Engineering Responses to Climate Change

Q: Do you think the higher education system is doing enough to prompt young engineers to think about equity as they do their work? Are there things engineering programs should be doing differently?

Anderson: Teaching ethics via lecture and project work has been introduced in most engineering colleges throughout the country and is required for accreditation. However, more can always be done.

I have argued that we should include more social science in engineering programs. It’s important if we want more ethical considerations in engineering practice. I don’t just mean checking a box that says, “I took a course in psychology or sociology.” I mean having social sciences and engineering instructors work together on courses, so that when engineers are designing something, they consider: What are the potential unintended consequences of this? Some unintended consequences are heavily weighted to promote inequities, especially based on poverty. (NAE President John Anderson)

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