Sensing and Actuation: A Case for Multidisciplinary Engineering Education

Sensors and actuators are the basis of almost all electrical systems, especially if one views them as generalized inputs and outputs. But the approach to teaching them has been ad hoc, based almost entirely on an encyclopedic enumeration of their properties and applications. This approach is also evident in textbooks available. They are either specialized research monographs on a class of devices or are handbooks that describe many devices, sometimes exhaustively. A rational approach to teaching should be based on principles rather than on descriptions of functioning of the devices and should cover all or at least the main principles of sensing and actuation. But therein lies the problem. Sensors and actuators are based on numerous physical principles that cover all disciplines. To understand their operation and eventually to design sensors and sensor systems requires a broad knowledge in almost all areas of science and engineering. This requires a broadening of the base of instruction to include material science, physics, chemistry, and related subjects such as optics, nuclear engineering, fabrication, packaging, and others. Instead of specialization, the study of sensors and actuators favors diversification, and by so doing it stands in contrast with most other topics in the engineering curriculum.