Advanced Tools, Advanced Sustainability

New ways of managing the design process will accelerate the move to a clean, efficient economy.

This video was sponsored by SIEMENS.

For most of human history, the power to advance human civilization was derived from animals.  Human labor, draft animals and the use of wind in sails kept the pace of technological advancement slow, and the population grew slowly as well. 

But 250 years ago, pioneers like Thomas Newcomen and James Watt developed technologies that exploited hydrocarbons, notably coal, and discovered a way to harness the heat energy of combustion to create modern machines. The steam engine was the first of multiple technologies that converted heat into motion, delivering modern shipping, rail transportation, motor vehicles and finally aircraft. 

The growth potential of these technologies appeared unlimited, but in the last few decades, the environmental consequences of fossil fuel combustion have become clear: there is a price to be paid for unlimited use of carbon. But the demand for progress is relentless. Early engineers created the technologies that threaten the environment today, and today’s engineers are tasked with finding the solutions. The goal is sustainability, and the race is on to make maximum use of available technologies to transition carbon-based economies to cleaner alternates without serious disruption of modern life. 

To do this, advanced engineering tools, and new ways of thinking about power, work and energy are needed. Jim Anderton discusses these important issues with Chad Ghalamzan, Marketing Manager at Siemens Digital Industries Software and Stephen Ferguson, director of marketing content for Siemens PLM software.  

In the coming decades, we will have to engineer a future free of fossil fuels. This transition is one of the biggest engineering challenges that our planet is facing, and will only be possible through the extensive use of simulation and test. Learn how Simcenter is helping to engineer a low-carbon future.

Written by

James Anderton

Jim Anderton is the Director of Content for ENGINEERING.com. Mr. Anderton was formerly editor of Canadian Metalworking Magazine and has contributed to a wide range of print and on-line publications, including Design Engineering, Canadian Plastics, Service Station and Garage Management, Autovision, and the National Post. He also brings prior industry experience in quality and part design for a Tier One automotive supplier.