title: The Engineer in America: A Historical Anthology from Technology and Culture
author: Terry S. Reynolds
description: Engineers form one of the largest 'professional' groups in the United States today, with around 2 million practitioners; it is the single largest occupation of American males. The rise of this occupational group and its place in American society furnish the focus for this anthology.
zlib_text: CHAPTER 1.1
  THE PURPOSE AND EVOLUTION 
  OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
  Louis A. Martin-Vega
  National Science Foundation
  Arlington,Virginia
  The historical events that led to the birth of industrial engineering provide significant insights
  into many of the principles that dominated its practice and development throughout the first
  half of the twentieth century. While these principles continue to impact the profession, many
  other conceptual and technological developments that currently shape and continue to mold
  the practice of the profession originated in the second half of the twentieth century. The
  objective of this chapter is to briefly summarize major events that have contributed to the
  birth and evolution of industrial engineering and assist in identifying common elements that
  continue to impact the purpose and objectives of the profession.
  INTRODUCTION
  Born in the late nineteenth century, industrial engineering is a dynamic profession whose
  growth has been fueled by the challenges and de