Engineers of the future

Over hundreds of years, human civilization had been dependent on the development of engineering and industries. As we stepped into the 21^st century, one can be absolutely certain that human society was built on the foundation of science and technology. On every face of the earth, technology is contributing to the society, in transportation, accommodation, health care, education and entertainment. Every element of modern life relies on technologies, and can easily fall apart upon failure of these technologies. In such high-tech era, there can be little doubt that engineering still is, and will continue to be one of the most important pillars of the architecture of civilization.

As our technological advancement progresses, however, engineers of the new age now face challenges which are unlike the ones in the past. Researchers nowadays have been raising critical issues of developmental sustainability of earth. Reports are saying that our development has been progressing as too fast a pace that our planet can hardly withstand. Energy consumption rises to new level every day, trying to making our life better every day. Fossil fuel, known to be the blood of industry, has always been the major power that drives our industrial advancement. However, recent years, studies had shown that our fossil fuel reserve is being consumed at a rate such faster than its replenishing rate. This pose a threat we can never underestimate. At the same time, while we burn fossil fuel for energy, we are also generating waste gas which encourages development of global warming. Carbon released into our atmosphere prevents excess heat from leaving the earth. As a result, arctic ice starts to melt and sea level raises.

Research projects have been carried out in hope to find cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. Solar power being one of the most promising choices is being developed by many countries around the world. One attractive feature about solar power is its environmental friendliness. However there are still drawbacks in solar power which need to be resolved.

Therefore, engineering in the 21^st century definitely face tough challenges and difficulties, but its importance shall be recognised even more than the past.