Alexandria Whitlow

ENGW 105-21; Cyrus Hampton

Essay 2: Rhetoric in the Field

When I was younger, I made the claim that whatever I was to end up doing as

a career in the future, it would have to involve art. I was too enamored with painting

flowers, sketching portraits, and designing inventions to part with the freedom that

creativity offered. Naturally, I decided to study engineering. Many people ask me

why I chose such a constraining, technical major if I am so focused on incorporating

art into my career. This is because engineering is simply a portion of what I am

working to pursue. My ultimate goal is to work within the entertainment industry,

combining technology and art to creative immersive theme park experiences (such

as with Walt Disney Imagineering), or develop technology for filmmaking and visual

effects with Industrial Light and Magic. This would require experience with

engineering, creative storytelling, and of course art. This combination, which has

always been quite a prevalent development within the film and entertainment

industries, has been my principal interest since high school. The first step in

accomplishing this goal is to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering. By

reviewing and analyzing the articles Sensing Artificial Skin by Jon Kosowatz and

The Efficiency of Mechanical Engineering Schools by Alfred R. Woolf, M.E., I hope

to gain a better understanding of the ways in which engineers formulate written

explanations of their practices, as well as gain insight into current applications of

the major.

The article Sensing Artificial Skin by John Kosowatz discusses the

continuously improving field of prosthetic engineering. Prosthetic engineering is a

division of biomechanical engineering dedicated to the development of man-made

body parts. Kosowatzs article brings up the possibility of a bionic prosthetic limb

that has the ability to send electric impulses to the human nervous system, giving

the illusion that the prosthetic is actually feeling what is has come into contact with.

This simulation of feeling is accomplished through the application of three

components in the prosthetic skin: a sensor, a flexible circuit used to transmit the

electric signal, and human nerves to receive the signal. The research is currently

being performed at Stanford University.

The purpose of the article is to provide information to readers regarding the

technology and research involved in the process of creating artificial skin, raising

awareness of its development. Because the technical concepts and engineering

jargon are broken down into basic ideas, the article seems to be aimed at those

generally interested in biomechanical engineering though they may not be actively

pursuing a degree in the field. It is a valuable and reliable resource, due to the

author being the senior editor at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

(ASME), providing him with credibility. The article was recently published in 2015,

meaning the provided information is nearly up to date. The aforementioned concept

of Kasowatz simplifying complex concepts for a general audience can be interpreted

as both a value and limitation. For example, after mentioning the use of carbon

nanofibers inside the skins plastic, he explains their use: This increases pressure

sensitivity even more as the nanofibers are pushed together during touch,

(Kasowatz 2). Clarifying a description like this is valuable, because people outside of

the engineering can gain an understanding of the progression of the field. However,

complex processes can only be summarized so much before the significant details

and overall meaning are lost. Alex Chartos, a doctoral candidate at Stanford, as

quoted in the article, even states in regards to the research that The response is
very complicated, (Kasowatz 2), demonstrating that the complete process cannot

be described in full detail in the article.

The second article, The Efficiency of Mechanical Engineering Schools,

written by Alfred R. Woolf, M.E., is taken from the book Science published by the

American Association for the Advancement of Science. The origin of the piece is a

presidential address delivered by Woolf to the Stevens Institute of Technology

Alumni Association. It discusses the limitations in material being taught in

universities and learned by students within the mechanical engineering field. The

author begins by mentioning the lack of education regarding the engineering of the

printing press, which he considers to be a civilizing agent of the time. He then

proceeds to discuss why this inadequacy in learning material has led to mechanical

engineering schools being essentially a failure (Woolf 292). The purpose of the

address was to bring the shortcomings in mechanical engineering education to the

universitys attention, and to persuade the alumni association to make the

necessary changes for the sake of the students. This source can be considered

valuable due to its direct connection to the mechanical engineering field. The

addresss author was a mechanical engineer who graduated from Steven University

himself and he examines in great detail the predicaments facing the major with

considerable use of technical terminology and knowledge of the field. For example,

Woolf states, It is the mission of the technical school to inculcate the principles of

engineering, to train and mature the powers of observation and mechanical

judgement, and after teaching the laws of physics and mechanics, to give the ability

to apply these laws to problems arising in machinery and the industrial arts, (292),

demonstrating he has an understanding of the mission of engineering education.

