To exercise leadership, science and engineering educators need to provide their students with the tools to identify and respond appropriately to professional problems with ethical dimensions. This project is a pilot study to develop innovative materials for engineering faculty to use to introduce issues of engineering ethics into their classrooms. The faculty will develop case study materials based on their own professional experiences. They will be prepared to develop the case studies and to discuss ethical issues with their students through a series of workshops and extensive individual consultation with the project director. The case studies and experiential essays based on the teaching experiences will be published and disseminated to the engineering schools. Presentations will be made at appropriate professional meetings. The pilot study will also investigate the possibility of broadening the ethics program to a larger group of campuses, through liaison with the Midwest Undergraduate Private Engineering Colleges. This proposal focuses on an important area in Ethics and Values Studies. The investigator is very well qualified; the plan is thoughtful and feasible; university support is extremely good. Results are likely to improve the teaching of engineering ethics on this campus and in undergraduate curricula nationwide. Support is highly recommended.
