Forensic Engineering - History

History

As the field of engineering has evolved over time so has the field of forensic engineering. Early examples include investigation of bridge failures such as the Tay rail bridge disaster of 1879 and the Dee bridge disaster of 1847. Many early rail accidents pioneered the use of tensile testing of samples and fractography of failed components.

With the prevalence of liability lawsuits in the late 1900s the use of forensic engineering as a means to determine culpability spread in the courts. Edmond Locard (1877–1966) was a pioneer in forensic science who formulated the basic principle of forensic science: "Every contact leaves a trace". This became known as Locard's "exchange principle".

Read more about this topic:  Forensic Engineering

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.
    Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)

    ... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.
    Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)

    History is not what you thought. It is what you can remember. All other history defeats itself.
    In Beverly Hills ... they don’t throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows.
    Idealism is the despot of thought, just as politics is the despot of will.
    Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)