Engineers have inherent ethical responsibilities. Safety is a primary concern so we try to learn from mistakes and accidents and are obligated to continuing professional development. (See news item in sidebar.) Engineering ethics also drive us towards sustainability and efficiency but we always have more to learn. Happy reading.
Green Decisions
“There’s no such thing as a green product, so all you can do is create a benchmark to work towards.” It is incumbent upon engineers to work towards sustainability and tools are being developed to help consider through-life effects.
Mechanical Engineering Magazine, March 2010
Lessons in Disaster
With the well capped, this is a timely post-mortem of the BP Deepwater Horizon accident. The different British and American approaches to safety are compared. “There are clear signs that a lax safety culture lay at the heart of the Deepwater disaster.”
Professional Engineering Magazine, August 2010
2D or 3D – Is a choice required?
There is no doubt that engineering has seen a shift to 3D for design and analysis. However, many jobs continue to be handled most efficiently by 2D methods. There is no substitute for engineering judgement and this includes the selection of technique.
Design News, June 2010
The Tech Primer Russia’s Spies Needed
Movies would have us believe that one of the most fertile fields for technology and innovation is in international espionage. While movies don’t mention government budgets for spy gadgets, it seems that Russia is a little behind the times.
New Scientist, July 2010