What Is The Boundary Between Science and Engineering?

An alpaca in the Safari Park by Buxin She

As a Ph.D. student in the electrical engineering (to be more specific, power systems), I’ve been thinking the question posed in the headline recently. I’d like to share my thoughts about it.

It arises from the research experience these years. Sometimes, after an idea is brought up, there might be a question “what’s new?” or “what’s the novelty?” It can occur in a paper review or a project meeting.

I feel the motivation for novelty or something new, can be traced back to curiosity. Like the questions “why can fireflies light up”, or “why can the fireflies in Smoky Mountain synchronize?” When the answers to such questions are not directly relevant to practical concerns like paying rent, they can be regarded as Science, and they can bring joy. Conversely, if the answers can save people from tedious repetitive work, I would call it Engineering. Now, my answer to the question in headline is engineering is expected to make life better in a short period of time, while science is not expected to have immediate and direct implications on daily life. However, “novelty” itself is NOT BOUNDED to engineering or science.

Here are some interesting answers I received recently:

• “Science is about the nature of the world, like the Newton’s laws of motion, or Maxwell’s equations. Engineering is about man-made things.”
• “Science is about why, and engineering is about how.”
• “Where science stops, engineering start.”

Lastly, there’s a blog by Michael J. Black about the review process that I found interesting: Novelty in Science