[Cal Tower]

THE
TIME TUNNEL

in the
San Diego Museum of Man
Footsteps Through Time Exhibit

From an Engineer's Perspective
 [SWE Logo]
Engineering is applying math and science to find solutions to real problems.
Engineers are innovators and inventors striving to improve life.

This guide was developed as an educational project of the
Society of Women Engineers - San Diego County Section

In the Year(s) This Creation or Invention Was a Result of
Prehistoric Engineering - before the Bronze and Iron Ages
1,300,000 B.C.E. Hand Axes Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
[Hatchet]
380,000 B.C.E. Brushwood Shelters Structural Engineering
250,000 B.C.E. Red Ochre Paint Chemical Engineering
[Pottery]
12,000 B.C.E.First Pottery Materials Engineering[arr right]
6-5,000 B.C.E.Fishing with Harpoons Mechanical Engineering
[Pyramids]
4,000 B.C.E.Glass Chemical Engineering
4,000 B.C.E.Simple Plow Mechanical Engineering
3,500-3.001 B.C.E.Potter's Wheel Mechanical Engineering
3,000-2,501 B.C.E.Cheops Pyramid Civil Engineering[arr right]
Ancient Engineering - the Next 2,500 years
(2,300 B.C.E. Bronze Age)
(2,000 B.C.E. Iron Age)
1,700 B.C.E.Horse-drawn Chariot Mechanical Engineering
[Great Wall]
1,400-1,200 B.C.E.Woven Wool Textile Engineering
1,000-800 B.C.E.Papyrus Manufacture Manufacturing Engineering
221-210 B.C.E.Great Wall of China Civil Engineering[arr right]
200 B.C.E.Use of Gears Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
[Gears]
193 B.C.E.Invention of Concrete Materials Engineering
Early Engineering - the First Millennium
200 - 300Wheel Barrows Mechanical Engineering
[Cavalry]
200 - 300Armored Cavalry Materials & Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
400 - 500Iron Nails Materials Engineering
800 - 850Gunpowder Chemical Engineering
The Second Millennium
1290Eye Glasses Optical & Medical Engineering
[Windmill]
1326Cannons Mechanical Engineering
1370Steel Crossbow Mechanical Engineering
1521Manufacture of Silk Textile Engineering
1530Spinning Wheel Mechanical Engineering
1592Windmills Power Engineering[arr right]
1608Telescope Optical & Mechanical Engineering
1775Steam Engine Mechanical Engineering
1793Cotton Gin Mechanical Engineering
1807Paddle Steamer Mechanical Engineering
1816Stethoscope Bio-medical Engineering
[McCormick Reaper]
1832Friction Matches Materials Engineering
1834McCormick Reaper Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
1839Camera Optical Engineering
1851Sewing Machine Mechanical Engineering
1857Elevator Mechanical Engineering
[Submarine]
1859Steamroller Mechanical Engineering
1862Solar Energy Power Engineering
1875Submarine Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
1876Telephone Communications Engineering
1877Phonograph Mechanical Engineering
1880Electric Lights Electrical Engineering
1893Automobile Mechanical Engineering
1893Zipper Mechanical Engineering
[Kitty Hawk]
1895Radio Telegraph Communications Engineering
1903Powered Plane Aeronautical Engineering[arr right]
1907Radio Communications Engineering
[Fuzzy TV]
1914Panama Canal Opens Civil Engineering
1923Television Communications Engineering[arr right]
1926Liquid Fuel Rocket Aeronautical Engineering
[Golden Gate Bridge]
1937 Golden Gate Bridge Opens Civil Engineering [arr right]
1937Jet Engine Aeronautical Engineering
1938Teflon Materials Engineering
1939Helicopter Aeronautical Engineering
[SCUBA Tank]
1942Computer (UNIX) Electrical Engineering
1943Aqualung Mechanical Engineering[arr right]
1945Microwave Oven Power Engineering
1947Cell Phone Communications Engineering
[Transistor]
1947Transistor Electrical Engineering[arr right]
1955Atomic Power Power Engineering
1955Fiber Optics Communications Engineering
1955Video Tape Recording Data Storage Engineering
1956Artificial Intelligence Electrical Engineering
[Communications Satellite]
1957Sputnik I & II Aerospace Engineering
1959Office Copier Optical Engineering
1960Aluminum Cans Materials Engineering
1961Electric Typewriters Electrical Engineering
1961Communications Satellite Communications Engineering[arr right]
1966FAX Machine Communications Engineering
[Calculator]
1967Hand Held Calculator Electrical Engineering[arr right]
1968Virtual Reality Software Engineering
1969Video Recorder Data Storage Engineering
[Microchip]
1969Internet Software Engineering
1970Floppy Disk Data Storage Engineering
1971Computer Microchip Hardware Engineering[arr right]
1972Compact Disc Data Storage Engineering
1973Mountain Bikes Mechanical Engineering
1974MRI (patented) Bio-medical Engineering
1976Personal Computer Hardware & Software Engineering[arr right]
[Personal Computer]
1978GPS Communications Engineering
1981MS-DOS Software Engineering
1981Columbia, the First Space Shuttle Aerospace Engineering[arr right]
[Columbia]
1985CD-ROM Data Storage Engineering
1986MIR Space Station Aerospace Engineering
[World Wide Web]
1992World Wide Web Software Engineering[arr right]
1993Pentium Chip Hardware Engineering
1994Channel Tunnel Civil Engineering
TheThird Millennium
2001Battery Powered Mechanical Heart Bio-medical Engineering[arr right]
[Heart Spark]
What will engineers of the future invent in the fields of Bio-medical, Power, Mechanical, or ???

[Question Mark]
From an Engineer's Perspective
Created by Laura Meldrum
Computer Scientist/Software Engineer
Society of Women Engineers
National Career Guidance Committee Member

(In cooperation with Rose Tyson, Curator, Footsteps Through Time Exhibit)

Click here for associated study guide.

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