In 2003, the National Academy of Engineering

National Academy of Engineering

The National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...

in the United States published A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements that Transformed our Lives. This work detailed historical information on the following list of what the authors consider to be the top twenty engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 achievements of the 20th century, or those achievements which had the greatest impact upon life during and following this period.

The list was published as follows:

1. Electrification
   Electrification
   Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
   
   
2. Automobile
   Automobile
   An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
   
   
3. Airplane
4. Water Supply and Distribution
   Water supply
   Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
   
   
5. Electronics
   Electronics
   Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
   
   
6. Radio
   Radio
   Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
   
    and Television
   Television
   Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
   
   
7. Agricultural Mechanization
   Mechanised agriculture
   Mechanized agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanize the work of agriculture, massively increasing farm output and farm worker productivity...
   
   
8. Computers
9. Telephone
   Telephone
   The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
   
   
10. Air Conditioning
    Air conditioning
    An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
    
     and Refrigeration
    Refrigeration
    Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
    
    
11. Highways
12. Spacecraft
    Spacecraft
    A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
    
    
13. Internet
    Internet
    The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
    
    
14. Imaging
    Imaging
    Imaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's outward form; especially a visual representation .- Imaging methodologies and technologies :...
    
    
15. Household Appliances
16. Health Technologies
17. Petroleum
    Petroleum
    Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
    
     and Petrochemical Technologies
18. Laser
    Laser
    A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
    
     and Fiber Optics
19. Nuclear Technologies
    Nuclear technology
    Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear power, nuclear medicine, and nuclear weapons...
    
    
20. High-performance Materials
    Materials science
    Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...