Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Case Studies

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rockwell Franklin Clancy III, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Qin Zhu, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Lisa M Lee, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Iris Louella Jenkins, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

motivate a concern with ethics in research, (2) identifying theethical dimensions of research, and (3) responding to the ethical dimensions of one’s ownresearch and others’ research.Setup and methodsThe workshop will meet a total of four times per semester, approximately once per month. Thefirst and third meetings will last two hours, while the second and fourth meetings will last onehour. This will allow participants more time to receive an overview of the workshop during thefirst meeting, and to work on and share with other participants their broader impacts statements,mentorship plans, and safe and inclusive working environments plans – further described below– during the third meeting.Workshop participants will include influential researchers

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics education methodologies and interventions

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rebekah L Martin, Virginia Military Institute; Tanjina Afrin, Virginia Military Institute; Kacie Caple D'Alessandro, Virginia Military Institute

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

, and VMI's Civil Engineering curriculum. conduct themselves in an ethicalFundamentals and honorable manner(Required, 1st Multiple guest lecturers' visitations are alsoyear course) included in the course plan with requests to Quizzes emphasize ethical issues Semester PaperEnvironmental Introduce students to drinking water and Individual essay on ethical andEngineering wastewater treatment theory and teach students professional responsibilities during(Required, 2nd how to design basic water and wastewater remediation of an environmentalyear course) treatment

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics in ML/AI

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Emad Ali, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Bailey Kathryn McOwen, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Arsalan Ashraf, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Dayoung Kim, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

binding document that regulates the development of AI in 27 nations of the world, hence setting benchmarks for ethical AI’s global standardization. • China’s Next Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan [27]: Official document from the Chinese government that outlines China’s long-term development goals related to AI, and helps understand the AI’s role in government oversight and digital sovereignty.This paper will present an overview of all these policy documents and then focus on the ethical concernsand mitigation strategies presented in these policy documents. Toward the end, the discussion section willpresent similarities and differences across the ethical concerns and their mitigation strategies

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Expanding horizons

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jennifer Strickland, The MITRE Corporation

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

, and protection of vulnerable families. Policymakersand tool designers must address these concerns to prevent further harm and discrimination.assessing public policy success and failureThe World Bank—a multilateral entity that pursues policy initiatives in and through over 150governments across the world—assesses the success achieved in hundreds of unique projectsevery year [9]. The finding is that failure happens between 25% and 50% of the time —depending on how one defines success and failure. How do we define success and failure inpublic policy? If success focuses on whether planned outputs (e.g., roads, laws, trainingprograms) are delivered efficiently, failure rate under this definition is 24%. If success evaluateswhether interventions

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Virtue & Ethics in the Profession

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jiamin Zhang, University of California, Riverside; Quoc Tuan Olivier Truong, University of California, Riverside; Neha Gutlapalli, University of California, Riverside; HSIN-LING HSIEH, Northern Michigan University; Dena Plemmons, University of California, Riverside

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

his father that he did not want to continue because of the (a) (b) Figure 1: Two Virtue-of-the-Week stories. (a) Lu Ban and Ya Zi 21,22 , (b) Mercury and the Woodman 23 .hardship involved in farming. Lu Ban thought for a while and asked his son what his plan was forthe future. Ya Zi said he wanted to learn the skills of weaving and left home to learn weavingafterwards. One year later, Ya Zi returned home again. Lu Ban asked his son: “Why do you give up again?”Ya Zi said: “It was too difficult to do for me.”Lu Ban asked his son: “I see. Then, what is your plan for the future?”Ya Zi said: “Father, I would like to follow you and become a carpenter.”Lu Ban approved

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Student understanding

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Eman Hammad, Texas A&M University; Celeste Arden Riley, Texas A&M University - Kingsville; Virginia Pederson; Pierre Atieh

