Engineering Peace And Justice

Some years ago when I was chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering, a colleague introduced me to a visitor from Sandia Laboratories, perhaps the largest developer of armaments and weapons systems in the world. We had a nice visit, and as we chatted, the talk naturally centered on the visitor’s engineering work. It turned out that his job in recent years had been to develop a new acoustic triggering device for bombs. As he explained it, the problem with bombs was that the plunger triggering mechanism could fail if the bomb hit at an angle, and thus the explosives would not detonate. To get around this, he dev- oped an acoustic trigger that would detonate the explosives as soon as the bomb hit any solid surface, even at an angle. As he talked, I watched his face. His enthusiasm for his work was clearly e- dent, and his animated explanations of what they had developed at Sandia exuded pride and excitement. I thought about asking him what it felt like to have spent his engineering career designing better ways to kill people or to destroy property – the sole purpose of a bomb. I wondered how many people had been killed because this man had dev- oped a clever acoustic triggering device. But good sense and decorum prevailed and I did not ask him such questions. We parted as friends and in good spirits.

A response of the engineering profession to the challenges of security, poverty and underdevelopment, environmental sustainability, and native cultures is described. Ethical codes, which govern the behavior of engineers, are examined from a historical perspective linking the prevailing codes to models of the natural world. A new ethical code based on a recently introduced model of Nature as an integral community is provided and discussed. Applications of the new code are described using a case study approach. With the ethical code based on an integral community in place, new design algorithms are developed and also explored using case studies. Implications of the proposed changes in ethics and design on engineering education are considered. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Engineering Ethics / Models of the Earth / Engineering in a Morally Deep World / Engineering Design in a Morally Deep World / Implications for Engineering Education / Final Thoughts / References / Author's Biography

This book is aimed at engineering academics worldwide, who are attempting to bring social justice into their work and practice, or who would like to but don't know where to start. This is the first book dedicated specifically to University professionals on Engineering and Social Justice, an emerging and exciting area of research and practice. An international team of multidisciplinary authors share their insights and invite and inspire us to reformulate the way we work. Each chapter is based on research and yet presents the outcomes of scholarly studies in a user oriented style. We look at all three areas of an engineering academic's professional role: research, teaching and community engagement. Some of our team have created classes which help students think through their role as engineering practitioners in society. Others are focusing their research on outcomes that are socially just and for client groups who are marginalized and powerless. Yet others are consciously engaging local community groups and exploring ways in which the University might 'serve' communities at home and globally from a post-development perspective. We are additionally concerned with the student cohort and who has access to engineering studies. We take a broad social and ecological justice perspective to critique existing and explore alternative practices. This book is a handbook for any engineering academic, who wishes to develop engineering graduates as well as technologies and practices that are non-oppressive, equitable and engaged. It is also an essential reader for anyone studying in this interdisciplinary juncture of social science and engineering. Scholars using a critical theoretical lens on engineering practice and education, from Science and Technology Studies, History and Philosophy of Engineering, Engineering and Science Education will find this text invaluable.

The profession of engineering in the United States has historically served the status quo, feeding an ever-expanding materialistic and militaristic culture, remaining relatively unresponsive to public concerns, and without significant pressure for change from within. This book calls upon engineers to cultivate a passion for social justice and peace and to develop the skill and knowledge set needed to take practical action for change within the profession. Because many engineers do not receive education and training that support the kinds of critical thinking, reflective decision-making, and effective action necessary to achieve social change, engineers concerned with social justice can feel powerless and isolated as they remain complicit. Utilizing techniques from radical pedagogies of liberation and other movements for social justice, this book presents a roadmap for engineers to become empowered and engage one another in a process of learning and action for social justice and peace.

A response of the engineering profession to the challenges of security, poverty and under-development, and environmental sustainability is described. Ethical codes, which govern the behavior of engineers, are examined from a historical perspective linking the prevailing codes to models of the natural world.Anewethical code based on a recently introduced model of Nature as an integral community is provided and discussed. Applications of the new code are described using a case study approach. With the ethical code based on an integral community in place, a new design algorithm is developed and also explored using case studies. Implications of the proposed changes in ethics and design on engineering education are considered.

Engineering Ethics: Peace, Justice, and the Earth offers a new ethical foundation for the engineering profession. Modern engineering codes of ethics have primarily been developed using a Utilitarian approach. This book adopts a morally deep world view from environmental ethics as the basis for engineering practice. The fundamental canon of the new code of ethics is the following: Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the identified integral community. The key difference between the new code and existing codes is in the inclusion of an identified integral community. Several case studies are examined in light of the new code including the development of new tools for Mexican farmers, the design and fabrication of devices for the physically challenged, the mechanization of grape-picking in California and the development of transportations systems for the tourist industry in Churchill, Ontario, Canada. Using the new ethical code, a design methodology is developed based on the implicit notion of promoting justice and peace and reducing suffering. Implications of these developments for engineering education are also explored with a new paradigm for engineering education based upon the Integral Model. The present work is intended for practicing engineers and engineering educators as well as ethicists and philosophers.

This volume presents papers on the topics covered at the National Academy of Engineering's 2018 US Frontiers of Engineering Symposium. Every year the symposium brings together 100 outstanding young leaders in engineering to share their cutting-edge research and innovations in selected areas. The 2018 symposium was held September 5-7 and hosted by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. The intent of this book is to convey the excitement of this unique meeting and to highlight innovative developments in engineering research and technical work.