By 1920s, the increasing number of modern transportation methods such as airplanes led to the establishment of a "machine revolution". It was not until the World War II that there is a boom in the number of mechanical engineers who played a vital role in designing aircrafts, tanks and ships. The combination of mechanical devices and electronics brought about the development of the space rocket and jet engine which are commonplace today.
In the past, a mechanical engineer usually designed parts of an equipment on prototypes. However, nowadays, with the advancement of technologies, design work has been taken place on a computer with specialized program called CAD, which is an acronym for Computer Aid Design. It is believed that this is the most effective way to reduce the production cost and meet customer demands (Pond 42). No matter where a mechanical may work, in a private company or the federal government, the main responsibility of a mechanical engineer is to apply scientific knowledge to create the products that benefit society. There are five typical activities that a mechanical engineer is usually concerned with. First, mechanical engineers do some research to identify and analyze the current problems. Then, after conceptualizing the machine or approach that may be a possible solution to the problem, mechanical engineer will bring their idea to reality by designing devices on CAD program. Next, to perform the test, mechanical engineers will make the performance of experimental devices and make some changes to improve the quality of the devices based on their strengths and weaknesses. .
Finally, in manufacturing phase, mechanical engineers supervise the operation process for the device and find the best solution in terms of economical, efficient and safe manufacturing levels (Garner 116). Most of mechanical engineers can take undergraduate engineering program at the University of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma State University.
