Engineering and human happiness

THROUGHOUT THE AGES man has dreamed of relief from toil, of the bountiful supplying of his needs, and the attainment of comfort and luxury. He has struggled toward an ideal state in which these satisfactions might be enjoyed by all. From their beginnings the literature of all peoples has contained many expressions of man´s aspiration for the “better life.” Since happiness ever has been a condition earnestly desired by human beings the time seems propitious to ask — what has engineering done for humanity´s progress toward this objective? What have engineers by their applications of scientific knowledge, by their control of nature´s forces, by their improved and ever increasing utilization of new raw materials, or by their salvage of former wastes accomplished for the good of mankind.