Jason Liu

Paolo Fonseca

Shawn Nirody

Timothy Brown

After comparing interview responses, it became clear that there were few well defined ethical policies. We thought that it would be a good idea to do a project to help shape policy in the workplace and in research. The main issue with this is that industry and academia are completely different. The motivation behind the work, the structure, and the people in charge are different. Moreover, each engineering field has its own unique issues that arise from its work. Therefore proposing some sort of blanket policy that is also effective is impossible. We believe the only way to create a better and more comprehensive policy is to do it on a more individual basis. Thus, our goal is to promote ethical awareness among students of engineering and other science related disciplines who, as professionals, will face certain ethical issues whether they choose to work in academia or in industry.

Prior to taking this class, we had not put much thought into how ethics could apply to what we do within our respective fields. Our ethics in the news discussions were really what made us think more about our roles as engineers. Taking a cue from Roeser’s paper, “Emotional Engineers,” it is much easier for engineers to make ethical decisions themselves rather than having to consult or be monitored by other professionals who’ve had extensive training in ethical matters. We realized that if students begin thinking about the ethical implications of their actions and engaging in open discussions now, then as professionals, they could help shape the future of ethical policy in the workplace and lab.

Yet an engineer must recognize when a situation demands ethical consideration. After this point, the engineer is responsible for taking the initiative to look up the appropriate protocols and guidelines and confer with their superiors. Since this is no easy task, we must encourage students to ask questions and discover ethics and how to apply it for themselves. This is why we decided to create a flyer illustrating the importance of ethics. In order to get the conversation started, we included hypothetical scenarios that we believe would be common for students and young professionals along with thought provoking questions.

Scenario #1: Walking out of my E45 class last semester, my good friend Robin and I, were discussing the topic of today’s lecture: Fracture Mechanics. Our professor began a discussion on disagreements between engineers and management in industry. At some point, Robin asked an important question: “Why would managers/administrators disagree with engineers?”  Answering this question was difficult, but towards the end of the conversation, we were inclined toward the notion that engineers will rely on scientific / hard data results while managers will look for what they perceive as signs of progress. This small difference in thinking can lead to misunderstandings and miscommunication. Therefore, it is critical to spread the word on the importance of ethics in the work industry.

Scenario #2: For one of our projects we were required to interview engineers and scientists about ethical issues in their fields. It became clear to us that for many professionals ethical procedure is a grey area, and it is often difficult to abide by the regulations. My interviewee described her experience when she worked on a project on the locomotion of snakes. To prevent the snakes from escaping and being harmed, an Institutional Review Board, an ethics committee that, among other things, regulates the use of animals in research, suggested that the research team surround the cages with water. Since the lab did not have room for a small moat, the team placed the cages on a raised platform in an inflatable kiddie pool. This set up was quickly taken down for the inconvenience it caused. In this case, both groups were at fault. Perhaps a better-defined and context specific policy would have ensured stricter adherence to the guidelines for animal care.

The flyer we are designing will essentially be a crash course in ethics. The basic (and rough) plan is as follows. First off, it will broadly define ethics and what constitutes an ethical dilemma. Next will be short descriptions of the two scenarios mentioned earlier. This will be followed by a section on conflicts of interest and other pressures felt by engineers and scientists that may tempt them to “cut corners.” There will be a blurb on the current state of regulation in science and industry, including the “frontiers” (or even wildernesses), i.e. grey areas on which there is no consensus. The final portion will include a list of organizations and institutions with ethical guidelines, along with their respective websites. By distributing these flyers, we hope to create an ethically aware student body who will be motivated to become ethically informed and skilled professionals.