, from my point of view, has been considerably understudied. Nevertheless, the more important value of Auyang’s book lies not in the information it provides, but in the questions it raises.”—Chen-Pang Yeang, IEEE Technology and Society

“As we wrestle today with the now traditional disparities between disciplines, it is refreshing to read an account that places the natural and engineering sciences as mutually interdependent intellectual peers, which is just as it should be.”—Peter Williams, Physics World

“Engineering—An Endless Frontier is extraordinary in scope. Sunny Auyang describes the different kinds of contemporary engineering practices and productions, attempts to provide historical background, explains the scientific basis for engineering innovation in different fields, and addresses the broad, systems level managerial, entrepreneurial, and design activities of professionals. It’s rare to find a single author who can grasp and explain the essential features of modern technologies across such an array of industrial sectors and engineering disciplines and explain how they work, why they work the way they do, and what is required for their innovation, development and, yes, even maintenance.”—Louis L. Bucciarelli, Professor Emeritus of Engineering and Technology Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“I am impressed by the scope of Engineering—An Endless Frontier, and fascinated by Sunny Auyang’s comprehensive knowledge of the subject. This is just the kind of book the National Academy of Engineering has been encouraging to promote the importance of engineering to the public. It will have a long shelf-life in that it pulls together material that is not readily accessible, and will serve as a reference for anyone interested in engineering as a profession. Engineering needs this book!”—John Hutchinson, Harvard University