Why do engineers need mathematics?

[electronic engineer]

Why is mathematics taught at university not related to the engineering course we study?
Mathematics seems to be an abstract idea which does not overlap with our engineering course.
Shouldn't it be taught in an engineering context?

Well, I studied electrical engineering at university in which we learned a lot of math as pure mathematics. The doctors and assistants were always saying that we do need mathematics in our engineering problems. The real problem for us is how we can use mathematics in such engineering or developing applications. For me this is not clear yet!

I'm now going to do my new speclist in medical electronics ,namely hospital devices. I read a book called "introduction in medical electronics application" so i found some relations on imaging theory and restoration of the image which i haven't understood that much. And that makes me worried about my success in such field.
I did post a thread in general math forum here so i dont' know whether anyone of you read it .

 

[matqkks]

Try looking at the book 'Engineering Mathematics through Applications'. Sample chapters are at the following url:
http://www.palgrave.com/science/engineering/singh/

 

[Marty]

Good posting Jupiter6! I agree with all your points on this issue of teaching.

Just wanted to throw in a "me too". I'm also disappointed by the negative reactions matqkks has received to his suggestion and I think Jupiter6 has nailed it.

 

[Nick M]

Well, I'm just a Sophomore in Engineering, but I'd like to chime in.
My opinion is a bit different from others.

I attend a community college where teachers often don't hold a doctorate in the area they teach in. For example, General Physics I & II w/Calculus is taught by an Electrical Engineer with a Masters in Education. Calculus I & II is taught by someone with a doctorate in Education and almost enough Math for a bachelors in Mathematics, and Multi/Diff-EQ/Linear is taught by someone with a bachelors in Mathematics and doctorate in Education.

Now obviously an intimate understanding of what you are teaching is important, but knowing how to connect with students and help them to understand is equally important. I've taken some classes at UMass and found with some of those classes that the Professors seemed to be brilliant in their respective fields - but often were quite poor in their ability to teach the material to students.

Now the definition of Professor includes teacher, which means to cause someone to know something.

I've found that I've learned much better from teachers who hold some sort of knowledge in teaching in addition to the technical knowledge of what they're teaching.

Also, classrooms with small classes which involve two way communication and an environment where the teacher adapts his/her approach to the needs of the class.

Oh - and the ability to fluently speak the language(s) of the students (or at least the native language of the country they teach in). The exception to this might be instruction in a foreign language.

- Just an aside from the title of the thread.

 

[matqkks]

Mathematics is such a powerful tool that we all need some. Here are a few examples.
Number theory had no serious application for 2 500 years but since the advent of the digital computer number theory has had a major impact on everyday life - online transactions would be impossible without number theory.
Most physical systems involve rate of change so we need calculus to describe these physical processes.
Partial differential equations in Fluid Dynamics explains how water passes by submarines, air flows past aircraft and air flows over formula 1 racing cars.
The entire field of physics - heat, light, sound, fluid flow, gravitation, electricity and magnetism - can all be described by differential equations.
More advanced technologies such as radio, tv, jet commercial aircraft rely on the mathematics of differential equations.
There are millions of other examples.

 

[brewnog]

Do you realize you answered your own question?

 

[symbolipoint]

Do you realize you answered your own question?

Just realize that matqkks asked his question 1 year and 3 months ago, so he has learned very much about how and why Mathematics is used in Engineering. He has taken 2 full semesters of coursework since he first asked on the forum. He likely now understands the real meaning of many of the posts given in this board as efforts to answer him.

 

[Dr.D]

WAHT IS WRONG WITH TEACHING IN AN ENGINEERING CONTEXT?

What is wrong is that it is too specific. If a circuits problem is just what you think would be ideal for the presentation of the material at hand, the guy in the next chair would like to see it presented in terms of a mechanics problem and the next guy wants it done as a surveying problem. It is not possible to please everybody, nor should it be necessary. If your teacher shows you how to solve a system of linear equations, for example, then you will know how to solve such a system regardless of where you find them.

Further, and this is not insignificant, it makes the point that the concepts are not tied to specific areas of application. If a method for solving linear systems is presented as a circuit problem, there will be many people who would not even consider applying that method to a surveying problem, even though mathematically they are the same problem. Don't laugh; this is a very real problem and it is more than justification enough for not presenting mathematics in specific engineering contexts.

 

[JusDennis]

As a welding inspector in heavy construction who has to work closely with the engineers I am reminded daily that without a good math tool to communicate with even some of us grunts would be lost.

Asking why an engineer needs math is like asking why your gramma needs fruit to make a pie.