Instrumentation engineering in demand
Nature of work of an instrumentation engineer ranges from designing,
developing, installing, managing equipments that are used to monitor and
control machinery, finds Sumit Bhattacharjee
Just imagine a world without instruments. It would be
like traversing into a time that probably goes even beyond the Stone
Age. Man has always been fascinated towards instruments and the quest to
invent and innovate on new instruments has pushed mankind beyond
barriers to an age where instruments have become a part and parcel of
the life. Today, we find instruments at home and at workplace, and this
was possible only because of the science instrumentation.
In
scientific terms, instrumentation is defined as the art and science of
measurement and control of process variables within a production, or
manufacturing area. The science has further opened up the realm of
instrumentation engineering.
The discipline of
instrumentation engineering branched out of the streams of electrical
and electronic engineering some time in the early part of 1970s. “It is a
multi-disciplinary stream and covers subjects from various branches
such as chemical, mechanical, electrical, electronics and computers,”
says Prof. A. Bhujanga Rao, from the department of Instrumentation
Engineering, Andhra University.
The professor adds
that instrumentation engineering is a specialised branch of electrical
and electronic engineering and it deals with measurement, control and
automation of processes.
Scope
Almost all
process and manufacturing industry such as steel, oil, petrochemical,
power and defence production will have a separate instrumentation
department, which is manned and managed by instrumentation engineers.
“Automation is the buzz word in process industry, and automation is the
core job of instrumentation engineers. Hence, the demand for
instrumentation will always be there,” says the professor.
The
growth in the avionics, aeronautical and space science sectors has also
increased the scope for instrumentation engineers. Instrumentation
engineers can also fit in both software and hardware sectors.
Apart
from covering core subjects such as system dynamics, industrial
instrumentation and process control, analytical and bio-medical
instrumentation and robotics, the students deal with software and
hardware topics such as microprocessor and micro controller based
instrumentation, VLSI and embedded system designs, computer architecture
and organisation and computer control of processes. Computer languages
such as ‘C' and Fortran are also part of the curriculum. This makes an
instrumentation engineer fit for both the hardware and the software
industry. Moreover, since instrumentation engineers are presumed to be
good in physics, the logical ability is expected to be on the higher
side, which is a basic quality needed to excel in the software industry.
The demand is so high that every student finds at
least two jobs waiting in the wings, by the time he or she completes her
course, says Dr. Bhujanga Rao.
Nature of work of an
instrumentation engineer ranges from designing, developing, installing,
managing equipments that are used to monitor and control machinery and
processes.
“Though there is a demand for
instrumentation engineers from the software sector, we prefer the core
area, as that is where we can showcase our creativity and knowledge,”
says Srinivas a third-year student.
The shift
towards core sector is not only due to the opportunity to showcase ones
creative talent and knowledge, but also because of the long term
stability and quick growth. Bio-medical is another area that is fast
catching up and there is huge requirement for instrumentation
professionals.
Instrumentation engineering that made
its way as an exclusive engineering discipline in the early part of
1970s was earlier known as M.Sc. Tech Instrumentation in many of the
colleges. It was then a three-year PG course. Even today, it is referred
to by different names by various colleges. While some call it as B.
Tech- electronics and instrumentation, a few name it as B. Tech –
control and instrumentation. Whatever, be the name, the curriculum is
the same.
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