A case study-based graduate course in engineering ethics and professional responsibility

Abstract

This paper examines in detail the development of a graduate-level course in engineering ethics and professional responsibilities. Case studies covering the field from the Texas A&M Bonfire to Bhopal, the Quebec Bridge to the Kansas City Hyatt Regency, and many other notable incidents are used extensively to give the students insight into how a lack of ethics or an abrogation of professional responsibility has resulted in some of the major engineering failures for which we have records. Students prepare in advance for a discussion of the day's topics through researching the historical record. The class leader then guides the class through a close examination of cultural, managerial, commercial, governmental and human factors in the context of the time in which the failures occurred. In one 3-hour class, as an example, aerospace and aviation was the topic as seen through the stories of Apollo 1 (1967), TWA Flight 800 (1996) and the Concorde crash (2000). In Apollo 1, faulty wiring in an explosive atmosphere led to loss of the capsule and crew. (Three years later, Apollo 13 was almost lost due to faulty wiring in an explosive atmosphere.) Almost thirty years later, TWA Flight 800 was lost with all aboard due to faulty wiring in an explosive atmosphere. The Concorde, which had a long history of tire failures causing wing and fuel tank damage, was lost when it hit debris and a tire failed, fatally damaging the wing and fuel tank. Disasters rarely happen without a string of warnings. The manner in which these warnings are handled is a fertile ground for class discussion of how professional responsibilities were or were not handled in an ethical way. The course uses as a text the book "Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster" by Allan J. McDonald. This is a first-hand account of the events leading up to and following the loss of Challenger. It is written in a very readable style, and students in the course have expressed a keen interest in the story, both as a "good read" and as one of the best, most detailed accounts of ethics, professional responsibility and even management politics to be found anywhere. Additionally, research papers and presentations explore cultural views on these topics and more detailed personal analyses and applications of the material. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.