Innovations in electronics have made progress possible in many industries. While you may call Physics the science of all things, electronics is a key "applied science" that has helped carry forward other industries.

The author of a textbook I once read in school—this must be at least 17 years ago—wrote that if the automotive industry had made the same progress as the electronics industry, you could go around the world on a gallon of gasoline in a car that cost you a few hundred dollars. The comparison, of course, took into account the fact that mainframe computers that once filled a large room and cost over a million dollars sit on a desk and cost about a thousand inflated dollars (we didn't have handheld computers back then).

The automotive industry has, however, made some progress with, not surprisingly, the aid of innovative electronics engineering. You'd say I'm biased, but wait. Electronics has improved the driving experience with in-car entertainment—starting with radio receivers and audio cassette players to CD, VCD and DVD players. Electronics engineering has also brought us the ability to control things like valve timing, spark timing and cooling fan operation so that cars can deliver higher power and greater fuel efficiency. And what about power windows, rain-sensing windshield wipers, parking sensors and airconditioning control?

Here are some of the features of "concept cars" from companies like Volvo and Toyota. A "starter-generator" cuts off the engine when the car is stopped and comes to life again with the use of the accelerator; an autopark function helps maneuver the car into a parking slot; your body scan saved in a digital key automatically adjusts the center console, seat, steering wheel, pedals, head restraint and seat belt; and last but not the least, fuel cells run vehicles that deliver the power and speed of gas-guzzling autos. You'd be hard-pressed to find any planned major innovation in automobiles that does not in some way use electronics.

Automotives is not the only industry to benefit from electronics. Here's another example: much of the monitoring and measurement area in medicine is indeed enabled by electronics. ECG and X-ray photography to ultrasonography, and CT and MRI scan are due to research in applied physics and electronics. Lasers for surgery, robotic surgery and much of the equipment in emergency rooms also rely on design by electronics engineers. And researchers are currently trying to figure out how to practically use nanotechnology in externally controlled diagnosis and drug delivery.

Sales of electronic devices and equipment to these industries prove my point. According to IMS Research, the worldwide market for OEM automotive electronics will grow at a CAGR of 7.1 percent from $23 billion in 2003 to $42.5 billion in 2012. The medical device market, on the other hand, is estimated at $174 billion by research firm Databeans. The company figures medical applications that use semiconductors make up 34 percent of this market and predicts an average annual growth rate of 18 percent in just this segment over 2004-2009 to reach $179 billion.

While analysts have predicted a mild slowdown in business this year, a lot will continue to rely on electronics engineers—not just the 3Cs that we often talk about. Upswings are often driven by innovations; we are after all in the innovation industry and designers have often been the engines of progress.

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