The limitations of the article lie in its publishing date. The address was originally
delivered by Woolf on June 13, 1888, and the book from which it came was

published within the same month and year. This becomes significant when Woolf

brings up the lack of education about the printing press, hat and brick-making

machines, and the pride and joy felt solely by men when they send their sons off to

become educated engineers. The date of publishing proves to be a problem when

analyzing the arguments Woolf brings to the associations attention regarding

education, because they are not the same problems endured by todays engineers.

As technology has advanced over that past 130 years and continues to progress (as

demonstrated in Kasowatzs article with the development of human skin made of

carbon and plastic), engineers tend to face global issues such as overpopulation,

global warming, and limited resources. On the contrary, in Woolfs time, engineering

was focused on the advancement of industrial products and the discovery of what

many today see as basic tools. The article would be a valuable resource when

examining historical pieces on mechanical engineering to record the fields growth

throughout the centuries. However, it would not be very helpful improving any

issues in todays mechanical engineering curriculum.

Taking note of the origins, purposes, values, and limitations of sources is

highly important, because it provides an opportunity to evaluate whether or not the

source is reliable enough to use. It is good to get into the habit of examining

sources in depth before referring to them for essays or projects. As an engineer, I

may have to refer to other engineers prior research for my own studies, and it is

crucial that whoevers research I may be working with is coming from a reliable

source, has an appropriate purpose, and its values outweigh its minimal limitations.

With these aspects of each article, I was able to formulate my own opinions about

which article held the most value overall. I appreciated the concise way in which
Kasowatz wrote his article. I am not still completely accustomed to the lexicon of

engineering, and I am especially not familiar with the biological or chemical

vocabulary either. In addition, the organization of the article made it simpler to

follow along and understand its purpose. Kasowatz began by introducing the

problem at hand: the need for an artificial limb that has the ability to feel objects

and allow a user to react to touch, (Kasowatz 1). He then describes in general

Stanfords current solution to the issue, which was the research and development of

artificial, prosthetic skin. Next, he examined each component of the solution in

detail, painting a picture for readers to visualize what is being created and how it

functions. Finally, he discusses the problems that have arisen in the technologys

development and why it has not been successfully placed on the market as of yet.

The organization of the article is almost chronological, starting the audience at the

beginning of the issue at hand and bringing them up to date with what is currently

being done about it. It is this sequential flow that makes the article easier to

comprehend.

Woolfs article was more difficult to read than Kasowatzs. This was due

primarily to the wording of the sentences. It was not that Woolfs aged English was

hard to understand, it simply took longer to recognize the conclusion of his

argument due to his lengthy sentences and nearly poetic way of expressing what he

wanted to say. I do appreciate his use of rhetorical questions to the alumni

association, for it makes the audience consider Woolfs point instead of simply

listening to all of his persuasive reasoning. For example, Woolf asks, Is it not

remarkable that essentially the same textbooks on physics, chemistry, analytical

mathematics, descriptive geometry and the like, are studied at engineering schools

as at the ordinary academic course of a university? (Woolf 293). This demands the
participation of the audience to think about his argument and better understand

what he is vying for.

From John Kasowatzs article, Sensing Artificial Skin, I concluded that the

organization and simplicity of the article caused it to be affectively informative.

Since I was able to comprehend the information, I found the topic capturing my

interest. From Alfred R. Woolfs, M.E., article The Efficiency of Mechanical

Engineering in Schools, I gained an appreciation for the old-fashioned, more

complicated way of articulating the ideas being presented. However, I also realized

the limitations of the article with it being very outdated and practically useless in

todays engineering education, save for historical purposes. Overall, I realized that

engineering articles tend to be technical, even if the provided information is

simplified. This is most likely due to the scientific nature of the field, which in turn

affects the rhetoric of the writing. To prepare for a good internship or permanent

position within the department, I would recommend that students read articles

similar to Kasowatzs in order to gain a general knowledge of what types of projects

they could be participating in. Once that is done, they can progress into reading

actual research reports written by engineers who have performed the project in

order to experience what a project is like in written form. There would be, however,

no immediate necessity to read any historical documents, such as those written by

Woolf, unless there was a personal desire to do so. This, I hope, would provide

proper insight into the rhetoric of mechanical engineering.

 Work Cited

Kasowatz, John. "Sensing Artificial Skin." Sensing Artificial Skin. N.p., Oct. 2015.

Web.

Wolff, Alfred R., M.E. "The Efficiency of Mechanical Engineering Schools." Science

11.281 (1888): 292-94. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web.