A Bridge between Engineering and Mathematics
Budi Rahardjo
School of Electrotechnics and Informatics
Institut Teknologi Bandung
2007
br@paume.itb.ac.id
We live in an exciting time in which business is done through electronic means. Electronic business, transactions, and communications are now part of our daily lives. We do not go to physical bank anymore but go to ATM machines. We, at least in Indonesia, use our cellular phones everyday. We feel insecure if we left our cellular phones at home. Some say that we become too dependent on electronic devices. All of this is possible due to the technology development in computers and telecommunication.
One key aspect of electronic business acceptance is security. Confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability are aspects of security that must be guaranteed in electronic business transactions.
Encryption is one means to provide security. Encryption depends heavily on math. Encryption algorithms such as RSA or ECC are basically mathematical equations.
These encryption algorithms must be implemented in software or hardware. This task falls upon the shoulder of engineers, be that software engineers or hardware engineers. Thus, engineers must understand the mathematics behind them and how to implement them in software or hardware.
Implementing encryption, which is basically math equations, in software or hardware is not straight forward. There is a limited resource in hardware implementation. Small and portable electronic devices have limited memory and CPU cycle. Computing the equations must be done in real-time if the solution is going to be implemented in real applications. We do not want to wait for five minutes in an ATM booth for the machine to finish its encryption process. The time it takes to process the data should be acceptable.
When an electronic engineer creates a circuit, be that analog or digital circuit, she actually creates a set of mathematical equations. In digital circuit, the mathematical equation is “simpler” but they have a large number of such equations. For example, a chip may have two million variables. The scale of the problem what makes it difficult to solve, even with the help of computers.
Engineers may have strong foundation in mathematics. They may even have interest in it, but many times we hear complain that math is not taught properly in engineering classes. The materials taught in these classes are boring and too abstracts for engineering students. The result is a hate towards mathematics.
A bridge between engineering and mathematics must be built.
There have been many examples of digital heroes who got interested in engineering because they read books on certain topics, including mathematics. These books inspire them to become engineers and develop products that make our live better.
Mixing engineers and mathematicians in various occasions would be another example of such a bridge. This effort should not be limited to formal occassions only, but to include informal settings.
Let us develop such bridges
Budi Rahardjo
School of Electrotechnics and Informatics
Institut Teknologi Bandung
2007
br@paume.itb.ac.id
We live in an exciting time in which business is done through electronic means. Electronic business, transactions, and communications are now part of our daily lives. We do not go to physical bank anymore but go to ATM machines. We, at least in Indonesia, use our cellular phones everyday. We feel insecure if we left our cellular phones at home. Some say that we become too dependent on electronic devices. All of this is possible due to the technology development in computers and telecommunication.
One key aspect of electronic business acceptance is security. Confidentiality, privacy, integrity, and availability are aspects of security that must be guaranteed in electronic business transactions.
Encryption is one means to provide security. Encryption depends heavily on math. Encryption algorithms such as RSA or ECC are basically mathematical equations.
These encryption algorithms must be implemented in software or hardware. This task falls upon the shoulder of engineers, be that software engineers or hardware engineers. Thus, engineers must understand the mathematics behind them and how to implement them in software or hardware.
Implementing encryption, which is basically math equations, in software or hardware is not straight forward. There is a limited resource in hardware implementation. Small and portable electronic devices have limited memory and CPU cycle. Computing the equations must be done in real-time if the solution is going to be implemented in real applications. We do not want to wait for five minutes in an ATM booth for the machine to finish its encryption process. The time it takes to process the data should be acceptable.
When an electronic engineer creates a circuit, be that analog or digital circuit, she actually creates a set of mathematical equations. In digital circuit, the mathematical equation is “simpler” but they have a large number of such equations. For example, a chip may have two million variables. The scale of the problem what makes it difficult to solve, even with the help of computers.
Engineers may have strong foundation in mathematics. They may even have interest in it, but many times we hear complain that math is not taught properly in engineering classes. The materials taught in these classes are boring and too abstracts for engineering students. The result is a hate towards mathematics.
A bridge between engineering and mathematics must be built.
There have been many examples of digital heroes who got interested in engineering because they read books on certain topics, including mathematics. These books inspire them to become engineers and develop products that make our live better.
Mixing engineers and mathematicians in various occasions would be another example of such a bridge. This effort should not be limited to formal occassions only, but to include informal settings.
Let us develop such bridges
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