Tarricone 1 Nate Tarricone Prof. Rachel Lewis ENGW 3315 29 May 2017 The Scientific and Data-Driven Approach to Engineering Writing Mechanical engineering is, in a broad sense, a physics-driven field that is predicated on finding solutions to everyday problems through the application of different math and science principles. Mechanical engineers are often tasked with jobs involving the physical design of tools, equipment, and hardware for a variety of professions, including medical, infrastructure, and consumer-focused industries. Others may specialize in theoretical work involving the simulation and analysis of different physical phenomena. Regardless of the line of work, mechanical engineers are universally concerned with making things safer, easier to use, longer lasting, and more efficient. My own recent experience has comprised of design consultancy work, where I team up with a small group of engineers, strategists, and industrial designers to provide clients with innovative ideas and solutions to their problems. More specifically, I am usually tasked with redesigning the mechanical components of different medical and consumer products to improve their functionality and make them more ergonomically friendly for the end user. Thus far, the immense variety and diverse-nature of work has made this an interesting and rewarding position. Despite being predominantly math and science-based, the engineering profession still uses technical writing and inter-community discourse as a means for communicating new research and technologies across the industry. The most common application of this medium is the formal documentation and recording of standardized procedures, progress reports, and test
Tarricone 2 summaries by engineers for managers or collaborating companies. This brand of writing is typically meant to be thorough and comprehensive, but also succinct and to-the-point in its formulation. The recipients, of which, are most often expecting concise and objective summaries of the subject matter in order to quickly determine the ensuing courses of action. A similar, but more intensive, form of this is the creation of product manuals and datasheets for newly developed tools and equipment. In these cases, it is up to the designers to effectively characterize and convey the most relevant specifications of each product for their target audience, usually being a business or independent consumer. A third—and more academic— type of engineering writing is the publication of research journals and articles regarding recent advancements in science and tech. These papers can even include proposals of new ideas, advocacy for funding, and objections to old principles. In this regard, these journals can serve as a formal and professional platform for scientists to question traditional beliefs and promote intercommunity discourse, without offending or dismissing past research. Interestingly enough, my current work showcases a fourth, more collaborative and accommodating genre of engineering writing, involving the formal communication and dialogue between partnering firms. Exceedingly prevalent in the consultancy business, my day-to-day work often entails the preparation of short presentations and progress reports for clients, detailing my latest work and our mutual timelines moving forward. The client will typically hold on to a copy of this high-level summary as a reference for future discussions and check-ins. I have found this writing, supplemented by a verbal presentation, to be an effective means of communicating our work and establishing a transparent dialogue between both parties. I also consistently utilize the second form of engineering writing I mentioned, which involves me reviewing and comparing datasheets of various tools and equipment when deciding on which
Tarricone 3 product will best suit our needs. In some cases, if the product is not clearly or fully characterized in the datasheet, I will have to call the vendor directly and speak to an engineer on staff to obtain extra clarification. A great example to showcase one brand of engineering writing is the academic journal article titled, “Direction for Artificial Intelligence to Achieve Sapiency Inspired by Homo Sapiens,” by Mahmud Arif Pavel of St. John’s University. This piece, in suffice, is about the potential for an alternative approach to the conventional roadmap for the development of artificial intelligence. This up-and-coming technology has traditionally been viewed as a glorified means of automation, where these machines are taught to observe and behave as replacements for human beings (e.g. virtual assistants, self-driving cars, etc.). Pavel proposes that the best way to achieve a human-like end product is not to program a device to “act” like a human, but rather program it to “learn” and grow like a human child. From a more abstract and discourse perspective, this is an interesting think piece that Pavel has injected into the computational engineering community. Being a faculty member at St. John’s University, he was able to directly reach his target audience by publishing in the International Journal of Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence. Industry and technologyspecific academic journals, such as this, are not uncommon in the engineering field, and allow for scientists from a variety of backgrounds to converse with those who share similar jobs or interests. In this respect, Pavel successfully achieved his goal of getting his ideas and message out to those who can provide him with constructive feedback. From a formatting standpoint, this piece is similar to most scientific journal articles I have come across. The paper starts with a standard abstract where Pavel explains the purpose and logic behind his proposal, as he prepares the reader for what is to come. As is standard for
Tarricone 4 other engineering papers, he references numerous other academic articles and textbooks while laying out the background information relevant to his topic. Pavel then goes on to describe the computer-human paradox that he has been grappling with, and how he has come to understand it. At this point, he has brought the reader up to speed with his line of thinking but has not yet proposed a solution or course of action. In his explanation, Pavel references a large figure that he has created, which juxtaposes the contrasting “input and output” natures of computers and humans. Not only is a table-like graphic, such as this, typical for engineering papers, but the “input/output” nature that he discusses is a direct analogy to the information processing operations that programmers utilize. Pavel is effectively making use of common engineering diction to illustrate his thoughts to an expectedly science-minded audience. This is a useful means of maintaining engagement with the reader while outlining the situation in a context that they understand and can relate to. Pavel’s article on his novel approach to the development of artificial intelligence is just one example of an engineer publishing his ideas and research in order to receive formal feedback and review from a larger scientific community. In a previous internship, I was responsible for assisting in high-frequency microwave research for a physicist who was advocating for SBIR funding. This required my boss to publish numerous papers on his work, detailing the research being done and the theory behind his actions. This work, while completely different from Pavel’s proposal, underwent the same process of submission, review, and peer-feedback before being accepted as a credible source for future work. At a high-level, this type of scholarly, academic engineering writing is still exceedingly similar to the more informal, “email-based” discourse that occurs among engineers in their dayto-day lives. When communicating my ideas to a client, for example, I am still expected to
Tarricone 5 provide them with tangible and analytical evidence to support my claims. In most cases, this will involve in-house testing and data collection, followed by a short report to back up my proposed designs. This is also the standard—while to a much greater extent—for all scholarly articles that are seeking to achieve formal credibility. And despite the varying levels of formality and technicality, all genres of engineering writing are rooted in tangible evidence, and are data-driven to some extent. This is a pronounced aspect of technical writing that separates true engineering discourse from other professions and mediums of communication.
Tarricone 6 Works Cited Arif, Mahmud. "Direction for Artificial Intelligence to Achieve Sapiency Inspired by Homo Sapiens." International Journal of Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence 5.9 (2016): n. pag. Web. 23 May 2017.
