ABSTRACT
In the introductory chapter James Trevelyan notes the scarcity of systematic research on engineering practice and he maintains that a theory of engineering practice would benefit engineers, researchers and students. This chapter presents the findings of a study of professional engineers practising in Ireland. More specifically this chapter investigates the role of mathematics in engineering practice. The study was inspired by the observation that there is a lacuna in the scholarly literature concerning the nature of mathematics’ role, if any, as a significant cause of the declining number of students entering professional engineering courses and the absence of any broad picture of the mathematical expertise required or used by practising engineers. The research shows that it is use of broader mathematical thinking – tacit mathematics, rather than the more explicit ‘syllabus’ mathematics – that is of most value to all engineers in their workplace.
