Science
You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that
never were; and I say "Why not?" —George Bernard Shaw
Engineering is
concerned with the design of a solution to a practical problem. A scientist may
ask why a problem arises, and proceed to research the answer to the question or
actually solve the problem in his first try, perhaps creating a mathematical
model of his observations. By contrast, engineers want to know how to solve a
problem, and how to implement that solution. In other words, scientists attempt
to explain phenomena, whereas engineers use any available knowledge, including
that produced by science, to construct solutions to problems. This is no
contradiction.
There is an overlap between science (fundamental and
applied) and engineering. It is not uncommon for scientists to become involved
in the practical application of their discoveries; thereby becoming, for the
moment, engineers. Scientists may also have to complete engineering tasks, such
as designing experimental apparatus or building prototypes. Conversely, in the
process of developing technology engineers sometimes find themselves exploring
new phenomena, thus becoming, for the moment, scientists.
However,
engineering research has a character different from that of scientific research.
First, it often deals with areas in which the basic physics and/or chemistry are
well understood, but the problems themselves are too complex to solve in an
exact manner. The purpose of engineering research is then to find approximations
to the problem that can be solved. Examples are the use of numerical
approximations to the Navier-Stokes equations to solve aerodynamic flow over an
aircraft, or the use of Miner's rule to calculate fatigue damage to an
engineering structure. Second, engineering research employs many semi-empirical
methods that are foreign to pure scientific research, one example being the
method of parameter variation.
In general, it can be stated that a
scientist builds in order to learn, but an engineer learns in order to
build.