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

of how important they deem elements of the eight constructs, using aLikert-type scale as follows: 1: Not important at all 2: Mostly not important 3: Neutral 4: Somewhat important 5: Extremely importantThe pre-intervention version of the survey (Form A) includes nine demographic questions and37 items asking participants to rate importance of a specific construct element (see Appendix1). The post-intervention version (Form B) includes the same 37 importance-rating items,followed by three follow-up questions for each of the eight constructs that explore studentincorporation of constructs in capstone designs (yes or no), preferred timing of educationalintervention (planning, design, or implementation), and possible challenges to

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Student understanding

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Simge Engelkiran, Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

progress. Moving forward, I plan to deepen the analysis byexploring intersections between participants’ disciplinary specializations and their ethicalframeworks. Additionally, I will examine how institutional messaging, mentorshippractices, and policy structures shape the development of ethical reasoning duringdoctoral education. The ultimate goal is to offer concrete recommendations forembedding ethics more meaningfully into the fabric of engineering education at thedoctoral level.ReferencesABET. (n.d.). Criteria for accrediting engineering programs, 2019–2020.https://www.abet.org/accreditation/accreditation-criteria/criteria-for-accrediting-engineering-programs-2025-2026/Bucciarelli, L. L. (2008). Ethics and engineering education. European

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Expanding horizons

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Douglas Yung, Syracuse University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

infrastructure limitations. 2. Water Systems Ensuring Equitable Access and Sustainability: The development of water distribution systems often fails to consider the unique needs of marginalized populations. This case highlights the application of IIEP to design systems that are both environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. Solutions include the integration of low-cost filtration technologies and the establishment of community-managed water resources to enhance accessibility and trust.Broader Domains 1. Infrastructure Development: Intersectionality principles are applied to large-scale infrastructure projects, such as transportation networks and urban planning. By incorporating diverse stakeholder input

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Expanding horizons

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brent K Jesiek, Purdue University at West Lafayette (COE); Justin L Hess, Purdue University – West Lafayette (College of Engineering); Nael Barakat, The University of Texas at Tyler; Sara E Wilson, The University of Kansas

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

” [11].The latter initiative, in particular, included a large-scale study on views of ethics in engineeringamong engineers and technicians, private firms, and representatives of professional engineeringinstitutions (or PEIs). In the future, we plan to expand our data collection efforts and moresystematically compare our results with these prior works.In this paper we report on two major facets of our own HEEE meeting. First, we summarizeresults from a pre-meeting survey that was developed by our team and deployed to all invitees.The survey included both scaled and open-ended questions designed to gauge participants’perceptions of ethics codes, ethics education and ethical development, case studies, the ethics ofAI/ML technologies, and related

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - GenAI in ethics education

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sourojit Ghosh, University of Washington; Sarah Marie Coppola, University of Washington

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

to 1500words in length. This assignment invited them to synthesize their readings and conversations across course topicsand accommodated various formats. Students could write traditional 5-paragraph essays on topics of their choice[17], prototype an artefact that uses GAI and write a report on the design and user testing, or take a creative writingapproach to imagine their futures in a GAI-powered world. They were required to submit a short Proposal midwaythrough the quarter detailing their plans and received instructor feedback before they went on to craft their papers.Group Project This set of assignments provided students with the opportunity to experiment with GAI tools within variousstages of the UCD process in a sandboxed

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics education methodologies and interventions

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edwin R. Schmeckpeper P.E., Norwich University; Ashley Ater Kranov, Washington State University; Michael B. Kelley P.E., Norwich University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

societal contexts. SO 5. an ability to function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives. SO 7. an ability to acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.The Engineering Professional Skill Assessment MethodThe EPSA method focuses on groups of students discussing a complex, real-world scenario. Thisdiscussion-based performance assessment has two components: (1) a student discussion guidedby a 1-2 page scenario that presents a contemporary multi-faceted engineering problem in acomplex societal and environmental context with no clear-cut solution along with a series ofquestions to prompt

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics in ML/AI

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenny Tilsen, Bucknell University; Robert M Nickel, Bucknell University; Stewart Thomas, Bucknell University; Sarah Appelhans, Lafayette College; Alan Cheville, Bucknell University

