Midway during the 19th century, new inventions, new materials and scientific discoveries created new problems and new possibilities, and the engineering profession became even more specialised.
Electrical and electronic engineering made its first appearance and developed in the field of electricity with the impulse given by physicists such as James Clerk Maxwell

and Heinrich Hertz.
The field of chemical engineering emerged as a branch of the study of chemical reactions involved in the manufacturing of products, in answer to the need for mass production for industrial purposes.

Other fields of engineering introduced at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century were aeronautics and aerospace engineering, together with metallurgical, agricultural and industrial engineering.

Engineering is currently subdivided even further, with every industrial area (oil, ceramics, nuclear energy, environmental, computer science, etc.) requiring skilled engineers to satisfy specific needs. Public services, such as health, transport and town planning have also developed their own engineering specialisations. The arrival of the new information technologies has enabled engineers, designers and architects to exploit their creativity and technical experience to the full. However, this is all hindered by linguistic barriers. This has given rise to the need to accurately transpose ideas and designs into the various languages, maintaining the technical language which is common to all.