No doubt engineering gets most of its attention when it’s gone wrong. Take calamitous events such as the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, the Bhopal chemical disaster and the Challenger and Columbia shuttle accidents. These received significant attention. When engineering undertakings fail, they often do so miserably and tragically.

Yet failure may be the true mother of invention. Very often, grappling with malfunctions leads to creative insights and improvements, while modeling designs solely on past successes paves the surest road to ruin. Engineers have done some extraordinary things. To wit: consider how many of last century’s greatest engineering marvels you'll use before today’s end. Let’s revisit some of those extraordinary engineering developments.

Released in 2000 by the National Academy of Engineering, many of the choices in this list seem obvious — which simply emphasizes how essential to our lives these breakthroughs have become. Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century is a collaborative project led by the National Academy of Engineering with the American Association of Engineering Societies, National Engineers Week, the National Society of Professional Engineers and 29 professional engineering societies. For full disclosure: You may notice that some of the achievements (such as the automobile and the telephone) were invented in the 1800s; these innovations made the list because their impact was felt in the 20th century.

Herewith are the project’s rankings of the top 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century.

1. Electrification
Thousands of engineers made this possible, as they developed fuel sources, power generating techniques and transmission grids. Today vast networks of electricity power the developed world. From streetlights to supercomputers, electric power makes our lives safer, healthier and more comfortable.

2. Automobile
Revolutionary manufacturing practices made cars more reliable and affordable to the masses, turning the automobile into the world's major mode of transportation and symbol of personal freedom. Despite recent automaker pains, automobiles remain a strong source of economic growth and stability. The automobile is a showcase of 20th century engineering ingenuity, with countless innovations made in design, production and safety.

3. Airplane
From the Wright Flyer to autonomous military jets, engineering creativity and ingenuity have propelled the airplane's evolution. This innovation has made the world more accessible, transporting goods and people around it, spurring globalization.

4. Water Supply and Distribution
For communities, farms, households and industries, a simple turn of the tap provides clean water — a precious and necessary resource. Engineering advances in water treatment, supply and distribution systems have prevented the spread of waterborne diseases in developed nations and thereby increased life expectancy.

5. Electronics
Electronics — from vacuum tubes to transistors to integrated circuits — continue to shrink in size and grow in power and efficiency, thanks to engineers. They underlie countless innovations, from portable televisions and DVD players to your BlackBerry, iPod and Razor phone, making modern life more convenient.

6. Radio and Television
These technologies have given us a window to other lives, different parts of the globe and dramatic events that have defined the course of history. From the wireless telegraph to today's advanced satellite systems, engineers have transformed how the world receives information and entertainment.

7. Agricultural Mechanization
Farm machinery, including tractors and cultivators and combines, have taken agricultural efficiency and productivity to a new level, leading to a vastly larger, safer and less-costly food supply.

8. Computers
A defining symbol of 20th century technology, the computer has impacted businesses and lives on a global scale, eliminating many menial tasks and enabling new functions. Engineering ingenuity fueled this revolution and continues to produce faster, stronger and more affordable computers every day.

9. Telephone
This cornerstone of modern life has transformed the way the world communicates personally and in business. From switchboards to satellites, copper wire to fiber optics to nearly instant connections to the Internet, engineers continue to answer the call for innovation.

10. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
Dozens of engineering innovations underpin this breakthrough. Delivering much more than convenience, it extends the shelf life of food and medicines, protects electronics and plays an important role in health care delivery.

11. Highways
The construction of 44,000 miles of U.S. highway in the 20th century is one of the most impressive achievements of that era, allowing the distribution of goods and personal mobility. Thousands of engineers built the roads, bridges and tunnels that connect our communities.

12. Spacecraft
Humanity’s horizons have been immeasurably expanded thanks to our forays into outer space. Further, the space program has inspired tens of thousands of new products and services on Earth, including medical devices, sophisticated weather forecasting and wireless communications. From early test rockets to sophisticated satellites, the human expansion into space is perhaps the most amazing engineering feat of the 20th century.

13. Internet
Developed through a series of engineering innovations, the Internet is now a global communications and information system of unparalleled access, redefining business practices, educational pursuits and personal communications. Simply put, it began as a tool to link research center computers and now it is a vital instrument of social change.

14. Imaging
Twentieth-century imaging technologies have afforded us amazing new views inside the human body — thereby revolutionizing medical diagnostics — and beyond, of the ocean floors, our planet and distant galaxies. All are the result of engineering advances.

15. Household Appliances
Relieving much of the labor of everyday tasks, these devices, including electric ranges, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers and dryers, have allowed more people to work outside the home. Household appliances in the 20th century eliminated much of the labor of everyday tasks. Theses devices, including electric ranges, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers and dryers, give us more free time and enable more people to work outside the home.

16. Health Technologies
The mass production of antibiotics and artificial implants have led to astounding health improvements. Such engineered products — from artificial organs, replacement joints, imaging technologies and biomaterials — can be credited with improving the quality of life of millions.

17. Petroleum and Petrochemical Technologies
Propelled by engineering advances in oil exploration and processing, petroleum products have had an enormous impact on modern life. While petroleum provides fuel for cars, homes and industries, of course, petrochemicals are used in products ranging from aspirin to zippers.

18. Laser and Fiber Optics
Pulses of light from lasers are applied to industrial tools, non-invasive surgical devices, satellites and other products. Highly pure glass fibers now provide the infrastructure to carry information via laser-produced light. And a single fiber-optic cable can enable almost-simultaneous worldwide communication and media.

19. Nuclear Technologies
The harnessing of the atom gave us a new source of electric power and new capabilities in medical research and imaging. Although rightly controversial, the engineering work that went into the creation of nuclear technologies remains one of the most significant achievements of the previous century.

20. High-Performance Materials
From the building blocks of iron and steel to the latest advances in polymers, ceramics and composites, engineers have customized and enhanced properties, creating higher-quality, lighter, stronger and more adaptable materials for thousands of applications, including aircraft, medical devices and computers.

What engineering achievements -- old or new -- do you think are missing from the list? What, if any, should not have made the list?

For further engineering innovations, see National Engineers Week’s “Breaking Through: The Creative Engineer.”

Source

The content, via the Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century project, is adapted from the 2003 book A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives, by George Constable and Bob Somerville. The book was developed through a project initiated by the National Academy of Engineering.