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Macro-engineering

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In engineering, macro-engineering (alternatively known as macroengineering or macro engineering and as megaengineering) is the implementation of extremely large-scale design projects. In particular, macroengineering is the process of marshaling and managing of resources, technology, and public opinion on a large scale to carry out complex tasks that last over a long period of time.

In contrast to conventional engineering projects, macroengineering projects (called macroprojects or megaprojects) are multidisciplinary, involving collaboration from all fields of study; they involve not only engineers, but scientists, lawyers, industrialists, soldiers, and politicians as well. Macroprojects are usually international; they override political boundaries because most countries lack the social, financial, or physical ability to undertake them alone. As a consequence, macroprojects have the power to fundamentally transform its area of focus.

Macroengineering is an evolving field that is only recently receiving attention. Because we routinely deal with challenges that are multinational in scope, such as global warming and pollution, macroengineering is emerging as a transcendent solution to worldwide problems. Macroengineering, or megaengineering, is distinct from megascale engineering which deals with projects on a planetary or stellar scale. Where macroengineering is currently practical, megascale engineering is still within the domain of speculative fiction.

Macro-engineering in reality

Past macroprojects include the construction of the Panama Canal and Suez Canal, the construction of cross-country oil pipelines, and most recently, a multinational effort to standardize satellite communication. Macroengineering may, in the future, prevent the next big earthquake or supply arid countries with freshwater from icebergs.

Two intellectual centers focused on macroengineering theory and practice are the Candida Oancea Institute in Bucharest, Romania and The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, United States.

See also

  • Antarctica wind power station.
  • Alexander A. Bolonkin and Richard B. Cathcart, "Antarctica: a southern hemisphere wind power station?", INT. J. GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 8: 262-273 (2008).

Books

  1. Frank P. Davidson and Kathleen Lusk Brooke, BUILDING THE WORLD: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE GREAT ENGINEERING PROJECTS IN HISTORY, two volumes (Greenwood Publishing Group, Oxford UK, 2006).
  2. V. Badescu, R.B. Cathcart and R.D. Schuiling, MACRO-ENGINEERING: A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE (Springer, The Netherlands, 2006).
  3. R.B. Cathcart, V. Badescu with Ramesh Radhakrishnan, MACRO-ENGINEERS' DREAMS (2006), a freely downloadable 175-page textbook posted at http://textbookrevolution.org/ in category "engineering".
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