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

how participants’views and experiences of ethical awareness in AI and machine learning evolve through participationin STEMtelling. In the next steps, we plan to conduct a second round of coding and further developour understanding of how participants’ views and experiences of ethical awareness in AI andmachine learning evolve through participation in STEMtelling. We will also expand on the themesidentified through STEMtelling and assess the strength of each theme. We plan to present a full paperon this study of STEMtelling at the ASEE conference in 2026.We conclude our work in progress, by returning to our inquiry of how one teaches wisdom in amachine learning course. Varela [8] emphasizes that reflection is connected to the embodiment ofboth

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics education methodologies and interventions

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel R. TerMaat, Doane University; Christopher D. Wentworth, Doane University; Kristopher Williams, Doane University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

, institutional norms, and studentexperiences, presents significant complexity in understanding the factors that may influencemoral development.Expectedly so, the initial “pre-college” cross-sectional results of this work-in-progress paperprovide little in the way of conclusions above existing literature. Rather, these results establishthe baseline for the planned longitudinal study that will track the moral development of thefreshmen cohort through their time at the liberal arts institution, alongside curricular andco/extra-curricular variables. An important aspect of the study, given wide DIT2 score variancesin cross-sectional studies, is the longitudinal design to track individual student growth. TheDIT2 is planned to be repeated as 1) a “mid-college

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - GenAI in ethics education

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bernd Steffensen, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt/European University of Technology; Bettina von Römer, University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

were presented by three avatars. These avatars rep-resented the following three interest groups with their video statements: 1. An emergency doctor who works in a large hospital: She reports that on many days she is confronted with having to make urgent and far-reaching treatment decisions. She briefly describes the shortcomings of existing living wills and clarifies the differ- ences between cases of planned surgery and those in which an emergency has arisen and quick action is necessary. In cases where relatives are involved in the decision- making process and a dispute arises with the medical staff treating the patient, court proceedings may result after the treatment. A PPP could provide helpful support to

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Student understanding

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Diana Adela Martin, University College London

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

on work groups focused on water infrastructure, PFAS chemicals and consumer confidence reports.3 Dr. Zachary Pirtle is a program executive for Exploration Participation in Science Strategy and Integration in NASA's Science engineering: standards Mission Directorate, supporting science within NASA’s and methods for human exploration plans. He is a leading researcher on bringing the engineering ethics and epistemology, and co-led a NASA community in effort to involve the public in informing NASA’s decision-making exploration plans. At NASA Headquarters in DC, he helped establish the Exploration Systems Development office, including the Space Launch System and

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics in ML/AI

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Annika Haughey, Duke University; Brian P. Mann, Duke University; Siobhan Oca, Duke University

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Diversity

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

development. It offers flexibility to includeadditional features or to modify the scoring algorithm to introduce more or less bias. Furthermore,it can be expanded to address biases against other demographics, such as age or race, making it avaluable tool for teaching the complexities of fairness in AI systems. This adaptability ensures thecase study remains relevant and impactful in diverse educational contexts.Future work will include assessing the learning impacts of the case study in a classroom setting.We plan to evaluate the effectiveness of this tool as a means of educating students on bias inmachine learning by implementing pre- and post-class surveys. These surveys will measurechanges in students’ understanding of key concepts, such as the

Conference Session

Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - GenAI in ethics education

Collection

2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tianjiao Zhao, East Carolina University; Angela Whitehurst, East Carolina University; George C. Wang P.E., East Carolina University; Xi Lin, East Carolina University; Xi Wang, Drexel University; Ron Chance, East Carolina University; Chelsea Rebecca Buckhalter, East Carolina University; shahrooz Ghorbani, East Carolina University

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Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS)

usage, (3) collaboration with librarians to teach AI literacy and (4)demographic information. This article omits the third aspect as the author plans to address itin future publications within the library science discipline. The 16 questions are summarizedas follows:1. Do you agree or disagree with the assertion that students must acquire AI literacy skills to be successful in the future workforce?2. How familiar do you think your students are with the methods generative AI tools use to create new information? (ChatGPT, Google Bard etc.)3. How familiar do you think your students are regarding the strengths and limitations of generative AI tools?4. How concerned are you about your students’ ability to evaluate/verify the information