Conference Session

Engineering Ethics I

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pradeep Bhattacharya, Southern University & A&M College

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

Change To achieve excellence in engineering learning and instruction today’s engineersnot only need to acquire all the skills of the predecessors but have to understand manymore and in broader areas. Faculty’s weakness in engineering practice causes a sizeablebreach between the lessons taught in school and what employers and customers expectfrom graduating engineers. Engineers design and create products and processes toimprove safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professionalduties. This definition was given by the Accreditation Board for Engineering andTechnology (ABET) to substantiate ethics and professionalism engineers have to have.However, in doing the first part, engineers should give paramount

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics III

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Godfrey, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Todd Taylor, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Corinna Fleischmann, U.S. Coast Guard Academy; Daniel Pickles, U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

-boats on board for the number of passengers and crew? Did the TITANIC’s owners? Why or why not? 2. Would your answer change if you found out (hypothetically) that the TITANIC’s owners pressured the British Board of Trade’s decision not to increase the number of lifeboats? 3. How do you think that the belief that the TITANIC was unsinkable (i.e., the engineers had designed the ship as safe as the technology allowed) impact this ethical responsibility? 4. How would you convince your boss of the need to exceed the legal requirements for a design – especially if there were substantial costs associated with the redesign? 5. This is a case where the code of ethics forces the engineer to “overdesign

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Theis, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott; patricia watkins, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Library; Mary Angela Beck, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

this statement with the program outcomes for ABET Criteria 3 which includethe following3: 3c) An ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability and sustainability; 3f) An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility; and 3h) The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context.Thus, integrating the theory and practice of sustainability into a curriculum is a critical issue forengineering educators to address. We seek to examine how best to insert these criteria ofsustainability into our

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics II

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brock Barry, Purdue University; Vincent Drnevich, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Ethics

incorporated in engineering ethics discussions tends to focuson high profile, sensational cases such as the DC-10 plane crash in Paris, the Challenger disaster,and Chernobyl. Haws 10 performed a review of 42 engineering ethics papers from the 1996 to1999 proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education annual conferences. Hawsnoted that high profile cases were identified in the majority of papers that discussed case studies.Alternatively, Herkert 11 has argued that while high profile cases are useful for creating interestin engineering ethics among students, the practicing engineer is more likely to encounter moremundane dilemmas as part of their profession.As educators we can hope and reasonably assume that our graduates will not be at