Specializations emerge and evolve in response to changing
needs and opportunities, and focus on many different interlocking
and cross-cutting aspects and dimensions of a field. The established
branches of engineering illustrate this process in a very high degree.
There are specializations by engineering artifact — automobile,
aeronautical, naval and chemical engineering; by problem world —
civil and mining engineering; and by requirement — production
engineering, industrial and transportation engineering. There are
specializations in theoretical foundations — control and structural
engineering; in techniques for solving mathematical problems that
arise in the analysis of engineering products — finite-element
analysis and control-volume analysis; in engineering components
for use in larger systems — electric motors, and internal combustion
engines; in technology and material — reinforced concrete,
conductive plastics; and in other dimensions too.
M. Jackson. Engineering and software engineering. In: S. Nanz (Ed.) The
future of software engineering. London: Springer, 2011, p. 106 (adapted).