Engineers have always played a major role in my life. Some of my earliest memories of my dad — a computer engineer who writes software for police radios — involve him clacking away on his keyboard, long before we even had an Internet connection. Whenever I go out with my best friend — an aerospace engineer — we end up discussing helicopters in far greater detail than I’d ever learn on my own.

Engineering is complicated, so this issue was written with you in mind. The stories are short and easy to digest, and some even have boxes spelling out why you should care.

In simple terms, engineering is applying math and science to things you actually care about. For instance, engineers are the people who create fuel-efficient cars, as well as the pavement we drive them on.

But this issue of the UP isn’t about them specifically. It’s about the engineers at FAU and what they’ve been slaving away at for long hours in tiny rooms.

On the outside, the two-story engineering building on the Boca campus looks just like any other campus building. But hidden inside are labs where students are designing race cars from scratch, fixing Army helicopters, and finding ways to protect and save the environment.

The labs on the SeaTech campus in Dania Beach are filled with large machinery and research materials, such as unmanned submarines and giant buoys. These labs are so hidden in the bowels of the building that you need a map to find them — you’re even supposed to have an escort when visiting the campus.

Regardless of where these departments keep their offices, the real secret is the research they uncover. Even if the science behind these experiments makes your head hurt, the end results are still pretty cool. So, I’ve gone ahead and taken out all the boring crap, leaving you with just the notable achievements of our fellow students and professors.

Hopefully by the end of the issue, you’ll have a greater understanding of why their work is important — and learn that science isn’t so bad after all.